Ricky Williams bids CFL adieu

He arrived amid much fanfare and hoopla, but left quietly with no tearful farewell. No emotional goodbye.

Ricky Williams spent his final day as a Toronto Argonaut on Monday attending a season-ending meeting, then cleaning out his locker at the team's practice facility.

And in his final impromptu media gathering, the 29-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner remained true to the living-in-the-moment form he preached from the day he arrived here back in May.

In the end, it was just Ricky Williams being Ricky Williams.

"I take pride in staying even keel," he said. "The way I look at it, everything runs in cycles.

"There's a beginning phase, a middle phase and an ending phase. We understand that inherent in birth is death and so I think we knew at the start of the season, it would end and so now it's over.

"It [playing in the CFL] was good experience. A very positive experience."

Williams signed a one-year deal with Toronto after receiving a season-long suspension from the NFL for a fourth violation of the NFL's substance abuse program.

His arrival in Canada generated headlines throughout North America as the Argos basked in the limelight that came with signing a player regarded among the NFL's premiere power backs and a former league rushing champion.

Much was expected of Williams in Toronto, but those lofty expectations never materialized.

He started the season as Toronto's featured back, but suffered a broken forearm and injured Achilles tendon early in the year that forced him to miss eight weeks.

Shortly after his return, Williams was moved up to fullback, with former NFL first-round pick John Avery lining up at tailback.

Williams excelled as a blocker and finished the regular season with just 526 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 109 carries.

He ran for 97 yards on 15 carries in Toronto's two playoff games, ending his CFL career with 623 yards on 124carries and three touchdowns.

Williams ran nine times for 57 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's East Championship, but his second-half fumble led to a key 52-yard TD catch by Thyron Anderson that helped the Montreal Alouettes to a 33-24 victory and a Grey Cup berth.

In the off-season, Williams will be eligible for re-instatement into the NFL and return to the Miami Dolphins, the team he's under contract to for another two years.

Last month, Williams said once he's done in the NFL, he'd like to return to Canada because he enjoyed the low-key nature of the CFL and having more free time.

In the CFL, players can only practise with the club up to four hours per day.

But on Monday, the typically unpredictable Williams did an about face, saying he never really looks to the future.

"I don't live like that," he said. "I don't say something is good, so that means I have to keep doing it over and over again.

"Life goes on and it never stops. Just move on to my next adventure."

An atypical athlete

From the day Williams arrived here, it was clear to see he wasn't a typical football player.

He never spoke with sports clichés.

Instead, he voiced his beliefs of living in the moment, of never having expectations of situations, his love of yoga and of being a strict vegetarian.

So, his nonchalant attitude regarding his time in Canada really came as no surprise.

"No," Williams said when asked if he had any special memories of his stay here. "Those are the things that make it difficult to live in the moment.

"Usually, it's those big things that cause you to feel emotions that make it difficult to move on. I don't separate one day from the next, one event from the next.

"To me, every moment is very precious. And I try to really enjoy them all the same."

However, Williams said he will forever remember the enjoyment he had playing for Mike (Pinball) Clemons, Toronto's bubbly and personable head coach.

"He is a very special person," Williams said. "It's very rare in this world to find people in general who truly care about you, who care about themselves, especially to find one in the position as head of a football team is even more rare.

"I think all of us who see him and interact with him on a daily basis are very blessed. It's very wonderful to be around a guy like that."

The feeling, it seems, is mutual.

"Ricky just wanted to be a team guy, not a guy who says, 'I'm the big NFL guy,' "Clemons said. "He's just a humble guy who wanted to be a teammate and really didn't pay a lot of attention to the secondary things.

"He was just a genuine person who was loved by all."

Linebacker Michael Fletcher said he enjoyed being Williams's teammate and added that Williams actually developed into a vocal leader on the squad.

And while Williams came to Toronto without an ego, Fletcher wished, at times, Williams had one.

"We didn't use him enough," Fletcher said. "At times, personally, I'd want Ricky to be more greedy.

"I know he's hungry for the ball, but I don't think he was used enough. With him and John in there, we had a different look, but I think we just didn't stay with the running game in the second half of games, for some reason."

But Williams might not be the only Argos regular not returning next year.

Allen, Avery also gone?

Quarterback Damon Allen, 43, the CFL's outstanding player last year, began to show signs of age this year.

In fact, Allen was lifted from Toronto's final two games and watched from the sidelines as backup Michael Bishop capably rallied the Argos offence.

Allen becomes a free agent in the off-season and wants to return next year, but admits the end is near for pro football's career passing leader.

"Physically, I can still play and I still have the passion to play," he said. "A lot of it depends on the organization and where it wants to go.

"The Grey Cup is here next year and I know this organization will put a good team on the field and I want to be part of that."

There are questions, too, about Avery's future.

The former Miami Dolphin has battled various injuries since joining the Argos three years ago.

Another player on the bubble could be receiver R. Jay Soward, another former NFL first-round draft pick who has struggled carving a niche on the club's receiving corps.

Defensively, Toronto was the league's stingiest, allowing a league-low 18.5 points per game.

But the unit averaged a league-high 135 yards rushing per game, prompting suggestions that maybe it's time to either scrap the 3-4 alignment altogether or at least mix in a four-man front to help stop the run.

A mainstay of Toronto's defence has been rugged linebacker Mike O'Shea. The native of North Bay, Ont., is 36 and next season will be his 15th.

But the team's biggest question is who will take over as offensive co-ordinator and inject some much-needed life into a unit that has struggled to mount any consistency the last two years.

General manager Adam Rita was forced to return to the field when the Argos fired Kent Austin as their offensive co-ordinator earlier this year.

"We haven't really got into it, although we've talked a bit about it," Rita said. "Definitely, we'd like a guy with a lot of experience who can move the football."