No one would blame you if you’ve mistaken the CFL for a halfway house. Over the years the Canadian league has taken in its fair number of NFL problem children with Dexter Manley, Andre Rison, Mark Gastineau and Lawrence Philips just a few of the names that have graced the CFL and NFL yearbooks as well as the police blotter.

Though Ricky Williams—who recently signed with the Toronto Argonauts—doesn’t have the legal baggage of Manley et al., he does seem a bit . . . umm, eccentric. Diagnosed with Social Anxiety Disorder, the 1998 Heisman Trophy winner has a history of strange behaviour.

When he broke into the league with the New Orleans Saints, Williams did all interviews with his helmet on.

Less than a week prior to the start of Miami’s training camp in 2004, Williams abruptly retired saying he was no longer interested in football—though it was later revealed that he had failed a drug test, testing positive for marijuana.

After returning to Miami from a year long suspension for that violation, Williams performed well in a backup role, but tested positive again for a banned substance in the offseason, reportedly not marijuana. He was again suspended for a year, which led him north to Toronto.

But for all his eccentricities, Ricky has the skills to be an elite running back in any league. In 6 NFL seasons he has rushed for over 7,000 yards and 47 TDs so it is easy to see why the Argos were so keen on signing him.

This isn’t the first time Toronto has signed an NFL rebel either. WR Andre Rison won a Grey Cup when he was with the Argos in 2004 and the team is hoping that Ricky Williams will achieve similar success.

Sportsbooks seem to be buying into the notion that Ricky will do more good than bad.

Currently, betwsc.com has the Argos listed as the favorites to win the Grey Cup, listing them at +250—up from +300 a few weeks ago—while bowmans.com has Toronto at +275. Ultimatecapper.com initially had the highest odds, listing the Argos at +650, but have since adjusted, now listing them at +320.

Likewise, regular season lines at most sportsbooks will likely have the Argonauts getting a lot of chalk. Ricky Williams is a big name with big time talent after all and the betting public will be quick to jump all over Toronto.

Pinnaclesports.com has the Argonauts favored by a field goal for their season opener against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, while both bet365.com and William Hill have the Argos listed at -4 for the same game.

If you favor more exotic bets, Pinnaclesports is offering a number of prop bets featuring the Texas Longhorn alumn.

If you think Ricky Williams can lead the CFL in rushing, you can plunk down a couple of units at +271, if you don't, you can wager at -301. If you're ballsy enough to think that Ricky will adjust well to the intricacies of the Canadian game and win the MVP, place a bet at +856.

Here are some things to take into consideration before putting down some money on Ricky and his new team.

By all accounts, the Toronto Argonauts won’t be running the ball that much and probably will use Ricky to catch a lot of swing passes. Ricky Williams’ strength—at the University of Texas, New Orleans, Miami and otherwise—has always been his ability to run the ball. He is a power runner who takes the handoff and punishes tacklers. Limiting his workload to a couple of runs and more swing passes is not fully utilizing his talent. In fact, Williams has only 4 receiving TDs in his time in the NFL.

Ricky has had trouble in the past holding onto the ball. In his tour of duty in the NFL, Williams fumbled the ball an average of 6 times a season. An official CFL football has wider girth than the NFL version. Is Ricky going to have trouble holding onto the rock in the Canadian league?

Ricky is a premier back and he will have games where he rides roughshod over the opposing defense, but you'd be crazy if you think he’s running for a TD every time he touches the ball.

Toronto is happy that Ricky Williams is playing in the CFL, but they are in the minority.

Carl Kidd, who plays linebacker for the B.C. Lions, recently expressed disgust at the amount of money the former Heisman Trophy winner would be getting. He said that he and his teammates would be ready to inflict some pain on Ricky when he arrives in Vancouver. No doubt defenses across the league will want to do the same thing.

On top of some extra hard hits, Ricky may be victim to some low hits and gouges in the pile after the whistle blows.

Ricky Williams is a talented RB who is not washed up. He will help the Toronto Argonauts and he will electrify fans, but it may be too much to expect him to carry the Argos to a Grey Cup by himself.