???? When he didn't play in the NFL in 2004 he also became a vegatiran.Does anyone think he lost some running power from doing so. Just seems very odd that a running back would lose their power before spend. Thoughts?
I'm pretty sure not having a weight lifting regiment while he was out of football had something to do with it (along with sleeping in a tent in India where he probably didn't eat the same as he did while playing for us). Frankly, considering the shape he is in and the time he had off I am superbly impressed with how he looks/plays.
Me too , for the most part. But he has lost a'lot of power running the ball and can't make the 1st guy miss like he use to.
I think he looks bigger, I don't think he has the burst he had before. And remember, he was never a big weight guy, he has always been more a yoga guy. The problem is he rarely runs between the tackles, its seems to be more outside runs, and without his old burst, he does not get around the corner as fast and does not hit defenders head on. I would like to see them run him between the tackles more this sunday in a cold weather game. And I can't help it, but every time he gets the ball I hold my breath waiting for the ball to pop out, I don't know why.
I think part of the problem may be that he's splitting time so much with Ronnie and Cobbs. Ricky was always one of those runners who got stronger as the game went on.
This is something I remember vividly, Ricky has even commented on this. I believe his exact words were "I'm a beast in the second half". I think that was always one of Ricky's strengths, the ability to wear down defenses so that in the 4th quarter they didn't want to tackle him. Ricky's game is also very cerebal, so he was always learning throughout the game which defenders were getting tired and weaker. Now with far less carries he doesn't get the opportunity to completley feel out the defense. Ricky never had to deal with this with Wannstedt because all Wannstedt could do was give Ricky the ball. Just my 2 cents.
He not getting the carries he used to get check his stats and also age is catching up.I said this a while back we need to find our franchise RB soon.Also ronnies not cutting it from me either when i look at games he misses lots of open holes.
When you only get about ten carries you limit the chances he has to break one. I hope Sparano gives Ricky and RB about 15+ carries this week and next. You need a running game in the cold weather.
Maybe the fact that he is over 30, and has accumulated a hell of a lot of mileage throughout his college and NFL career. He was never rested much in college, I can tell you that.
NFL Stats: by Team Category - 12th in rushing Ronnie Brown 195 827 4.2 62 10 Ricky Williams 138 575 4.2 51 3 Miami Dolphins Stats They're both getting the same yards per attempt. For a 31 year old I think he's doing fine.
We all think he's doing " fine " but this guy had a chance to be one of the best backs ever. It's easy to say it's age now cuzz he's 31 but what was it when he was 28??? All i'm asking is why after taking a year and a half off..............Why does he play with so much less Power. If you look at his legs from 02/03 they were a'lot more stout back then like fin33 said.
Sometimes as players age, they either put on weight ala Traylor for us, or they lose weight like Strahan did, Ricky seems to me to have lost weight to try and maintain his speed, or what he has left of it. I think he is doing fine, but Funkdat is probably right, he doesn't have the power he used to, he looks a bit stiff sometimes to me. Statistically though, he is right around where he was in 2005, 168 carries, 713 yds, 4.4 ypc..he is on track to pass Csonka...
Well, I think it's because A)not only was he taking a year off but B)I'd guess players follow a strict diet when playing. I don't think him becoming vegetarian has anything to do with it because there are a lot of good foods one can eat for strength but probably the amount of food he ate went down because it wasn't necessary and C)the weight lifting and pure "football shape" probably dwindled a bit as well.
When he breaks one when it counts, which is bound to happen once the new interior line jells (which will hopefully be by the second half of the Jets game), we can revisit this thread. I feel a Ricky run coming.
In spite of the time off he's taken; he's nonetheless 31. An awful lot of adults start to decline physically at this age. I'm not saying Ricky is ready for the old folk's home, but......Think about it. He's been colliding with other football players since he was..?? eight?..ten..? I have no idea at what age he started playing. But he's been playing for a long time. A good amount of NFL running backs don't last longer than 5-6 years. He's been around for awhile now. And he may just be starting to wear down due to his age.
i dunno. i recently saw a picture of ricky from 2002 or so in his pro bowl uni. he looked a lot bigger.
he's not that strong/fast combo as he used to be, but very reliable nowadays. A different runner, but very reliable. That grab in the beginning of the season, against who it was? At the end of the game, on the sideline....gave us the 1st down and opened the gate for the TD on the next play. Game ball. several reasons why he's not the same A) age B) heavy workload (at college and at Miami) C) spent periods out of football shape D) age again
I think it is a consensus at this point that he isnt what he was, with that being said, he is still one of the top five change of pace backs in the league coming off the bench.
Anyone remember that post Nub made about where ricky was and he would put pictures of ricky's head on a car and his location? This was the first time he was coming out of retirement and was returning from the dolphins. I miss those days of FH.
you can tell he isnt as big and powerful as he used to be... A major reason could be the weed coupled with aging... Probably turning vegetarian as stated by the OP didnt help either... i guess
Well, sure, because he used to fumble a lot. Not anymore, though. NFL TB has got to be one of the toughest jobs in the world. Very few guys can excel past the age of 29. He's still done lots of good for us this year, though.
Because the coaches gameplan doesn't include a featured runner, instead splitting carries with multiple players as we've witnessed this year and years in Dallas.
Like i said in one of my other post, he was the same running back when he was 28 that he is today. It's what happen from the age of 26 to 28 that i find very interesting.I think BrazForPhins and anlgp and padre31 hit on it real well. Never thought of this tell now but smoking pot is a very good way to lose fat.It spends up your heart beat, and you spend up your matabulisum by eating a few more times in a day. So he way have been eating like crazy and taking in a lot more protein in his diet.That would help to explain why he was a bigger guy when he use to smoke up. Not saying that's the main reason why, but that along with age,heavy workload at Austin and Miami,not lifting weights for over a year,and not playing for 2 years in a row since 03 is all part of it.