FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 11/15/2009 10:18pm et

The Associated Press reports Arizona Cardinals RB Beanie Wells had 16 carries for a career-high 85 yards with two touchdowns Week 10. He also caught two passes for 32 receiving yards.

The Huddle Take: Wells continues to build on his carries and his stats every week and is developing into a solid fantasy running back. The former Ohio State player runs with power and has become a lethal weapon in a Cardinals arsenal that is brimming with talent and has their eyes set on a Super Bowl return this year. Arizona also has a favorable schedule in the second half of the season which could make Wells a solid factor in the fantasy playoffs.

Posted: 10/29/2009 11:42am et

Bob McManaman, of the Arizona Republic, reports Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt said he is not ready to name RB Beanie Wells as the starting running back at this time. Whisenhunt said Wells will continue to get more carries but is not ready to give Wells the majority of carries.

The Huddle Take: Actually it's too late, as Wells has 26 carries over the past two games compared to 17 for Hightower. The Cards still need to use Hightower on passing downs, but it's clear that if Arizona wants to run the ball they'll use the rookie to do so.

Posted: 10/26/2009 12:27pm et

The Associated Press reports Arizona Cardinals RB Beanie Wells rushed for 67 yards and his first career touchdown on 14 carries in Week 7.

The Huddle Take: Wells displayed an impressive stiff arm and has 26 carries the past two games; the good news is his 4.8 yards per carry average against the Giants was twice as much as his 2.4 ypc the previous week. Perhaps Wells is starting to figure out his role in this offense—and, conversely, the Cardinals are finding the best ways to put their first-round pick to good use.

Posted: 10/22/2009 10:24am et

Updating a previous item, Kent Somers, of The Arizona Republic, reports Cardinals RB Chris Wells was limited during the team's practice Wednesday, Oct. 21, but he is expected to play Week 7.

The Huddle Take: Wells' latest malady is a hip injury. The problem with all of Wells' little nicks is that it costs him valuable practice time where he could be learning how to fit into the Arizona offense. At present Tim Hightower is the more valuable fantasy play in the Cardinals backfield.

Posted: 10/21/2009 10:53pm et

Arizona Cardinals RB Chris Wells (hip) was limited during practice Wednesday, Oct. 21.

The Huddle Take: Wells has certainly had his problems to start the year which stemmed from the short holdout in training camp and some injuries which has limited him for part of the season. The Cardinals continue to utilize Tim Hightower as their starting running back with Wells coming in as a change of pace back. Expect more of the same this week as the rookie Wells continues to have problems staying healthy and holding onto the ball.

Posted: 10/21/2009 10:23am et

Kent Somers, of The Arizona Republic, reports Cardinals coaches want RB Chris Wells to take things slower. Wells has made mistakes during the season, usually because of impatience. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt said, "Normally, guys will take a drop step and then they'll go because it times up better with the quarterback. Beanie is getting there sometimes before the pull of the guard or he's getting there too tight for the quarterback."

The Huddle Take: It hasn't helped Wells' transition that his touches have been limited because he's not a good fit for Arizona's pass-heavy offensive scheme. Wells' injury-riddled preseason didn't help, and it will be difficult for Whisenhunt to get him the in-season reps that might allow him to take the starting job from Tim Hightower.

Posted: 9/30/2009 11:59am et

Kent Somers, of The Arizona Republic, reports part of the reason Arizona Cardinals RB Chris Wells saw only two carries in the team's Week 3 game is because he is still learning the offense. Wells still is learning how to be effective in the team's spread package. 'A great bulk of the time that Beanie missed in training camp was where he would have been acclimated to some of the sub-receiver packages which involve protection and checks from the quarterback. He hasn't gotten a lot of reps at those things,' head coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

The Huddle Take: This may be the case, and typically is for rookie running backs that hold out, but given the Cardinals inability to run the ball lately it might be time to get this kid and his running talent on the field more.

Posted: 9/28/2009 9:55pm et

CBSSports.com reports Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt insisted Monday, Sept. 28, that RB Chris Wells was not punished during the team's Week 3 game, even though he only had two carries. Whisenhunt insisted Wells' lack of playing time was a product of the team playing from behind. Wells missed most of training camp, so he did not get a lot of reps in many of the passing sets the team used Week 3.

The Huddle Take: Wells is struggling even though the team is getting him a bit of work here and there. He'll eventually get more work and will be the workhorse for the team, but that day is going to be a while in coming. The team is sticking with Tim Hightower overall and will continue to do so through at least mid-season. Punishment or not, the truth is, playing from behind is always going to hurt the running game, and when your running game isn't very dominant to begin with, you're in trouble. Wells will be back to his six or seven carries a game the week after next, and will probably be much improved after some extra practice time.

Posted: 9/28/2009 12:31pm et

Nancy Gay, of NFL FanHouse, reports Arizona Cardinals RB Chris Wells had just two carries for minus-2 yards rushing in Week 3.

The Huddle Take: So much for the rookie having his breakout NFL game against Indy's suspect run defense. The Cardinals gave the initial carries to Tim Hightower, who lost a fumble, and eventually fell so far behind they were forced to throw to play catch-up. Wells will need to learn pass protection before Arizona trusts him on the field in those situations, and it's unlikely they're poised to become a run-first team any time soon.

Posted: 9/25/2009 10:20am et

Bob Baum, of the Associated Press, reports Arizona Cardinals RB Chris Wells has been carrying a football with his name on it from the locker room to meetings this week. Teammates try to sneak up and strip the ball from him. If he drops it, he pays a $200 fine to charity. Wells fumbled the ball twice Week 2, but he does not expect it to become an issue.

The Huddle Take: It's a time-honored method of curing a fumbler to have them carry a ball everywhere they go. And after two fumbles in just his second NFL game, Wells needs to take some steps to avoid being labeled as a fumbler.