Even Dolphins running back Ricky Williams was surprised that Dolphins czar Bill Parcells didn't whack him when he took over the team last December. Considering in his opening speech to the team Parcells stressed having players with no off-field baggage, and Williams was stressed by the notion.

"(Parcells) was describing the kind of player he wanted," Williams told the Austin American-Statesman this week. "Honestly, I had doubts if I was going to be that type of player.

"I was expecting him not to talk to me at all. I was expecting to get a letter in the mail saying I was going to be a free agent."

Instead, Parcells told Williams he'd be backing up starter Ronnie Brown. Logic says that if Brown's rehabilitation of a torn ACL hits a snag, then Williams will be the season-opening starter against the Jets with rookie Jalen Parmele the backup.

Williams has never had a serious knee injury, the Kryptonite to a running back's career. He's coming off a chest tear. Before that, in the CFL he had a broken forearm and a cut heel. He'll be 31 this month and now that he has traded in marijuana for a healthier holistic lifestyle, he's in tip-top shape. Plus, this is the final year of his contract that pays him the minimal $730,000, and he is a devoted father and family man, so if he wants one more decent paycheck, he will be busting it on every carry.

Williams is fresh, having played just 13 NFL games since 2003, when he gained 1,372 yards. Also, he'll be running behind a revamped offensive line that features top pick Jake Long, a tenacious run blocker at left tackle, as well as a double tight-end set that should also benefit the tailbacks' production. Parcells loves the power-running game, and that's Ricky's specialty.

"I like (Parcells) more than I thought I would," Williams told the American-Statesman. "He's really different than I expected. It seems to me his greatest joy is developing true friendships with his players, being a mentor and trying to help people, not just in football but in life."

Unless Williams drops the ball -- literally or figuratively -- it appears the relationship between the player and the czar is on more solid ground than the one Parcells has with Jason Taylor.

Williams said he has finally realized that he'd like to leave a respectful legacy to his four children, rather than one that must include his drug-related suspensions.

"I never wrestled if whether I liked football. I wrestled with the fact that I'm more than just a football player," he said. "One of the things I was always afraid of was that people would only see me as being a football player."

This year, that's what the Dolphins are hoping for.

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