We meet again

Saints braced for reunion with ex-teammate Williams

SI's Don Banks You can almost see the clock ticking in Tony Egues' head. It has been a scant few hours since the Dolphins left the field in Tampa on Monday night, and there's only a few hours to go before they kick it off in their Thursday night preseason home opener against New Orleans. That's two games in four days, if you're scoring at home. Roughly speaking, it's the tightest NFL turnaround since the Canton Bulldogs played Sunday doubleheaders against the Decatur Staleys. Complete story, click here.

MIAMI (AP) -- The New Orleans Saints figure they know what to expect from the acclaimed running back they'll face when they play against the Miami Dolphins. After all, they went against Ricky Williams every day in practice for three years.

Williams is expected to play about a quarter in the exhibition game Thursday night.

"It's definitely going to be fun," Saints defensive tackle Norman Hand said. "I couldn't hit him in practice, so now I can hit him in a real game."

Both teams are looking for their first win. New Orleans lost its exhibition opener 13-10 Saturday to the expansion Houston Texans. Miami's first unit looked sloppy in a 14-10 Monday loss at Tampa Bay.

Williams, acquired from New Orleans in March to upgrade Miami's perennially woeful running attack, played only two series against the Buccaneers but still impressed head coach Dave Wannstedt.

"He had a heck of a 4-yard run," Wannstedt said with a grin. "It was a draw, and there were three defenders free. He made one guy miss in the hole and bounced it to the outside. John Lynch came up to make the tackle, and he made Lynch miss. Then the other free guy hit him, and he made 4 yards. It should have been a 1-yard gain, and he made 4."

That was Williams' best effort against a Bucs defense geared to stop the run. The Saints will likely take the same approach against their former teammate.

"I'm not going to play very much, but it will be fun to see a lot of the guys that I haven't had a chance to say goodbye to," Williams said. "That's going to be what's exciting for me about playing New Orleans."

Williams' three seasons with the Saints are remembered more for his odd behavior than for what he did on the field.

Head coach Mike Ditka traded his entire draft to take the Heisman Trophy winner with the No. 5 pick in 1999. But the shy Williams shrank in the glare of the spotlight and says he failed to hit it off with Ditka's successor, Jim Haslett.

Diagnosed last year with social anxiety disorder, Williams began receiving treatment and says he's never been happier than with the Dolphins. He says he bears no grudge toward the Saints, but the matchup still gives some sizzle to a game that doesn't count.

"He'll be fired up to play against them," Miami quarterback Jay Fiedler said. "They'll be juiced up to play against him."

That includes Williams' replacement in New Orleans, Deuce McAllister, looking to improve on his showing in the preseason opener. Against Houston, McAllister carried eight times for 21 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown.

The Saints will start a disgruntled quarterback, Aaron Brooks, who complained again this week about management's stance in negotiations on his new contract. His current deal is for the fourth-year minimum of $450,000 this season.

The dispute is part of a shaky start to the preseason for the Saints, but Williams said they can win under Haslett.

"When a new coach comes in, he has to replace his players with the guys he wants and the kind of system he wants," Williams said. "I'm sure in a couple of years Jim Haslett will have the system he wants, and then it will be all right."

Williams resisted any temptation to take shots at his former team. He'll save them for Thursday's game.

 

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