“We’re 0-9 … I don’t care who you get. If you get bin Laden and he could run the ball like Ricky, I’d do anything for a victory.”
That’s a quote from Miami linebacker Joey Porter. After Dolphins coach Cam Cameron had asked the entire team not to comment on the Ricky Williams situation. But I guess when you’re making like $4 million per sack, you can say whatever you want.
Anyway, Porter echoes the sentiment reflected all across the ‘Fins locker room. Williams is a five-time loser in the NFL’s substance-abuse program, though he didn’t test positive for marijuana last time, when it cost him an 18-month absence from the game. He had been taking dietary supplements in conjunction with his intense immersion into yoga, and they registered as a banned substance for the NFL, which refused to hear his appeal and banished him once again. Fair enough. When you’ve dropped the ball (or the bong) as many times as Ricky has, it’s understandable when you don’t get the benefit of the doubt.
But now he’s back. After spending the past five months in Boston treatment center seeking psychological counseling, Williams was reinstated by the NFL yesterday and will meet with Cameron and team officials today.
Agent Leigh Steinberg said Ricky has been waiting to hear his fate on “pins and needles” – wrong choice of words there, Leigh. Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor met with Cameron to discuss the Williams matter, then refused to discuss the content of the meeting. If he was there to voice his concerns or his disagreement with bringing Williams back aboard, the Hypocrite Train has room left for plenty more. Taylor has had enough bad publicity over the past few years over domestic issues to understand that there is more to the Williams story than meets the eye.
The best-case scenario for the Dolphins involves Ricky reporting to the team in game shape at 230 pounds – as has been reported – then debuting against Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football on November 26 and helping this team find some way, any way to win a ballgame. With Ronnie Brown out for the year and backup Jesse Chatman dealing with a bunch of nicks and scrapes, if Williams could come anywhere near the bulldozing force he was even a coupla years ago, he could really provide a needed boost of energy and attitude. Then Miami could keep Williams and his cap-friendly contract next year to provide relief for Brown or insurance in case Brown doesn’t return to form as quickly as hoped, or they could trade him in the offseason after proving and boosting his worth down the stretch of this season.
The worst-case scenario is that Williams still struggles with his social anxiety disorder and proves to be a distraction for the Dolphins and rookie quarterback John Beck – the pairing of Williams and Beck, who went to BYU, has already been dubbed “Marley Meets Mormon” by one Miami beat writer. Williams could fail another drug test and earn a lifetime ban.
It’s a justifiable risk-reward scenario for Miami and Cameron. Williams’s work ethic has never been questioned, and the Dolphins basically have nothing to lose at this point. He’s well-liked in the locker room, and if he has truly received the help he needs to deal with his social anxiety disorder and related use of pot to dull the effects of it, he deserves the chance to prove that with the Dolphins.
I’m not ready to dust off my No. 34 ‘Fins jersey just yet, but it’s easy to pull for Ricky the person. In a lost season, he could give Dolfans something to believe in, on and off the field.
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