Williams reminds all that he's only human

A pair of injuries knock the rookie phenom out after a 13-yard day.

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER
Published October 3, 2005

TAMPA - Cadillac Williams, who in three weeks had become one of the biggest stories in football, struggled through a tough outing before finally succumbing to a pair of injuries. Then, after his team had preserved its perfect record without him, the rookie made a shocking admission.

"Every Sunday ain't going to be perfect," he said. "You can't go out there and break records every Sunday. You have to accept the good with the bad."

What? Had fans become so accustomed to Williams running through the teeth of defenses and into history that they forgot he was merely human? After enshrining his gloves and shoes from last week's record-setting performance, what use would the Hall of Fame have for him after this 13-yard performance?

Williams brought fans down to earth on Sunday, but he encouraged everyone not to worry about the left hamstring strain that ended his day prematurely in a 17-13 victory over Detroit, vowing to play next week at the Jets. Though he wanted to return after sustaining the injury early in the third quarter, and though he pleaded his case to the medical staff, he was overruled for precautionary reasons.

"I felt a little something tweak," the No.5 overall pick out of Auburn said. "Maybe I was compensating for my (foot injury). Right now, I don't know the extent of it. It's not too bad though. Just a little tight."

Williams added, "I'm going to get healthy and I'll be ready to go Sunday. ... I wanted to (return to the game), but it was their call this time. I couldn't force my will on them. They said if I pulled my hamstring that could really delay me a long, long time. Therefore, they weren't taking a chance."

He had a left foot injury that had kept him out of practice for most of the week. He said he didn't work out until Friday, and even then he wasn't himself. But it would not be enough to shut him down. Detroit's all-or-nothing defensive scheme geared to stopping the run was another matter, though. There were almost no running lanes available to Williams or any of the Bucs' other backs.

So, after leading the league in rushing through three weeks with 434 yards, Williams could muster only 13 yards on 11 carries before his hamstring injury - or according to him, "a bump in the road" - ended his afternoon. To put his day in perspective, if you took away his longest run of 12 yards, he would have averaged 0.1 yards a carry.

But Williams didn't sound like a beaten man afterward. He was too excited about being undefeated.

"It's a wonderful feeling being 4-0," he said. "It's something you could never imagine, especially on this level. You know you're going to lose ballgames here and there, but 4-0, you can't beat that."

Williams hasn't lost a game since his junior season at Auburn, and was actually stumped when asked when his last loss came. For the record, it was Nov.15, 2003, versus Georgia.

Before long, the Bucs may be back to winning behind Williams' powerful running. But Sunday, they won in spite of his absence as he watched in pain.

It was difficult to watch, Williams said, but winning made it hurt a little less.

"It's always better when I can watch and we win," he said. "I felt a whole lot better."

[Last modified October 3, 2005, 01:16:11]