Carnell Williams is still the Cadillac of Buccaneer Running Backs

He had to know coming in.  It had to be on his mind this past offseason.  And I'm sure it was no surprise to the coaching staff.  Opponents were going to stack the box against Josh Freeman to force the young quarterback to win games for the Buccaneers.  Which means Cadillac Williams was going to be the priority-one item on the Stop-That-Guy list every Sunday this season.  He had to know it.

How's it working so far?  The Buccaneers are 3-1 through the first quarter of the season.  So it's working just fine for Tampa Bay, thank you very much.

The best way to take pressure off a quarterback is a solid running game.  The Buccaneers have a solid, experienced offensive line, many of whom have played next to each other for multiple years.  It makes sense for the Buccaneers to be a run-first team.  It's no secret.  It's not even a rumor.  The Buccaneers want to run the ball down your throat, period.  The best of days is when the pass is needed to augment the run game.  The rough days are when the pass is needed to open up the run.

And let's face it -- if we know this, then opposing teams know it.  Head Coach Raheem Morris knows it.  And Cadillac Williams knows it.  3.4 yards/carry against Cleveland, 1.9 yards/carry against Carolina, 2.2 yards/carry against Pittsburgh, and 3.0 yards/carry against Cincinnati.  Every carry against a loaded front, with or without an included blitz, every yard hard earned.  And through it all you never hear a complaint.  Williams never points a finger.  Because he knows until the team establishes the young quarterback and young wide receivers as a threat you have to respect, he has to be ready to fight for every yard.  And should they dare start to look the other way, he has to be ready to explode.  Guess what?  It's a perfect fit to his mentality.  What do you think a guy who's had two shredded knees rehabbed would be like on a football field?  Happy?  Give me a break.

And don't discard Earnest Graham, either.  He knows the same thing, and as fullback he leads the charge on most plays.  Graham is another guy who has paid a long list of dues to get to the field.  What hasn't he done for this team?  How in the world can you think about changing a highly effective piece of the puzzle away from exactly what it is right now?  He's going to be the difference in a lot of games -- a 61-yard dagger from under the Buccaneers own goal posts last Sunday makes the point precisely.

Don't even get me started on how good Williams and Graham are catching the ball out of the backfield either.

There may be younger players showing flashes of talent on the roster, and we the fans are excited about all the youth and the future we believe they bring.  But there are some positions where the experienced players bring a heavy focus from other teams.  The attention on the Buccaneers backfield gives the youngsters on the edges room to roam.

But the tide is changing.  3-1 will do that.  Teams are starting to see that forcing the pass does not win the game.  In fact, concentrating only on the run game is become dangerous (just ask the Bengals, who had the ball, 1:30 left in the game, and a seven point lead).  The Buccaneers can beat you through the air -- they never called a running play in the fourth quarter against the Bengals.  And won.

What are you going to do now?  One thing is for sure:  Do not look past the four-legged creature roaming the Buccaneers backfield on game day.  It's a mistake you will regret.

The "Race to 10" Update: Playoffs Here We Come!!

A peek ahead at the upcoming schedule of the 3-1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Past:
WIN 17-14 Cleveland; Buccaneers Ranked #27
WIN 20-7 Carolina; Buccaners Ranked #20
LOSS 38-13 Pittsburgh; Buccaneers now Ranked #22
WIN 24-21 Cincinnati; Buccaneers Ranked #17 (currently)

Up Next:
New Orleans (3-2) 

Upcoming:
Saint Louis (2-3)
@Arizona (3-2)
@Atlanta (4-1)
Carolina (0-5)
@San Francisco (0-5)
@Baltimore (4-1)
Atlanta (4-1)
@Washington (3-2)
Detroit (1-4)
Seattle (2-2)
@New Orleans (3-2)

Remaining Schedule Cumulative Record: 26-28

Using the NFL.com expert consensus rankings (which change weekly), the Tampa Bay Buccaneers project to finish 10-6, which would qualify as an NFC Playoff Team!

GO BUCS!!

Did The Buccaneers Use Their Bye Week To Plan For The Bengals . . . Or The Saints?

I've been wondering how the Buccaneers spent their bye week.  Sure, the coaches will tell you they are focused on the next game (Cincinnati Bengals).  This is something a coach says to keep his players focused on the right task:  win one game at a time.  But coaches are sly.  And they can be very sly at times.  There is nothing better for a young team than time to regroup.  More study, more time, more technique, and more healing all go a long way in a long season.  Add in the benefit of extra preparation time and you can expand the playbook a bit for the rest of the season.  The question is how to expand the playbook. Certain things work better against certain teams.  So where did the Buccaneers spend their time?

The next game is always the most important game for any young team, particularly one as young as the 2010 Buccaneers.  And this weekend's game against the Bengals is no less important.  The challenges are obvious:  Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens are outstanding physical talents even though their mental composure is sometimes questioned. Cincinnati (2-2) beat Carolina 20-7 and Baltimore 15-10, but lost to Cleveland 23-20 and New England 38-24.  Buccaneer fans are familiar with Carolina and Cleveland, the "two" in the Buccaneers 2-1 record.  Certainly, this is a team the Buccaneers can compete with.  On the "against" side, this is the second road trip for this young team this year and you can expect a bigger, more hostile crowd in Cincinnati.  Cincinnati also represents the middle of a challenging early-season three game stretch for Tampa Bay with this game sandwiched between games against the Steelers and the Saints.  Winning this game means 3-1, a second strong road performance, and another notch in the growth of the 2010 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

However, the more important game for this season could be the Saints game at Raymond James Stadium the following week.  At 3-1, the Saints are currently at the top of the NFC South.  The most direct route to the playoffs is a division crown.  To win it, you have to win your home divisional games, then steal some road games.  The Buccaneers have already won at Carolina and so are on track thus far.  The Saints, however, have lost a division game -- a home game against Atlanta in fact.  This puts the Falcons in the driver's seat for now, and the Buccaneers must hold serve at home to keep pace. We all remember the overtime road win at the SuperDome late last season (the link is video, with a priceless moment, which will forever put a smile on my face -- you'll know it when it happens).  So we know Tampa Bay is certainly capable of winning this game, too.

Which is why you have to wonder if Head Coach Raheem Morris might have worked on some packages specifically needed to attack New Orleans this past bye week.  Certainly Coach Morris knows the formula.  Just as certainly, the Buccaneers and Saints know each other inside and out.  So any little unexpected wrinkle may go a long way towards a win.  And coaches, those sly coaches, they can work in this wrinkle here and that wrinkle there while practicing for one game, knowing full well it won't be used until the game after next.

Of course, reaching 4-1 makes the discussion irrelevant.  But would you risk a loss to the AFC Cincinnati Bengals to beat the NFC New Orleans Saints?  And how important is it to stay unbeaten at home?

Getting to 3-2 with a win over Cincinnati and a loss to New Orleans would put the Buccaneers at 1-1 in the division with a home divisional loss.  Such a scenario would firmly put the Atlanta Falcons in the lead of the divisional race.  

On the other hand, 3-2 with a loss to Cincinnati and a victory over New Orleans would bury the chance of New Orleans winning the division crown pretty deeply, turning the four team NFC South into a two horse race.  So perhaps a tiny bit of bye-week emphasis on New Orleans may have been in order.

Doing enough to beat the Bengals is good; putting in a little something for the Saints sounds good, too.  Really, really good.

It's not a slam on the Cincinnati Bengals.

It's just keeping your eye on the prize.