Newbies to thank for 180

Coach Jon Gruden says adds such as Cadillac, Buenning and Smith help Bucs reverse 5-11 mark.

By RICK STROUD
Published January 1, 2006

TAMPA - How did the Bucs do such an about face with their record this season?

It's about new faces.

Going from 5-11 to potentially 11-5 with a win over New Orleans today is the turnaround few envisioned at the start of training camp.

Rising from the basement to the top of the NFC South took new additions: Cadillac Williams, Matt Bryant and Chris Hovan, to name a few.

Alex Smith, Dan Buenning and Ike Hilliard, to name a few more.

"It's just like a few years ago. I think we went from nine wins to 15 wins," coach Jon Gruden said of 2002. "We made some major changes on the roster and some of the changes we made came through for us. If players come in and stay healthy, you've got a chance. Our performance has been better. You add Cadillac Williams, and Buenning and Alex Smith and some young linemen come through for you, we stay healthy on defense, we make a few field goals - well, hel-lo! You've got a chance to be in games and win them."

Seattle is the only NFC team returning to the playoffs from last season, so the Bucs weren't the only ones making U-turns.

Chicago showed the biggest improvement, from 5-11 in '04 to 12-4 with a win over the Vikings today. The Giants (10-5 entering Saturday night's game at Oakland), Cowboys (9-6) and Redskins (9-6) each could reverse its record from a year ago.

Beating the Saints would give the Bucs only their fifth division title in club history and the second in four years. More important, they would host a playoff game next weekend at Raymond James Stadium.

"It's almost like a few years ago when we won a lot of games and the games were tight, not always pretty games, but we found ways to win," Gruden said. "We made some improvements as the season unfolded and that generally had a lot to do with it."

The biggest improvement was at running back, where Williams is a lock to be named the NFL offensive rookie of the year.

Every NFC team that has either clinched a playoff spot or is on the verge has done it with a 1,000-yard rusher.

Seattle has Shaun Alexander, the Bears are carried by Thomas Jones, the Giants ride Tiki Barber and the Redskins have been revitalized by Clinton Portis.

Williams, who has rushed for 1,097 yards and six touchdowns despite missing all or parts of three games, is in that class.

"Every level I've played in, from peewee to middle school to high school to college and now pro, the key to winning ballgames late in the season is running the ball and playing great defense," Williams said. "That's something this team has tried to establish and I feel like we're getting better each and every game."

All you need to know about the turnaround is this: When Williams rushes for 100 or more yards in a game, the Bucs are 6-0. That doesn't include the 96 rushing yards he had in a win over New Orleans last month.

"Most teams do have that," Gruden said. "Most teams over the years. You usually have a guy who's in the upper echelon of total yardage, rushing and receiving. You've got a guy that's the 275 to 325 carry a year guy. That's the typical way you do it."

Atypical is the improvement in placekicking. Ranked last in field-goal percentage over the past two seasons at around 62 percent, Bryant has made 19 of 23 attempts (82 percent).

"Every game in this league comes down to points, even extra points are huge," punter Josh Bidwell said. "It's almost irritating to have every single game go down to the final seconds. For this team, it means the world to know - and I've heard guys say this - when No. 3 runs out there, we've got three points. And that's huge because it's momentum."

Bidwell, who was named to his first Pro Bowl, ranks second in the NFL with a 45.5 yard average.

"It's fun because I feel like if I hit a good punt inside the 20, I'm laughing," Bidwell said. "I'm like, "I would hate to be your offense right now.' "

That's because the Bucs defense, ranked No. 2 overall, extended its streak of top-10 finishes to nine seasons. The best addition was Hovan, the defensive tackle who helped the Bucs go from 19th against the run in '04 (123.3 yards per game) to seventh (96.3).

"He's playing tremendous football," defensive line coach Rod Marinelli said. "I mean, he is as good as we've ever had here. ... Whatever an "A' player is, that's him."

Last, but certainly not least, has been the play of quarterback Chris Simms.

Only Bears rookie Kyle Orton, who recently was replaced by Rex Grossman, has won more games than Simms (5-4) as a backup. Simms, 25, was helped by 11th-year receiver Joey Galloway, who in his second year with Tampa Bay has career highs of 79 catches for 1,249 yards, with eight TDs.

"Not a lot of teams in the playoffs are playing with their second quarterback, either," Gruden said. "Chris Simms, he's been a huge factor. And we got our faces kicked in the first couple outings, it's a credit to him to really show resolve and stick-to-it-iveness and all that stuff that his dad (Giants Super Bowl QB Phil Simms) was all about. And by God, you're a lot like your dad, at the end of the day."

[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:29:14]