Let’s not forget that the NFL is a business. The object of a company is to make as much money as possible. For the Miami Dolphins to make money they need to win. The more they win the more revenue they make from attendance and merchandise. The Miami Dolphins will do any thing in their power to win even if it means cutting players. How many players have the Dolphins cut within the last 40 years. My guess would be a lot. The Dolphins, like other NFL teams, cut players and ruined the careers of many football players. The fans never seem to complain when a team gets rid of a player like Matt Maloney, in fact they cheer and are happy to get rid a bad player. But when someone like Barry Sanders and Ricky Williams leaves a team they are considered irresponsible. I just don’t understand your logic. Suppose Ricky loved football and wanted to play until he was 40. Suppose he showed up to training camp and was cut towards the end of training camp. Would you think the Dolphins were irresponsible?
Off topic... I must be living in a cave. I was a huge Houston Oiler fan...but I hadn't heard that Earl was having health problems.
mrpaige.. I have no idea.. maybe it is 2 weeks.. I've never been in the situation to do it.. but on tv I've heard 30 days.. then again I've also heard 2 weeks.. It's probably "at least" 2 weeks which is why I've heard both 2 weeks and 30 days.
on second thought.. it probably is two weeks notice.. I don't know why I had 30 days in my mind.. I've heard that somewhere.. maybe I'm just crazy.. (likely)
ugh should have read whole thread fatty fat.. thanks for the info. Yeah I've seen it. I guess it does depend on the field, I always thought if you didn't give them any notice though that was grounds for them to not give you a good recomendation if they are called about you etc..
Overuse Led to Williams's Decision to Quit By CHARLIE NOBLES Published: July 27, 2004 New York Times Life after Ricky Williams has begun much earlier for the Miami Dolphins than they anticipated, in large part because they overused him, his agent said Monday. Williams, the Dolphins' standout running back, did not want to end his career by limping out of the N.F.L. after eight years the way Earl Campbell did, so he decided to retire at age 27, the agent, Leigh Steinberg, said. Campbell, an N.F.L. Hall of Famer, is Williams's role model and a fellow former University of Texas running back. "There was a lot of frustration about the battering ram nature of it," Steinberg said from his office in Newport Beach, Calif. "In so many of his carries, he was running straight into the line. It took a heavy physical toll. Maybe it took an emotional toll." Williams averaged 271 carries a year in three seasons with New Orleans, but he became the overriding focus of the Dolphins' offense as soon as he was traded to Miami before the 2002 season. He led the N.F.L. in carries in both of his seasons in Miami - 383 in 2002, when he topped the league in rushing, and 392 last season. Though Steinberg emphasized that Williams was in the best condition of his career, he said it gave him pause to think that he had carried the ball 775 times over two seasons. That is more carries than many backs have in a career. "The act of running a football into the waiting arms of 300-pound defensive tackles whose goal is to fling one to the turf time after time requires an extraordinary degree of passion and commitment," Steinberg said. "And he found it lacking." Dolphins Coach Dave Wannstedt maintains that his objective is to strike a balance between running and passing. Yet with quarterback Jay Fiedler limited in his throwing range and sometimes slowed by injuries, and with a lack of depth at wide receiver, much of the offensive burden fell to Williams. By losing Williams, the Dolphins are in position to buy another top player but the timing could not be worse. They will save his $3.6 million salary against the salary cap. But with training camps scheduled to open this week, teams are preparing for the season, not looking to dump a franchise runner. Williams's late announcement kept the Dolphins from having a shot at signing running back Eddie George, who was acquired by Dallas two days after Tennessee released him. The Dolphins have mulled the idea of picking up either James Stewart or Stacey Mack, two unemployed former starters, but they have apparently decided to wait. They plan to start training camp on Friday with Williams's backup, Travis Minor, as the starter. Minor averaged 4.7 yards a carry last season in 193 attempts. Sammy Morris, a fullback who came from Buffalo, might also get a serious look. Rick Spielman, the Dolphins' general manager, sounds as if he is inclined to wait until August before deciding whether to take a drastic measure, like a trade. That would give him time to both determine if Minor or Morris can replace Williams and scrutinize the running backs who might be cut. "We've got a 65- and a 53-man cut coming up, so you don't know what's going to happen and what players might become available down the road," Spielman said this week. Wannstedt said that even without Williams the remaining Dolphins are a formidable team. "We have quality players at every position, with a very good attitude, that have worked extremely hard," Wannstedt said Sunday after Williams announced his retirement. "And our goals haven't changed. I really don't need to tell them that. They'll be telling me." In the meantime, Steinberg said Williams was at peace with his decision, eager to travel, read, return to school and pursue photography as a hobby, for starters. But he said Williams would be tempted at some stage to return to the game. "This is my 30th year of representing football players, and I haven't seen a player leave the game in any capacity and not have the desire to come back," Steinberg said. "So there's no question that at some point, whether he knows it or not, he'll certainly have pangs."
I have no problem with him wanting to retire.. good for him .. but my point was that if we are comparing this to everyday jobs.. there are plenty that people would be mad if you quit at the last minute... for instance schools are about to start, if a teacher retired a week before class started.. I don't think the school etc would be saying good for you.. they'd be screwed over with not having a teacher .. how much was rickys signing bonus? and did barry end up having to give part of his back?
and my only problem is that he let down his teammates.. I agree with those of you who say that.. the team can cut him the day before camp etc.. so he should be able to quit.. just would have been nice for the sake of his teammates if he had given the team time to look.. did anyone else here on fox sports sw that people at UT knew he was considering retiring last week? even if it was just last week.. if he planned on retiring they could have signed eddie.. etc
Here is an interesting follow-up story on the masking agent that RW talked about: ------------------------------- http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/9250947.htm?1c Posted on Tue, Jul. 27, 2004 The (not-so) secret potion Ricky Williams admitted to using liquid masking agents to hide mar1juana use -- but their use extends to Army recruiters, pilots and criminals. BY BOB EMANUEL JR. AND ARMANDO SALGUERO bemanuel@herald.com Ricky Williams, who admits he smokes mar1juana, said a professional football player would have to be an ''idiot'' to be caught with the NFL-banned substance in his system during a league-sanctioned test. That's because many players use liquids that are commonly available at vitamin or nutrition stores to effectively mask the drug during urine tests. The liquids, ranging in price from $30 to $50, help defeat drug testing on which the NFL has invested millions of dollars. ''Everyone knows about this,'' Williams said over the weekend. ``It's no secret to anyone.'' NFL vice president for public relations Greg Aiello could not be reached to comment on Williams' contention, and several Dolphins players reached by phone Monday evening declined to comment. Drug and vitamin stores, both national chains and local establishments, carry products such as Liquid 420, Triple X, Omni and QCarbo that are known to mask certain drugs. Williams said he, along with many other players, commonly drink gallons of the liquids to mask mar1juana use. But the potions are apparently in much wider use. NOT JUST PLAYERS Edwin Gonzalez, who works for Body Alive in Pembroke Pines, said: ''Pilots, Army recruiters, mothers and daughters together,'' come into the store to buy the products. He said 10 or so bottles are sold on slow weeks. ''It's a huge market right now,'' Gonzalez said. ``[People] keep buying it. Anybody on probation that is tested once a month, they're going to come for it once a month.'' The products are also available on the Internet. ClearTest, a company based out of Petaluma, Calif., sells a variety of such substances on its website. SURPRISED COACH Despite its availability, not everyone in NFL circles is aware mar1juana tests are being defeated by the liquid. Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt said he didn't know what Williams was talking about when asked about the potion. NFL agent Leigh Steinberg, who represents Williams and scores of other star players, said he had no clue Williams was using drugs and didn't know the product exists. ''I've been around athletes for a long time and I was the student body president in college at Berkley so I'm not naive about this,'' Steinberg said. ``But I had no idea.'' CAREFUL DIRECTIONS The products require an individual to drink the solution along with a specified amount of water, approximately 32 to 64 ounces. The individual should then urinate three or four times prior to the test to cleanse the mar1juana toxins from the system. Does it work? ''Obviously, if [people] come in a lot of times -- it works,'' Gonzalez said. But one expert disagrees. ''There are a lot of products that claim they do things,'' said Dr. Terry Hall of Miami's Toxicology Testing Service, Inc., a laboratory currently certified to meet the standards for Federal Workplace Drug Testing Programs as outlined by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. ``You will even find people that say they beat the test. But then you're going to find people that got caught because the agent they took didn't do what they thought it was going to do.'' Williams tested positive for mar1juana use twice. He said he got caught the second time because he neglected to take the masking liquid. ''I was an idiot,'' he said. Herald sports writer Dan Le Batard contributed to this report.
yes and no I mean it is alot like chess and memorization I remember in the movie .. THE PROGRAM the one player could barely read but they show him breaking down offenses and studying filx he was aLL OVER IT . . . Some Playbooks are studied more than the Bible Rocket River
I think you have to give out 30 days notice when you move out of an apartment and some sort. 2weeks notice seem right in an employment situation.
Not sure if this was already dscussed yet, but rumor is out that Ricky Williams waited until EG and Antowain Smith signed so that his friend Travis Minor could start. Thus the delay. It does make sense.
the contract, itself, would govern any notice period necessary for williams' retirement. two week notices and 30 day waiting periods are irrelevant. it's in the contract. they can drop him...he can drop them. i wish he would have done it differently...and i can certainly understand dolphins fan being pissed about it. i would be, too. but i'm sure that williams has the legal right to retire at any time.
What about the rest of his team tho? It was a punk ass thing to do no matter how it is spun; and I'm willing to bet that he will be back next year at the latest.
madmax.. yeah I'm sure its legal.. usually any notice i think is just for courtesy.. teknokid.. thats probably where I got that idea from. thanks I have heard ricky may have to give back as much as 7 million.. any idea how much money he has.>? wasn't he the one who signed the contract that made it almost impossible for him to get what he was worth??
