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For their own good Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
TAMPA - In the beginning, there was Louis "Kia" Carter. It is there the image of the Tampa Bay running back as a parked car was born.
There was Ricky "Pinto" Bell who begat Jerry "Edsel" Eckwood who begat Lars "Gremlin" Tate. There was Reggie "Rambler" Cobb and Errict "Vega" Rhett and Michael "Yugo" Pittman. For the record, there was Bo Jackson, a Rolls-Royce type of player; unfortunately, he was out of the Phantom line.
For the Bucs, the running game has been one clunker after another. There has been no horsepower and no mileage, no comfort and no power. One after another, the backs have knocked and wheezed until they, too, were left on the side of the road.
What joy, then, to step up to a Cadillac.
The Bucs made a good pick Saturday. Provided Carnell "Cadillac" Williams can stay out of the shop, it may have been a great one.
Finally, the Bucs may have found the running back they have been searching for their entire life.
There is something to the kid, something stylish, something sleek. There is enough charisma, enough confidence to ease your worries, enough flash, enough fire to rekindle your hope. Also, he can go from zero to 40 in 4.46 seconds.
It is about time, is it not? For decades, the Bucs have looked for a franchise running back. Yes, they have come close. James Wilder had a dependable career, and Warrick Dunn had his moments, and fans love Mike Alstott. But the franchise has never had a true star as a running back.
Over the past quarter of a century, no team in the NFC has had fewer 1,000-yard rushing seasons than the Bucs. No fans have seen more rushes for fewer yards involving less daylight.
"I'm confident I can be the runner the Bucs have waited for," Williams said. "My goals are high. I think we can turn this thing around. I can see the Bucs being among the best running teams in the league, and I can see myself being an elite back."
The thing is, if you squint, you can see it, too. Hey, no one ever nicknamed him after a Hyundai, did they? No one in the draft is ever bust-proof (remember Blair Thomas?), but you have to like Williams' chances of success. He is big enough. He is fast enough. And he burns to be a great player, a quality more rare than you might expect.
You know who Williams is? If Michael Clayton had been born a running back, he would be Carnell Williams. Both were the primary reasons their team was unbeaten during their final seasons. Both were the acknowledged leader in the locker room.
You know who Williams is? He is Warrick Dunn at 217 pounds.
You know who Williams is? He was the best car on the lot. Also, as far as the Bucs were concerned, he was the best running back in the draft.
Yes, Williams was drafted behind Auburn teammate Ronnie Brown. But consider this: Every time Auburn really needed a play over the past four years, the ball found its way into Williams' arms.
Yes, Williams was drafted behind Texas' Cedric Benson. But consider this: The Bucs liked Williams much better. Running backs coach Art Valero says he breathed a sigh of relief once Benson was picked. Put it this way: If the Bucs were still running the old between-the-guards offense of Mike Shula, Benson would have fit better. In this offense, he doesn't.
"He's a natural fit for us," Valero said.
What scares you about Williams? Strangely, it seems to be his size, a particular dash of hooey you shouldn't spend 4.46 seconds (Williams' time in the 40) worrying about. If Williams fails, it won't be because of size.
For goodness sakes, how big is a running back supposed to be? Williams is just short of 5-11 and 217 pounds. You want comparisons? Walter Payton was 5-10, 200. Emmitt Smith is 5-10, 216. Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Ladainian Tomlinson, Priest Holmes, Curtis Martin, Clinton Portis, Marshall Faulk and Thurman Thomas are all roughly the same size. Compared to Dunn, the last Bucs' back to gain 1,000 yards, Williams is John Riggins.
"It's amazing to me," Williams said. "I'm not a little man. People are acting like I'm 5-7 and 160. I've got good size."
Williams has a fairly large streak of competitiveness, too. Bucs coach Jon Gruden found out about that in the Senior Bowl when he took Williams for a test drive.
Before the game, Gruden told Williams - who he describes as "a folk hero" in Alabama - he didn't plan to play him much in the game. Williams was going to get a couple of snaps, and that was it.
"We had a deal," Gruden says. "I felt good about it, and I thought he felt good about it. That lasted until the third play of the game when I saw him down there yelling at me."
Gruden grins, and you get the feeling he really didn't mind the fire. You get the feeling he wouldn't mind seeing a bit of it in his huddle. You also get the feeling he wouldn't mind seeing Williams weaving through a secondary, either.
About time, isn't it? The Bucs' running game has been awful for years. Despite that, the feeling around One Buc was that running back was a position a team could fill in the second round, maybe later. Only Bell, who lasted four seasons (and later died young from a blood disease) and Jackson, who never signed here, were taken with a top-10 pick.
Given all of that, this was an easier pick than you might have thought. Yes, there was some thought about a wide receiver or a quarterback, but it wasn't as close as you would think. Mike Williams fell to 10th. Aaron Rodgers fell to 24th.
As for the Bucs, they got a heck of a deal on a new car.
"You know, Cadillac used to have a motto," Valero said. "You can drive one for 10 years.' That sounds good to me."
Gruden, by the way, drives a Mercedes. Valero drives a Durango.
Williams? He drives a Cadillac Escalade. Of course he does.
Before long, the entire franchise might drive one.
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Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
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