No Cadillac, but they still stick to script

The Bucs pound the ball even after losing their star back to injury.

By STEPHEN F. HOLDER, Times Staff Writer
Published October 1, 2007

Michael Pittman took the starring role for the Bucs Sunday, rumbling for 90 yards on 15 carries, mostly coming after the loss of Cadillac Williams.
	[Brendan Fitterer | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Brendan Fitterer | Times] Bucs running back Cadillac Williams crumples as he is injured on a first quarter play. Williams was carted off the field with what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Bucs lost Cadillac Williams, a player they consider their franchise running back, but you wouldn't have known it because the game plan barely deviated from the script.

With an early lead, the Bucs had a simple strategy: run, run and run again.

Even after Williams was carted off the field with what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury, the Bucs ground out a season-high 42 rushing attempts for 189 yards.

The immediate reaction to the loss of Williams was to wonder what impact his absence would have on the offensive approach. But if Sunday was any indication, don't look for an overhaul.

"We stuck with it. We didn't panic," fullback B.J. Askew said. "That's a sign of good coaching. A lot of times, a coach loses their primary back and they go straight to the air. But we have a coach who has a lot of confidence in all of us, not just our star players. He knows we have good players behind our stars waiting in the wings, and we just stuck with it."

The players who allowed coach Jon Gruden to take heart were backups Michael Pittman and Earnest Graham, who turned heads against the Rams Sept. 23 when Williams was benched after a critical fumble.

Pittman took the starring role Sunday, rumbling for 90 yards on 15 carries an impressive 6 yards per carry. His long run of 29 yards was Tampa Bay's longest of the day.

Graham, the former Gator, was less stellar than a week ago, when he scored his first two NFL touchdowns, but he scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, mere minutes after Williams' injury, for a 14-0 lead.

The Bucs got just six carries from Williams before he left. It helped that they were playing with a lead, having scored on their first possession.

But even with a lead, had the running game not produced, the Bucs would have been forced to make many more pass attempts than the 25 quarterback Jeff Garcia threw.

"It says something to me, that (Gruden) has faith in me and Earnest," Pittman said. "We stayed with it and kept breaking tackles and put up close to 200 yards rushing against a good defense on their homefield. We appreciate it.

"We lost a great running back in Cadillac Williams," Pittman said. "But me and Earnest have to step up and do the best we can. We have to keep pressing."

Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3377.

[Last modified September 30, 2007, 23:48:18]