With Beanie Wells Hurt Again, Should the Arizona Cardinals Sign a Running Back?
by Hawkwind on Aug 19, 2009 12:40 PM MDT
Email
PrintThe Arizona Cardinals entered training camp with a group of running backs who boasted far more potential than actual production but with Chris Wells suffering his second ankle injury since the start of camp, you've got wonder how long the team could last with just Tim Hightower, Jason Wright and LaRod Stephens-Howling. While it's still entirely possible that Wells could play a full 16 games and carry the rock 300 times, his two ankle injuries in just four practices could be something to raise the level of concern, especially considering the lack of proven depth at the position.
It should be mentioned that Wells and the team don't seem overly concerned with the severity of his injury, but you wonder if they'll look to dip into a pool of veteran running backs if the regular season opener approaches and Wells is still hobbling. Another interesting point in this scenario is the contract status. Any veteran that is signed prior to the team's first game has basically a guaranteed contract but if the team waits until after their first game, then the contract isn't guaranteed and it's basically just a week to week agreement. That might not mean a great deal considering that anyone who is brought in will most likely be paid close to the veteran minimum, but it's still worth mentioning. The question remains though, is it time to start considering a veteran running back as an insurance policy?
32 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Great question brought by hawkwind
My answer is a yes. Not a sure thing yes but a yes as in lets consider this. If he is wobbly come the first game of the season I think it would be wise to maybe release J Wright (sounds like LSH might move past him which excites me) and sign a vet. Warrick Dunn might be a good presence to have in the locker room and to have team the guys a few things. I am not saying do it, just saying it is definitely something I would have to consider, it MAY also mean carrying 4 RBs on the roster because I think there is a good chance LSH could get plucked off the PS if he has to go there.
Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with.
Good points
I voted ‘NO’ but if there would have been a “not yet” option, I would have voted with that one. I’ve gone back and forth but with two injuries in four practices it’s getting harder to depend on him to last a full season without missing some time. Two things keep bothering me,
(1) the thought of going into a game with only Hightower, LSH and Wright. I like TH but if he were to go down in a game where only those three were healthy, we’d be screwed. I’d much rather have a veteran presence in the back field than Wright or LSH getting significant carries in a game that might decide whether we go the playoffs or start planning our draft strategy.
(2) how much of an upgrade would a Warrick Dunn or Duece McAllister be over Wright. Maybe I jaded by how unimpressive Wright looked against the Steelers but if his only asset is the ability to pick up a blitzer, I’d have to think that Dunn or McAllister would be equally effective and offer more ability with the ball in their hands.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Release J Wright.
Is this based on anything other than a feeling? I haven’t heard anything negative on him yet, so I don’t really know. Just curious if I’ve missed something.
Assuming Wright is meeting the expectations that were set when he signed, I vote for sticking with what we have. Sounds like Hightower is looking good so far, Wright can be a good 3rd down back with his blocking/receiving. LSH adds some quickness. I would think these 3 complement each other well and probably are sufficient given what kind of offense we are.
answer is two-fold
First, he looked like a fullback carrying the ball in the first preseason game.
Second, if LSH has already passed him on the depth chart then I think it’s fair to say that he’s underachieving.
Both of those points may or may not be valid and they’re certainly debatable but it’s an interesting argument. Wright’s main reason for coming here was because he was supposed to be an excellent back at picking up opposing blitzers and keeping his QB clean. That’s a solid skill set to have but if that’s all he’s got in his bag of tricks (which it looked like was the case against the Steelers), then his upside is virtually non-existent. If LSH, who’s upside is considerable, can develop into a comparable pass protector, then I could see Wright becoming very expendable.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Heh, based on what we saw, LSH’s got a long way to go on pickups, it’s hardly something he’ll get much better at his rookie year.
Basing Wright’s performance thus far isn’t really worth it, nor is the apparent depth chart positioning. The staff needs a longer look at LSH than they do Wright, who is more of a ‘known quantity’.
I expect Wright to be no worse than JJ when the bullets start flying. I also assume he’ll provide better special teams contributions.
you're probably right
Everyone over analyzes the preseason just because it’s the first time we’ve seen them on the field in a while. In reality there are still three weeks of practice and three games left to decide this battle but it’s interesting that they’re already shuffling the two.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
It's kinda sad
That JJ finally found his niche on 3rd down and those nice hot routes for big gains since he had some wheels..oh well. All in hindsight, but its too bad he had to go when he finally found a groove and now he’s a cripple…
No
Beanie will be fine, the ankle is still healing, he just hurt it again because he worked it too hard before he was ready to play again.
No as well,
though Warrick Dunn interests me some. If, in the next couple weeks, the three we have running right now don’t look like they can handle the load and Wells doesn’t come back full-force, then yes. But it’s too early for my liking to go that route.
Seriously though, this ankle thing says to me, "Proceed with Caution"
Timmie can handle carrying the load for as long as it takes for this ankle to heal properly (worked great last year having a fresh James coming in as the relief pitcher). If Timmie goes down bring someone on board, because i have very little faith in Wright or LSH.
haha, can you imagine bringing edge back for the minimum?!
Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with.
on adding a RB.....
“Eh I really don’t think so”…..he goes on to praise every back on the roster (except Vincet), especially LSH.
He’s very noncommittal on the tight ends spot though. He side stepped a “is Pope on the bubble” question by saying that everyone was on the bubble but that it he’d have to make plays and be consistent to make the squad.
Interesting take on the QB situation….direct quote “I feel very confident that we have THREE QB’s who can play in this league” maybe he wasn’t an impressed with Palko as we were.
Branch…..paraphrased…..he knew he’d have to have a good camp to make this team and to his credit he showed up in shape and motivated but in his (branch’s mind) mind he’s fighting for playing time, not a spot on the roster so we like that mindset (I have no idea what that means)
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Whiz on Branch
I think Whiz is just saying that Branch isn’t trying to be that guy that just does enough to make the roster, he is trying to get himself improved to get more playing time and move up on the depth charts. At least that is what I get from what he said about Branch.
In reference to Branch: He assumes he’s already made the team, what he’s trying to show is that he has the ability to get into the game frequently. It’s the mindset of not ‘can I win’ but ‘how will I win’.
He needs to lose that spin move though. Squares don’t spin well.
With Palko the coaches know the plays and get much better looks. We saw mobility in Palko, but maybe the coaches saw missed open looks in favor of feet. Could be decision making, etc. It could also be a motivational ploy to get Palko to work harder.
I heard good things about this Edgerrin James guy
we should sign him to teach Beanie how to not be hurt
What type of ankle sprain is it?
No one has indicated whether the injury is a high ankle sprain or not. Those types of injuries can take as long as a broken ankle to heal. That Whiz is not visibly worried and tried to bring him back after 2 weeks says it’s not a high ankle sprain. If it is, I’d say we bring in an RB after the season starts to supplement our RB corps.
I haven't heard anyone call it a "high" ankle sprain (which is good news)
So far it’s just a garden variety sprain.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
AZ Central...
….says that Beanie planning trying to practice tonight. I don’t think we’re back to square 1.
Edge
I would have no problem with signing him back so long as we get a good price for him, but I think it’d be difficult to convince him to come back to AZ. I’m surprised a team hasn’t picked him up yet. I like hightower, but if beanie keeps aggravating his injury I think we should shop for a veteran back. There’s not much depth or starting power at the position right now.
No
they do not need to go searching for another RB. Injuries happen and he dealt with them in college and now he will deal with them in the NFL. I am sure people are freaking out about this because of how weak the run is but give it a week or two and then see what happens.
AS INSURANCE
Beanie’s the only big RB we have on our roster other than Vincent, and Vincent hasn’t shown very much to date. Regardless of Beanie’s injury status, we’re “thin.”
But you’ve got to figure that salary cap room has to be a major consideration, and I’m not sure what the cap hit would need to be under various scenarios. I see four likely options:
1. Sit tight and pray.
2. See if we can pick up a hybrid FB/big Tailback in free agency
3. Wait for a big back (or hybrid) on another team (Redman?) to become expendible.
4. Trade an expendible WR for another team’s expendible big back.
GBR
by jeffgollin@aol.com on Aug 20, 2009 7:36 AM MDT reply actions
Redman....as in the Steelers RB that scored twice against us last week?
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
also...
That’s an interesting theory b/c I’d have thought we’d be looking for a speed guy since Hightower is still probably more power than speed. I would hope that Hightower’s ‘slim and trim’ look would make him more effective between the 20’s but wouldn’t necessarily hurt him in short yardage/goal line situations.
Another thing I’ve been wondering for a while is that if we’re going to carry two FB’s (a blocking FB and Castille), why not use Castille as a goal line back? He was very effective in that role in college (Alabama if memory serves) and might fill a need from within if Hightower does lose some of that effectiveness.
Be careful....to a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Agree with Beze
Timmy’s the goal line back. His rookie production means that even the vaunted Wells has to rip that one from his fingers.
Hightower
was a beast at goal line, i’d say everything is going swimmingly there. Castille does have some catching/running potential though..he should definitely be mixed into the offense.
I like 3 & 4 there Jeff
I’ve seen a lot of promise from a bunch of 4th-stringer RBs and keep thinking “Why not him!? Why not that guy!?!?” Course, we already have that guy in LSH. As for our 5th, I’ve heard Vincent has improved some, but I still have yet to see him ever take the field. He’s also a 27-year-old “rookie.”
Redman from the Steelers, Woodhead from the Jets (another small guy with S/T ability), Sutton/Lumpkin/Jackson/Wynn from Green Bay (they have 5 RBs, all of whom showed some ability P01) would all be cool. If nothing more, grab one for our practice squad just in case… Pats have about 6 guys on the roster who had 100+ yard games last season, obviously not all of them will make the team, so it’s not like some players aren’t going to become available when the time comes.
Gotta believe the Chiefs will be looking for Long or Jones to become available. They have 7 RBs on their roster, should be set with L Johnson, Charles and Kolby Smith, and I gotta say I like the idea of putting together a player-for-player trade that direction.
Like Bez said, Hightower qualifies as a big guy, and Castille is a hybrid FB, not to mention Byrd getting a couple plays at H-back against Pittsburgh. I’m okay with waiting a bit longer for the guys we have already but it’ll be interesting to see what the staff does when trim-downs come around the league.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Revenge of the Birds
Related FanShots on Revenge of the Birds
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Jonathan Vilma sues Roger Goodell for defamatory statements made during bounty investigation
- New York Giants receive Super Bowl XLVI rings
- Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring can be yours, unfortunately
- The Shutdown Corner Interview: New York Giants DL Justin Tuck
- AFL quarterback misses game to attend wedding
