Tampa Bay Bucs' Cadillac Williams ready for more carries

Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, November 29, 2008

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TAMPA — RB Cadillac Williams was something of a closer in his first action in 14 months Sunday at Detroit.

Having passed that test, Williams could be ready to move into the role of long reliever.

Williams, coming back from reconstructive knee surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, carried 16 times for an unspectacular 27 yards in mopup duty during a victory over the Lions. The Bucs made no attempt to disguise their intentions to run out the clock, which limited Williams' effectiveness.

But Sunday against New Orleans, his role could expand. Warrick Dunn will continue to start at running back, but Williams appears poised to be the first back off the bench.

"I think a lot of the offensive guys are probably disappointed that we didn't throw it (against Detroit), but we wanted to give (Williams) repeated runs," coach Jon Gruden said. "And they were hard looks, too. (The Lions) knew we were running it. … But he was able to get 12 or 13 carries in a 15-play span, and I think he got confidence back from that performance."

FINED AGAIN: The league fined RT Jeremy Trueblood $7,500 for unnecessary roughness against the Lions.

Trueblood grabbed an opponent's face mask and held on past the whistle in a post-play fracas, an infraction that wasn't flagged during the game. Trueblood has been fined at least four times this season for on-field conduct.

HEY, DAD: Lane Kiffin, son of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, has agreed to be the head coach at the University of Tennessee, according to media reports, and ESPN.com said he has discussed the possibility of his father joining his staff.

Such a move isn't likely. Monte signed a two-year contract extension in January after pushing for a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid coordinators in the NFL. Tennessee would be hard-pressed to pay him even a quarter of his current salary, which is in the $2-million range annually.

Monte Kiffin did not return a call seeking comment.

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Tampa Bay Bucs' Cadillac Williams ready for more carries

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