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The Tampa Bay Bucs went nuts today, releasing five veteran players in a move that made a firm commitment to the team’s younger players. Linebacker Derrick Brooks, receivers Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard, running back Warrick Dunn and linebacker Cato June were all sent packing. Only Cato is under 30-years-old. And sure, I can accept that the Bucs want to go in a different direction. But when a team loses not only good players but also good people — some of the best in the entire National Football League — it’s hard to imagine it can be a good thing. New head coach Raheem Brock understands this:

“There’s no doubt we are losing players with a tremendous amount of leadership and character. You never replace a guy like Derrick Brooks. This was not a money issue or a youth movement. This is a direction change. We are moving forward. We’re going to play some people that were behind these guys and let them compete.”

That doesn’t really explain what direction the team is headed. But if it’s not a money issue or a youth movement — and leadership and character have already been factored in — the team obviously feels the skills of these players has diminished beyond repair. So, it will be interesting to see how the former backups do in starting roles. And it will be interesting to see how each of these now free agent players fits with other teams, if at all. In other words, I hope the Bucs know what they are doing as they change their direction.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom.com

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Bucs Purge Veteran Roster

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Running For My Life: My Journey in the Game of Football and Beyond
by Warrick Dunn and Don Yaeger, 288 pages, $25.95

If you’re looking for a last-minute Christmas/holiday gift idea, I suggest the great new book by Tampa Bay Bucs running back Warrick Dunn — Running For My Life. I received my review copy from Harper Collins a few weeks ago and I can tell you it’s a very inspiring, uplifting and eye-opening read.

Warrick is truly one of the good guys in the National Football League. It’s pretty well-known what he does for families through his Warrick Dunn Foundation and amazing Homes for the Holidays program. In case you don’t know, about 12 years ago Warrick started this program where he makes the down payment on a home selected by a single parent associated with an approved, non-profit, affordable homeownership program. He provides furniture for every room, kitchen appliances and dishes, washers, dryers and refrigerators, lawn & garden equipment, linens, a fully-stocked kitchen, cleaning supplies and home decor items. The whole nine yards. To date, Warrick has assisted 78 single parents and 205 dependents in Tampa, Atlanta and Baton Rouge. He’s really an amazing and caring person. He’s helped change a lot of people’s lives for the better.

Anyway, in this revealing autobiography, which was written along with New York Times author Don Yaeger, Warrick tells his incredibly moving story of courage and determination in the face of the devastating loss of his mother, Betty Smothers. Warrick and his five brothers and sisters all idolized their mother, who was a Baton Rouge police officer. As the oldest, Warrick was the closest to her, and thus the man of the house. On January 7, 1993, while Warrick’s mom worked a second job as a supermarket security guard, she was ambushed, shot, and killed while making a bank deposit. At the time, Warrick was a high school senior, just a few weeks away from choosing among his college football scholarship offers. As you can imagine, the loss of his mom devastated him. In fact, that isn’t even a powerful enough word. He was only eighteen when his circumstances changed and he had to look after his five siblings, but he somehow managed to enroll at Florida State and, in only his freshman year, help their team quarterback, Heisman Trophy winner and roommate Charlie Ward, win the National Championship for the 1993–94 season. This was just the beginning of a successful career as a student athlete, which resulted in his selection to the FSU Hall of Fame.

Despite his small stature by NFL standards, Warrick’s athleticism, incomparable drive, and personality convinced Tampa Bay Bucs coach Tony Dungy to select him in the first round of the 1997 NFL Draft with the 12th overall pick. He proved coach Dungy right. During his career with the Bucs and, subsequently, the Atlanta Falcons, Warrick amassed five 1,000-yard rushing seasons, was selected to the NFL Pro Bowl three times, and became one of only twenty-three running backs to exceed the 10,000-yard career rushing mark. This season, he returned to the Bucs and continues his NFL success story.

I was surprised to learn that despite how much Warrick has helped others throughout his lifetime thus far, there was one person he neglected to help — himself. He spent all of his emotional energy on his siblings and their pain, and never focused on his own pain. His only solace was the football field, where he truly was “running for his life.” It wasn’t until a Falcons teammate suggested psychological counseling that Warrick began to battle the demons that still haunt him from his mother’s death.

Running for My Life is really a must read. It’s the story of an athlete’s drive to help his family and ensure that his mother’s legacy and values continue. It’s the story of what it really takes to be a man.

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Book Review: Running For My Life

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Tampa Bay Bucs running back Earnest Graham, who leads the team in rushing yards and touchdowns, might be finished for the 2008 season with an ankle injury. Earnest was hurt on his only carry in yesterday’s 19-13 win over the Minnesota Vikings, limping off after landing awkwardly when he was tackled after a 3-yard gain. Bucs head coach Jon Gruden was not optimistic during his presser today:

“I believe Earnest Graham’s ankle looks to be a serious injury and his status for the rest of the season is very much in question right now. It doesn’t look like he’ll play anytime soon. I’m just very disappointed for our guy Earnest. He means a lot to us. He’s done so much for us here in the last couple years. He’s a key reason why we are where we are. We’ll have to make some adjustments, obviously.”

Among those adjustments would be getting running back Cadillac Williams into the lineup alongside Warrick Dunn. Cadillac was just activated last week after spending over a year rehabbing a potentially career threatening knee injury. If there were any silver lining to Earnest’s injury, at least as far as the team is concerned, it’s that Cadillac is back. How far back and how effective he will be remains to be seen, though.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom

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Earnest Graham Ankle Injury Serious

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After spending more than a year in rehab following a gruesome knee injury early last season, Tampa Bay Bucs running back Cadillac Williams is back on the team’s active roster. The Bucs made the expected move today, activating Cadillac from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List to their 53-man roster. To make room, the Bucs released veteran running back Michael Bennett, who was quickly claimed by the San Diego Chargers (see note below). Cadillac was thrilled to be back at practice:

“I’ve put in a lot of work. I’m just excited. In these next few weeks we’ll see what happens.”

There’s really no way to predict how well Cadillac will perform. I’m sure he’ll have some trepidation and it will take some time, and a few hits, to get the confidence in his knee back. But he certainly won’t have to carry the workload. He’ll simply compliment fellow running backs Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn. It’s a matter of depth at the position and Cadillac should be able to ease his way back into the lineup as a sidekick. Too bad his return (if he plays this weekend, that is) is against the National Football League’s third-best run defense (70.1 ypg) in the Minnesota Vikings. Nevertheless, it’s a great story that I hope has a happy ending.

Note: Concerning Michael Bennett, apparently the Chargers claimed him off waivers just to keep him from signing with the running back depleted (and AFC West rival) Denver Broncos. Both the Broncos and Chargers put in claims on Michael, but the Chargers have a worse record so they got priority. Funny how that works. Or not funny if you’re a Broncos fan.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom

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Cadillac Williams Returns to Bucs Roster

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As part of the festivities surrounding the 2008 NFL PLAYERS Gala featuring the JB (James Brown) Awards in Washington D.C., players from around the National Football League joined local Special Olympics athletes for a football clinic yesterday morning. The clinic featured more than 75 local Special Olympics athletes participating alongside NFL player-honorees in five friendly, non-contact football stations. The players interacted with the athletes and helped demonstrate a variety of offensive and defensive skills, including passing, receiving, and kicking. At the conclusion of the clinic, athletes took part in a group photo session with the NFL players.

The 2008 JB Award recipients that participated in the clinic were Amobi Okoye (Houston Texans), Marques Douglas (San Francisco 49ers), Chris Draft (St. Louis Rams), Warrick Dunn (Tampa Bay Bucs), Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns), Israel Idonije (Chicago Bears), Kassim Osgood (San Diego Chargers), Mack Strong (formerly of the Seattle Seahawks), James Thrash (Washington Redskins), and Brian Waters (Kansas City Chiefs).

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NFL Players Join Local Special Olympics Washington D.C. Athletes For Football Clinic

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn was presented with the 42nd annual Byron “Whizzer” White Award, the NFL Players Association’s (NFLPA) highest honor, yesterday at the NFL PLAYERS Gala featuring the JB Awards in Washington, D.C. Warrick was one of several NFL players honored by James Brown, host of “THE NFL TODAY” on CBS, along with “THE NFL TODAY” analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Bill Cowher.

The event, which recognized NFL players for their individual contributions to their communities, raised nearly $1 million, the net proceeds of which benefit Special Olympics D.C. It was the fifth consecutive year the NFLPA and NFL PLAYERS partnered with James Brown to honor some of the NFL’s biggest heroes.

Warrick was selected from among 12 JB Award winners as a result of his commitment to the nationally-renowned community project Homes for the Holidays, an annual program he created to help low-income families buy homes in Atlanta, Tampa, Baton Rouge and Tallahassee. As the primary focus of the Warrick Dunn Foundation, the program provides down payments on homes and works with area sponsors to furnish them. Motivated by the memory of his mother, Betty Smothers, Warrick launched the program during his rookie season in 1997 and has since enabled 74 single parents and 192 children realize their lifelong dreams of home ownership.

Warrick was selected by an independent celebrity panel of judges which included NEA Foundation President and CEO Harriet Sanford, Gatorade’s Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban and Rick “Doc” Walker, host of SportsTalk 980’s “The Doc Walker Show” and Comcast SportsNet’s “Doc Walker’s ProView.” The “Whizzer” White Award is presented annually to the player who serves his team, community and country in the spirit of Byron Raymond “Whizzer” White. The late Supreme Court Justice was a scholar, athlete, patriot, humanitarian and public servant – the personification of the ideal to which professional football players aspire.

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Tampa Bay Bucs’ Warrick Dunn Given Top Honors at 2008 NFL Players Gala, JB Awards

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Former San Diego Chargers RB Michael Turner doesn’t have to play the backup role anymore. Michael signed a six-year, $34.5 million contract (with $15 million guaranteed) to be the number one running back for the Atlanta Falcons today. This will be a perfect fit for new ATL head coach Mike Smith’s hard-nosed, run-first offense. Michael will team with speedster Jerious Norwood in the Falcons’ backfield to instantly give the Falcons some much-needed playmaking ability. Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said:

“We are pleased to be able to add a very talented running back and a player who has produced at a high level in this League when given the opportunity. We think he’s ready to take the next step and have a more prominent role in an offense and we are happy he decided that opportunity is going to be here in Atlanta.”

He’s ready, alright. Michael hasn’t been “the guy” since his senior season at Northern Illinois where in 2003, he left NIU ranked 13th on the NCAA’s all-time rushing list with 4,941 yards. His first four years in the NFL have mostly been spent behind all-world RB LaDainian Tomlinson. When he did get his opportunities, however, he made the most of them and showed the rest of the NFL what he could do if given the chance. And now the Atlanta Falcons are giving him that chance.

This is perfect timing for Michael. Clearly, Warrick Dunn is nearing the end of his great career. Warrick’s been in the league 12 years and really can’t be counted on as anything more than a third down back, if that. So, Michael Turner has a new home and should do very well if the Falcons can get him the necessary supporting cast. Ok, I guess that’s where it gets tricky.

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Michael Turner Lands With Atlanta Falcons

It’s been an otherwise uneventful season in the ATL — Warrick has 513 yards with three TDs and the Falcons have dropped out of the playoff race with a 3-8 record. But in recognizing this achievement, I have to say Warrick has silenced the critics who said he was too small to play in the NFL. At 5-8 and a buck-ninety soaking wet, he’s managed 11 NFL seasons by being smarter and usually quicker and faster than the competition. With fellow Falcon Jerious Norwood getting some of his carries though, I have to wonder if his days in Atlanta are numbered.

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Warrick Dunn Hits 10,000 Rushing Yards