With Williams' help, defense seals 3-0 start
Rick Stroud, The St.Petersburg Times, published 26 September 2005

Brett Favre has felt the hot breath of Warren Sapp on his neck, been tackled in the open field by Hardy Nickerson and intercepted by John Lynch. The Packers quarterback is an expert on the players - past and present - who make up the history of the Bucs defense. And in his likely Hall of Fame career, Favre had never lost to Tampa Bay at Lambeau Field. Until Sunday. "I've played against their defense I don't know how many times," Favre said. "But I really felt like going into this game that this was the best I've ever seen their defense play. After this game, I still feel that way."

How good is the defense? Good enough to overcome a fourth-quarter interception by Brian Griese that put the Packers in position to take the lead. Good enough to have backup safety Will Allen intercept Favre twice in the fourth quarter. And good enough to take advantage of the long sideline siestas provided by record-setting running back Cadillac Williams.

The rookie rushed for 158 yards on 37 carries, becoming the first player in NFL history to run for 100 yards or more in each of the first three games of his career in Tampa Bay's 17-16 win. Williams' performance enabled the Bucs to start the season 3-0 for only the fourth time and win their first game in Wisconsin since 1989. "There's not a lot of words to describe him," cornerback Ronde Barber said of Williams. "Just put the film on and you see what you have in this guy. There's a lot of great backs that have come through this league. For him to outdistance them all in the first three games of his career, he should feel good about it. We definitely feel good that he's running for us."

Williams' three-game total of 434 yards is the most of any NFL running back at the start of his career, breaking the previous record of 410 set by the Colts' Alan Ameche in 1955. But what means the most to the Bucs is his ability to close out games. Nearly half of Williams' yards - 190 to be exact - have come in the fourth quarter. "Right now, he's one of our best defensive players," defensive end Simeon Rice said. "It's keeping a dominant defense that much more dominant. He's like our 12th man."

It happened again Sunday against the Packers. Williams' most important carries came after Allen, playing for injured safety Dexter Jackson, intercepted Favre for the second time with 5:03 left. Allen caught the deflection after cornerback Juran Bolden tipped the ball away from Robert Ferguson at the Tampa Bay 5. With the Bucs needing to milk the clock and force the Packers to use their timeouts, Williams gained 46 yards on his next six carries. "It's nice. That's three weeks in a row he's done the same thing in the fourth quarter," Barber said.

Bolden's breakup of the pass to Ferguson was redemption for getting burned by him on a 37-yard touchdown from Favre in the first quarter. But Packers placekicker Ryan Longwell missed the extra point, which proved to be the difference. It ended Longwell's string of 157 successful extra points. He also missed a 42-yard field goal.

Allen's first interception, with 11:36 left on a Favre pass intended for Donald Driver, gave the Bucs a chance to put the game away after Griese's two first-half touchdowns to Joey Galloway helped build a 17-13 lead. After a 3-yard run, Williams, who got stronger with each carry, ripped off a run for 26 yards to the Green Bay 35. But two plays later, Griese threw late to running back Michael Pittman. The pass was picked off by cornerback Ahmad Carroll, who returned it 38 yards before stumbling and being touched down by hustling tackle Kenyatta Walker. "It's a very safe throw in our offense," Griese said. "I'm trying to give it to him, get 4 or 5 yards and keep the clock running. But I still don't know how the guy caught the ball."

But Favre couldn't cash in. On third and 5 from the Tampa Bay 14, his pass to Ferguson was tipped away by linebacker Shelton Quarles, forcing the Packers to settle for a field goal. "That third-down play that Shelton made was huge," Griese said. "That's the way we play. We play as a team. If one aspect makes a mistake or is down, the other side picks it up. "It's really special to be part of something like that now."

But nothing has been as special for the Bucs as Williams, the tireless running back out of Auburn who has given Tampa Bay's defense some much-needed rest. "I don't want to inflate his start or deflate it," Jon Gruden said of Williams. "In my lifetime in the NFL, he is the best back I've coached. That doesn't mean anything. That just means that after three games, I am making that statement. He has to back it up the rest of the season."