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RW: Hello.
Q: Ricky.
RW: Yeah.
Q: How are you?
RW: I'm doing all right.
Q: Ricky, in any way, shape or form are you licking your chops a little bit given what the Patriots defense has been unable to do, stopping Priest Holmes and LaDainian Tomlinson the past two weeks?
RW: Definitely not. I know that when things aren't going right, they do a good job of changing things up to make sure that they fix the problem, so I'm sure they're going to some in extra revved up to try to stop the run.
Q: I would think that you've probably seen film of those two games. What happened in those two games that allowed those two running backs to have as much success as they did against the Patriots defense?
RW: Well, I think that both teams had good offenses and good running games and when you play good defense like the Chargers did, it gives the running game a lot of opportunities. The Patriots are the Super Bowl champions and defense got them there. And so, we know it's going to be tough for us to get any yards this week.
Q: Ricky, you didn't have a great game against the Patriots when you were with the Saints last year. I know that the score, the Patriots were well ahead and that dictated that you didn't run that much. Do you feel different about your chances as a running back running behind this line than you did last year?
RW: I thought we ran the ball well against them. Like you said, we just didn't have opportunities to do it. Yards don't really determine how good a running game is, what determines it is how many chances you get to run. I think 10 carries for 100 yards isn't really as good as 20 carries for 70 yards.
Q: Ricky, can you talk a little bit about Robert Edwards? What's your sense of what he's been able to accomplish?
RW: Well, I knew that he had a really serious injury and that they were saying he might never run again, let alone play football again. Then I came here and saw that they had signed him, so obviously I knew that the Patriots had given up on him. And I was excited, because he was a great player. Then coming in and watching him in the off season, he looked so good, you never would have thought anything happened to him. I'm just extremely happy for him to watch him come in and have a chance to contribute to a team again.
Q: Is that really true? Just looking at him as fellow running back, you wouldn't have known that anything serious had ever happened?
RW: He's extremely good. He's probably the quickest running back out of all of us. He's got a great burst, he catches the ball well, he blocks well, he can do everything.
Q: Ricky, as an outsider coming into Miami, what in the world do the Dolphins have in the water down there that lets them be successful in September and early October?
RW: I think we probably have the best coaching staff in the NFL, and the guys here work hard. Those are two things that there's no substitute for. The coach tells us what to do, and we have guys that are willing to do it, and do it to the best of their ability. We just work hard.
Q: Ricky, does heat have anything to do with it? We make a lot of that, but is it really a big home-field advantage for the Dolphins?
RW: Well, no matter how hot it is, if you don't play well, you're not going to win. That's the way that we look at it.
Q: Ricky, not that you didn't run well in New Orleans, but it seems like you've really enjoyed a rebirth, so to speak, in Miami. It just seems like you're really happy with where you're at, and you've gotten off to a terrific start. In this case, was change good?
RW: I'm just happy that we're winning. That's the big thing in this league, is when you're winning, you're going to be happier. I think I've got a chance to carry the load for us, and that's all I've ever wanted, so I think I'm just trying to make the most of my situation.
Q: Ricky, when you went to Miami, did you feel a sense that you had to prove something to your new teammates? I mean, you're Ricky Williams, one of the greatest college players ever and you had a much-maligned history in New Orleans. Did you get the sense that you had to show them that you are the player that you truly are that you know you are?
RW: Well, I think any time a player comes onto a new team, there's a period where they have to prove themselves to their teammates. Because, no matter what I've done in the past, toy have to earn respect. It's not necessarily putting up big yards, but it's more of my work ethic and the way that I help the team win. So yeah, I think every player has to gain the respect of his teammates, especially on a new team.
Q: Last week, I know you had a couple of … I think you had one fumble and one may have been on the exchange. Is that a concern at all? What happened last week against Kansas City?
RW: What do you mean?
Q: I think … Did you put the ball on the ground twice? I think once on the exchange from Jay [Fiedler] and the other time you put the ball on the ground.
RW: No. Just once.
Q: Just once.
RW: It was just a bad play on my part. They had made a play on defense, and they got penetration and instead of securing the ball, I tried to make a play and lost the ball.
Q: Ricky, this offensive line was able to jell in a relatively short time. What have you seen from them, I'm talking about the Dolphins, that has impressed you the most?
RW: What do you mean, jell?
Q: Just that they came in and they didn't have a whole lot of starts together at the beginning of the year and they seem to have developed a real cohesion.
RW: Well, that was just the preseason. It's a chance to work, but we have a lot of good athletes on our offensive line, and they're smart and they know what to do. They do a good job of just doing their job and blocking people.
Q: Ricky, what do you remember about the Patriots, the team you played last year when you came up here with New Orleans?
RW: Well, it was definitely tough to play up there. They were a very physical team. They're physical at every position. The corners would come up and hit, the safeties would come up and hit. They were big.
Q: I doubt at that time, and that was really the start of their run, but I doubt at that time you or anybody else was thinking that this was a team that had the potential to win the Super Bowl.
RW: Oh, we definitely knew it after playing them. What it comes down to is who's playing best at the end of the year, and they're obviously playing well. We never really had a shot to beat them.
Q: Talk about Norv Turner as your offensive coordinator. There's been a lot made of Norv Turner making All-Pros out of running backs. I'm sure it's a nice fit between you two, but talk about the Norv Turner offense, and does it fit you perfectly?
RW: I think Norv does a good job of making sure that his offense will fit his players. He takes the talent that we have and he makes the best of it. That's what he's good at. A lot of times, you'll find coordinators who have a system and it's all about the system. They'll put the system in and the players have to fit to the system. Well, Norv does a good job of making the system fit to the players.
Q: When you were in New Orleans, was football fun? If it wasn't, was it fun again for you?
RW: Yeah, it was fun and it's still fun. I think it will always be fun.
Q: Thanks, Ricky.
RW: Uh huh. No problem.
