NFL Roundup

Ricky Williams is going to apply for reinstatement. Apparently, now that he's a holistic healer or somesuch, he doesn't need the pot. He does, however, need the money, as he was unable to pay the $8.6 million a judge ordered him to repay the Dolphins. So he's planning to lace up the cleats again. Wonder how his teammates will react when he shows up again?

Not really news, but this bit from an article by SI's Dr. Z intrigued me:

Did the idea of a double-QB offense at Atlanta, featuring Michael Vick lined up in a shotgun, alongside another QB or maybe spread out, or something, ever cross my mind?

OK, I'll need room for this one (although I could swear I wrote about it a couple of years ago). One night I had a dream ... honest, this came to me in a dream. The dream was that the Falcons came out in an old-fashioned single-wing. It was probably keyed by something Vince Lombardi once told me. I had asked him what would happen if a team all of a sudden sprung a single-wing. He said, "It would embarrass the hell out of us."

In my dream, I lined up Vick at the run-pass tailback spot. T.J. Duckett was my spinning fullback. Warrick Dunn was the wingback, and Brian Kozlowski, normally the second tight end, was the blocking back. I just couldn't shake the vision. Finally I called Dan Reeves, who was the Falcons' coach at the time. Of all the loony calls he's ever gotten, this must have ranked right up there. Anyway, I laid it all out for him, ending with Duckett as the old Michigan-style spinning fullback.

"What's a spinning fullback?" Reeves said, and I realized that I was either real old or just dopier than usual. The idea never got any further, but I still think something like that would light up the sky.

I've become rather fascinated by the single wing and similar offenses. I've read that some high schools have had some major successes with it. I wouldn't want to install it as the only option for a team, but it might an interesting change of pace. Especially if you had a guy with skills like Vick.