Buckeye86;1463305; said:Sweet video welcoming Beanie to Arizona. The funny thing is, based on this video, it looks like he got more media attention in Columbus than he has so far in Arizona. I wonder how many players get drafted in the first round and move out of the spotlight.
Beanie's Education
School rules will make it harder for Wells to learn NFL game
By DARREN URBAN
Rookie running back Beanie Wells takes one of his final reps at Sunday's last minicamp practice before heading home for a while.
Dennis Keyes went through it, and it wasn?t easy.
The Cardinals safety was undrafted a year ago, hoping to make an impression on the team. But because he attended UCLA ? and his school?s quarter meant school didn?t let out until mid-June ? Keyes came to minicamp and then couldn?t return to the Cards? training facility until all four weeks of the organized team activities had ended.
Keyes knows what is facing Beanie Wells, the team?s No. 1 draft pick who also is scheduled to miss all the team?s OTAs because of Ohio State?s academic schedule.
?The advice I?d give to him is get with some of the vets, the older running backs, and see what?s getting put in and stay on top of it,? Keyes said. ?But it is still going to be hard, not getting the reps.?
Beanie's Back
Notebook: Top pick trying to get in shape after missing OTAs
By DARREN URBAN
Running back Beanie Wells works a shuttle run during the rookies' workout with strength and conditioning coach John Lott Thursday.
Beanie is back.
That was the plan all along, of course, after Beanie Wells, the Cardinals? No. 1 draft pick, couldn?t take part in any of the team?s organized team activities because of a long-standing rule prohibiting rookies from working with NFL squads until their school was out of session.
Ohio State finally finished up last week, so Wells was free to return for the first time since minicamp the first weekend in May.
?The hard thing was not being out with the football team and getting a chance to bond with the guys,? the running back said. ?But for the football and playing aspect, it wasn?t too bad. Coach (Curtis) Modkins made sure I stayed up on things.
?It?s been smooth coming back. I have kept in contact with some of the guys and they have been cool.?
Wells said he had been hanging out quite a bit with Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald ? ?He?s been taking care of me like a big brother,? Wells said ? and is trying to get used to the conditioning work coach John Lott has unleashed on the rookies.
Wells will be part of the Cards? running back rotation this season, although he?ll begin behind starter Tim Hightower and probably veteran Jason Wright, at least to begin camp. Missing all the OTAs makes that a practical certainty.
?You are never done learning,? Wells said. ?But right now I am just focused on being in good shape and being ready to go for camp.?
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Considering Beanie
In the dead of the offseason, speculation rules ? especially when you are sitting at your desk, racking your brain to come up with a blog topic. So when a friend of mine called me this morning asking for fantasy football advice when it came to rookie running back Beanie Wells (that?s Beanie below taking part in the Camelback climb last week), well, that seems like a good jumping off point.
There?s no question, in large part because of fantasy football, Wells is going to be one of the biggest rookie topics in the NFL this season. It only increases because of his college stature at Ohio State and the fact he is the de facto replacement for Edgerrin James. I apparently caused a stir a couple weeks back when I wrote I believed Tim Hightower and not Beanie would be the Cards? starting running back in the Sept. 13 regular-season opener.
It?s impossible to know exactly how this will play out over the season (Did anyone last July ? heck, last September ? see fifth-round pick Hightower supplanting Edge altogether? I think not). I think Beanie will get playing time, whatever he earns, behind Hightower. Jason Wright will be in the mix too. Beanie?s physical tools are better than Hightower?s, but that?s far from a lock when they get on the field.
We don?t know much of Beanie on the field on this level. You learn little during the offseason practices, and Wells barely took part in any of those thanks to the Ohio State semester. The coaching staff had already headed out on vacation by the time Beanie returned. Here?s what we do know: Wells was at 247 pounds when strength and conditioning coach John Lott got hold of him; Wells has shed 18 pounds (Lott had guesstimated earlier this offseason Wells? playing weight would be around 225 pounds). Lott, who spent years training Curtis Martin in New York, sees Beanie as the potentially perfect blend of power and speed ? someone who can break long runs, a bonus the Cards simply haven?t had much of from running backs of recent vintage.
Lott has taken Wells under his wing, knowing Beanie?s importance to the future of the team. Lott, who nicknames all the rookies (long-haired CB Greg Toler is ?Chia Pet? and OL Trevor Canfield is ?Uncle Fester,? for example), calls Wells ?Little Jim Brown.? Wells is from Akron, Ohio and Lott ? who worked with Brown when Lott was with the Cleveland Browns ? sees a facial resemblance. Will the Cards see any kind of playing resemblance from Beanie?
?I made a promise to (Larry) Fitzgerald, a promise to Kenny (Whisenhunt), a promise to players interested,? Lott said of his interest in seeing Beanie break out. ?I think this kid has a chance to do something. He?s got the tools. ? He could be a beast.?
Steve19;1495054; said:
