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Bucs

Can Caddy plow past the perils of Week 3?

By GARY SHELTON
Published September 25, 2005

The league did not look difficult enough for the kid with the cool nickname.

In his first game as a rookie, he was a monster, strong and powerful. In his second game, he was a sequel, unrelenting and unstoppable.

Tacklers fell from his shoulders as if he were shrugging off a shirt. Yards mounted. Fortunes changed.

The year before, his team had been dreadful. With him, however, it was 2-0, and his town was calling his name. Before the third game of his career, it looked as if he had invented the cure for the linebacker.

He was Alan Ameche, the Horse, and back in 1955, his Baltimore Colts were going to ride him as far as they could.

Then came the Packers, in Wisconsin, and a whole lot of carries for not much. From there, things got harder.

A half-century later, the player is Carnell Williams, and the mode of transportation is the Cadillac, but a lot of the other details are the same. Two big games in the rearview, the Packers in the headlights. An unbeaten start behind him, a long season in front.

He is running into the history books, already flashing past familiar names such as Walter and Barry and Emmitt and Jim. Two weeks in, and Williams' name is in the same sentence as the legends.

This is only a start, of course, and it should be pointed out that while some babies probably walked faster than Neil Armstrong, they weren't around when he stepped onto the moon. Getting out of the gate fast doesn't mean a horse will outrun Secretariat.

On the other hand, this just isn't a fast start. It's one of the best starts in NFL history.

Consider:

If Williams rushes for 100 yards against the Packers today, he will become the first NFL back to rush for 100 in each of his first three games. Jim and Walter and Barry didn't do that.

If Williams rushes for 135 yards, he will break Ameche's record of 410 yards rushing in his first three games. Emmitt and Gale and Marshall couldn't do that. No one else, either.

If Williams rushes for 149 yards, he will move into 24th place (up from 32) on the team's all-time rushing list.

It is amazing, the speed with which Williams has shown his speed. For NFL running backs, the 1,000-yard season has been cheapened by a longer season, but a 100-yard afternoon remains as difficult as ever.

Talk about leaving skid marks. After two games, Williams is 29 yards ahead of Eric Dickerson, 73 ahead of LaDainian Tomlinson, 46 ahead of Edgerrin James. At this point he is 134 ahead of Curtis Martin, 149 ahead of Jim Brown, 181 ahead of Walter Payton, 214 ahead of Gale Sayers and 263 ahead of Emmitt Smith.

Now comes the difficult part. Week 3, followed by all the other weeks. A lot of things threaten to slow down Williams this week.

For one thing, there is health. Williams injured a foot last weekend, and he missed a lot of practice last week. How many times he is able to carry the ball today remains to be seen.

Then, there are the Packers. Say what you will about Green Bay's poor start, but the team's run defense has been good. The Packers rank seventh in the NFL against the run, and they've allowed only 2.9 yards per attempt.

Ah, then there is history. Traditionally, Week 3 is where good starts go to die.

There have been eight other running backs who have gained 100 yards in each of their first two games. All of them fell short in Week 3.

Take, for instance, Ameche. A half-century ago, he gained 194 yards in his first game and 153 in his second. The Packers changed all of that. Ameche fumbled on his first play and finished with only 63 yards on 10 carries.

It happens. In 1979, Ottis Anderson of the St. Louis Cardinals had 193 and 109 yards in his first two games. In his third, against the Steelers, he was held to 37 yards on 16 carries.

In the same season, Atlanta rookie William Andrews gained 167 yards in his first game and 121 in his second. By the third, opponents were laying in wait. Denver held Andrews to 41 yards on 20 carries.

And so it goes. In 1994, the Colts' Marshall Faulk started his career with games of 143 and 104 yards. In Week 3, also against Pittsburgh, he gained 61 yards. That year, Charlie Garner (who played with the Bucs last year) was injured for the season's first three games, but he gained 111 yards in his debut and 122 the next week. In his third game, however, he was held to 57 yards by Dallas.

Eventually, the sledding gets tougher. Eventually, the streak will end. Eventually, Williams will be judged by things other than the way he came through the door.

Eric Dickerson, for instance, did not have a 100-yard game as a rookie until his fourth game. Still, he wound up with 1,808 yards and 18 touchdowns. All in all, a pretty good year. George Rogers had 1,674 yards as a rookie for the Saints. Anderson had 1,605, James had 1,553 and Clinton Portis had 1,508.

For the Bucs, however, it is still a start to enjoy. Remember, James Wilder, the best back the Bucs ever had, gained a total of 23 yards in his first three games.

No, Williams has not arrived at stardom.

Still, there is something to be said for the way a Cadillac leaves the showroom, isn't there?

[Last modified September 25, 2005, 02:15:40]