Ricky = Selfish

Ricky Williams sudden retirement may have been the right decision for himself, but the timing of it was wrong.

Williams has a history of mental problems, more specifically anxiety related.

Many news reports have said that Ricky he wanted to play college football, but never wanted to pursue it professionally. According to those reports, he wanted to pursue other interests.

However, Williams did pursue professional football and had a contractual obligation, an obligation to his fans, and more importantly, an obligation to his team.

When Jim Brown and Barry Sanders retired early, they had already achieved a lot in their careers and gave their team a chance to replace them.

Even Robert Smith announced his retirement early enough for the Vikings to draft Mike Bennett.

There is nothing wrong with early retirement from the vigors of the NFL in my opinion, but at least handle it with some class.

The New Orleans Saints made a huge mistake that set them back for several years when they invested a whole in the draft to acquire Williams.

From day one, we should have known he had problems, when he did interviews in his helmet and then posed in a wedding dress.

In his few seasons in New Orleans, Williams never reached his potential, and his numbers aren't even worth discussing.

He developed an anxiety problem and secluded himself from the team at other times.

The Saints got fed up with him and drafted Deuce McCallister out of Mississippi, which paved the way for Williams to go to Miami, where it looked like he had resurrected his career.

He didn't make the playoffs in his two years in Miami, but he was the backbone of an offense that was run first, pass second.

In 2002, he had the best year of his career when he ran for 1853 yards and 16 touchdowns, showing that he was for real.

Then last year, his numbers fell back to earth, as he had a disappointing 3.5 rushing average and totaled 1,372 yards and only nine touchdowns.

Maybe it had something to do with defenses stacking the line and forcing Miami to pass, or Williams had already started to lose his lust for the game.

What baffles me about this whole situation is the timing.

Williams reported to mini-camp, and as head coach Dave Wannstedt said, "He was running sprints in 90 degree heat."

If you don't care about the game, you don't do such a thing.

So maybe Williams did decide this retirement just before he announced it, but in my opinion he should have sucked it up for one more year.

You don't do this to a team, especially to the other 52 players, who rely on you.

Williams is perhaps one of the few running backs in the game that has such an impact on his team.

With him they are a playoff team, without him they are a top 10 draft pick hopeful.

He carried the ball 392 times last year and was the teams offense.

In comparison, Clinton Portis only carried the ball 290 times last year, while he was in Denver.

So how is Miami supposed to replace that kind of production.

Well common sense would say through the draft, but that was in April, so that can't help now.

Other people would say through free-agency, which is also a week too late, considering Miami might have tried getting Eddie George, since they could have offered him more than Dallas.

Now Miami is stuck entering a season with Travis Minor as their featured back, with three back-ups, who have never had a carry in the league.

All of a sudden, Miami becomes a pass-oriented offense, with the talent of a run-only quarterback.

The Dolphins do have the weapons at wide receiver with Chris Chambers, who keeps getting better every year, and David Boston, if he can get back to his Arizona form of several years ago.

Those two, combined with tight-end Randy McMichael, could make a nice 1-2-3 punch.

However, there is no quarterback to get them the ball and no quarterback on the roster that can throw for 3,500 yards.

Jay Fiedler just doesn't have the arm and AJ Feely has been a back-up his for his entire short career, so we shall see if he can get the job done.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Dolphins sign another running back or trade for one.

The only problem is there is no running-back out there that may even be an improvement over Travis Minor.

The top free agent running back left is James Stewart, who couldn't get it done in Detroit last year.

The Dolphins could also talk trade with the Baltimore Ravens for Chester Taylor, the Chicago Bears for Anthony Thomas, the Minnesota Vikings for Mike Bennett, Onterrio Smith or Mo Williams, the Oakland Raiders for Amos Zeroue or maybe even the Denver Broncos for Mike Anderson.

Unfortunately, no matter what they do, Dolphins' fans can write their season off before it even starts.

Minor may prove to be good, but unless Fiedler or Feely shock the world, this is going to be a long and frustrating season.

Hopefully, the Dolphins can acquire a top-notch running back for next year, or maybe it will take a few years and a new coach before the 'Fins win again.