Jack of all trades

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

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By Joel Poiley
Bay News 9 Web Staff

One might think Bucs running back Earnest Graham would be

Players believe the Bucs are making their own breaks, like Ryan Nece's sack of Brett Favre against Green Bay.

frustrated.

A Parade All-American in high school at Mariner High in Cape Coral and decorated performer whose name is all over the University of Florida record book, Graham knows what it's like to carry the load of a first- string back.

But in the pros most players have the same lofty credentials on their resume as Graham. It's a game of survival every year for all but the stars, particularly in the NFL, where injuries can stall careers before they begin.

So you take what you can get, and when injuries hampered rookie sensation Cadillac Williams against Detroit on Sunday, Graham became Michael Pittman's backup. Four carries for 15 yards don't sound like much, but combine that with special teams work and it's a day's work for Graham.

"Definitely, just to get in there and contribute felt good," Graham said.

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"But it feels good just to play, period.''

Williams' status for Sunday's game against the Jets in the Meadowlands remains uncertain as he recuperates from an injured arch and hamstring. But things don't change for the 25-year-old Graham, who said he's ready for anything.

"It's not humbling," he said. "In college I split time with other backs. It's a team thing. I played a lot of different sports, baseball, basketball, so I can operate in this situation for a long time. It's fine. We're 4-0, playing well, I don't have any gripes about anything. I don't really think about that because Cadillac's a great back and we're winning.

"Right now I'm just waiting my turn. If it comes now or later, if I need to be the guy that carries the load, I'm here. But right now I'm happy to be in the league."

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2003, Graham adopted a jack-of-all-trades attitude after being cut twice by the Bucs, once on an injury settlement, and laboring on the practice squad in 2003 and part of last season .

"It's definitely a week to week thing as to how much I'll play," said Graham, who models his game after all-time rushing leader Emmitt Smith because his running style is similar. "But that's okay. I'll do whatever they need me to do, running back, special teams, kickoffs, I just have to be ready for anything."

As do the 4-0 Bucs, who face a Jets (1-3) team down to their third string quarterback.

Graham acknowledged the Bucs' good fortune, with some controversial calls that have gone their way.

"You never know what you're going to get in the NFL," he said. "Coming into the year nobody thought we'd be where we are right now. So week to week you never know what team you're going to get. That team may start clicking that week, so you try to play every game doing what you do well. For us that's playing with a great tempo, be physical, run to the ball and make big plays on special teams.

"There are all great players in the NFL. It may just be a play or two in each game that holds a team back from being very good."

The same could be said of the Bucs special teams, who have been penalty-prone and cost the team field position throughout the season.

"We're playing with great effort, but the penalties aren't helping us," said Graham, who had 13 carries for 73 yards last season. "We have to play with better technique and keep ourselves out of those positions where we commit those penalties."

A veteran's perspective

The Jets will enter Sunday's game ranked 28th out of 32 teams on offense, rushing for only 65.5 yards a game. But a stout defense ranked 12th is enough to get the Bucs' attention.

Sixth-year punter Josh Bidwell said teams notice those disparities, then put them aside before it begins to make sense.

"These guys have have some issues offensively, but you look at their defense and it's awesome," Bidwell said. "Defense wins games. Look at the past couple champions we've had. Tampa Bay a couple years ago, the Ravens. Neither had real poor offenses, but defense still wins championships.

"So the Jets are in transition in some positions, like quarterback, but they're as dangerous as any team in the league."

Bidwell, ranked second in the NFL with a 46.8 average, doesn't subscribe to the theory the Bucs are catching teams such as Minnesota, Green Bay and the Jets when they're struggling for answers.

"I don't buy into that, really, because Daunte [Culpepper] had all training camp, all preseason, to adjust without [Randy] Moss," he said. "They're not playing well for whatever reason. They looked terrible against us because our defense made them look terrible.

"Green Bay didn't win the game because our defense made incredible play after great play. So I do see that some teams are in transition, but any team can win at any given point.

"Even then, we're barely beating those guys. I don't want to diminish what we're doing; we're doing some great things. But winning and losing is a fine line in this league."

Which means you never question the karma when teams receive breaks like fumbles that aren't called (see Green Bay), missed extra points and overturned calls like against Detroit on which games often hinge in the age of parity.

"Exactly. We're getting some breaks, and we're making some plays we didn't make last year," Bidwell said. "But it takes a little more than just being a great team to win a championship every year and you see that year in and year out. You have to get some breaks and stay injury free. So far we've been able to do that."

Notes: Should the Bucs win Sunday, it would be the third time they started 5-0. In their fourth season they finished 10-6, losing to the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game. In 1997 they also finished 10-6, losing in the second round of the NFC divisional playoffs at Green Bay. ... The Jets lead the all-time series 7-1, winning the last meeting 21-17 at Raymond James Stadium in 2000 with Vinny Testaverde at quarterback. Testaverde, signed last week as an emergency backup, is expected to start against the Bucs.