Ricky Williams Had Nothing to Do With It
In yesterday's edition of Tuesday Morning Quarterback, writer Gregg Easterbook points out that during this most recent NFL season, only one team went without a 100-yard rushing performance by one of its players: Miami.
Note that Ricky Williams, Miami's star running back, who was had from the saints for a bazillion dollars and two first-round draft picks, retired prior to training camp this season to smoke ganja and learn Ayurvedic medicine. Of course, it's easy to say that this team fell apart because Williams left, that he was the motor of the car, that he was the black hole to their galaxy, yada yada yada. "He quit the team and that's why they went 3-13 this year!" people screech.
I don't think it was Williams's fault that the team blew.
That's right, I'm going against the grain of every single NFL "expert" on ESPN, Yahoo!, and God only knows what other networks and websites. I'm saying that almost every one of them - or at least, every one who blamed Williams - is wrong.
I think that the reason the Dolphins failed so miserably rests entirely on the offensive line.
Miami gave up 52 sacks this year, which ties them for third worst in the NFL - with the New York Giants, whose sacks on Kurt Warner can be blamed for the insertion of Eli Manning, which can be blamed for the Giants' plummet out of the playoff picture.
Some will say that the 'Fins gave up so many sacks because the running game wasn't respected enough to be a threat. To that I say: Look at the numbers. Miami was 28th out of 32 in terms of rushing attempts - they didn't even TRY to run the ball. And when they did, they were hideous; the Dolphins averaged 3.5 yards per carry, tying them for worst in the league. But their two halfbacks, Sammy Morris and Travis Minor, both have better career averages than that (Minor, with Miami, has averaged above 4 YPC every year he's been in the league, except this year when he pulled down 3.6).
No, Ricky Williams didn't cause the decline of the Dolphins - I say the offensive line was at fault. And that comes down to the coach. Once Coach Dave Wannstedt was fired, the Dolphins running game exploded (relatively speaking), with Sammy Morris averaging a prettydarngood 4.7 YPC over the last four games (221 yards on 47 carries).
The media is often too quick to blame the failings of a team on the shoulders of the players, or one guy. But frankly, the level of team talent around the league, even on the Cleveland Browns, is along a pretty tight bell curve. When teams put the same coaches who've failed before (this means you, Erickson) back in charge, the teams almost always do poorly. And Ricky Williams pays for it.
In yesterday's edition of Tuesday Morning Quarterback, writer Gregg Easterbook points out that during this most recent NFL season, only one team went without a 100-yard rushing performance by one of its players: Miami.
Note that Ricky Williams, Miami's star running back, who was had from the saints for a bazillion dollars and two first-round draft picks, retired prior to training camp this season to smoke ganja and learn Ayurvedic medicine. Of course, it's easy to say that this team fell apart because Williams left, that he was the motor of the car, that he was the black hole to their galaxy, yada yada yada. "He quit the team and that's why they went 3-13 this year!" people screech.
I don't think it was Williams's fault that the team blew.
That's right, I'm going against the grain of every single NFL "expert" on ESPN, Yahoo!, and God only knows what other networks and websites. I'm saying that almost every one of them - or at least, every one who blamed Williams - is wrong.
I think that the reason the Dolphins failed so miserably rests entirely on the offensive line.
Miami gave up 52 sacks this year, which ties them for third worst in the NFL - with the New York Giants, whose sacks on Kurt Warner can be blamed for the insertion of Eli Manning, which can be blamed for the Giants' plummet out of the playoff picture.
Some will say that the 'Fins gave up so many sacks because the running game wasn't respected enough to be a threat. To that I say: Look at the numbers. Miami was 28th out of 32 in terms of rushing attempts - they didn't even TRY to run the ball. And when they did, they were hideous; the Dolphins averaged 3.5 yards per carry, tying them for worst in the league. But their two halfbacks, Sammy Morris and Travis Minor, both have better career averages than that (Minor, with Miami, has averaged above 4 YPC every year he's been in the league, except this year when he pulled down 3.6).
No, Ricky Williams didn't cause the decline of the Dolphins - I say the offensive line was at fault. And that comes down to the coach. Once Coach Dave Wannstedt was fired, the Dolphins running game exploded (relatively speaking), with Sammy Morris averaging a prettydarngood 4.7 YPC over the last four games (221 yards on 47 carries).
The media is often too quick to blame the failings of a team on the shoulders of the players, or one guy. But frankly, the level of team talent around the league, even on the Cleveland Browns, is along a pretty tight bell curve. When teams put the same coaches who've failed before (this means you, Erickson) back in charge, the teams almost always do poorly. And Ricky Williams pays for it.
posted by Brian at 11:34 AM
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