Desperately Seeking Ricky?
62.186.3.1. No, what you are seeing here is not Ricky's phone number in Australia, or the IP address of his or my computers. What you are seeing though are the Dolphins rushing statistics up to this point in the preseason. 62 rushes for 186 yards for a whopping 3.0 yards per carry average and 1 TD which came on a QB Sneak. You should also note that 88 of those yards came on a Fred Russell 4th quarter run against the Jags in week 1 of the preseason. Take that out of the mix and it looks a little more like this: 61.98.(1.606557377049).1. In case you still are not following my code, that really is a 1.6 yards per carry average.
Travis Minor who is currently the Dolphins starting tailback has rushed 19 times for 26 yards which gives him a 1.4 average while Sammy Morris, who had a couple fun runs on Saturday night, has given us 14 rushes for 32 yards and a 2.3 yards per carry average which for you mathematicians is about a 39% improvement over T-Minor.
2.8
3.2
9.-1
1.-1
The above numbers were Ricky Williams preseason 2003 totals. The math says this: 15 rushes for a grand total of 10 yards which if we round up gave him a .67 yards per carry average a year ago. Am I pointing this out in an attempt to say that our running game looks better that it was last year? Or that I believe the backs we have now are better than Ricky Williams? Of course not, don't be silly. What I am saying though is that it is not quite time to panic and pick up somebody else's trash off the waiver wire or even worse try and get Ricky back in a Dolphins uniform this year.
Recent reports have Ricky calling the Dolphins at the request of his agent. This call combined with the lack of running game this preseason has caused mixed feelings in many Dolfans regarding the possibility of a comeback this year. In my opinion, this would not be good for the Dolphins. This off-season has been one for the ages registering problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem. Want me to stop? The problems have not ended for the Dolphins, so the return a swollen legged, bong sucking, basket-case, is not the answer.
Reason number 1: Ricky has lost the trust of his teammates. Seth McKinney has been the most outspoken and is not alone in the locker room. Reason number 2: The chemistry and psyche of this team and organization has been screwed enough this off-season. It would be even more emotionally draining were Ricky to return and cause not only a stir, but a division among players, coaches, the front office, and fans. Reason number 3: We can skip right past the turmoil of a return and get trade value for him when he returns next year. And he will come back. He has no choice as he isn't financially in a position to pay back the Dolphins what he will probably have to pay. The word is that Ricky's contract was quite clear on the terms of breech. He needs the NFL to make him back the money he has smoked away.
The best thing for Ricky and the Dolphins is for him to stay as far away as possible until mid February allowing the team to focus on nothing more than winning games and getting on without Ricky because you can guarantee if he comes back this year, he surely won't be around for the next.
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