Cadillac rolls again

Cadillac Williams stepped onto the practice field with his teammates Wednesday morning for the first time since suffering a devastating knee injury 13 months ago.

Williams, who tore the patellar tendon in his right knee against the Carolina Panthers last Sept., has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list. He has at least three weeks before the team has to decide whether to activate him to the 53-man roster or place him on Injured Reserve.

Williams has no doubt that he will play this season.   

"I do still feel the same way,'' Williams said. "I said way back I definitely felt like I was going to play. It's here. Now it's just a matter of me going out and doing it.''

Williams participated in the walk-through Wednesday morning and was at practice in the afternoon, catching passes from quarterback Jeff Garcia.

The biggest hurdle, Williams said, will be to overcome his fear of cutting and receiving contact.

"I've never been out there with guys flying around and running at me,'' Williams said. "I'm still excited to see how I react off of that, making guys miss here or there. Not just doing it off of bags and cutting.

"To me it's more in my mind now, just to know it's okay. I've already put it through a lot. I'm able to do everything without a problem. Now it's just me overcoming it mentally.''

Comments

Go Caddy Go

[Mark]

"The biggest hurdle, Williams said, will be to overcome his fear of cutting and receiving contact." That's exactly why he should be held out until next year. Now is not the time to be running without confidence. Let training camp and pre-season games in 2009 be his proving grounds, not real games with so much on the line. Graham, Dunn and Bennett have the RB position covered for now. LEAVE IT ALONE!!

[Tony]

Mark,

Agreed. If it's not broke, don;t fix it. However, if Dunn's injury will be for an extended amount of time, we might need him.

[Karl Williams]

I agree.

[Yoshi]

Cadillac is BACK!!! Give it a few weeks and the bandwagon will come around to pick up all these doubters.
Go Cadillac GO BUCS!!!

[Adam]

Graham and Bennett are more than adequate. The Bucs don't NEED to rush this. This young man's carreer is at stake.

[Tim]

Caddy was a bust before the injury .. first 3 games were history breaking .. after that ........... well .. you know the rest ........

[Tom]

I love that kid, Carnell. He has a bank full of guaranteed money so he could've easily hung up his cleats. He has worked his tail off to get back on the field. He is a huge inspiration to his teammates.

I hope he gets back in shape and prove these doubters wrong.

[Kurt]

I can't wait for the Graham/Williams combo-kit. Watch out NFL!!!

[Dwayne]

Thats right i agree 100% tom i cant wait till he comes back and shuts everyone up.

[Tim in Seattle]

I agree with the bloggers that waiting for the right time to play Cadillac is the smart thing to do. We're running the ball really well and we still have Michael Bennett as a third option. Still, it's great to see him back and practicing. His presence on the field is nothing short of inspiring.

GO RAYS!!!

Tim

[Brandpn]

And what exactly has Williams done since week 4 of 2005? I'm guessing that those that still think Williams can play are the same people that thought Paris Warren would be a go-to receiver or that Brian Griese would be a great QB for us.

Face it, blind ones, Williams has the worst hands of any RB in the league, tip-toes through the hole, tries to bounce everything outside, is always hurt, fumbles too much, can't block and isn't nearly the big play threat as advertised (EG has more runs over 40 yards in this season alone than Williams has for his entire career).

This guy's career was over BEFORE he got hurt, he's terrible and if a decision to activate him at the expense of another player, it might be the worst decision this season, including the one to bench Garcia for that bum Griese.

[Brandon]

For the record, Williams is the 4th best RB on the Bucs roster, after this year we will have the pleasure of cutting one of the many big offensive busts from the 2005 draft (Alex Smith, Ced Benson, Mike Williams, etc)... Carnell sucks and has since week 4 of 2005. Put a fork in him, he's done!

[Nate]

This season has been littered with terrible decisions. That's why our record is so terrible. We need a new coach who stops doing such terrible things. Obviously, this ship is sinking.

[DW]

I want to barf on myself when I think about why we have Cadallic, we had a good running back in Jones and we could have had him for very little money ask the Bears, however Johhny boy did not like him because McKay traded his boy McGee(sp?) a wide out from Michigan, who could not run a route if a Mack truck was clearing a path for him. We could have used the draft pick on a line man or something other than Caddy. If Ego boy could put it a side and man up we would not even be talking about this!

[Brandon]

Thomas Jones should have never left here. Instead Jon coveted 31-year old Charlie Garner who was coming off a major knee injury... TO make matters worse, the Bucs gave Garner 1 more year on his deal and 1 million more on the contract given to him by the Bucs than the Bears gave Jones. Jones SHOULD have never left... I remember Bruce Allen saying smuggly, "We'll see how Jones likes Chicago come December".... Brilliant move, dumbass!

The terrible WR from Michigan that could neither run a route or get separation wasn't McGee, but Marquis Walker.

If we want to really talk about SHOULD'VE's, let's go with my fave, in the 2004 draft I had two guys on my wish list, DT Tommie Harris and RB Steven Jackson... Harris was gone by the time our pick came around... and we went with (gulp) Michael Clayton! UGGGHHHHH! I hated the pick then, thought I must be wrong when he played so well in 04, but as it turns out I wasn't wrong... just like I wasn't wrong about Carnell Williams. We need to cut loose the Stonehand Brothers ASAP... well, at least Clayton can play ST, we can keep him around until his contract expires.

[Kurt]

Brandon...isn't Griese 3-1 (provideing us with one of our best comebacks ever and that loss coming when he couldn't finish the game) as a starter? Isn't Caddy already in Canton for the feats he provided the NFL in his first 4 weeks of service. You are still not the brightest football mind friend! Caddy may have some issues catching the ball out of the backfield, but he is, bar-none, the best true runner on our team. That said, I love all of our runners.

[Joe]

Really Brandon, got root for another team. We're 5-2 and look very good. Every team makes mistakes when drafting or else people like J Rice wouldn't have made it so far down the draft board. You really think you KNOW all these things? You seem relatively dim to me quite frankly because this team is stacked with talent and we have a few really good QB's. What's so wrong with that formula Einstein?

[Joe]

BTW - Why are we talking about T Jones, a virtual nobody on the NFL landscape? We have 3-4 solid running backs that are better than him. What's the fuss?

[Willie]

If my memory serves me correctly, Caddy was the 2nd leading rusher and on a 19 yard scamper when he hurt himself last year. I know these facts derail you naysayers attempts to get out misinformation (much like the Republican party and "liberal" media,) but hey, somebody has to stop your ignorant rhetoric. If he's back to form, Caddy should stay. Let the loser Bennet go.

[dave]

Wow Brandon and DW, your collective ignorance is astounding. Greise went 3-1 when Garcia obviously had something wrong with him.

Marquise Walker was a McKay selection. I even remember a film clip of Gruden during OTA's:
"Marquise! Marquise! Is that the best route you can run? IT IS?!?! (Points to McKay and some of his staff) Nice f**in draft pick fellas!" Classic.

Thomas Jones signed with the Bears at 12:01 am. He did not want to stay with the Bucs because he was in the doghouse for fumbling. Mistake? Maybe. But how many great yeards did he have after leaving?

[CW]

Thomas Jones? Are you people serious? EG is way better. The Bucs have three backs who are better than Thomas Jones. Where are the Jets right now? 3-3. You can have Thomas Jones. EG and Warrick both have higher yards per carry averages than Jones.

[Ray Sivley]

I remember about 6 months ago I was playing golf near Carnell's home town here in Alabama and there was SERIOUS concern he would never play again. My thoughts are if he is under contract and wants to put in the work, why should we, the couch potato fans, question his work ethic or desire?

[Sonny]

random thoughts: I haven't completely given up on him yet. Bucs shouldn't "plan" on him by any means but give him a shot. Who knows, maybe his injury will make him change style a little, force him to play more north-south than east-west and hit the hole with a little more authority. He'll never be a pass catcher though. horrible hands.