Williams just the right fit

Ex-Memphis star is turning into the kind of back the Panthers hoped he would be

CHARLOTTE -- Carolina Panthers tailback DeAngelo Williams does not want to get caught again.

Every Wednesday during practice, when a play is called for Williams, he often finishes it off with a long sprint to the end zone at the other end of the field.

"That's how it works," Williams said. "Whether it's 90, 80 or 70 yards, it's something we're going to do."

Williams' practice habits have helped him to what's rapidly becoming the kind of breakout season many expected when he was chosen by the Panthers in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. He has gained 522 yards midway through the season and leads the Panthers (6-2) today against the Oakland Raiders at McAfee Coliseum.

Williams is on pace to become the Panthers' first 1,000-yard rusher since Stephen Davis ran for 1,444 in 2003 and just the third in franchise history (Anthony Johnson had 1,120 in 1996).

It doesn't matter to Williams that the run against the Cardinals was the longest in Panthers history: He didn't make it to the end zone, and it still bothers him.

"I got caught from behind -- allegedly," Williams said, laughing. "But clearly the tape shows [he] had an angle."

Three years removed from his record-setting college days at Memphis, Williams has established himself as the Panthers' starter. Fending off a challenge for that spot from rookie Jonathan Stewart, Williams is the NFL's 16th-leading rusher. He has two 100-yard-plus games this season, and his 123 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs were a career high.

Hide and seek

At 5-foot-9 (but a sturdy 217 pounds), Williams calls himself as a "peek-a-boo" back.

"Once I get the ball, you can't really see me behind the line of scrimmage," he says.

Panthers running backs coach Jim Skipper thinks Williams sells himself short with that description.

"You look around the league the past few years, you don't know if he's really that small," Skipper said. "Look at guys like Emmitt Smith," who is 5-10.

Smith is the NFL's all-time leading rusher. The two players behind him on the league's career rushing list -- Walter Payton (5-10) and Barry Sanders (5-8) -- might have qualified as "peek-a-boo" backs, too.

"If you look around the NFL, you'll see those 6-2, 6-0 guys are maybe not becoming extinct, but there aren't as many today as there were back in the day," Williams said. "I think teams are going more to the 'peek-a-boo' back idea."

Height doesn't seem to be a factor with this season's top running backs, either. Of the NFL's top five rushers, three -- Washington's Clinton Portis, Atlanta's Michael Turner and San Francisco's Frank Gore -- are under 6 feet.

And the NFL's most productive running back of recent seasons -- San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson -- is 5-10.

"Usually if you're a bigger back or a power back, you're going to lose quickness anyway," Skipper said. "It's not size, it's production."

Panthers defensive tackle Damione Lewis says he has always had a tough time tackling Williams, whether it's in training camp or practice.

"Yeah, it's hard to find him back there," says Lewis. "He's a shorter guy, and you're used to seeing guys at eye level when they're running at you. It's hard to get a visual with him.

"But he runs with power. He keeps his pads low, his feet moving. He's expecting that hit. He's able to break that one tackle he needs to break that long run."

Lewis says there's more to Williams than that.

"Now he's making adjustments," Lewis says. "He's using his eyes on the field, not just running blind. He's looking and seeing. That comes with experience. He's really seeing the field."