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Saints RB
Ricky Williams
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METAIRIE, La. — Just when it looked as if the New Orleans Saints were getting the
last laugh, smiles quickly turned to frowns.
The Saints may have won the battle in a 20-10 victory over the Panthers last Sunday,
but they may have lost this season’s war as a result of the fact that franchise RB
Ricky Williams broke his ankle in two places late in the game and will miss 6-8 weeks of
action.
"It’s devastating to me," said rookie RB Chad Morton, who is one of the
candidates to take over for Williams in the backfield. "I feel sick about it right
now. I can’t even enjoy this win. He’s our offense."
Saints OLG Wally Williams said, "Right now, we’re pretty upset about it. We
take pride in protecting our guys, and Ricky is one of our guys. We open holes for him and
pick him off the ground when he’s down.
"It hurts. I’m going to be sick the rest of the night just thinking about
this."
That the Saints would react this strongly to Williams’ injury is all the proof
anyone needs that he had pulled off one of the great comebacks of the season prior to
breaking his ankle.
Prior to the injury, Williams was making the busload of draft picks the Saints gave up
for him under Mike Ditka’s impulsive guidance look like a bargain. Perhaps
"bargain" is too strong a word. Eight draft picks — including two No. 1
picks — is still a remarkable sum for any player.
Hailed as a savior upon his arrival, Williams’ growing pains as a rookie made the
celebrated deal even more questionable.
But after spending the bulk of 1999 injured, frustrated and under the strain of
unrealistic expectations, Williams was putting the past behind him and emerging as one of
the league’s most punishing runners.
Earlier this season, Williams strung together five 100-yard rushing games, a first in
Saints history. At the time of his injury, Williams had rushed for 1,000 yards on the
season, already eclipsing the 884 he totaled as a rookie. After crossing the goal line
only twice in 253 carries in ’99, Williams has averaged almost a touchdown per game
and tied a franchise mark by scoring in five consecutive weeks.
And forget the reports before the draft about his hands being "too small."
Williams was proving to be a fine receiver in the Saints’ version of the West Coast
offense. When the rushing lanes were clogged in a 21-10 win over Arizona in Week Nine,
Williams hauled in nine catches for 92 yards.
At the time of his injury, Williams was on pace for 70 receptions in addition to 1,600
yards rushing.
Though Williams is loath to admit it, observers have noticed a subtle transformation
within him as well. He has removed his helmet for interviews and is a bigger part of the
team’s chemistry. He also has a local radio show that is attended weekly by hundreds
of fans, a prospect that seemed unlikely last year.
The enigmatic Williams is still an extremely challenging personality, but he’s
winning converts, even initiating conversations every now and then.
"It’s just by the way he’s joking around," said Saints OLT William
Roaf, a six-time Pro Bowl pick. "Last year he was so quiet. He’s started opening
up and letting his personality show. I think he feels comfortable that we’re all
doing all we can do. If guys hit him late, we’re running over there and saying,
‘Get off our man.’ He knows we’re selling out for him, and he’s
selling out for us."
Williams presented each of the Saints’ linemen and rookie FB Terrelle Smith with
gift-wrapped boxes with their names on them a couple of weeks ago. Inside each box was a
shiny new Rolex watch as a reward for their blocking efforts. It seems Williams’
transgressions of the past — he spoke out against his teammates and the city of New
Orleans in a Sports Illustrated article after last season — are all forgotten.
"I never took any of that personally," Roaf said. "I think Ricky had
some maturing to do. He was such a great player in college, and he came here in a
situation that was really tough. A lot of people couldn’t have handled it.
There’s more respect there. I don’t want to let Ricky down, and he doesn’t
want to let us down. We’re working hard together."
It also has helped that Williams now has a peer group within the team. As the lone
draft pick last year, he had few teammates his age who shared his interests. Smith and
fellow rookie Morton look up to Williams as a leader of the RB corps, a challenge that was
presented in training camp by position coach Dave Atkins. Morton even lives in the pool
house at Williams’ home.
"I can see both sides of the ball with Ricky," said Saints head coach Jim
Haslett, who made the task of bringing the New Orleans franchise back into the fold one of
his primary goals in February. "I can see why he was frustrated last year. He was
injured, and they obviously weren’t playing very well. I can also see why he has that
‘distant’ knock on him. You really have to be around him to understand him.
He’s a different personality, and he kind of likes it that way. He was up in my
office the other day, and we talked for 30 minutes. I think he’s happy and having fun
again."
On the field, offensive coordinator Mike McCarthy’s goal was to put the ball in
Williams’ hands at least 25 times a game, including a handful of dump-offs and quick
screens.
A Saints front line that has three former No. 1 picks and averages 310 pounds has been
dominating at times, but the play-calling has really given Williams a boost. McCarthy has
installed a scheme that takes advantage of Williams’ vision and rugged running style.
In ’99, Williams was sent around the end too often and averaged 3.5 yards per
attempt. This season he was operating primarily between the tackles with the option to
bounce it outside. With a hulking front five and an equally relentless runner, the Saints
have been a study in smashmouth football.
As a result, defensive backs have been forced to make a lot of tackles, and they
aren’t so eager in the second half. Williams’ injury probably puts a look of
relief on the faces of the defensive backs who will compete against the Saints while New
Orleans’ star running back is out of action.
The look on Williams’ face shortly after the injury just may surprise you. After
the game in which he got hurt, Williams greeted the media with a smile. More proof of his
improved maturity.
"I was talking to coach Haslett, and he said you can’t control things like
that," Williams said when asked how he could be smiling. "What’s done is
done, and I have to keep working hard and hopefully come back for the playoffs."
If the smile is proof of Williams’ new maturity, talk of the playoffs is proof of
his impact. Last season when he was such a disappointment, the Saints were a woeful 3-13.
This year, with Williams posting star-studded totals (as well as having improved
skill-position talent around him), the Saints are 7-3 and very much in the playoff hunt.
"It’s on us to make sure we handle the next six games," Saints DT
La’Roi Glover said. "We have to make sure we keep everything intact until he
gets back."
The good news for the Saints is that the first 10 games of this season have proved that
Williams is worth the wait.
Ricky Zeller covers the Saints for Saints Digest
Joel Buchsbaum
analyzes the Saints’ offense
without Williams |
| Obviously Ricky Williams’ injury hurts New Orleans, and it puts more
pressure on Jeff Blake and the passing game, but the Saints have such a good run-blocking
line and they have such a run-blocking mentality now that I really believe they’ll be
able to plug in another running back and still be an effective running team. So, I
don’t think Williams’ injury will be as damaging now as it would have been at
the beginning of the year before they developed this running mentality and their offensive
line jelled so well.
In terms of who will take over for Williams, RB Chad Morton is more of a third-down
back, and Fred McAfee at one point was a tough, hard-nosed, decent runner, but I
don’t know how much he has left. I think it would probably be McAfee on first and
second down, Morton on third down. I don’t think rookie FB Terrelle Smith will get
the ball a lot unless they want to use a two-FB backfield.
As for the passing game, I think you’ll see more three wide receivers
(formations). And I think they’re going to hope to get WR Jake Reed back healthy
finally. That would make a big difference.
I think the Saints can weather the storm because they’re winning so much with
defense and with that offensive line. There’s no question, though, that
Williams’ injury hurts them.
Williams had been playing terrific before he got hurt. I thought he was the back that
Mike Ditka thought he was drafting. They were using him well. He had become the catalyst
of the offense.
I’m not saying it’s not going to hurt them, but I think that they’ve
come so far as a team that it will not destroy them the way I feel it would have earlier
in the year.
Joel Buchsbaum is a contributing editor for Pro Football Weekly |
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