Best redskin trade

I feel all those backs are better because they do more with less carries. Ricky has more attempts than most every other back in the NFL which is why he get's his yards. Not trying to knock him, and we both agree it was a good deal for the skins. The only difference is I think it was quite a bit better.

Daseal, not to drag this out, but I think you may be missing a bit here in assessing the value of a back. Yes, most of those guys you listed have gained a fraction of 1 yard more per carry than Ricky Williams over the past 3 years. But Ricky HAS averaged 4.1 yards per carry over that time. He is not a "slasher" or breakaway back, he is a pounding, bruising back who gets better and better as the game goes on, and is extremely valuable to a team. You may be a little young to remember how much John Riggins meant to the Redskins, but he made it into the Hall of Fame with 3.7 yards per carry for his career, which is a little less than Ricky's lifetime average. Think about how much Stephen Davis meant to this team, especially in the 4th quarter. In 3 of his 4 years with the Redskins, he had less than 4.1 yards per carry. Ricky is the same TYPE of back as Riggins and Davis - he wears down a defense over the course of a game, making it more vulnerable in general, and can eat up valuable clock time when you have a 4th quarter lead. That is something that we lacked last year that cost more than one win. I am thrilled we got Portis, but would be just as happy to have gotten Ricky, or any of the guys you listed, except Faulk (seen his best days), Holmes (time for him to start dropping off), and Alexander (who I do not put in the same category as the rest - even though went to Alabama <Go Tide!!> LOL). Another plus for Ricky is that he is a "team" player, who will play through pain. A lot of guys today will not.

John Shaffer
National Fantasy Sports Leagues, Inc
Home of "The BEST Game In Town" since 1990

P.S. I was just re-reading my post, and realized one more reason I may be so high on Ricky. I have been a Redskin fan since around 1950. My 3 favorite Redskins over all these years are Riggins, Jurgenson, and Taylor (probably in that order). I saw a LOT of plays the last few years where Williams was dragging would-be tacklers several yards farther down field. I guess his style just reminds me a lot of Riggins - dragging 1, 2, or 3 tacklers for another 2-3 yards.

Ricky fumbles a lot more that riggins did.

Also Ricky's team up until now had no other offensive threats other than himself enabling the defense to focus on the run yet he still has been able to be effective.

I wouldn't call Chris Chambers a non-threat, Sitting.

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of the big bruiser backs. This could be part of the reason why I'm not a huge Ricky fan. I liked Washington more than Riggins, and I was never a real Stephen Davis fan. I like the quick, slashing, gamebreaking backs. To each his own!

Hogskin - your post certainly makes a lot of sense, but I don't like RIcky's style. He's a tough SOB and he's a great team player, but I like the guy that can fly through a tiny hole and avoid guys. I also don't think priest will be falling off soon, and I really think Alexander is a great back. He tore it up for me in fantasy last year. He did better than Stephen Davis did; at least the way my league was setup.

Very good point, Sitting Bull. And to take it a step further, Ricky has NEVER had as good a run-blocking line in front of him as Holmes, Faulk, Portis, or Green had in ther best seasons. In fact the only time he had a "pretty good" line was his first season or two under Ditka. And the funny thig was, that even though Ditka bet his career on Ricky, he did not know how to best utilize his talents.

Mizzo, I don't know where you get your stats, but you have this one upside down. Ricky has had 34 fumbles in 1818 touches (1 for every 53.5 touches). The Diesel had 58 in 2871 touches (1 for every 49.5 touches). Riggo fumbled a little more. Neither has been know for their great hands LOL.

With some of the statements here, it is really beginning to seem that their are just some folks on this site that have a mindset against any appreciation of Ricky Williams. That is fine - everyone has guys they like and guys they don't like. But I thought about this, and wonder if maybe when the trade was made, some folks were hoping he would fail, so the Redskins' trade would look even better than it was (and it WAS good!!) Maybe some fans have just carried a mindset aginst him. I have probably seen 40-50% of his plays since he has been in the NFL (I'm a REAL sick fan - nothing but Sunday Ticket on Sunday afternoons). He is very impressive, and is certainly among the elite backs currently in the league.

By the way, on the subject of great RB's, we just had our convention in Atlantic City. I made a bet with one of my customers who was dis'ing Portis. I bet this guy $100 that Denver's top RB this season will NOT get 20% more rushing yards than Portis. I would like to have had a lot more of that one. With their OL coach moving to Atlanta, look for Denver's RB factory to look a lot less formidable this year. I would have made the bet WITHOUT the 20% pad LOL!!!

John Shaffer
National Fantasy Sports Leagues, Inc
Home of "The BEST Game In Town" since 1990

Daseal, I just saw your post after I posted my last one. Nice post. (Well - except for the Chambers comment - he needs to have a decent QB to become a serious threat...). But, the post explains a lot - we all do have our own style of football that we appreciate. I saw a Redskin game in Chicago MANY years ago, and just loved watching Gayle Sayers run all over the field (the Skins won, by the way). But for me, nothing was better than watching Riggo carry a guy a few yards down the field on his back while the Diesel horns were blowing in the background!!

John Shaffer
National Fantasy Sports Leagues, Inc
Home of "The BEST Game In Town" since 1990

Chris Chambers is a beast, and I think that offense could be potent if they got a QB. I think AJ Feely will be an upgrade, but not the future of Miami. Chris Chambers is a fairly big boy, has a great vertical, and can stretch his DB deep. He's one of the most under appreciated receivers in the league, in my opinion.

Ricky is a good runner, no doubt I sure wouldn't want to meet him on the other side of the line. One thing about Ricky that get's to me is how shy he is. I've heard rumors that for like the first year in NO he wouldn't really talk to anyone. Not sure how true that is, but definitely an oddity.

Daseal, yes, that is close to true from what I have heard. He actually had a lot of trouble in that area throughout his NO stay. In Miami, they immediately got him into a program that helped him with his obvious phobia about being around people. From reports, it very quickly transformed him to be much more outgoing.

I agree with you 100% about Chambers. But without a proven QB, don't bet too heavily on him for your fantasy team yet. He will still be a good mid-round pickup. He could move way up the ladder with the right QB. I'm looking for T.O. and Chad Johnson to be at the top this year.

TO? Really? I know he's the go-to guy, but I don't think McNabb will be able to put it where TO needs it constantly, not to mention he's adapting to a new system.

Chad Johnson also comes with a new (practically rookie) QB. Both great receivers, just wondering whatcha know that might put those two on top of say the Randy Moss's, etc.