The worse thing about the one-year suspension for Ricky Williams is that he won’t be permitted to be around his Miami teammates for support nor will he be able to use the team’s facilities to prepare himself physically for the grind of being a 30-year-old running back in 2007. Miami coach Nick Saban was pleasantly surprised with how Williams fit in with his teammates last season and by November, Ricky was showing signs of returning to top form without the help of a quality offensive line.
The Dolphins still have a huge financial claim against him, plus Williams will soon have a fourth child to support. He needs a high-paying job. Football appears to be his only option, but the odds are truly against him because he’s going to have to train and push himself.
What about Woodson?
When the Packers, a 4-12 team a year ago, were awarded three prime-time games when the schedule was announced earlier in the month, it was apparent to everyone that the club had told the NFL office that Brett Favre would be playing in his 15th season. Favre officially told the team on Tuesday that he will be attending next week’s mini-camp, regardless of who they draft this weekend. Favre must need the $10 million he will earn because the Packers don’t figure to improve that much this season with or without ex-Raider Charles Woodson.
The Raiders thought Woodson would sign with Tampa Bay, but you have to wonder if Woodson, who is being asked to move from cornerback to safety by both clubs, has the fortitude to deal with Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Unlike his stay with the Raiders, Kiffin will push him and make him practice and point out his mistakes.
Bush's off-field issues
It may eventually be proven that USC’s Reggie Bush knew more about his mother’s living arrangements, courtesy of Michael Michaels and a minor San Diego sports agency trying to land the Heisman winner, but the bottom line is that the Houston Texans aren’t concerned and it won’t impact his draft status. If the Texans opt not to pay Bush, the New Orleans Saints will step in and draft him second overall. The NFL doesn’t care if Bush’s mother, brother and stepfather lived in a house rent-free for an entire year.
The Bush story is a bigger one for USC and college football.
And like someone told me yesterday, if the NCAA knew about everything illegal with big-time football programs, many of the Top Ten schools would have to forfeit every game and finish 0-11 every season.
Raiders’ QB situation
Why would Al Davis want to draft either Matt Leinart or Vince Young? OK, the answer may be that he knows they can never win with Aaron Brooks, Andrew Walter and Marques Tuiasosopo. However, don’t the Raiders need to start winning now? They were 4-12 last season and how can they improve on that record with a rookie quarterback? Finally, what does that say about spending a third-round pick on Walter last year and a second-round pick on Tui in 2001? Would you call those wasted picks?
L.A. story
After years of wishing for Pasadena or some other locale to step up, the NFL is leaning toward endorsing the Los Angeles Coliseum next week in Dallas as the future NFL site whenever L.A. gets a team or lands an expansion team. Anaheim makes sense, too. The league has been so frustrated with the Los Angeles situation and it’s inability to sway any politicians to their side for anything but the Coliseum.
I understand the fact that Ricky will see a set back, but I think the Dolphins are still poised to be a playoff team. That doesn't sound like much of a setback to me.
Completely agree with you on the Raiders, what exactly are they trying to do over there?
This latest deal with Ricky Williams is as bogus as the officiating I've seen from the NFL. If the guy has none of the substances known and banned by the league, why is he being treated as such? I for one don't believe that to follow the pack and villify an individual because it's "popular" is the right thing to do! I could care less what spin anyone can put to this, it's wrong! Come to think about it, Has this ever applied to Brett Favre and his addictions, or Mr.and Mrs.Steroids themselves, the Romanowski's. But...those are seperate isolated biases, eh?
Walters was NOT a wasted pick but if they draft Young or Leinart then that would be the wasted pick not cause they would be bad NFL player but because the Raiders need a Vernon Davis or AJ Hawk.
Last edited by Vasquez1207 on April 26th at 4:21 PM.
The Raiders need to improve at QB, and who knows when they'll have the opportunity to draft one as talented as the ones in this years draft again. Weak QB draft class are more common than good ones.
It's always dissapointed to see someone as talented as Ricky Williams not playing, but the dolphins are still going to be a good team.
Its amazing how you guys are sticking up for Rickey Williams. Yeah, he's a good back who may have got have got the shaft THIS TIME, but he put himself in this situation with his 3 prior positive drug tests. By the time he plays again he will be 30 and probably out of shape. Gaurantee you he goes back to India and we will be talking about this next year.
Oh, by the way, if Vince Young or Leinart are still there for the Raiders, they will take them. Aaron Brooks and Walter, come on. You can't pass on the talent.
Last edited by LastManStanding on April 27th at 11:27 AM.
Besides the fact that marijuana has not been proven to be a harmful substance and can actually be medicinal, why does the NFL give so much attention to it?
If they're worried about influencing minors, then why expose the whole situation? What a player does in private that can only be ascertained by random drug testing ten times a month is none of our business.
These guys go through so much pain and so many pain relieving drugs that are okayed by the league, it seems silly to pick out one of the most innocuous and widely used drugs in the history of mankind.
But as a whole, why do they have the right to test for drugs at all?
It's not as if Ricky is going to fall asleep running along the sideline and go careening into the stands, dozing through innocent fans with his thunder thighs.
If they're going to test for marijuana, why not tobacco? It kills thousands every year, is increasingly used by minors and is proven to be addictive. Pot has never been proven to be addictive, but apparently is not easy to give up.
Don't spend 800 million renovating a facility when that 800 million needs to be spent on rehabilitating the area in which the facility is found. If you are going to build a real arena, us Angelinos need a 'Staples Center' type edifice that promises to enhance the football experience. Since the Rams and Raiders left, we see better football on TV than we did while they were here. We also saw those teams wholy renovate their depth charts and each contended for a super bowl only years later. Had that had happened before they left, we would have taken them out of Foxboro and put them up in Gillette. Don't change the fact we see better football on TV unless you plan to provide better football locally. And don't plan on giving us the full package by thinking that a measly 800 million dollars will bring us that package.
John Czarnecki, a former sportswriter with over 20 years experience covering the NFL, has been the editorial consultant for the Emmy Award-winning FOX NFL Sunday since its 1994 inception. Prior, he provided exclusive information to CBS Sports' The NFL Today program from 1991 to 1993, holding a similar position.
Prior to joining CBS Sports, Czarnecki was a pro football writer for The National Sports Daily (1989-91), The Dallas Morning News (1989), and The Los Angeles Herald-Examin er. An archive of work can be found here.
