Very interesting article. I think you might interested in reading it. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...nce-is-golden?source=rss_teams_Miami_Dolphins
No, and he actually never really has been. His career consists of one amazing year (which isn't so amazing when you consider his yard per carry average was pretty normal, he was just force fed the ball) and one above average year (yardage wise, though he posted his best YPC at 4.8) The rest of his career has been very pedestrian.
Ah yes. If you'd like to argue, come with some facts. The FACT is that he has only run for over 4.0 yards per carry THREE TIMES in his career before this season. One of those was 4.1 YPC.
He's actually had 2 outstanding years. Take a peek and notice the carries he had in the 02 and 03 seasons. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WillRi00.htm That's why his YPC average isn't as high. Dude rushed for 1000 yards in 4 consecutive seasons. That's not pedestrian by any stretch of imagination.
In 2000 he got EXACTLY 1000 yards, at 4.0 YPC which is average. At best. He also fumbled 6 times compared to his 8 touchdowns. Not great. In 2001 he had over 1000 yards, but it took him 313 carries at a 4.0 YPC to accomplish that. Not impressive. In 2002 he had his career year I spoke of. 4.8 YPC (which I retract my first statement, I thought it was the next year) In 2003 he had over 1300 yards, but it took him a whopping 392 carries at a HORRIBLE 3.5 YPC clip to get there. Not impressive.
I think you are putting way to much emphasis on the YPC average. It's kinda like a batting average in baseball, it can be very deceiving. The fact that he had so many carries doesn't impress you? No running back in the NFL could maintain a high YPC with almost 400 carries.
Alex, c'mon. You're arguing stats in a vacuum, vs. talent. Ricky Williams had the ability, talent and speed to have been one of the top 5-10 Running Backs of all time in the NFL, production notwithstanding. Put it another way: if he really were just pedestrian, no one would have blinked twice when he left the team in '04. Williams is the goods. Even now.
I'd also add that in 2003 he WAS our entire offense. We had almost no passing threat and teams loaded the box that season. The fact that he had that many yards is impressive. Not sure if you watched that season, but those were tough yards.
Ricky Williams is on the verge of doing something absolutely NO other running back in NFL history has done ... ever: run for 1,000 yards in seasons six years apart.
Excellent analogy, IMO; how many championships did Rod Carew win? YPC is largely a function of blocking; I'll bet you can name (off the top of your head) a BUNCH of really BAD Offensive Linemen who blocked for Ricky, yet how many good ones? Put it yet another way: on those same teams, what backs even came close to Ricky's production, such as it was, given the poor OL play?
He's going to have over 1000 yards this year at the age of 32 while only starting 7 games. He's the alltime NCAA rushing leader, and Heisman Trophy winner. He won the 2002 rushing title. He was the 2002 Pro Bowl MVP. He is in the top 30 in NFL HISTORY IN RUSHING YARDS. If he didnt miss those years in the middle of his career, he would be right there with LT in the top 15.
He has a realistic shot at 10,000 career yards and 80 Touchdowns. That would place him on a very short list historically. Most of the guys that are on that list are in the HOF.
Section is right dude..... Ricky Williams is and of himself, a man and RB unto himself. It should be quite clear at this point, that you cannot equate him really with any statistical argument, you have to instead rely on what your eyes and your heart tell you..... Ricky has been a great RB. Period. He runs just like his nickname suggests...the Dreadlocked Demon. I have yet to watch even one game where I would suggest Ricky Williams was pedestrian....and quite of bit of what Ricky Williams has done in the last two years....has been done in tandem. He had two amazing years for us when he was the lone back. But more than that....and contrary to what alot of people believe, because Ricky doesnt neatly fit in their mold of what a role model is....he has been a great role model for our young players. Not once have you ever heard of him not giving less than 110% on the field....he shows up for every single off season workout....and I just need to leave with you one single shred of evidence that should clear your mind. You need to leave your analytical statistical approach at the door for this one.....because theres only one number I could ever imagine being the answer here.... How many RB's besides Ricky Williams, could have left in 2004, tested positive for MJ multiple occasions..... And STILL BECAME ONE OF BILL PARCELS FAVORITE PLAYERS? One. Only Ricky. Ricky transcends the common athlete. He has no love for personal attention...only attention to detail in how he prepares to play. He would much rather be part of a team, and be part of a solution, not be the ONE solution. The WC worked so well for us....because of how Ronnie ran the ball.....and because of the incredible almost unheard of luck, that Miami actually had two great running backs, who didnt have one iota of selfishness about them. Thats why Ricky was so upset when Ronnie got hurt. So...yeh...Ricky Williams is a great running back.
This is it. Look at how TOTALLY PATHETIC our O-Line was for us up until these last 2 seasons after we drafted Jake Long. HORRIBLE! Yet, Ricky put up solid top 10 RB #s consistently. Can You imagine Ricky Williams on those Steelers teams instead of Jerome Bettis? How many 2000+ yards season would Ricky Williams have put up with them? How many more Super Bowl wins would they have now? Would we even be talking about the Cheatriots as a dynasty?
The only thing not impressive about the 2003 season in which he had 1300 yards....was our offensive line...or maybe you forgot to consider that an OL has a TON to do with how well a RB does..... We also had Jay Fiedler as our QB....and lord knows the terror he struck in defensive backfield with his cannon for an arm. Wasnt like Ricky ever faced an 8 man front that season....hmmmm.... Or the fact that we won 10 games that season.....with an average OL...and a QB mish mash that gave us one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL. Or that Ricky Williams almost single handidly, er uh...no actually...did single handidly win us these games.... @ Baltimore @ Washington @ Buffalo @ NY Giants.... But...nope...hes a pedestrian RB.
Wow - don't agree he is pedestrian but I think the stats do tell a compelling story when looking at his career. We romanticize it because we are Phins fans but he hasn't been nearly as dominant as I remember. Be interesting to see other players who had a similar amount of carries and their YPC in comparison. Either way, I think without the years he took off / were suspended we wouldn't have this conversation.
Hey guys please dont get personal .When you use the word you or name another member in a derogatory way, thats a personal attack . In addition posts that are over the line will be deleted until a Mod gets to look at it .
Ricky has always been one of my favorite players because hes so fun to watch. Theres a lot more to great RBs than YPC and TDs. Stats only tell a part of the story. I agree with whoever said that if Ricky did not miss those couple years during his career, this argument would never be mentioned. I truly believe that if he didnt have those off the field issues and miss a couple years, he would be in the HOF no question.
The last two games, when Lex hilliard carries the ball and goes nowhere, then Ricky comes back in and carries for seven, I remember Ricky is awesome.
got to love the guy to his Detractors I say: GoFish!: Williams is the RealDeal a once a decade phenomenon Run Ricky Run! the best is yet to come this time he's running behind a real offensive line should once again pass a 1000 yards this week end think about it
Counting each year that Ricky has gotten the ball for more than 2 carries in this league, he averages more than 1000 yards/season. I think thats pretty exceptional.
The fact is that for most of his career Ricky has played against dang near 10 people in the box. The guy has never had a passing game to help his running game. Even this year until just the last few weeks there has been no passing game. "Some" say that 4.0 YPC is an average at best YPC. When you look at all the factors that surround that YPC such as OL, QB, WR's, Coach's. You start to think that maybe 4.0 YPC isn't so bad afterall!!!
ricky has made some off field decisions which people certainly can and do question. his suspensions, parenting, and others have been questioned in many threads. that being said i can not question the mans talent. ricky in my mind is one of the most talented, gifted runners to ever play the game. speed, burst, power, strength, vision, determination, quickness, cut ability, even elusiveness at times. he blocks well, catches out of the backfield. he is the total package in a back, a phenominal running back. describing him as a pedestrian back in my opinion is utterly ridiculous, i could not disagree more.
once in a decade phenomenon team player & class act one of the more interesting personalities in the nfl what's not to like? run ricky run!
jesus man, i know everyone can have their opinions but recently you really came up with some strange remarks....
