Ricky Williams: How Good Could He Have Been?

[niel89]

could have been HoF. was a sight to see

[stephenson86]

hes my favorite back that has played since i have watched i reckon HOF

[cdub11]

L.V. Miles: [to people from colleges] How ya'll doin' up there? Ya'll doin' all right? 45, Boobie, that's my nephew out there. That boy can play some football. He can play left, he can play right, don't make no difference. He can block, tackle, score the touch down, snap the ball, and kick the extra point. Hell, the boy will fill up the Gatorade cooler, walk the dog, and paint your back porch. I'm telling ya, the boy can plain out play football.
[pause while Boobie throws ball]
L.V. Miles: OOHH! And he can pass!

boobie = hof

[Geo]

Funny you mention that. The reason I brought the thread up was because I was watching his 2002 highlights on YouTube (five parts).

That's great to hear, I'll have to catch that. Major kudos to whoever put that up. And hopefully it doesn't get taken down, that would really suck.

Keep in mind that the game in Buffalo late in the season was Ricky's first snow game of his career, maybe his life if I recall correctly.

[Geo]

Everyone knows that the Colts drafted Edgerrin James over Ricky Williams in the 1999 Draft (and Edge should definitely be in the HOF imo), but I think Ricky could have succeeded in Indy. Because playing with Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, and so on, would have kept most of the pressure off of him. He wouldn't have had an entire franchise and a draft class in trade to bear on his shoulders, considering his social anxiety, as was the case in New Orleans and then Miami. The guy could always play, you just wonder what could have been for him in a better situation.

[Watchman]

Everyone knows that the Colts drafted Edgerrin James over Ricky Williams in the 1999 Draft (and Edge should definitely be in the HOF imo), but I think Ricky could have succeeded in Indy. Because playing with Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, and so on, would have kept most of the pressure off of him. He wouldn't have had an entire franchise and a draft class in trade to bear on his shoulders, considering his social anxiety, as was the case in New Orleans and then Miami. The guy could always play, you just wonder what could have been for him in a better situation.

A great point. For a player who was never comfortable being the center of attention, to have a player like Peyton Manning on your team would have diffused much of that issue for Williams. It goes without saying that having Manning as your QB takes pressure off the running game, but to have a player of that magnitude would have taken so much pressure off of Williams' shoulders in so many other aspects that I think he would have thrived with the Colts. Hell he had years where he thrived being a teams only real threat, and only real star offensive player despite his anxiety.

I think he easily could have been a HOFer.

[Woody56]

Ricky Williams 02 season will be the best a RB recorded that will never be talked about. He was absolutely incredible that year.

[tom]

IMO this year he'll be back in a big way, running for 1800 yards and 18 touchdowns. And soon he'll be back to being a sure fire HOFFER!

[Gay Ork Wang]

IMO this year he'll be back in a big way, running for 1800 yards and 18 touchdowns. And soon he'll be back to being a sure fire HOFFER!

jeez cant u just like kill urself? my brain hurts and i feel dumber after every post i read from u

[yourfavestoner]

Ricky is my favorite NFL player of All Time.

[StripedWalrus]

jeez cant u just like kill urself? my brain hurts and i feel dumber after every post i read from u

On a plus note Renji, at least he didnt say Jerome Bettis was due for a comeback. He would come out of retirement and run for 3k yards.... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....

[yourfavestoner]

jeez cant u just like kill urself? my brain hurts and i feel dumber after every post i read from u

You just don't get Tom.

[Gay Ork Wang]

You just don't get Tom.

I get it, its not funny, he should kill himself

[RollingMoss]

After Moss, Ricky's my favorite player ever. He was the next Jim Brown, AP before AP, the running back God designed.

He just didn't love football, and ya gotta love that.

I hate the **** he gets for smoking weed, because I don't think the weed had anything to do with anything. The guy just legitimately didn't love - ****, Like - football. He didn't like the attention, he didn't like the coaches, the whole shebang. He didn't like it - and that ain't the weeds fault. The weed probably kept him in the game a little longer. But that's no reason to hate the guy or pile on him or call him this or that. **** you Jim Rome.

and here's a Q: were the Colts dumb for passing on him? Yes, Edge was bombtitties in Indy - but they didn't win anything. I would have to say no though, they weren't dumb. They probably did their homework and realized Ricky didn't like football.

[MetSox17]

After Moss, Ricky's my favorite player ever. He was the next Jim Brown, AP before AP, the running back God designed.

He just didn't love football, and ya gotta love that.

I hate the **** he gets for smoking weed, because I don't think the weed had anything to do with anything. The guy just legitimately didn't love - ****, Like - football. He didn't like the attention, he didn't like the coaches, the whole shebang. He didn't like it - and that ain't the weeds fault. The weed probably kept him in the game a little longer. But that's no reason to hate the guy or pile on him or call him this or that. **** you Jim Rome.

and here's a Q: were the Colts dumb for passing on him? Yes, Edge was bombtitties in Indy - but they didn't win anything. I would have to say no though, they weren't dumb. They probably did their homework and realized Ricky didn't like football.

You're completely right. Ricky Williams is the perfect example of someone who does something because other people told him he was good at it. Heck, he was the perfect running back. Fast, Strong, a work horse, injury free... He just didn't love football.

It's like the tall kids that play basketball only because they're told they'll be good. Except Ricky was good. He was great. In fact, he's one of the greatest that ever set foot in a College Football field, even in the NFL. Without a passion to play, he was still the best RB in the league. Just hearing him talk is enough to what type of person he is. He'll always be one of the greatest RB's in my mind.