Caddy rolls again

Cadillac Williams returned to action today for the first time in 14 months. None of his plays will be replayed among the day's biggest highlights, but his feat might have been the most amazing of all.

You'll have to cut Williams some slack for finishing with 27 yards on 16 carries. Most of his attempts came late in the game when the Lions knew the Bucs were merely trying to run the clock out and they had eight or nine defenders near the line of scrimmage.

Here's what Williams and coach Jon Gruden had to say after Williams' performance.

On his first hit, Williams said, "I believe that's one of the best hits that I've ever had in my life. Just to go out and get hit, I was so excited. It was like I had scored an 80-yard touchdown. It was like, 'Wow.' It felt good. I'm really blessed. In my mind I'm thinking, 'I'm going to do good.' But this is a tough sport. There's guys flying at you, guys flying at your knees. But once you just start playing football, it comes natural."

Gruden said, "I think he looked good. He didn't make a lot of yards. The stat kings out there will criticize us. But he looked good in his uniform, he looked confident, he had a vibe about him and he finished his runs at the end. It's the first time he's carried the ball in a year and a half. I'm emotional about this comeback and I'm really happy that he feels good about the next step. All I know is we have five games left and we're going to need him. Earnest Graham ain't coming back."

Comments

[noosa]

Let me introduce you to our short yardage back(until he gets reacquainted to the NFL). Welcome back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams.

[JC]

Bucs lead the NFC South. Carolina - Atlanta game just went final. Falcons 45-28

[BuccanBobby]

Congrats to the whole team for winning a game that could easily have been lost. Welcome back Caddy...we'll need you. Coach G, while your 3rd and short yardage play calling has gotten extremely predictable, kudos to you for keeping this team tracking towards a strong finish. Big chore next week, keep Garcia rolling out!
BuccanB

[Yohan GRASSIN]

That was a sweet block he laid on Garcia.

[Yoshi]

You better beleive hes gonna keep on rollin. Im not fooled by his lackluster debut. I know hes got alot of rust but he will be back and better than ever. We got a really important three week stretch coming up and we cant afford to lose any of them. This is gonna be the Test for the second half of the bucs season. If we get through this in good health we're gonna be in really good shape for the playoffs. I think Caddy will shine throughout this stretch. Just one question... Where are all those people who said Caddy wouldnt come back? Or how about those who said the Bucs will be 6-10 or 7-9 this season? I dont hear you now. By the looks of it, we are headed to the second best season in our franchise history,and with a little luck it could be the best. Go Caddy and Go Bucs, all the way to the play-offs!!

[IdahoBUCfan]

Thank you Coach Gruden for fighting and pounding the rock! We know you work hours that we would Never want to work, and take more crap about every decision
than anyone I have ever seen, Keep up the Great coaching job, inspite of ungrateful know-it-alls who try to pretend to be fans! GO BUCS!

[King]

Nice to have the Caddy back out of the shop. I never posted on it, but I didn't think it was possible for him to come this far within this season. Kudos to him for his efforts and the Bucs for having another great season.

[D'ave]

Williams looked better in the fourth quarter, even hurdling over a Lions tackler on a 6-yard sweep. Wasn't afraid to go inside either, unlike the media darling, Reggie Bush.

[Aaron Law]

i am still not aaron law but it was great to see Caddy out there again.

[James]

Man, you'd think there'd be alot more people in line here to congratulate Cadillac but I guess they're all too busy chewing that not-so-tender crow.

Though his stats weren't impressive to say the least, the kid controlled the 4th qurter with some of the most punishing runs I've seen a Bucs' RB deliver in seemingly forever. He not only put his head down and delivered extreme punishment, he made full-speed cuts, jukes and even hurdles. The cut-back run he had on carry #12 would've been for 6 if the defense wasn't with 9 in the box.

Matter of fact, go back and watch how many of Caddy's 16 carries came against 9-10 man fronts. i'd say atleast 12.

With all things considered, I'd say Cadillac is gonna be right. Especially against some the normal 7-man fronts.

Go Bucs!!!

[Dave]

Welcome back kid! Amazing come back!