The Best There Is, Was, and Ever Will Be.

Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, A first round draft pick, and 5th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2005 NFL draft has started what could be a Hall of Fame Career. My favorite position in football has always been running back. We have had our share of good running backs during the Buccaneers 30 years; Such memorable running backs have been Ricky Bell, James Wilder, Errict Rhett, Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott (FB, but an actual RB), but none of these running backs have what Cadillac Williams has and that is the Total Package.


In 42 games at Auburn, Williams rushed 741 times for 3,831 yards (5.2 avg.) and 45 touchdowns, breaking the old school career records of 657 rushing attempts by Joe Cribbs (1976-79) and 43 scores by Jackson (1982-85). He added 342 yards on 45 receptions (7.6 avg.) with a touchdown, returned 22 punts for 251 yards (11.4 avg.), had 29 kickoff returns for 609 yards (21.0 avg.) and completed both pass attempts for 48 yards and a score. Williams scored a school career record 276 points, topping the old mark of 274 points by Jackson. He finished his career with 5,033 all-purpose yards, ranking second in the school record books behind Brooks (5596, 1977-80). Williams scored a rushing touchdown in 29 of 42 games in his career and scored two or more rushing touchdowns in 12 of those contests. He earned nine SEC Player of the Week honors in his career, the most in conference history.

Cadillac started the year off right, he quickly signed a six year contract with the Bucs worth $14,000,000 while fellow running backs who were drafted ahead of him, including former teammate Ronnie Brown, who was drafted 2nd by the Miami Dolphins, and Cedric Benson, drafted 4th by the Chicago Bears, held out of training camp seeking much more lucrative deals.
By signing this contract and reporting to training camp on time, he benefited from a full training camp and the help of Coach Gruden. The first four games of Cadillac’s career would prove that…..


On 09/11/2005, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Minnesota to play the Vikings, which would be Cadillac’s first NFL game. The rookie carried the ball 27 times for 148 yards and had one touchdown. This was the reason the Bucs beat the Vikings (24-13). It was in the 4th Quarter with 01:34 Remaining, the Buccaneers had the Ball on the Buccaneers 29 yard line. It was 3rd and 1, Carnell Williams broke a 71 yard run for the touchdown. Williams was named rookie of the week.


On 09/18/2005, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Buffalo Bills. Cadillac carried the ball 24 times for 128 yards and had one touchdown. This was the reason the Bucs beat the Bills (19-3).Williams was named rookie of the week.

On 09/25/2005, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Green Bay. Cadillac carried the ball 37 times for 158 yards. This was the reason the Bucs beat the Packers (17-16). Cadillac started to get a lot of national attention at this point. It became a debate on whether Coach Gruden was over using Caddy. Williams was named rookie of the week.

After just three games, Cadillac Williams did something that no other Rookie in the NFL has ever done:Williams rushed for 434 yards in his first three weeks, setting records as the first rookie running back to ever have three consecutive 100 yard games, and rushing for the most yards in the first three weeks of a career, a record previously held by Alan Ameche of the 1955 Baltimore Colts. Williams was also named rookie of the week for the first three weeks of the season and rookie of the month for September. His shoes and gloves from week three were subsequently retired to the Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

http://www.profootballhof.com/history
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On 11/20/2005, Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Atlanta to take on a Division rival the Falcons, who had the number on rushing team in the NFL. Some body forgot to tell the Falcons about the Buccaneers new number one rusher, CADILLAC WILLIAMS. Caddy carried the ball 19 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. This helped the Bucs beat their arch enemy 30-27.

On 12/11/2005, Tampa Bay Buccaneers traveled to Carolina to take on a Division rival the Panthers, Caddy carried the ball 29 times for 112 yards and two rushing touchdowns. This helped the Bucs beat the Panthers 20-10. Williams’ 112-yard performance was his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season, tying the team record in that category with James Wilder in 1984 and 1985, and Warrick Dunn in 1997. Dunn, was a rookie that season, like Williams this year.

On 12/24/2005 (Christmas Eve), Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted the Atlanta Falcons a Division rival at Raymond James Stadium. The Falcons were eliminated in the Post Season hunt with the Buccaneers 27-24 overtime victory. Caddy carried the ball 31 times for 150 yards and one rushing touchdown.

He also broke two Buccaneer records with his sixth one hundred yard game. The previous record was 5 one hundred yard games during a season. He also ran for over a thousand yards this season as a rookie (which is huge for a rookie) and he topped Errict Rhett’s old rookie team rushing record of 1,011 yards with 1,097 rushing yards with one game still remaining. He truly is the best running back the Buccaneers have ever had.

(Cadillac On having over 1,000 rushing yards)
“That feels great. I think much of my offensive linemen to tie in those guys. They need as much praise as I need. Those guys just paved the way. It did feel great, but this is a team victory and we control our own destiny. If we can come out, and next week win the division, that will be an even sweeter feeling.”

You can vote for Cadillac for rookie of the week, week 16 @: http://www.nfl.com/rookies/vote

The future is bright for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the 5th overall pick in the 2005 draft Coach Jon Gruden found a diamond. This kid is going to be great for many years to come. He has one more regular season game against the New Orleans Saints, where he should gain over 100 yards rushing for his seventh time this season. Cadillac has also been selected as an alternate for the Pro Bowl. I also think that Cadillac will win the NFL Rookie of the Year Award.

Just to show you that I am not the only person who is hooked on Cadillac, the list for the top 25 NFL jerseys sold this year is out. Would you be surprised to know that out of all the first-round draft choices, Cadillac Williams led the list at number eighth. Alex Smith, the first pick in the draft by San Francisco, was 12th; Cleveland's Braylon Edwards was 13th; Miami's Ronnie Brown was 15th and Chicago's Cedric Benson was 23rd.