As far as explosive debuts on the CFL stage go, the opening night of the Ricky Williams show was a rather pedestrian affair. Pedestrian, as in a light walk as opposed to a full gallop. The newest Argonaut and refugee from the NFL drug laws had a rather humble introduction to his new employment, as Williams appeared in Argo blues for the first time and put up some rather low key first numbers.
Williams carried the ball all of four times, reaching a grand total of 7 yards, as the Ti Cat defensive corps keyed in on the double blue uniform with a number of 27. His appearance was a brief one; he took to the field with five seconds to go in the first quarter, played the bulk of the second quarter and had the rest of the night to himself on the sidelines, as the Argos try to ease their newest and most reported acquisition into the scheme of things.
It’s not surprising that his first night in the CFL would find his output rather low, once he took to the field it was expected that every Ti Cat defender would be thinking of making the big hit that would guarantee them the highlight reel moment. The problem with being hailed as the go to guy is, everyone will be going to you as well. Williams one must also remember has only been in the Argo camp for less than a week, to expect much more from him this early on seems a bit folly.
While his on field work was rather underwhelming on night number one, the fact he had a night number one is still causing some ripples across the CFL and beyond. There are many that don’t think the Argos should have signed the Dolphin’s star, while he serves out his NFL suspension. The most oafish of the week was Joe Theisman, who took histrionics to a new level with his declaration of shame over having ever been an Argo. Few people tend to take much of what Theisman says these days overly seriously, he tends to be a tad indulgent self promotion and even a bit hypocritical with his last batch of hyperbole.
But beyond Joe’s over the top proclamations, there are those that point out some serious flaws in the Argonaut approach to community service and football recruiting. A suspension is a suspension is the line; one league should respect another’s suspension list, lest all sorts of anarchy break out over a year.
Added to that is the secretive way that he has ended up on an Argo roster, is there a secret agreement that will see him clear waivers next year? Many CFL contracts are for a year and then an option year; the understanding is that the option phase is not in place for Williams who will return to the Fish of Miami at the end of the season.
It all once again calls into question the way that CFL teams abide (or most often than not) by the rules in place. Over the years funny accounting, secret stashes of players and a rather discarded salary structure has all made the CFL an interesting bit of sporting theatre. It’s the nudge, nudge, wink, wink league at times, not always for the benefit of the game as a whole.
Even the CFL's Commisioner suggested that it's wrong for a player on suspension in the NFL to find a home in the CFL, but as with many things about the CFL what the Commisioner says and what actually happen sometimes are on different pages.
But for this season, any questions of Williams place in the league will be put aside it seems. He’s in double blue for the duration (barring injury we guess) and should provide a spark to each game he plays. The big names have come and gone through the years in the CFL, many were quick to fade from sight, others provided many great moments for the Canadian game.
He’s off to a slow start, but one gets the feeling once he gets back into the groove Ricky Williams will make his one season of exile in the CFL an interesting six month period.
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