Random Weekend Tidbits…

Well after the fervor of Friday, things have died down in free agency a bit over the weekend. Aaron Kampman signed a deal with the Jaguars. The Jets traded Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for their 4th round pick and there’s a dearth of free agents making visits right now, though none are reported to be doing so in Miami at the moment.

So parsing through a bit of this, here’s where we are… The Kampman deal has virtually no impact on the Dolphins, he wouldn’t have been a fit here and the ramifications it has on other free agent negotiations is negligible. The Jets moving Rhodes is a bit more relevant to Dolphins fans. Rhodes was, for lack of a better term, a complete asshole. And though he was sporadic, when he came to play he was one hell of a safety. So it’s nice to see him out of the division. I’m still not looking forward to facing the Jets this year though, and I assume they’ll address the safety position now in the draft (I wouldn’t be shocked to see them peg another Trojan in Taylor Mays if he falls that far, here’s hoping he doesn’t because 6’3 230 with a 4.3-40 doesn’t sound much fun). Regardless, Kerry Rhodes and his big mouth are Cardinals now.

Around the rest of the division New England has been active early on resigning Tully Banta-Cain and Vince Wilfork. Now they seem to be turning their attention to addressing the receiver position. Meanwhile Buffalo hasn’t accomplished anything. Former Dolphins stalwart Wade Smith is in Buffalo on a free agent visit today. Not that I’m complaining but what else could the Bills front office have to do in frigid Buffalo in early March besides their jobs?

Ricky Williams to have 30-at-30 Movie

ESPN’s 30-at-30 series is choosing to do a documentary on the dramatic career of Ricky Williams, cleverly titled “Run, Ricky, Run.” A trailer for the documentary can be seen here. I’m already a little concerned at how the Dolphins and the South Florida fans and media will be portrayed in this film. It seems to focus on a lot of the anger and resentment after Williams’ abrupt retirement. The trailer seems to indicate the story will be told from a pro-Ricky humanist perspective.

I’m all for a documentary about Ricky, he’s one of the most talented and intriguing men professional football has ever seen. In many ways I think he channels a lot of what Jim Brown represented in his era. Brown was fairly counter-cultural and somewhat subversive in his own way during a different era. What I don’t want to see is Miami take it on the chin. To me, Ricky Williams’ story is one of redemption. He battled some personal demons, he really did hit rock-bottom from a PR standpoint when all of Miami and half the NFL seemed to hate him and he dealt with legal issues (like bankruptcy) and yet in 2010 he is beloved of Dolphins fans and just shouldered one of the top rushing attacks in football over the second half of the season to the tune of nearly 1,200 yards. Three or four years ago did you ever think that right now Ricky would be coming off a 1,000+ yard, 11 TD rushing season at 32 and still gainfully employed while LaDanian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook looked for jobs? The fact that Ricky managed to redeem himself in the incredibly cynical eyes of Dolphins fans is the real story to me. Every athlete that’s ever fallen from grace should talk to Ricky about how to mend old relationships and redeem yourself.

That’s about it for right now. Jason Ferguson’s suspension was confirmed this morning which means the Dolphins need for a NT just became that much more pressing. We’ll let you know if anything else happens. Enjoy the Oscars tonight and the whopping dose of pretentious that comes with it.