A Caddy for every game

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Post a comment | E-mail this story | Print

Cadillac Williams runs for some of his 158 yards as the Bucs won in Green Bay, 17-16, for the first time since 1989.

Fans may worry about rookie running back Cadillac Williams' durability, but Bucs coach Jon Gruden will keep handing the keys to his new offensive weapon.

Williams continues to astound most in the football world but Gruden. With a league record 434 yards in his first three career games, including 158 on 37 carries against Green Bay Sunday, he continues to earn Gruden's trust.

With a tenuous one-point lead and seven minutes to play, Williams became a one-man ball-control machine, wearing down the Packers' defense, running for 79 of his yards on 14 fourth-quarter carries.

Watch Joey Galloway's Second TD of the Game
	Click here to watch using Windows Media Player. Click here to watch using Real Player.

"It was big," Gruden said at his Monday media gathering. "Psychologically it's huge. It forced them to exhaust all of their timeouts. Anytime you get a chance to take the ball out of a great quarterback's hands that's a good thing."

It's also a good feeling for Gruden when the ball is in Williams' hands.

"Great running backs have a tendency to run by instincts, run by feel," Gruden said. "When you see the same blocking patterns three or four times you can anticipate what you can do the next time. And some of it is just sheer will and determination and guts and talent. He's a phenomenal competitor and he's blessed with great talent.

"We wouldn't be putting him in these situations if we didn't think he could do it. It's no coincidence that he's playing his best football late in games. So as long he can take it we'll continue to give him these opportunities.

"If a situation has us with the lead, and we're in the fourth quarter and the clock is the enemy, then you're going to see more of Cadillac Williams."

Williams' work late in games is also keeping the Bucs' defense fresher than the past two seasons when they wore down repeatedly late in games from fatigue and lack of depth.

"We'll be better in our two-minute defense if we're not put in that situation every time," Gruden said. "But our defense showed up big time yesterday. [Juran] Bolden's big play on the tipped interception, getting a turnover the series before that, forcing a field goal after they (Packers) had created their own turnover.

"We expect those guys to be at their best when we have a lead. But, we'd like to keep them off the field if we can close games out offensively and that's something we're very excited about in the last three weeks."

The one negative in the team's otherwise perfect 3-0 season has been the continued preponderance of penalties. It had eight more whistled against them Sunday for 103 yards.

What bothered Gruden most was the loss of offensive momentum established in the first half.

"We felt we had good rhythm going in the first half," he said. "Then we had a couple penalties to start the second half. It's hard to make first downs when you're way behind in down and distance situations.

"You take that running game theory out and you have to throw the ball. We were able to convert some very difficult situations, but the penalties hurt us bad."

Penalties also hurt field position in the kicking return game.

On the flip side, it wasn't lost on Gruden when Green Bay missed a makable 42-yard field goal and an extra point that decided the outcome.

"It looked scarily familiar to me," Gruden said. "I'm sure they're sick about that today. As I've said, if you're going to finish last in field goal accuracy (as the Bucs were the past two seasons) you're not going to win many tight games."

The Bucs host Detroit at Raymond James Stadium Sunday at 1 p.m.