Dolphins, Cameron sidestep Ricky decision

By JEFF DARLINGTON

jdarlington@MiamiHerald.com

Just as he has done since his arrival in Miami, Dolphins coach Cam Cameron maintained Friday he would not worry about running back Ricky Williams' future with the team until he is actually a part of the roster.

Cameron did not dismiss the idea of a return by Williams to the Dolphins -- but he also wasn't willing to predict if Williams would be a part of the team's backfield anytime soon.

''My understanding is that they have lengthened the time element for his reinstatement so nothing has changed,'' Cameron said. ``It is my responsibility to make sure that you, our fans and all the people that care about Miami Dolphin football are not set up for a disappointment. That's why we focus on the guys that we have because there is no guarantee you are going to have anybody that is not on the roster.''

Williams recently failed another drug test, which has curtailed his ability to be reinstated to the league after serving a one-year suspension.

Quoting Cameron from the same news conference Friday, The Associated Press reported that Cameron ''all but slammed the door on a return by the troubled running back.'' However, a Dolphins spokesperson later called several local reporters to clarify that Cameron meant no such closure.

Instead, Cameron simply does not want to comment about players not on his roster, fearing it would only lead to disappointment if things didn't work out.

Cameron did say during the news conference that history has showed him it is often difficult to change someone's behavior away from the field.

''It's not 100 percent, but the easiest predictor of future behavior is previous behavior,'' Cameron said. ``That can be in a good context and that can be in a negative context. At some point in time, as a human being you want to be as fair as you can be, but no individual ever comes above the team, including myself or this organization. Is it 100 percent? Absolutely not, because we talked about that one percent.

``Sometimes you have to go with your gut instinct on certain guys. Sometimes you are right and sometimes you are wrong.''

Cameron said he has had a ''very low'' success rate when trying to take players with problems in the past and making them different people.

''There is a difference between the human side versus the NFL business side,'' Cameron said. ``You have to be able to separate the two because you don't ever want to lose your ability to be compassionate. You don't want to ever lose that. We don't ever want to do that, but the whole is more important than the individuals and that falls right on my shoulders.''

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