04/26/24
March 07, 2002
With the reports that Ricky Williams is about to be traded to the Dolphins, I can't figure out the reasoning of the Saints. Why give up a talented young running back who signed an idiotically cheap contract?
How many picks did the Saints(Ditka) give up to get Williams?
posted by jbou at 12:55 PM on March 07, 2002
And, let's not forget, they have a pretty good backup option in Deuce McCallister (who has not shown himself to be a headcase on par with Williams).
posted by bcb2k2 at 01:17 PM on March 07, 2002
How can a star running back with extraordinary talent be a detriment to a football team? It's not like Ricky Williams is being asked to block and isn't doing it. He wants the ball; they give him the ball; he just had two strong seasons and appears to be getting stronger. The only reason this deal appears to be happening is because Williams and Haslet don't like each other. Choosing Haslet over a star running back seems like the wrong move. Considering how the Saints gave up on their coach last season, I don't think Haslet will be around for many years. Williams, on the other hand, may be a star running back for 6-8 more years at least.
posted by rcade at 02:39 PM on March 07, 2002
The Saints gave up eight picks for Ricky. And as a Redskins fan, I am eternally grateful for Champ Bailey. Considering the way the Saints just rolled over and died at the end of the year, maybe going down to Miami is a good thing for Ricky. The Saints seemed to be on to something at the end of the previous season, but fizzled.
posted by owillis at 05:24 PM on March 07, 2002
I sincerely doubt Haslet is the one pulling the trigger on a trade of this magnitude. How can a player who has been insisting he be traded for the past 3 months be a detriment to his team? Or maybe you mean how can a player who refuses to participate in off-season workouts that, like it or not, everyone else participates in, be considered a detriment to his team's chemistry? Ricky Williams was the greatest college football player I've seen, and I watched nearly every game he played and really never saw a bad one, but he was a prima donna at Texas, he embarassed himself, IMHO, at the draft with his "special" workouts and by retaining Master P as his agent(that worked out great for him, didn't it?) and who traded all their draft picks for him? Mike Ditka, who had already proved with his miserable picks the year before that he didn't know the first thing about player evaluation. Don't get me wrong, the main problem that Williams has is proper respect for his own thoughts and desires, unfortunately that makes you a "clubhouse cancer" in the NFL (take a look at all the teams lining up to not sign Cris Carter). Despite the questions about his durability, I'm sure you're right and he'll play many more years of effective football, but he's more like Ricky Watters than Walter Payton, doomed to be considered a hired gun.
posted by pastepotpete at 10:31 PM on March 07, 2002
I'm so glad that the Colts bypassed Ricky for Edgerrin (although there are rumors that Edge is not happy in Indy: rumors that he adamantly denies).
posted by jacknose at 03:40 PM on March 08, 2002
I don't thing ricky ever liked new orleans, and I'm sure he's happy to be out.
posted by justgary at 07:23 PM on March 08, 2002
because they don't like him, which isn't that idiotic. He has demonstrated his entire football career that he's interested in Ricky Williams to the detriment of his team. The Saints are really to blame for this because their own organizational disarray led to Williams being the centerpiece of a team that lacks the talent level to win big. They should be commended for having the guts to take this risk. His talent level is extraordinary but the saints are going to get plenty of compensation for him because the incentive-laden deal will most likely end up being 2 1st round picks (and a 4th round). He is almost sure to hold out if he stays with the Saints. If they move him to the Dolphins, everybody's happy and he'll probably get an informal guarantee that the Doplhins will renegotiate either this season or the next. Looking at the AFC next year, it's not unreasonable to assume that a healthy Ricky Williams could push the Doplhins very deep in the playoffs.