Fish Tank Podcast Crossover: Ricky Williams

daily dose of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, a special edition of the Drive Time Pod as we welcome in two heavy hitters of the podcast game, two men that have been part of the Miami Dolphins organization for a long long time, the hosts of the fish Tank Podcast with Seth Levitt and O. J. Juice McDuffie. We are previewing their conversation with Dolphins great running back

Ricky Williams. That episode drops tomorrow, So subscribe to the fish Tank Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Play, wherever you get your podcast from. Go check out the fish Tank for the Ricky Williams episode and the rest of their catalog on the fish Tank Podcast. We'll talk to them here on this Monday May the eighteenth edition of the Drivetime Podcast Dolphins. My two guests today are Seth Levitt and o J. McDuffie of the Fish Tank Podcast.

They have a podcast dropping tomorrow an exclusive interview with former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. Let's go ahead and jump now to my interview with Seth and O J. Juice McDuffie, and I'm thrilled to be joined now on the Drivetime podcast by the two hosts of the Fish Tank Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins official podcast network. I've got Seth Lovitt, I've got o J. Juice McDuffie. Seth, how you doing. We'll start with you doing great? Travis.

It's exciting to be here. I know we've been kind of following each other via Twitter and and listening to the shows for quite some time and here we uh find ourselves back together on the Dolphins podcast network, and it's about time we got invited to join time. Man, we're excited to be here. Well, it's a perfect time to do it. You see over my shoulder right here we have the Ricky Williams backdrop painting commissioned that for me, it's my price possession and Juice. You guys had a

chance to talk to Ricky on a previous podcast. I mean, I don't I don't really know where to start with this, but I just want to go ahead and I guess and ask you. I think it's really easy to misconstrue who Ricky is as a person, or fans get a bad idea about Ricky. In your opinion, who is Ricky Williams. Yeah, I think what people might not understand about rick is, um,

how much you love the game of football. You know, people thought that there was no love for the game in terms of, you know, some of the things he did when he retired his you know obviously what he was, you know, doing things like smoking marijuana and suspensions and things like that. Rick loved football, and it'll come out in the podcast. Man, he just uh, you know, and he loves his time down here in Miami. He really

enjoyed his time down here in Miami. And you know the fact that most people thought that he retired because he didn't have love for the game, that's what they're all And the fish Tank podcast is a great job of going back in depth over a certain span of players careers, or coaches careers or even you guys get media on equipment managers. It's it's can't it's can't miss podcasting for my money, especially as a Dolphins fan. And Seth,

I'm curious to get your your take here. What was the initial idea, initial concept for the fish Tank podcast and how did you guys get this all going. I appreciate your kind words, Travis, and and really it's um. You know, we were narrative driven. We love telling stories, and I think you know o J and I talk about it every time we get together. If we run into somebody we haven't seen in a long time, we just start talking about the old old days and telling stories.

And and I think that there's there's so much that's talked about that fans don't get to hear because a lot of the questions that are asked, and rightfully so, are about what happened on the field and about xs and ohs and and you know, let's talk about this game in that game, and and those things are critically important. I think you do a great job of it with your podcast, both with the stuff that you're doing from from the old days as well as covering the current teams.

But there's so much else that happens, I think behind the scenes, whether it's on the sidelines, in the huddle or just when guys are hanging out with each other, um and and to give guys an opportunity to tell those stories, to relive those moments, and to give fans just a quick peek behind the curtain. It's a lot of fun. Sometimes sometimes it's really deep and and profound in a lot of ways, which you'll find with Ricky story. And sometimes guys are just outrageous and you shake your head.

But we just try and have a good time, and it's always about the story first and to reciprocate the thank you for the kind words. Thank you for that gentlemen. It's it's it means a lot to me. And as someone that grew up a die hard Miami Dolphins fans,

grew up watching you, juice. You were my guy back in the nineties and into the two thousands, and to be someone that was a fan kind of turned journalist turned media it's I've always told people that work with the Dolphins, people that are associated with the Dolphins, that the number one thing fans want is the exclusive behind

the scenes peak. They want to feel like they have some thing that they didn't have otherwise, or maybe the other fans aren't getting and I feel like with the fish Tank Juice and especially in this podcast, that's what you guys do, right. Yeah, absolutely, it's it's so much

fun too. You know, we can all look up stats and look up numbers and see film, but to hear some of the back stories and some of the things that happened in the locker room, some things that happened on the road or in the airplanes or you know, the stories that we might have known about. But it's good to hear the guys tell us what the real story is sometimes and that's that's that's the exciting thing.

And what you we really like two Traps is that when the guys get on and they open up a lot of times they they they light up and they're they're happy to talk about the past, and you know, we live from their glory days because like Seth talked about, when guys get together, the only thing they really missed the locker room. They missed that locker room chatter and in the in the banner and giving each other a

hard time. And so we dig up with stories we when we we when we have guys on, we'll call some of the best buddies that they played with and try to get some stories, you know, behind the scene stories, and and then when we bring it up, man, they are shocked and they're laughing and they're having a good of time. Man. You'll see that in the Ricky podcast.

And we actually got aholder of Ronnie and we had Ronnie in the tank and he told a couple of stories and Ricky just really loved And so that's that's the fun part about it. These guys, when they can relive their glory days, are really have some funny stories that happened to him while they were. You know, whether we're in the league the good old days. My personal

glory days went back to high school. I played baseball and basketball and my favorite time of all that was shagging balls on the outfield for batting practice and the bus rides to the game. So I completely agree with that. And the Michael Jordan document you right now that my favorite scene in that entire show was him on the plane. I forget what player was, but he's telling the cameras this guy he's an alcoholic. He's you know, he's out

there every single night ripping and roaring. So that's that's the part of this game that we all don't get

to hear enough about. But you guys come in here and that's where we start with Ricky Williams Seth and I'm I'm curious to get just the information about what time on you guys covered, because with Ricky Williams life, I mean, I had Tom Herman on the podcast the other day, the Texas coach, and he looked at the paint and go from my shoulder and said that he was scurity detail for Ricky back at Texas way back

in the day. And you have this guy who was a college phenomen and one of the most interesting persons in the National Football League history. Where do you guys kick off this podcast with Ricky's time in the NFL with the Dolphins or where does it begin? Yeah, it's a great question and a great point. In fact, I think I mentioned it to it in our episode that you know, you can't cover Ricky's entire football journey in one show, or at least not one that goes an hour.

And so we did start with with the trade to Miami in two thousand two. Having said that, you know, Ricky is, as you said, such an interesting guy and such a unique individual. What we also want to do is make sure we talked about where Ricky was at in his life. You know, what he's doing now, the decisions that he's made prior to his career, during his career, and post career that were unrelated to football, because we think that that's every bit is interesting and and is

important when it comes to talking about Ricky story. And you talk about the two thousand two season, I got the glimpse of the preview you guys put up on Twitter where he talks about you know, he was proud of what they accomplished, even though it came to kind of a tragic ending. And I talked about being a Dolphins fan as a kid. That was the last two games that that collapse in the New England game broke

my heart as a as a kid. And I'm curious to ask your opinion here, Juice, as a player, you know from this organization for a long time, was there a certain burden that Ricky fell upon arrival because two first round draft picks and the guy that basically was asked year in and year out, let's like, no, the quarterback position, Let's go ahead and go status quo there and just feed rick and did he really feel that

burden in his career. Ricky was excited to be a part of his organization as a running back, as being the man on offense. You know, most times you talk about the league, the quarterback is the man. When Ricky, you know, came, he was the man on offense. And he knew he was playing with a great defense, so he knew to be a lot of opportunities to run the football. So he was excited about that. That was one of the things he touched on in the podcast about you know, coming to Miami and you and being

that guy, being that running back. So uh, I mean, he he loved it. He loved it. There's some other things that kept him from being here more or be here longer, and we'll get into that in the podcast, but yeah, he he loved the fact that, you know, he had a coach in and and wants that that you know, had a great defense and loved to run football. And you mentioned the other activities that may prevented him from having a longer career, at least a more consistently

on the field career. And I'd be curious to know. I'm sure you guys covered this on the podcast. But you know, laws and rules back then were different than they are now. Does he talk about that a little bit about how maybe his career if he was just ten years younger, might have been a lot different. Um, you know, we he does talk about just his individuality and uh, the NFL today versus the NFL of fifteen twenty years ago, and where individuals fit within the league

like the one that we're all a part of. But um, again, you know, our store, our our podcast is narrative driven, and so you know, we don't necessarily do a deep dive to every moment and decision in his life. Um, but he does talk about that decision and as much as his marijuana use, it was well documented. We don't talk a whole lot about that, quite frankly, but just just decisions that he needed to make in his life and where he was at and needing to find himself.

And you know, Ricky, Ricky is very introspective and is constantly working on Ricky and uh and I think has been his entire life and and seems to be in a really wonderful place now. But that was a time where he felt like he needed to to take a break and focus on him. Well, it's great to hear that he isn't a good place at this stage of his life. It's something that it seems like throughout the course of his career he was always searching for, you know,

his purpose and in his place in this world. And it sounds like he has found that. At the time, his place was on the football field, because he was so damn good and it showed because every time he went away and came back he was still productive. And I'm curious to get your take on this juice because he steps away in two thousand and four, comes back in oh five, I think it was a four game

suspension plays out that year. Is there this like hunger, this drive that players get maybe initially stepping away that you think that maybe Ricky gotten was like Okay, I gotta get back on the football field. Yeah. I think most guys, I mean, how many guys actually leave the game on their own terms? You know, not very many do. And that's one of the things that uh, you know, most players are pushed out, retired, forced out, and retired hurt. They don't usually get to leave on their own terms.

And the fact that he was able to leave and be able to come back and still be that guy. You know, that's that's that's hard to do. But that just tells you how good Rick was, how good you know, what the hell of player he he really was? And you know, um, you know, Rick talks a little bit about leaving and coming back and then you know the passion for the game that he has. But man, I mean to be able to come back and still put

up some big numbers, Uh, it's pretty impressive. Like I said, most of us we leave this game, you know the other way. You know, very few guys get to have the great retirements and that they wanted, that they dreamed of. Most of us get pushed out or just banged up out. Did you have a chance to go in depth at all on the injury you back? And I think it was two thousand six or two thousand seven when he

got stepped on in that Pittsburgh Monday night game. Did he have a chance to really tell you about maybe how disheartening that was seth because you go into you know, a season where I think that was his first game back and then he exits within the first couple of quarters. He talked about that at all? Uh? We I mean we briefly, uh glossed over it if if you would even give it that. I mean, that was the two thousand seventh season, which you know clearly was a low

point in this franchise's history. Um and I make a little bit of a joke, and you know you'll hear it on the show. But the reality is is that there was gonna be a season that you missed. You know that that probably isn't one that he wishes he had had more opportunities to be a part of. But uh so we mentioned it, But I think really what we covered was the fact that he had three um unique stints with the Dolphins, right and there was that

first that first magical time here No. Two oh three, and then as you mentioned, when he came back with coach Saban and then you know the Wildcat Tony Sperano years. And so we do talk about each of those, uh those instances and how unique each of them were and

as productive as he was. One thing I thought was really fascinating is as productive as he was in O two and oh three, he felt and and he says this, he felt that he had a greater appreciation for the game when he came back and that's because he needed to work on him and and that time away allowed him to do that. Kind of like you don't know

what you've got until it's gone. Situation, there a little bit of that, and I think again, just you know, like any of us, if we've got other things outside of our workplace that are bothering us, it's hard to be the best that we can be. And we saw the output, and the output was outrageous. But if he didn't feel whole, he needed to feel whole too, then

appreciate every moment that that. Maybe you know, Ricky was so good for so long, and so I think being good at football was something that came natural to him and was he expected and was used to and maybe didn't excite him as much as it excited all of

us watching him break all those runs. But when he came back, he had, you know, he just looked at it differently and approached well, yeah, because I mean, your profession can certainly become your identity, especially on such a platform where you're such a big celebrity and and everyone's talking about you, you know, not just on Sundays, but

throughout the course of the season. And I'm curious to get your take on this juice because as a person that played for so long in the NFL and a league in a game that's all about, you know, the fifty three. Everyone's as important as the next guy, or however you want to phrase that. Was there times in his career where maybe Ricky felt a little bit like he either let his teammates down or maybe they felt like he they felt like he wasn't all the way

in and kind of helps some animosity towards him. Do you ever get a sense of how his teammates kind of took Ricky into the locker room. I think Ricky might have felt that way at times. Um, I think rick Man he was really all about his teammates. I mean he Yeah, you'd be shocked at all the guys he talks about in the podcast that uh, you know that influenced him, that he looked up to, that you know, he really admired on the football team. Um, but he

was all about the of the fifty two. You know, rick knew that rick did his job, he worked hard, but the other fifty two guys do their job. But you know, he was all he was. He was an all in team player, and I do think he he wonders what other guys felt, you know, once he left the game, once he retired, once he left, uh, you know, the first retirement, because he cares about those guys and he cares about their opinion, especially the guys that were the big guys in the locker room all way down

to the guys that worked in the equipment room. So he was he was that type of guy. And I you know me, you know, I've known Ricky since he came out of college. But for me to get a chance to really sit down and wrap to him about some of the other stuff, man, it for one to change my perspective and view of Ricky. But I did see him on some reality shows to change my perspective

over on it as well, so that helped a little bit. Um. But I tell you, man, it was just a great to see him open up and talk about the respect he had for the game and for his teammates that those fifty three that just talking about. So one of the segments I will go ahead and tell you guys I shamelessly stole from you guys is asking players about their basketball back ounds. Because of the great stories you guys tell about the famous. Was that your house, Juice

the games went down? Oh yeah, yeah in my backyard. Was he ever a part of those No, Rick, I was like, you know, I was pretty much done by the time Rick got here. I was pretty much done with those games. I couldn't really go out there and play S S S. Knows. If I can't play, nobody took your ball and go home with it, man. So that's that's the way I rolled. I think we have like one season Juice where you let people play, but then you weren't having it. I couldn't do it. It's

it's torture, man. Was my game right there? Torture out there watching those guys on my court, I mean court. Yeah. I wasn't trying to hop the fence over there with those dogs. Just turned the NBA on watch. Ricky played basketball, you know. He's a hell of a baseball player. Was drafted and we didn't talk about his baseball career, But I don't know if he was a football play basketball player. Yeah, might be one of those guys that winds up getting five fouls in the first quarter and has to go

some on the bench. The rest of the game could be well, guys, I mean what else do you want to talk about with Ricky here? Because there's so much we can get into. I just want to know, like, what do you want to promote on the podcast in in particular, because I'm sure there's plenty of we haven't talked about yet. You know what I would say, and I'm sure Jews has his own unique perspective on this, But what I would say Travis is that, I mean,

first and foremost, he's Ricky. He's enigmatic, and he was exciting and and you know, came in like out of nowhere with that trade and was better than advertised for two years and then all of a sudden he was like gone. And so um, I think a lot of people feel very strongly about Ricky one way or the other.

You know, clearly, you well you might have been disappointed, you haven't held it against him where I'm even seeing it today in some responses on Twitter, um that some people still hold a grudge because of the fact that he left. And and you know, I get it a lot of times as fans we care about well, of course, we always care about what happens on Sundays, but we sometimes don't look beyond what happens in between those white lines and what somebody decisions someone has to make and

the human being that's there. Um And not saying I agree or disagree with decisions that Ricky made, but uh, I my hope is that people will, regardless of where they stand, that they will listen to this because I think it's a really exciting and interesting um just insight

onto who Ricky is as a person. Uh. And he talks, you know, he he hated talking about football those first two years when and I was a PR guy there and did a lot of work with him, and he was bored by the questions and he was tired of it. And and he made it real hard for some media members if he didn't feel that they were bringing their a game, and sometimes just made it hard to make it hard on him. And because I don't I don't

think that those things were interesting to him. But he enjoyed talking about Dolphins football when he was with us. He really really enjoyed talking about it. So it was kind of cool to see him reflect upon that. And I will also say that, um, well there's a lot about that decision in him leaving that that is discussed in this podcasts and things that uh, I think folks

might find interesting or surprising. But he he sheds the light on the conversation he had with Dave Wonstead and telling him that he was he was gonna step away, and I thought that was fascinating. No, I can't wait to hear that. I mean my own personal experience from when Ricky retired, when I found out. So I told you guys, I was a kid. I was. I was sixteen years old and not enough. We're sitting here with no Aaron Gray and come on, kid, just I mean

I was so impressionable all the time. And so when and this was before you know that you got twee, Twitter and text and all the things that you know would get your information immediately. And I had this friend that would always play practical jokes on me and my other friends. He calls me and I'm out with like a girlfriend at the time, you know, riding around the streets doing my thing, and he calls me and says, you might want to sit down for this. I have

some news. And he knew how important Ricky and the Dolphins were to me. And he breaks this news to me, and I have my flip phone and I literally just clap it up and say whatever, dude, I don't I don't take that for truth for a second. So that was how the news got broke to me before I thought he was. And the next morning I wake up and see the newspaper and I like didn't believe my eyes. Did did he? When he decided to go ahead and call it quits and have that conversation, like you mentioned, Juice,

was it wasn't all the way out? Was he was there any inclination that maybe he had a footstill on the door or was he just all the way out? Um? I'm not sure how I felt. I think I felt like he was out. I think he was all the way out at that point, because he, like Sef talked about, he had other things you need to take care of personally that he was looking for, uh some different endeavors and was going a different path man. And you know, and he talks about it. He talks about exactly where

he was, what he was doing. Um, you know that the whole story. Man. It was pretty pretty amazing for him to open up. And you know, he does talk about he and he obviously he missed the game, would never come back to it, you know. So but definitely he was out. He was out out at that point and looking for other things to do with his life. Well,

I'm glad it's I keep saying this. I feel like it's repetitive at this point, but it's just it's so nice to hear that Ricky found, you know, found his purpose and found what he was looking for and all the introspective searching he did and all the stuff throughout the course of his life and his career. So it sounds like you guys got the best out of him. Anything else seth anything else, juice, you guys want to leave us with listening in And you know, I'm looking

forward to folks hearing this. And we were really excited to get Ricky on, and we knew it would happen at some point, but this is great timing for us to have this episode. And you know, I'm sure O J and I could talk about this all day long. We would love to let the episode speak for itself as well. And and um, I'm excited for you to hear it and for other Dolphin fans to hear it. Yeah,

I don't. I don't want to spoil anything else as far as the content go, So we'll just go ahead and leave it there, but I will tell the fans we do plan to having Juice on the Drivetime Podcast for a flashback one of these weeks, so keep an eye out for that. Everyone. Check out the Fish Tank Podcast and do an awesome job here part of the Miami Dolphins podcast network fellows, Seth Juice, thank you so much,

Thanks Travis Doreat, thank you. And man, that's gonna be like Christmas morning for me growing up as a really kind of golden era early two thousands Dolphins fan watching Ricky Williams, Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor, Sam Madison, Patrick Surtan, that dominant defense, that dominant running game, all with Ricky Williams at the focal point and of course one of the more interesting men, more of the more interesting players to really ever play, not just for the Miami Dolphins,

but in the National Football League. So check out that podcast, the Fish Tank, check out the Audible podcast. Of course, you now are on the Drive Time Podcast, Do us a favor and subscribe, rate and review all three podcast if you're a Dolphins fan, if you're a fan of the podcast, those ratings, those five star reviews help us get out to more Dolphins fans. Help us keep driving this thing further and further. Give me a follow on Twitter.

It's at Wingfield NFL. Give Seth a follow at Team Levitt, Give O j McDuffie a follow at O j mcduffee eighty one, and check out their podcast at the Fish Tank and of course, Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time finds up