With Early Start, Cardinals' Beanie Wells Poised For Bigger Year

Voluntary workouts don't begin until Monday, but for Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells, a head start is all he needs.

Wells told Darren Urban of  www.azcardinals.com why he started work ahead of time, "I know it’s going to be a long season and I need to be in shape. Have to be ready to tote that pill."

Wells has been in Arizona this week for the added training(and a visit to Wrestlemania on Sunday as well), and feels like 2010 is his opportunity to take advantage of the NFL's offseason workouts. Last season he was busy planning and worrying about the draft, and couldn't participate in mini camps afterwards due to Ohio State's late school year. Wells also suffered a sprained ankle on his first day of training camp and missed a significant amount of valuable playing time during the preseason.

But even offseason programs couldn't keep Wells from a successful rookie campaign. He finished 2009 with 793 yards off 176 carries and seven touchdowns. It wasn't just the numbers that were impressive - it was the physical nature in which he ran. He unique combination of size, strength and speed have Cardinals fans clamoring at the future of Wells.

As last season progressed, so did Beanie. He averaged .7 more yards per carry during the final nine games of the season and propelled the Cardinals to 130 yards per game - 65.2 yards more per game then the first seven games. If history serves correct, it's reasonable to assume that Wells progression won't stop in just one season - his upside is tremendous. However, his own worst enemy is himself. In his first season, he fumbled the ball away four times, an amount that cannot persist if Wells' ambition is to carry the offense on his back next year.

So consider an early start to the Cardinals' workouts a good thing. Wells wants to be better and if putting more effort into the offseason helps, I'm all for it.