STOPPING RICKY: New Orleans Saints rookie running back RICKY WILLIAMS has the size, speed and elusiveness to give NFL defensive coordinators nightmares.

"He’s big, strong, fast, powerful and has great vision," says San Francisco defensive coordinator JIM MORA, who will face Williams twice this season. "That’s a great combination. And he has a good offensive line."

"I didn’t watch him a lot in college," says Carolina defensive coordinator JOHN MARSHALL, who faces Williams this Sunday on Kickoff Weekend. "But I did see enough to see that he has excellent speed and power."

With all those qualities, how can Williams be stopped?

"You have to have proper gap control and get a lot of helmets on him," says Mora. "(Because of his size and strength) He's not going to go down on the first hit."

Planning is key, says Marshall. "Having the right scheme is the first way to stop him," he says. "Then, having defensive players who have the speed to get off of blocks and get to him. You have to put good, powerful, sure tacklers on the guy."

NO RETURN FOR STRYZINSKI: Right or wrong, punters are frequently measured by one lone statistic – gross punting average. Atlanta Falcons punter DAN STRYZINSKI believes that other statistics are better at assessing a punter’s ability – specifically, Fewest Punt Return Yards Allowed, a category at which Stryzinski excels.

"When somebody looks at a punter, the first thing they say is, ‘What’s his average?’ So what happens is you tend to get judged by one statistic," says Stryzinski. "I’m naturally a punter that kicks the ball high. I’ve never been the type of guy to drive the ball. What I try to do is hang it to the sidelines to minimize returns."

Stryzinski has turned that technique into an art form. Since the NFL went to the 16-game schedule in 1978, excluding the shortened seasons of 1982 and 1987, Stryzinski’s teams have five of the top 10 fewest punt-return-yards-allowed seasons, including each of the past two years (see chart below).

"You use the sideline as another man making a tackle," says Stryzinski, who has had only one punt returned for a TD in his nine seasons. "If he steps out of bounds he’s stopped. But if you kick it down the middle of the field, you have no clue where the returner is going to go. If you kick it to the sideline, it’s much easier to converge on him and make a tackle."

Stryzinski has been at the top of his game the past two seasons. Last year, Falcons opponents were limited to 112 return yards, second best in the league (Carolina, 94) and seventh best since ’78. Stryzinski also limited opponents to 20 total returns, tied for best in the league (Carolina), and to a 5.6-yard average per return, which was second best (Carolina, 4.7).

In 1997, Stryzinski and the Falcons were even better. They led the league in fewest punt return yards (55) – second best in the NFL since ’78 (Buffalo, 1991, 53) -- fewest punts returned (21), and opponents’ average yards per return (2.6).

"I can go out there, punt the ball 50 yards and line drive it, but sooner or later it’s going to kill you during the game because somebody’s going to run it back," says Stryzinski. "Every week you’re kicking to a DEION SANDERS or a TIM DWIGHT. They’re professionals also and they’re going to run it down your throat."