When looking for what they call unsound applications of the transitive property, mathematicians will often look to sports – i.e., the New England Patriots are the defending NFL champions. The Carolina Panthers beat the Patriots. The Miami Dolphins beat the Panthers. Therefore, the Fish, coming off a 4-12 train wreck in 2004, are the best team in the league.
Again, the geniuses would say that’s wrong, but who knows? Miami, with victories over Carolina and the Broncos, certainly qualifies as one the early surprises of the young season.
The leader of the AFC North isn’t the Pittsburgh Steelers, or the allegedly improved Baltimore Ravens, but the 3-0 Cincinnati Bengals. They have won twice on the road – last season that didn’t happen until December – and certainly could be filed in the unexpected column as well.
Perhaps the biggest shocker is the team atop the NFC South. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s not the Panthers or the Atlanta Falcons, both trendy picks to win the conference. It’s the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Bucs were just 5-11 a year ago, and the prospects for improvement seemed bleak. Not only was Bay Tampa one of the oldest teams in the NFL, it also was in salary cap jail, hamstrung by weighty contracts given to declining players.
That changed before the start of this season. The Buccaneers jettisoned the likes of Brad Johnson, Charlie Garner and Joe Jurevicius, making room for youth. When Tampa Bay beat the Green Bay Packers 17-16 on Sunday, it marked its first win there since 1989. But as coach Jon Gruden said afterward, that streak had nothing to do with his current team – many of which probably hadn’t even donned their first set of shoulder pads back then.
Speaking of the past, the Buccaneers are hoping the last remnant to it was getting the fifth pick in last spring’s draft – the choice that netted them Cadillac Williams.
Already it’s clear Williams, a running back from Auburn, isn’t being measured against Alex Smith, Braylon Edwards, Cedric Benson or even former college teammate Ronnie Brown – players selected ahead of him – but against some of the game’s all-time greats.
Williams’ 158 yards rushing against the Packers marked the third consecutive week he has topped the 125-yard mark – a league first for the opening three games of the season. His total of 434 yards not only leads the NFL, but is more than any player in league history amassed in the first three games of his career.
Amazingly enough though, that may not be the most impressive aspect of Williams’ season. He has rushed for 190 yards in the fourth quarter alone, a critical factor in the Bucs’ two road victories. At Minnesota, he had a 71-yard touchdown run that sealed the game. Then, nursing their one-point lead with just more than five minutes remaining against the Packers, the Bucs gave the ball to Williams seven times in eight plays, effectively running out the clock.
“We wouldn’t be putting him in these situations if we didn’t know he could do it,” Gruden said Monday during his news conference. “It’s not a coincidence he’s playing his best football late in the game. So as long as he can take it, we will continue to give him these opportunities.
“If the situation has us with the lead, we’re in the fourth quarter and the clock is our enemy, you are going to see more Cadillac Williams, yes.”
That can’t be comforting to the rest of the league.
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-820-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
