Come back player of the year

the beginning there was hope. How much, though, is hard to say. The Bucs had been through this once before, after all, and few among us will ever forget the way that turned out - with Cadillac Williams curled up near the sideline pounding the ground with his fist and saying to no one in particular, "Not again, not again.''
Yes, again. Another knee injury, his second in as many seasons. Neither, of course, was of the minor variety. In both instances, Williams tore his patellar tendon, first the left, then the right. For any athlete, but especially for a running back, that's about as major as it gets.
Worse than torn ACLs, patellar tendon tears have been known to stop careers dead in their tracks. But nothing, it seems, can stop Cadillac's career.
A year removed from what many thought was his second career-ending injury in as many seasons, Cadillac's career is back on track and progressing better than anyone, perhaps even Williams himself, could have imagined.
With only today's game against the Falcons left to play, Williams is guaranteed to finish the season as the Bucs leading rusher.
Certainly no one saw that coming. Williams did, after all, start the season as, at best, the third back in what was supposed to be a two-pronged power running attack featuring Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham.
Fifteen games later, though, Williams has more carries (191), more yards (781) and more touchdowns (four) than Ward and Graham combined.
You could, in fact, make the argument - though you very well may lose it to supporters for tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. - Williams has been the Bucs' most valuable player this year.
One argument you probably can't lose, though, is to suggest Williams is the NFL's comeback player of the year.
No one else's comeback seems to compare to Williams' this year. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's certainly doesn't. He's only coming back from one knee injury, and it wasn't a torn patellar tendon.
Titans quarterback Vince Young might warrant some votes. But Young came back from his knee injury last year after a few weeks and didn't play much thereafter because he just wasn't as good as Kerry Collins.
Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer could certainly challenge Williams for comeback player honors. He blew his elbow out a few games into 2008 and has bounced back to have one of his best seasons ever.
The same, though, can be said for Williams, who actually seems to have come back this year as a slightly better and more versatile player than he was before he was injured.
During his breakout rookie season, for example, Williams touched the ball 310 times and gained 1,259 yards for an average gain of 4.0 yards per touch. He also scored six touchdowns, all on the run.
This year, Williams has touched the ball 216 times and gained 965 yards, for an average gain of 4.5 yards per touch. His seven touchdowns, meanwhile, are a career high and that number includes three as a pass catcher.
Williams hasn't fumbled the ball yet this year either, and that's an improvement as well. Prior to this season Williams had fumbled the ball nine times in his career and lost seven of those fumbles.
So not only has Williams come back from two devastating and potentially career-ending knee injuries, he's come back a better player, one who seems far more adept as a pass catcher and even a leader.
Williams used to be a very soft-spoken man of few words. Now, if he senses that everyone isn't on the same page or someone isn't pulling his weight, he says so, bluntly.
Maybe it's a result of having lost the better part of two years to knee injuries. Maybe it's a result of facing the prospect of never being able to play again. Whatever it is, Williams has changed.
When he came back to the Bucs this year, he came back better, stronger, more mature and more productive than ever before. That's about as complete a comeback as any player will ever have.