Ricky Williams on the Broncos? Heavy.

By Os Davis  |   Wednesday, October 03, 2007  |  Comments( 6 )

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You don't have to be a legalization proponent to support Ricky Williams' comeback to the NFL, but it may help. One Mason Tvert, a member of the organization Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation, yesterday added a new Bronco orange billboard to the Denver skyline calling for the soon-to-be reinstated running back to play ball in the Mile High City.

Ricky Williams on the Denver Broncos? Crazy, man.

Or is it?

Head coach Mike Shanahan's predilection for the run is well-known. Since 2000, the Broncos have been a top-10 running team and four times were top four in both rushing yardage and scoring. And Shanahan has supplied half the league with halfbacks as the Broncos' system first creates them and lets them go: Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, Tatum Bell, and Mike Bell.

Currently, Denver's rushing game is ranked eighth overall. Travis Henry, who's on pace to break 1,700 yards with a mighty 5.0 yards per carry average, leads the pack. As a No. 2 guy, rookie Selvin Young is thus far underused, despite a couple of nifty breakaways which have given him a 9.2-yard average; Young has just 15 carries this season, eight of which came last week against the Indianapolis Colts.

The jury's still out on Young, certainly at least until we see his performance against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. And while the struggling Broncos are weaker in other areas of their game, they'd certainly be foolish to pass on Williams should they get the opportunity to sign him.

Williams could have played with the Miami Dolphins - with whom he's still under contract - this season, as his reinstatement from suspension because of a violation of the league substance-abuse policy was scheduled for April 27. However, he flunked a drug test, thus earning another six-month suspension and negating any pipe dreams of 2007 Comeback Player of the Year awards.

(To be fair, though, you'll note that my supposition in the April article depended on his passing drug tests.)

On Monday, Williams applied again to rejoin the NFL.

A case can easily be made for Tvert's argument. True, Williams may no longer be considered an elite-level running back, but surely has enough miles left in the tank to work a one-two combination with Henry. When last seen in a backup role, Williams posted his second-best average yards per carry at 4.4 behind Ronnie Brown for Miami in 2005.

(Remember, too, that then he started the season by missing the first four games because of a suspension.)

In his 2006 season with the Canadian Football League's Toronto Argonauts, Williams managed 109 carries for 526 yards in 11 games. Plus, he showed he can still catch the ball - again, an area of concern in Denver - with 19 receptions for 127 yards. Sounds like an OK backup halfback to me.

As interesting as the possibility of actually getting Williams back onto the field are the political ramifications, at least according to Tvert. His SAFER led to Denver becoming one of the most progressive cities in the US vis-à-vis marijuana law. SAFER organized and campaigned for the Denver ballot initiative in 2005 that essentially decriminalized marijuana for adults.

SAFER's argument is based on offering an alternative to the much more dangerous alcohol. The Ricky Williams billboard came with some direct messages for Roger Goodell from Tvert and his organization.

"If Roger Goodell and every NFL player over 21 can go home after a game and have a drink, there is no reason why Ricky Williams should not be allowed to go home and use a less harmful drug," commented Tvert.

"The National Football League's marijuana policy is just as irrational as our federal government's marijuana policy. In both cases, authorities are steering adults toward using alcohol and punishing them for making the safer choice to use marijuana instead," Tvert continued.

Indeed, one wonders about the disproportionate punishment given guys like Williams while alcohol has proven destructive in many NFL lives. Off the top of the head and in recent history, there's Tank Johnson, Joe Cullen, Koren Robinson, etcetera ...

And the SAFER statement takes on another dimension if you factor in the apparent hypocrisy of the NFL on steroid abuse: So although Williams and Shawne Merriman are both suspended for drug abuse, Merriman is venerated with a Pro Bowl nod while Williams is called a "criminal" and an "addict" by the likes of Joe Theismann?

A Williams comeback for the Broncos with SAFER somehow figuring prominently in the concomitant hype would represent a real first: An athlete endorsing a political issue whose time has come, the most daring sociopolitical move until a top-level athlete - that is, higher-level than, say, John Amaechi - is willing to "come out of the closet."

(Incidentally, whatever happened with that bizarre Laurence Maroney thing anyway?)

Of course, there are a few more steps before Williams can play on any NFL team, surely including another drug test. Thereafter, the Dolphins must decide whether they wish to active him. Whereas previously, the feeling was that Williams had gotten his third strike with the club, but in this year's pitiful performance, Miami just might run with Williams after all.

But Ricky Williams on the Denver Broncos? Trippy.

High on the NFL all year-round at RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's ...
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CommentsComments: 6  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Billy24 (Stockton)		05:45 AM
10/04/2007
Are you kidding me?! Ricky (has been) Williams is worse off than a washed up bag of potatoes. So the guy used to be in the ...
No.2
bill		06:09 AM
10/04/2007
Why Not Ricky? He'll be at a good price, he will be productive, ans Selvin can still be a running back, receiver, special team ...
No.3
David		10:27 PM
10/04/2007
I'm a Miami fan, and I have to say, I love the idea of Ricky coming back to the Dolphins. Even if he only touches the ball 5 ...
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