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Cadillac Will Remain Starting Back For Bucs

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By ROY CUMMINGS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 25, 2007

Updated:

TAMPA - A day later, Bucs coach Jon Gruden hadn't changed his mind. Despite winning 24-3 on Sunday, despite being 2-1 and despite being tied for the top spot in the NFC South division, he still wasn't satisfied.

On Monday, it was the running game that was bugging him, and understandably so. Despite an impressive 182-yard effort against the Rams, the Bucs' lead back, Cadillac Williams, is averaging 3.5 yards per carry.

That's not the kind of number that's going to worry an opponent. What worries Gruden, though, is the difficulty Williams and the Bucs have had running against this week's opponent - fellow NFC South leader Carolina.

Since Williams came into the league in 2005, the Bucs have run the ball 100 times in four games against the Panthers and gained 291 yards. Most of those yards (233) belong to Williams. So do most of the carries (64).

Nevertheless, Williams will lead the rushing charge against Carolina again on Sunday. He'll start the game, Gruden said, and if all goes as planned, he'll finish it with more carries than Michael Pittman and Earnest Graham.

'We'll talk about a running back by committee approach, but Carnell is our feature back,' Gruden said. 'He'll be the starting tailback and we'll do everything we can to incorporate Earnest and Pittman as well.'

That talk of further incorporating Pittman and Graham was sparked by the production the Bucs received from those two late in Sunday's 24-3 victory. As replacements for Williams, who was pulled after he ran 12 times for 46 yards and lost a fumble on the first play of the fourth quarter, Graham ran eight times for 75 yards and two touchdowns and Pittman ran four times for 25 yards.

Gruden actually was the first to suggest Graham might deserve more playing time, asking rhetorically 'Why hasn't he been playing more?' during his postgame press conference.

The answer, Gruden revealed Monday, is two-fold. It starts with Williams, who still has the ability to make big plays, according to Gruden. Then there's Graham, who has become an invaluable member of the special teams units.

The Bucs backup tailback is on the field for 18-20 plays per game on special teams. Until Torrie Cox returns from his league-mandated four-game suspension in Week 5, the Bucs probably won't reduce Graham's role there.

That means Graham is likely to continue seeing limited action as a running back, at least this week. That still could change if Graham gets into the game early and produces some big gains.

Gaining significant rushing yards early in the game is a problem all across the NFL. But the Bucs running backs are really struggling in that area, having gained 103 yards on 28 first-half carries.

Williams is struggling at an even greater pace. He's run the ball 24 times in the first half so far this year and gained 70 yards for a 2.9 average. That's pretty much in keeping with his history. Since he came into the league, Williams has run the ball 314 times for 994 yards (a 3.1-yard average) in the first half.

In the second half, Williams has run 258 times for 1,147 yards (4.4 yards per carry).

Getting significant yards early in games is tough for most NFL running backs. The key then, Gruden said, is to remain committed to the running game.

'We're just going to keep pounding the rock, as they say around here,' Gruden said. 'Sometimes the rock will break and you'll start to get some good looks and wear somebody down in the second half.'

Even Pittman and Graham had to acknowledge that's what happened Sunday against the Rams. Part of their success came against a tired defense.

Part of Graham's success, meanwhile, was due to Pittman's generosity. Eager to reward Graham for the hard work he puts in on the practice field, Pittman actually gave up a carry so Graham could run the ball.

'That first carry was supposed to be my carry,' Pittman said, referring to a 4-yard gain Graham made on a first-and-10 play from the St. Louis' 47. 'But I told Earnest, 'You go ahead and run it.'

'He was supposed to motion out and block, but I told him he could run it because he works so hard, and I wanted him to get an opportunity to carry the ball. Then he got really hot and scored two touchdowns.'

Williams scored a touchdown as well, the game-winner as it turned out. And while he didn't gain yards at the same pace as Graham and Pittman, Gruden said he turned in an adequate game, his fumble notwithstanding.

'He had two or three or four very nice runs to start the second half, and I'm just very confident that he'll pick it up and good things are on the horizon for him,' Gruden said.

'Certainly, we need to get more out of him because he's capable of delivering some home runs and some big hits for us. So we're going to keep giving him the ball, and hope those runs are in our near future.'

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979 or rcummings@tampatrib.com.

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