A positively confounding Dolphin

Ricky Williams reportedly is in India studying yoga and holistic medicine. He may want to start studying the labels on those holistic medicine bottles.

Once again, it seems, the Dolphins' oddball running back has run afoul of the NFL's drug police, reportedly failing an NFL-mandated drug test for a substance other than marijuana, for which he's already tested positive three times and been suspended for once. If the league rejects his appeal of this finding, Williams will be banned for a year and Lord knows where he or his career will be by then.

The odd thing about this is that, by all accounts, Williams had been a model player since returning to the Dolphins after walking out on them in 2004 to wander through Australia, India, and who knows where else in an effort to avoid both that four-game suspension and taking a further beating carrying the football.

Economics tend to focus the mind, however, so when his money ran out and the Dolphins won an $8.6 million judgment against him for the return of the bonus they'd paid him, Williams suddenly returned to his old team last summer. Naturally, things were a bit tense at first but Williams won over everyone, including hard-bitten coach Nick Saban, and ended up rushing for 743 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games.

In fact, by the end of the year he was beginning to look like his old self, which is to say one of the league's premier combinations of power and speed. Of course, returning to his old self when it comes to Ricky Williams may not be all it's cracked up to be, as this latest allegation hints at.

Where this leaves the Dolphins is in a dilemma. They like Williams because he can still play and because he came in and worked hard all year. Williams, who was once aloof with reporters, was named a co-winner of the Good Guy Award given annually by the Dolphins chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America, and he was respected enough in the locker room that he was voted the team's alternate representative to the Players Association. Yet here they are again, having to wonder about just who Ricky Williams really is and whether he even knows himself.

The one difference this time, according to Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas, is that the team was ill-prepared for his unexpected retirement days before training camp was to open in 2004.

''Whatever happens, we've got a great team, [an] organization on the rise," said Thomas. ''Trust me: We don't depend on one player. It's not about that. It's about team.

''I'm sure they will compensate in another way. We're fine. It's only February. We'll see what happens in the draft. We'll see what happens with free agency. That's what's most important."

Perhaps, but now Saban must decide whether to bring in a veteran backup behind Ronnie Brown or hope for the best with Williams. One thing is sure, any dream of trading him for a valuable draft choice just went up in smoke.

Texans owner Bob McNair acknowledges that if the present collective bargaining agreement is not extended and 2007 becomes an uncapped year, it will make the NFL a far different place. However, he says, his team is prepared for whatever comes. ''We have a plan put together on the basis of whether we have a collective bargaining agreement -- Plan A -- and if we don't have a collective bargaining agreement -- Plan B," McNair said. ''I guess the bottom line is, if we don't have a new collective bargaining agreement, we will not be as active in the free agent market, certainly. There will not be as much money available for free agents [this year, as teams prepare for the uncapped season]. I think in terms of signing bonuses, whether they're for free agents or for draft picks, without a collective bargaining agreement, those would have to be amortized over four years. So that would reduce the amount of bonus money that is available. So I guess on one hand, if you don't have a collective bargaining agreement, you have some uncertainty. On the other hand, actually from a cash standpoint, it would benefit us. We would be putting out less cash in the next year or two. We would prefer to have a collective bargaining agreement, so long as it was a reasonable agreement, but no agreement is better than a bad agreement." . . . If 2007 winds up being an uncapped year, it could be a godsend to a player like Richard Seymour, who is considered by many the best all-around defensive lineman in the game and would become a free agent in that uncapped offseason. ''He'd be the new Reggie White," one agent said. Agent Leigh Steinberg said, ''I think that there would be certain teams that would be free spenders if we get to an uncapped year. I think it would be a very exciting time." Steinberg believes the salary cap is actually hurting the game more than it helps. ''I don't like any aspect of the salary cap," he said. ''I think it harms football on the field. It destroys depth on a football team -- you can't have five All-Pro offensive linemen. It disproportionately makes injury a factor in terms of what happens during a football season. It forces rookies to play too early in their career. You can't have a young quarterback sitting behind an experienced quarterback, and it's one reason you have to wash out a lot quicker on a lot of people. It breaks up happy marriages [between player and team]. It forces veterans to leave teams. It hurts the way fans relate to teams. It does a lot of destructive things."

Marvin Demoff, longtime agent for Dolphins linebacker Junior Seau, believes Seau's days in Miami are over. ''There have been no discussions," Demoff said. ''We're assuming that each party believes they are better off separating from the other." The Dolphins are expected to begin releasing players or restructuring contracts to create room under the salary cap before the start of the free agent signing period March 3. Seau currently counts for $2.92 million against their cap. He is 37 and has ended the past two seasons on injured reserve. Cutting Seau and quarterback Gus Frerotte would open up some cap room for the possible pursuit of San Diego quarterback Drew Brees, who will become a free agent . . . New Jaguars assistant coach Mike Tice finds it ironic he landed at the scene of the crime after being fired by the Vikings. It was at the Jacksonville Super Bowl that Tice scalped his tickets, an act that cost him a $100,000 fine and much of his credibility in Minnesota. ''The irony is that it happened here," he said. ''When I drove by the stadium the other day, I thought about the irony of that." . . . Top-rated running back DeAngelo Williams put in the required pre-combine work at a facility in Tennessee, preparing for the speed work and drills that will dominate the next week in Indianapolis, but he believes it's really all nonsense. ''It caters more to your speed," Williams said. ''It doesn't measure the tools to see if you're ready to play in the NFL. I totally disagree with it, but it's something you have to do if you want to play at the next level. Any guy can come out and run a great 40 and just blow away these drills. That doesn't mean he can play football. Half the cuts we make out here in these drills, you'll never have to make in a game. I know that there won't be any cones on the field when you're playing on Sunday."

One guy who hopes free agency begins March 3 as scheduled is Cleveland general manager Phil Savage. Why? Because the Browns have about $25 million of cap room and an urge to spend. ''I feel we'll be fairly aggressive right off the top if certain players get to the market," Savage said. ''Those who wait, lose. Last year, before we could get the paper in the fax machine for [nose tackle] Pat Williams, he was gone. We'll be fairly disappointed if we're not able to make a couple of moves fairly early." Cleveland hopes to improve its defensive front seven and will be in the market for a wide receiver after deciding to let mercurial Antonio Bryant leave, even though he had a 1,000-yard season . . . You think Eric Mangini's staff is young and inexperienced in New York? Brad Childress's new Vikings staff is the only one in the NFL on which the offensive, defensive, and special teams coordinators all have no NFL experience at those positions. In addition, 12 of Childress's 17 assistants are younger than 40, and only three have NFL experience at their current positions . . . New Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has to admit it's kind of ironic he landed in the place he used to hate after the Saints fired him. ''It's weird when you sit back and think that I'm coaching with the Rams because I really did hate this team for a long time," he said. ''The reason you disliked them was because they were so good. They were such a powerhouse and they scored so many points."

Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.