Falcons put brakes on Bucs' ‘Cadillac'

By Carter Gaddis

For the AJC

TAMPA – It started on the first play from scrimmage, when Falcons defensive end John Abraham met Buccaneers running back Cadillac Williams 4 yards deep in the offensive backfield.

Enlarge photo

Brian Blanco, AP The Falcons' defense held Bucs running back Cadillac Williams 40 yards on 19 carries.

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That 4-yard loss was a portent of things to come for Williams and the Bucs, whose ground game was a non-factor in Atlanta’s 20-10 victory Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.

“Coming into the game, that was our main goal, to stop the run,” said Falcons safety Erik Coleman. “Cadillac and his teammates have been running the ball well. He kind of got on a roll at the end of the season, and our goal was to get him stopped and make them beat us in the air. We did a great job today.”

For the second game in a row, the defense established a season low in rushing yards allowed. Last week, Buffalo had 40. Sunday, the Bucs had a net 38 yards on 22 carries.

Williams, who rushed for 129 yards and averaged 5.4 yards per carry last week against the Saints, was held to 40 yards on 19 carries Sunday.

Rookie quarterback Josh Freeman, who came in averaging 6.0 yards per carry, was held to minus-2 yards on three carries.

The game plan clearly focused on Williams, who was forced to carry the load Sunday when backup Derrick Ward was deactivated with a knee injury. One play after Abraham’s game-opening tackle for loss, Falcons linebacker Curtis Lofton zeroed in on Williams at the line of scrimmage and held him to a 2-yard gain to force third-and-long.

“He was running the ball well, and everybody had it in their mind that nobody was running the ball,” Lofton said. “Everybody played sound technique, disciplined, and shut him down. ... The boys up front played great, kept him off of us so the linebackers could flow and make plays.”

With Williams shut down, the Falcons forced the game into the hands of the rookie Freeman. From Atlanta’s perspective, that was a good place for the game to be.

Twice in the fourth quarter, with the game still in doubt, Freeman was intercepted.

Falcons cornerback Christopher Owens picked him off with the game still tied at 10, setting up the go-ahead touchdown pass from Matt Ryan to Roddy White. Then, with the Bucs inside Falcons territory and threatening to tie, Brent Grimes intercepted a pass intended for Antonio Bryant in the end zone.

Had the Bucs been more successful on the ground, those passes might never have been thrown.

“We tried to run it,” said Bucs coach Raheem Morris. “We just weren’t able to. They played hard on that side of the football.”

It was a pretty thing to witness for Falcons tight end Justin Peelle.

“Probably the last four, five weeks, our defense has been playing out of their minds,” Peelle said. “Flying around, getting turnovers, stopping the run, those guys have been playing hard all year, and it really came together. It’s pretty encouraging for next year.”