Williams finally kicks punt return habit John Romano, The St.Petersburg Times, published 23 December 1996 When he faked his way past the first wave of Bears, Karl Williams saw the end zone before him with only a punter in his way. In other words, he saw disaster. Please excuse his irrational fear of the least imposing defender on the field, but Williams has run into punters before. And he hasn't always run away. Just a week earlier, Williams was on his way to the second punt return for a touchdown in Bucs history when he was tripped by Minnesota punter Mitch Berger at the 13. It was one of three tackles Berger made on Williams in the game. And that was after Green Bay punter Craig Hentrich tackled him after a 26-yard return earlier in the season. "When the hole opened up, I saw the punter standing there and the first thing that went through my mind was, `Not again,' " Williams said. "I saw him flat-footed and that's when I knew I had him. Unlike last week, it broke down a little different." Williams faked his way past punter Todd Sauerbrun near midfield Sunday and went untouched for an 88-yard touchdown, the longest punt return in Bucs history. Tampa Bay's only other punt return for a touchdown was an 80-yarder by Vernon Turner in 1994. The Bucs never have returned a kickoff for a score. The return highlighted a terrific season-ender for special-teams coach Joe Marciano and his troops: Tommy Barnhardt set a Bucs season record for gross punting average at 43.1 and net average at 37.8. With a punt to the Bears' 1, Barnhardt also tied Dan Stryzinski's season record of 24 punts inside the 20. Michael Husted kicked a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter and added a 22-yarder later to set a team record with 25 field goals in a season. It was Husted's longest field goal of the season. The Bucs finished the season with a punt return average of 11.7 and a kickoff return average of 23.4, both team records. Yet it was the punt return by Williams in the second quarter - set up by a Bears penalty that negated an unreturned punt - that generated most of the afternoon's attention. Knowing the team's sad historyof returns, coach Tony Dungy often had mentioned the desire for a touchdown return during the season. And Marciano's quest for a score was obvious. "I think if Joe's ego didn't get (in the way), he would have broken down and cried," special-teams standout Kenny Gant said. "I really think so. I saw it in his eyes." Williams became Tampa Bay's returner at about midseason because the Bucs needed roster help. Williams gave the team versatility because he was in the wide receiver rotation and also could return kicks. That meant returners Marvin Marshall and Nilo Silvan could be inactive, freeing a roster space for a lineman. Williams finished with a team-leading 21.1-yard average on punts and 27.3 on kickoffs. He did not have enough returns to qualify forthe league standings. "I've been doing this in practice and I did it in college, but at this level it's kind of intimidating to be returning punts when you've got guys coming down at you," said Williams, a free-agent rookie out of Texas A&M-Kingsville. With a 54-yard punt, Sauerbrun basically outkicked his coverage Sunday. The Bears had defenders running full speed, but with one move past Walt Harris, Williams found himself beyond most of the coverage. "I saw about five guys in their lanes. The return was designed to go wide right but I knew I'd never get there, so I gave them a real hard move," Williams said. "One of them got out of the lane and it opened a seam for me. I just hit it." Williams said he hoped the return would stop the teasing he has endured from teammates about getting tackled by punters. "They've been killing me with it," he said. "I've been having nightmares about it. When the hole opened up and I saw him standing there, I thought, `Not this week.' "