Cadillac, Petitgout officially done

It was a day of mixed emotions for Bucs coach Jon Gruden Monday morning during his weekly press conference.

The glow from Sunday’s 20-7 victory over the Carolina Panthers, raising Tampa Bay’s record to 3-1, was muted by the season-ending knee injuries sustained by running back Cadillac Williams and starting offensive left tackle Luke Petitgout.

“I’m very pleased with our performance yesterday for the most part. Obviously, we lost two key members of our football team for the season….and that’s a big blow. They’re great guys and we have some people who’ll need to step up now….It’s a tough day that way but we’re very happy with the win and we’ll also very excited about the challenge that awaits us this week versus Indianapolis.”

Gruden said that Michael Pittman and Earnest Graham will share the bulk of the running back duties with Williams out and second-year tackle Donald Penn of Utah State will take over for Petitgout.

“You lose a lot of skill,” Gruden said, talking about the double hit to his offense. “…Experience and production at those positions is something that every offense relies on. We’re confident in Donald Penn. We’re confident that he can go and do a good job for us. And I think Anthony Davis has proven in the past that he can play the position. Michael Pittman helped us win a couple of division championships here and Ernest Graham is clearly a capable runner and receiver.”

Gruden had nothing but praise for the Colts, including quarterback Peyton Manning, who orchestrated one of the NFL’s greatest comebacks against Tampa Bay Oct. 6, 2003, a 38-35 overtime victory in Tampa.

“I don’t remember being that being a very fun night,” Gruden said. “He’s the best. He does more at the line of scrimmage than any quarterback I’ve ever seen."

Comments

gruden has such sympathy for his hurt players..........very touching.

Are we going to see some trades for a LT or a RB? Is Chris Simms bait?

I hate to say it, but we should bring back Kenyatta Walker. He knows the schemes and can push Penn to become a better player.

[boltzfan]

Ricky Williams anyone?

[AL]

-Walker- I think not. These are 2 really big losses for us however, I am pretty confident in our back-ups. This is the first year I have been able to say that in a long time. Hopefully it wont get any worse. I had high hopes for Caddy this season, Hopefully he fully recovers and Graham can make it happen for us.

[Tampabaysportsfanatic]

Our two other backs look like they can shoulder the load and for the time being I think they deserve the chance. Penn looked great when he came in, and we have Davis backing him up. I def do not want Yatta back here. The only back out there I would want is Corey Dillon.

[Blah]

Not much of a loss in Cabby.
He is pretty horrible. He always gets hurt. What else is new.

Petitgout is a big loss though.

[bob]

I have 2 words for you... Lars Tate. Time to bring back Lars Tate.

[Joe Simmons (Slow Joe)]

LARS TATE?!?! DON'T BE RIDICULOUS!

Everyone knows we should bring back Errict Rhett.

;-)

[Morgan]

Anyone who says losing Cadillac Williams is not a significant loss is an inept football fan. He was not named 'Rookie of the year' because he was replaceable. Sure, he's caught some rough breaks-injury wise, but he is a great player-who showed signs of hitting his stride again in Sunday's game. Carnell Williams was drafted because the team needed a running back-someone other than Michael Pittman. So for all you 'fans' that think Cadillac's injury will have no effect on the offense-I say be prepared to eat your words.'

[Peter]

I imagine Gruden Will be calling Kenneth Darby up from the Practice squad. I believe he showed enough in the pre-sseason to get a chance. We will be fine at tackle, but now it looks like we will be burning another first day pick on a RB in this years draft.

[Ezekiel]

Caddy is a big loss. We are thinner at the position without him. Wish him a speedy recovery. Petigout is good player but having Garcia makes this loss not too bad. Garcia is mobile enough to get away from a lot situations. If Chris Simms was the starter, this would be a big problem.

We should be fine with Darby and the backups on the O-line. Remember, both Joseph and Sears have experience at tackle in college and could step in if they had to, although this would hurt the running game.

[George M.]

I have to agree with 2nd post - time to trade away Chris Simms for some backup depth on the offensive line. Seems like a nice kid, but his time is done here.

There is more depth @ running back and am confident that Pittman and Graham will be able to carry the load just fine.

[ERIC G]

CADILLAC is so sorry

[Eric]

Absolutely do NOT trade Simms. Simms has a chance to be the QB here for years to come. Garcia is the 2nd oldest QB in the league behind Brett Favre, he is not a long-term solution. Simms has no market value now, he wouldn't fetch a 3rd round pick.

Nobody in their right mind will trade a starting LT (what we need) for a banged up Simms. AND, once they trade Simms they have to gamble away a draft pick on a QB which is the biggest crap shoot in the NFL (Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch). Not to mention he has to develop for at least 1 year.

RB's can come in and play right away, its a much safer draft choice than a QB. They do need to draft another RB, too. Caddy is not durable enough and most teams use tandem backfields now anyway. They need to just stand pat and see how it shakes out, hopefully without pushing the panic button if they get beat by Indy (pretty much a given).

[Scott]

Yes, losing Williams hurts the depth on offense, but will probably not impact its productivity. He is an average back, as are his backups. Losing Petigout is a big blow and I am extremely nervous about Penn handling that position. You bet, if there is some way that Simms could be traded for a veteren to replace Petigout, I would be all for it. Can everyone now see from the wide open receivers that Garcia is finding that Simms and Gradkowski were clueless last year? Perhaps this could be a trade done with some team who is giving up on this year and is future minded and desperate for a QB prospect for next year. Falcons? Dolphins? Any suckers out there?

[Boyle]

KENYATTA WALKER?!!! Are you kidding me! The reason the Panthers didn't get 6 sacks Sunday was because they weren't lining up across from Walker. Let's leave him right in the unemployment line where he belongs.

[Tom]

One of the most encouraging things that happened yesterday was when the whole team went over there to show support for their young back.

Football is a team sport and that kind of comraderie will win championships. The Bucs looked like champions yesterday.

Hey, DR, how many guys on the Cowboys would walk over to check on TO?

[Tony]

I think Ronde needs to call his bro Tiki and see if he is interested in coming out of retirement. He obviosuly has plenty in the tank.

[Jesse]

Please, enough with the talk of Ricky Williams coming to Tampa! Even if the NFL wanted to reinstate him, a meeting to decide that issue is, according to published reports, AT LEAST a month and a half away and the Dolphins have not decided yet on whether they will release him from his contract. In other words, he can't help us now. I say promote Kenneth Darby from the practice squad and shop around for a trade or a free agent RB. Both Chris Simms AND Michael Clayton might be used for a trade (as has already been rumored), but I am not sure that I would support trading those guys.

[Dave]

How bout Mikey Vick in the backfield?

Him and Cad are about the same in stature.

Just think of the option plays Gruden could scheme if "dogbone" was there.

[CrazyIvan]

Where's Larry Czonka when you need him! :)

[Kevin]

Errict Rhett?! Lars Tate?! Why don't we just go in the "Way Back Time Machine" and bring James Wilder back.
Although Tate DID have one of the most amazing runs I ever saw in the old Sombrero!

[Clint]

Can we make a trade for Mike Turner (SD)?? One can only wish. :) He is going to be a free agent anyway and we have the $$$.

[Art]

You know what irks me? That so many of you, should the Bucs offense fall apart because they lost their NEW EXPERIENCED LT, AND lost Caddy for the year (possibly for good--torn patella tendon is not good news for the future of a running back), will start blaming Gruden again--as if the injuries are HIS fault. For Chrissakes, I don't want to hear one person blame Gruden if our offense suddenly disappears. That's what happens when you lose an All Pro quality RB AND LT in the same game. Just look at the difference between our offense yesterday before and after the injuries.

[aaron]

michael turner seems like a logical option. caddy definatly needs a running mate. i love him but he cant carry the load. at auburn he split time with ronnie brown and was healthy and productive. time to get him some help and i think turner is a great idea. Eric is absolutly right we need to keep simms. garcia is all but a band aid, but a good one so far. simms when healty is a good young qb. now that our line is shoring up maybe they could keep simms on his feet. trade grad man while gruden has everyone thinking he is a decent qb.

[DR]

Tom, talent wins championships. San Diego was one of the better comraderie teams last year and they got beat in their own house by more talent.
San Diego will not give up Turner because they feel sorry for you. You will have to give up something, are you willing to give up Galloway since SD is in dire need of a WR? It would be funny to see if they beg for Tiki, so he can be with his brother, but i'm certain the NY Giants still own his rights. Tiki would actually be a good fit, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, and he's like a Westbrook, who was the main reason for Garcia's success last year.

[John]

Hey Blah,
Why don't you take your sniveling butt to Kansas and cry since you do not know what you are talking about. I quarrantee you are not a true Buc's fan. Want a little cheese with that whine "BOY"?

[John]

Hey Blah,
Why don't you take your sniveling butt to Kansas and cry since you do not know what you are talking about. I guarantee you are not a true Buc's fan. Want a little cheese with that whine "BOY"?