Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Derrick Mason retires (1 Viewer)

[TheDirtyWord]

"I believe I earned the right for a three-year deal," he says. "I would... discuss other options and would be very aggressive in doing so if Baltimore is not willing to meet me on this."

Didn't Williams suffer from Social Anxiety Disorder and as such was forced to be a quiet professional? Same as Mason?

Hours after Williams retired he was being villified. Not happening here.

The year before he retired, Williams had 392 carries and 50 receptions.... The total number of carries + catches for the team was 695 so Ricky accounted for 63.5% of his team's touches the prior season.... and as was pointed out above he was only 27-28 years old. He simply was the Dolphins offense.Mason had 80 catches last year which was good for about 10% of the overall touches for the Ravens... and he is 35 years old.

These two situations really aren't very similar at all.

So via this logic, any teams offensive line isn't responsible for any teams offensive success? So a lower percentage of touches now makes it alright for a player to blindside his franchise with a retirement announcement days prior to training camp beginning? At what age is a retirement announcement days before training camp then acceptable? 32? 33? 35? Did Mason come in just under the 'acceptable' line? In reality, I'm more making a commentary on us than either Mason or Williams. Mason has received nary a bit of flak for essentially doing the same thing as Williams. Williams was put through the ringer IMMEDIATELY.

And to say that Mason isn't important to the Ravens O? Tell that to Joe Flacco who probably has been trying to develop more chemistry with his receivers including Mason this off-season. Now changing roles for all of them isn't going to potentially submarine a potential SB season? Mark Clayton is now a #1 WR?

I don't see much of a comparison between Mason and Williams. Mason is at an age where you might expect a WR to retire. The loss of McNair made him think about his mortality and what life has to offer outside of football. Do you really think one more season would be the difference between Mason making the HOF? He's done everything he could in the NFL. He's also at the age where vetern players can't cash in on big paydays after years of hard work and dedication. The team wouldn't pay him what he felt he was worth. That let him down too.Ricky was in his prime and coming off a FAT signing bonus that he hadn't fully earned yet to go smoke pot. Ricky = Mason?

Here are some article written at the time...Football Outsiders Ricky Williams retirement article

Salon Magazine article skewring Williams - no mention yet of pot...

Did the Dolphins think up until practically the eve of training camp that Ricky Williams would be playing in 2004?

Did the Ravens think up until practically the eve of training camp that Derrick Mason would be playing in 2009?

The answer to both questions is yes.

Did the loss of Williams compromise the Dolphins ability to compete for a play-off spot and potentially more (the Dolphins were 10-6 in 2003)?

Will the loss of Mason compromise the Ravens ability to compete for a play-off spot and potentially more?

The answer to both questions is yes.

When Williams suddenly announced his retirement, was he villified beyond belief for leaving the Dolphins in the lurch right prior to the season allowing them no recourse to rectify a gap in their line-up?

When Mason suddenly announced his retirement, was he villified beyond belief for leaving the Ravens in the lurch right prior to the season allowing them no recourse to rectify a gap in their line-up?

The answer to both questions in NOT yes.

All the rest of the surrounding details are semantics. We didn't care that Williams was smoking pot when he was carrying the ball 350 times/year as one of the NFL premiere bell cow RB's, but we cared once he took his production away. All the reasons you state are viable reasons to retire. Fact is...if someone doesn't want to play anymore - who would force them to? But it's the timing of the announcement that mattrers here. An entire organization is affected...players, coaches, and front office personnel who have been crafting their team over the last 3-4 months to make a run at a collective goal.

If Mason felt this way, what was wrong with a March announcement? Mason knows the league year and calendar and absolutely knows that the timing of this hurts the Ravens organization. It doesn;t strike you as disengenuous that a player thinking about retirement was asking for a pay raise/extension in advance of making $4M? As to the McNair angle, obviously his death rocked the NFL and guys like Mason who were close with McNair have to be carrying a large burden. But it's a little bit of a double standard exhibited by this board to allow Mason his latitude to choose his own path and deal with his grief and actions in whatever way necessary, yet Javon Walker actually saw his teammate get murdered and had him die in his arms practically and the SP produces the thread below.

Sympathetic Javion Walker thread <sarcasm>

I know Mason isn't a headliner, but if I'm a Ravens fan I would be very angry and pitching a stink about it. And quite frankly, I'm surprised I'm the only one seeing things this way. But I've stated my piece. So I'll drop now. Just considered me flummoxed by the double standard.

 

[massraider]

Geez.