49ers Ground Bucs' Running Game
Ira Kaufman, The Tampa Tribune, published 1 November 2005

Cadillac Williams returned for the first time in nearly a month, only to discover little had changed. Once again, the Bucs couldn't run effectively. Making his first appearance since Oct. 2 against Detroit, Tampa Bay's prized rookie was stuffed by the league's worst defense in Sunday's 15-10 loss to San Francisco. Despite a 15-yard run at the end of the opening quarter, Williams finished with only 20 yards on 13 carries behind an offensive line that admittedly lost most of the battles up front. "They played inspired football and whipped [us]," right tackle Kenyatta Walker said after the NFL's No. 5 ground game was outgained 158-43. "Games like this you're supposed to win, but obviously they wanted it more."

Chris Simms suffered five sacks, including three in the fourth quarter, as the league's worst defense forced eight Tampa Bay punts. "If you can't run the football in this league, you can't win," offensive line coach Bill Muir lamented. "It takes 11 people to run the ball and we had a very disappointing effort today. This game was within our grasp if we made a few plays … but we didn't."

The 49ers often utilized an eight-man front and blitzed extensively to slow down a running game that ripped Miami for 180 yards before the bye week. "It starts with me; I didn't play well," center John Wade said. "I don't have to look at the film to know that. We didn't run and we didn't protect the passer. As an offensive line, we didn't give our quarterback or our running backs a chance."

Williams couldn't find running room against the Lions four weeks ago before leaving in the third quarter with a sprained left arch. Sidelined for two games, Williams said he felt fine after Sunday's matchup, but he sounded pained by his performance. "I'd say it was below average," said Williams, whose four second-half carries generated 1 yard. "Their defense gave us a lot of trouble. I had some holes, but they closed quickly."

San Francisco defensive end Bryant Young, who sealed the upset with a pair of fourth-quarter sacks, applauded his maligned secondary. "I have to give credit to our defensive backs, who did a tremendous job," Young said after the 20th multisack game of his distinguished career. "We played together and with our defensive backs covering the wideouts, we were able to stop the run."

The 49ers had been yielding 124 yards per game on the ground, but stopping the run was the obvious priority Sunday as Simms made only his third pro start. "We had played six games and there's enough film of us to show other teams what we do," Walker said of Tampa Bay's marked improvement on the ground. "They game-planned us well, but when you're a good running team, you have to know eight-man fronts are coming. Now we've got division play starting and my favorite team [Carolina] coming to Tampa next week. We've got to remember what happened here today, then move on."

Instead of creating favorable third-down situations, the Bucs continually found themselves in third and long, contributing to a 21 percent success rate on football's critical down. "Yes, they got their safeties involved in stopping the run, but we've still got to do a better job across the board," said Bucs tight end Anthony Becht. "Today was a missed opportunity and division play opens with the Panthers next week. We've got to improve, and we've got to do it in a hurry."