Dolphins need to re-establish Ricky

With Brian Griese at QB, the Dolphins are getting away from their bread and butter -- handing the ball to Ricky Williams.

Updated: November 10, 2003, 3:41 PM ET
By By Darrell Trimble | NFL Insider
What happened to the Miami Dolphins? More importantly, what happened to the way they use Ricky Williams? Through seven games, it was clear the defending rushing champion was having an off year. He was averaging only 3.4 yards per carry, but that didn't stop the Dolphins from leaning on him.

He was on pace to carry the ball 420 times, breaking Jamal Anderson's five-year-old record of 410. Again, he wasn't as dominant as he was in 2002, but he Dolphins forced the issue, played ball-control and went 5-2. But over the last two weeks Williams has carried the ball a total of 26 times and Miami has lost both games.

Unlike Williams' inexplicable underuse in last week's loss to the Colts, in Sunday's blowout loss to the Titans it was easier to pinpoint the reason for his limited workload. At the half, he had only six carries and the Dolphins were down 21-0.


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