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.

Jake Long managed to make a big impression on a couple of his rookie teammates in his first practice with the Miami Dolphins on Friday. The Dolphins opened their three-day rookie minicamp on Friday with 39 players, including Long, the first overall pick in the draft. On a simple running play toward the end of practice, the 6-foot-7, 315-pound tackle locked up defensive tackle Lionel Dotson, the...