Ryan Williams 2013 Season and for Dynasty Value?! (1 Viewer)

[jacobo_moses]

I think Williams has the size and speed to succeed in the NFL. I think his success this year will depend on his health of course. I think upgrades at QB and OL will help him regardless. Many are ready to call Ryan Williams injury prone. I'm not ready to do that. If he is out for more then 2 or 3 games this yr then yes I will label him as that. But he had a few injuries off and on in college. (But only played college ball for 2 yrs anyway, so its not much of a sample size.) Now the ruptured patella injury I think is a fluke injury. I mean really how often do those injuries happen in the NFL period? Exactly. So I think we give him a pass on that one. Now the shoulder injury last yr that required surgery has got me concerned. I think this is his warning for me. If he gets injured with an injury that keeps him out for very long this yr then I say the label of injury prone is appropriate.

What does the fantasy community think of Ryan Williams value for this yr and for Dynasty? I'd say when healthy he is a RB2/RB3 type in most leagues, depending on scoring. His value is muddled with Taylor and Ellington there now. But there is no denying Ryan Williams has more talent then Mendenhall, Ellington, and Taylor. Williams key is to stay off the injury report. Obviously the higher ups of the AZ org think its a concern too because they drafted RB's in the middle rounds and I think back to back even.

 

[The Comedian]

I really liked him as a deepish sleeper until last weekend.

 

[jacobo_moses]

Yeah no denying it took a hit. I do think he has a fresh start with Arians and if he can stay healthy. Arians will play the best player. Same way he did with Vick Ballard in INDY. Best player will play.

 

[cstu]

Here's an interview where he talks about his injuries and calls the shoulder injury last year a 'blessing in disguise'. He said his knee never felt close to 100% last year and wasn't even that sad about the should injury injury since it gave him time to recover. Benching 290 lbs. now, so his shoulder is fine.

Love his attitude toward it all and he's still only 23 so anything can happen.

at his 'female tendencies' having dreads.

 

[cstu]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

 

[DaveL]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

I'm a Williams fan and come draft day will try to trade a late 2nd for him...but keep in mind that run is on 3rd and 10 against the Eagles' bottom tier run D

 

[massraider]

Like him as a sleeper, which he is because a lot of people just think he's damaged goods. If you like him as a sleeper, you still have to like him after the draft. What, you thought he could put up some points, as a sleeper, but the addition of Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington scares you?

Not to knock those guys, but every running back in the draft gets turned over, analyzed, and you can always find a hype train for them. Collectively, every rookie RB is probably overrated, as rookie drafts show.

If you are a big Stepfan guy, and you think he could be Arian Foster, cool. In your opinion, Williams takes a hit. If you don't feel strongly about either, then the addition of two 'guys' shouldn't really scare you. AZ was gonna bring in more backs. Every team is bringing in more backs.

Mendenhall is a known quantity, essentially. Williams still is not, and man, he was pretty hyped. If you are picking up a guy like Williams, you are hoping he is going to stay healthy and fulfill his potential.

If he is that good, then 3rd tier backs in the draft most likely won't affect him.

 

[jtd13]

I traded the 17th pick for him back in January. I'd easily take that trade back if offered, but I am also a Mendy owner so he's an easy hold for me. I won't get pick 17 value back for him right now.

 

[menobrown]

I really liked him as a deepish sleeper until last weekend.

I'm not really worried about any of those guys they drafted but I think it's Mendenahall's job to lose.

Good hold in Dynasty. He's still super young and even if things don't work out well in Arizona he's contractually obligated for just 2 more seasons. Just needs to get and stay healthy and for what's it worth he's saying this is the healthiest he's been since his knee injury.

I see him a great value right now. People are willing to spend late first and early/mid seconds on Lattimore and Michaels and I believe he's of similar talent. I reference those two guys as RB's that in all likelihood if they ever pan out it's a good chance it's not until 2015 when Gore's contract is up and Seattle likely cuts Lynch or asks him to take a major pay cut. Personally I'd rather have Williams than any of those guys but I imagine the dynasty community may not feel the same which makes him good value IMO.

 

[jacobo_moses]

I think Mendenhall is slightly better between the tackles then Williams. But I think Williams is a better all around RB. (Assuming he is healthy.)

 

[D'OHtis]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

I'm hopeful he can do something with the opportunity if he must do it again this year. The guy has little production (and only 168 total carries) on a college or NFL football field since 2009. Glad the Cards at least invested in a couple later round guys for competition at backup.

 

[jacobo_moses]

Matt Waldmans take in April 2011. I still think the potential is there:

2. Ryan Williams, Virginia Tech (5-9, 212)

Williams is a precocious talent with explosiveness and balance in tight spaces similar to Mark Ingram’s. Only a sophomore, Williams lacks Ingram’s consistent maturity with his decisions behind the line of scrimmage, but Williams is still wiser at this stage of his development than Jamaal Charles and LeSean McCoy were when they entered the N.F.L.

He’s not known as a receiver and he’s still working on his development as a blocker, but I’ve seen enough to believe he’ll develop into an every-down back. Williams can adjust to the football and secure it while taking the type of shot from a safety or linebacker that’s common over the middle in the N.F.L. Williams admits he needs to learn more protection schemes, but he is already a physical blocker.

Like Ingram, Williams has great balance and quick feet. He’s as good as any back in this class at making something out of nothing. He’s also a very physical runner when it’s time to finish the play. I do have concerns that his hard-cutting, intense style will be harder on his body and that he could suffer a fate similar to Cadillac Williams’s. But no one can predict injury. He has the upside to develop into a star.

 

[menobrown]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

 

[cstu]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

I'm hopeful he can do something with the opportunity if he must do it again this year. The guy has little production (and only 168 total carries) on a college or NFL football field since 2009. Glad the Cards at least invested in a couple later round guys for competition at backup.

The point of showing the play was not to say he was a stud last year but to show off the moves he's capable of if healthy. I have no idea if he will ever fully recover from his injury but it was a flash of the talent that he had in college.

Mendenhall is the favorite to start this year, very few are going to argue that. In dynasty though there's a chance that Williams plays well and earns the job in 2014.

 

[cstu]

I traded the 17th pick for him back in January. I'd easily take that trade back if offered, but I am also a Mendy owner so he's an easy hold for me. I won't get pick 17 value back for him right now.

The 17th pick is this draft isn't that valuable (Dobson, Bailey or one of the QB's), if I needed a RB I'd much rather take a shot on Williams.

 

[Young 8]

Many are ready to call Ryan Williams injury prone. I'm not ready to do that. If he is out for more then 2 or 3 games this yr then yes I will label him as that. But he had a few injuries off and on in college. (But only played college ball for 2 yrs anyway, so its not much of a sample size.) Now the ruptured patella injury I think is a fluke injury. I mean really how often do those injuries happen in the NFL period? Exactly. So I think we give him a pass on that one. Now the shoulder injury last yr that required surgery has got me concerned. I think this is his warning for me. If he gets injured with an injury that keeps him out for very long this yr then I say the label of injury prone is appropriate.

The guy has missed 31 games (out of 45) in the last 3 years but you need more evidence......uhm, ok.

 

[Shutout]

I think I said last year I didn't think he would unseat Beanie in Arizona so I'm definitely not liking him any more now.

I get what people are drawn to with Williams but when you look at the actual situation he is in, on that team and now this year with the additional competition, I don't like it.

If nothing else not even related to football, I can tell you that the Cardinals organization will favor Ellington and Taylor over Williams because they are cheap and not risk takers and they will favor those two cheap contracts over resigning Williams who they will say they have questions about ragarding his ability to stay healthy. So, unless Williams gets a chance very early on and just tears it up and makes himself impossible to ignore, I see this as being one of those scenarios where they run Mendy and stay with him and the other guys get used as situation dictates. But Williams' strong suit hasn't been 3rd down and the Cardinals LIVE in 3rd and long and trailing games. That's just my "what will happen in relaity" take vs. "building a case for any particular guy relying on stats, etc". Just seen these Cards for a long time and they don't handle any position the way that you would think makes sense unless that guy steps on the field and becomes a stud right away.

 

[FF Ninja]

I like him as a risk/reward play. I took him late last year in a couple leagues thinking he might be decent if Beanie got hurt. Well, he looked like crap. But supposedly he wasn't 100%. A year later, maybe he's 100%. His primary competition comes in the form of a guy who hasn't been productive on a per play basis in 4 years. Given that I have no faith in Mendenhall, his #2 holds value to me even if I'm skeptical about him.

I honestly thought Williams would be taken a lot lower than he is going right now. Looking at the redraft ADP, he's going RB38 - ahead of Bradshaw, Moreno, Goodson, Pierce, Tate, Pead, Lacy, Dwyer... I couldn't fault someone for taking a risk on Williams there, but I think all of those other guys have similar value in 2013. They each have different risk/reward values associated with them, but I feel like I'd rather take a shot on a few of them than on Williams. That being said, if Williams fell to me a bit later when those guys were off the board, I'd be happy to hold him as my RB5.

 

[Casting Couch]

I traded the 17th pick for him back in January. I'd easily take that trade back if offered, but I am also a Mendy owner so he's an easy hold for me. I won't get pick 17 value back for him right now.

The 17th pick is this draft isn't that valuable (Dobson, Bailey or one of the QB's), if I needed a RB I'd much rather take a shot on Williams.

I'll take pick 17 over Ryan Williams.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

What was special about that play?

 

[menobrown]

If nothing else not even related to football, I can tell you that the Cardinals organization will favor Ellington and Taylor over Williams because they are cheap and not risk takers and they will favor those two cheap contracts over resigning Williams who they will say they have questions about ragarding his ability to stay healthy.

If the Cardinals actually make a decision due to money I think it actually is good for Williams. He's cheap ,less than a million a year an so are Taylor and Ellington. The difference in Williams comp and the two rookies is relatively minor, measured in hundreds of thousands, not millions. Mendenhall is the one that's going to cost some money, in fact more than the other 3 combined.

From what I've gathered from multiple beat writers Williams believes he's as healthy as been since his knee injury and will battle for a starting job but every single one of them think it's Mendy's job. It's not even a battle, it's just flat out his job. So let's assume that to be the case, which in this case is not a cheap move since retaining Mendenhall will run them an additional $2-3 million this season but let's go with that.

So under this scenario Williams is no better than a handcuff, at best, in 2013. But if you are trying to look ahead, and using your Arizona is cheap methodology, than again Mendenhall stands the chance of being the expensive player to retain in 2014 at which point if he performs he'll want a multi year deal this time. Meanwhile the other 3 backs combined salary in 2014 will run around $2million range. So again the cheap move is to not resign Mendenhall.

In 2015, when Williams contract is up, how much of an asset he is in fantasy or the NFL will be determined by his health and what he's been able to show on the field. If he shows well and has good health I personally won't care if Arizona is to cheap to sign him, it's not like it's a golden situation.

What's more important, IMO, to Williams value now and long term is being healthy and showing well. The rest will take care of itself, it just may not be this year as I once thought when Beannie was his main comp. The reason I think Williams remains a great hold is he's still incredibly young, 8 months older than Lacy and younger than Franklin for comparison sake.

If you think he lacks talent this means nothing to you. If like some people,myself included, believe he's a talented back than I consider him a good hold in the same class as a Lattimore and Michael who I'm seeing go in the late first/early second of startups.

 

[BroadwayG]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

What was special about that play?

A draw against a prevent defense in garbage time?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

What was special about that play?

A draw against a prevent defense in garbage time?

Exactly. He runs through a big hole makes a cut to the outside and easily gets tossed out of bounds. I'm not sure how that makes any kind of statement. I owned him and thought he looked terrible last season. Sure he was still recovering and their o-line and QB play was miserable, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

 

[jacobo_moses]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

What was special about that play?

A draw against a prevent defense in garbage time?

Exactly. He runs through a big hole makes a cut to the outside and easily gets tossed out of bounds. I'm not sure how that makes any kind of statement. I owned him and thought he looked terrible last season. Sure he was still recovering and their o-line and QB play was miserable, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

I don't know how anyone can say this. I mean come on. So the O-line blocked the same way, and the defense was set up in the same way on at least one run for Powell and LRSH? That doesn't seem very likely. Lets remember that last yr was essentially Ryan Williams rookie season since he was out all of 2011 with a ruptured patella tendon. I think he gets at least this yr to prove if he can amount to anything. People are so quick to write players off, I just don't get it.

 

[Shutout]

If nothing else not even related to football, I can tell you that the Cardinals organization will favor Ellington and Taylor over Williams because they are cheap and not risk takers and they will favor those two cheap contracts over resigning Williams who they will say they have questions about ragarding his ability to stay healthy.

If the Cardinals actually make a decision due to money I think it actually is good for Williams. He's cheap ,less than a million a year an so are Taylor and Ellington. The difference in Williams comp and the two rookies is relatively minor, measured in hundreds of thousands, not millions. Mendenhall is the one that's going to cost some money, in fact more than the other 3 combined.

From what I've gathered from multiple beat writers Williams believes he's as healthy as been since his knee injury and will battle for a starting job but every single one of them think it's Mendy's job. It's not even a battle, it's just flat out his job. So let's assume that to be the case, which in this case is not a cheap move since retaining Mendenhall will run them an additional $2-3 million this season but let's go with that.

So under this scenario Williams is no better than a handcuff, at best, in 2013. But if you are trying to look ahead, and using your Arizona is cheap methodology, than again Mendenhall stands the chance of being the expensive player to retain in 2014 at which point if he performs he'll want a multi year deal this time. Meanwhile the other 3 backs combined salary in 2014 will run around $2million range. So again the cheap move is to not resign Mendenhall.

In 2015, when Williams contract is up, how much of an asset he is in fantasy or the NFL will be determined by his health and what he's been able to show on the field. If he shows well and has good health I personally won't care if Arizona is to cheap to sign him, it's not like it's a golden situation.

What's more important, IMO, to Williams value now and long term is being healthy and showing well. The rest will take care of itself, it just may not be this year as I once thought when Beannie was his main comp. The reason I think Williams remains a great hold is he's still incredibly young, 8 months older than Lacy and younger than Franklin for comparison sake.

If you think he lacks talent this means nothing to you. If like some people,myself included, believe he's a talented back than I consider him a good hold in the same class as a Lattimore and Michael who I'm seeing go in the late first/early second of startups.

Notice I never mentioned resigning Mendy. I don't think that happens. Overall, given three cheap options in Williams, Ellington, and Stepfan, I guess I am saying I expect the two rookies to show enough for the front office to say "They look as good as Williams except Williams has multiple injury issues (assuming, of course, the rookies stay healthy which I REALLY don't think is going to be a problem with Stepfan, in particular).

I probably should have been shorter to the point like FF ninja and simply said "when I watched him last year, he looked bad". He did. He just gives me the Lawrence Maroney vibe. It looks great when you look at attributes. It looks great for a moment on the field, but when you look at the entire body of work, this looks like a guy that won't be around long. I get the age factor too. THat is HUGE! But keep in mind, that's the exact scenario Beanie was in last year and the Cards didn't hesitate to release him and no other teams have been quick to scoop him up.

It is probably unfair. Williams is probably better than the shot he might be given but, like Beanie, when a RB is in this league and can't stay on the field those first few years, NFL teams just say "ok, show me the next 22 year old kid.." The position is just too interchangeable for NFL teams to have any need to deal with injury risks.

 

[menobrown]

If nothing else not even related to football, I can tell you that the Cardinals organization will favor Ellington and Taylor over Williams because they are cheap and not risk takers and they will favor those two cheap contracts over resigning Williams who they will say they have questions about ragarding his ability to stay healthy.

If the Cardinals actually make a decision due to money I think it actually is good for Williams. He's cheap ,less than a million a year an so are Taylor and Ellington. The difference in Williams comp and the two rookies is relatively minor, measured in hundreds of thousands, not millions. Mendenhall is the one that's going to cost some money, in fact more than the other 3 combined.

From what I've gathered from multiple beat writers Williams believes he's as healthy as been since his knee injury and will battle for a starting job but every single one of them think it's Mendy's job. It's not even a battle, it's just flat out his job. So let's assume that to be the case, which in this case is not a cheap move since retaining Mendenhall will run them an additional $2-3 million this season but let's go with that.

So under this scenario Williams is no better than a handcuff, at best, in 2013. But if you are trying to look ahead, and using your Arizona is cheap methodology, than again Mendenhall stands the chance of being the expensive player to retain in 2014 at which point if he performs he'll want a multi year deal this time. Meanwhile the other 3 backs combined salary in 2014 will run around $2million range. So again the cheap move is to not resign Mendenhall.

In 2015, when Williams contract is up, how much of an asset he is in fantasy or the NFL will be determined by his health and what he's been able to show on the field. If he shows well and has good health I personally won't care if Arizona is to cheap to sign him, it's not like it's a golden situation.

What's more important, IMO, to Williams value now and long term is being healthy and showing well. The rest will take care of itself, it just may not be this year as I once thought when Beannie was his main comp. The reason I think Williams remains a great hold is he's still incredibly young, 8 months older than Lacy and younger than Franklin for comparison sake.

If you think he lacks talent this means nothing to you. If like some people,myself included, believe he's a talented back than I consider him a good hold in the same class as a Lattimore and Michael who I'm seeing go in the late first/early second of startups.

Notice I never mentioned resigning Mendy. I don't think that happens. Overall, given three cheap options in Williams, Ellington, and Stepfan, I guess I am saying I expect the two rookies to show enough for the front office to say "They look as good as Williams except Williams has multiple injury issues (assuming, of course, the rookies stay healthy which I REALLY don't think is going to be a problem with Stepfan, in particular).

I probably should have been shorter to the point like FF ninja and simply said "when I watched him last year, he looked bad". He did. He just gives me the Lawrence Maroney vibe. It looks great when you look at attributes. It looks great for a moment on the field, but when you look at the entire body of work, this looks like a guy that won't be around long. I get the age factor too. THat is HUGE! But keep in mind, that's the exact scenario Beanie was in last year and the Cards didn't hesitate to release him and no other teams have been quick to scoop him up.

It is probably unfair. Williams is probably better than the shot he might be given but, like Beanie, when a RB is in this league and can't stay on the field those first few years, NFL teams just say "ok, show me the next 22 year old kid.." The position is just too interchangeable for NFL teams to have any need to deal with injury risks.

True you did not mention res-signing Mendy but he's still the most expensive option now and Williams is cheap so I don't see him cutting cut due to money.

I also think when people keep hammering Williams play it needs to be analyzed in both the context of that offense and his injury, and I mean the knee injury not the shoulder.

In terms of the context of the offense I think people need to step back and understand, while a different position, this offense made a future Hall of Fame receiver in his prime look pedestrian.No one, not a single player on that offense looked consistently good last year.

In terms of his injury his knee was not all the way back. Per Williams the shoulder is not an issue, to this day he's still rehabbing the knee more than the shoulder. To give you an idea of the status of his knee I would reference the comment below. We are talking about a guy who claims he was struggling to do a fairly simple workout playing RB in the NFL:

The shoulder, he said, will be fine. Williams did one-legged hops right-footed onto a short stool, he said he hadn’t been able to do that as well last The other day, after September even though he was playing in games. He gained just 164 yards on 58 carries (2.8 yards per attempt). If Williams sees his shoulder injury as anything, it was as a sign he wasn’t ready to play in the first place.

“My knee is the thing,” Williams said. “After you read about people with patella tendon injuries, you don’t read about them anymore.”

Link:http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Ryan-Williams-Embraces-Third-Chance/6bea699f-967f-4e69-a999-5cc4185a62df

Now the Cardinals from last year are not a fun team to watch and while I don't claim to have a scouts eye I did go back and watch every single carry he had last year on the All-22. Personally I did not see him miss a lot of opportunity so much as there was none. I thought to some degree while his stats were obviously disgusting you could see the talent which to me was echoed in these comments from Steve Keim:

Q. Ryan Williams?

A. "I saw Ryan in our weight room the other day and he's doing fantastic. He's a guy that, watching film with Bruce, because he got injured early in the season, yn ou fogot the type of run skills Ryan had. We watched him against Philadelphia, we watched him against New England, his later quickness, his later quickness, his natural ruskills, his avoidability is something he brings to the table. Plus he's a three down back. We're expecting big things out of Ryan moving forward."

Link:http://www.cincyjungle.com/2013/2/21/4015382/nfl-combine-2013-cardinals-gm-steve-keim

So ok, he say's they expect big things and than went out and picked two RB's. Does that mean Keim was just giving coach speak or in this case GM speak? I don't think so and in fact feel like both he and Arians have been refreshingly upfront. These comments Keim made before the draft speak to his intentions which he carried out perfectly with Stepfan and as was later mentioned they did not plan on taking 2 RB's but saw value in Ellington:

Link:http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events/article-2/Finding-A-Back-That-Works/4619b54e-893b-4f28-b8e7-6ed3cdfb5987

“That position is different because they take a lot of shots, they take a lot of abuse, there are going to be some injuries,” Keim said. “Our mindset I think the pieces of the puzzle we want to add, I think you are looking at the bigger, more durable back to compliment some of the guys we already have on our roster we like.”

I think the bolded part above is an extremely accurate description of Stepfan Taylor. So again if you want to chalk it up to GM speak I'm not going to get into that debate but I've been listening to what Keim and Arains have to say this off season and just don't think that's the case.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

I don't know how anyone can say this. I mean come on. So the O-line blocked the same way, and the defense was set up in the same way on at least one run for Powell and LRSH? That doesn't seem very likely. Lets remember that last yr was essentially Ryan Williams rookie season since he was out all of 2011 with a ruptured patella tendon. I think he gets at least this yr to prove if he can amount to anything. People are so quick to write players off, I just don't get it.

Under the same circumstances /= under identical situations

It's not like Powell and Stephens Howling were playing with Dan Marino under center and the Cowboy's o-line of the 90s. Powell, LRSH and Williams all played for the 2013 Arizona Cardinals, and the former two backs looked better than the later. Understand?

Some players never come back all the way from a ruptured patella. With another season of recovery, he may look better this season though, sure.

 

[D'OHtis]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

 

[menobrown]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

No I get it, can't say the same for you. I think I've mentioned his need to stay on the field ad nauseam. Go back ,read my posts where I constantly state his value will be based on his health and what he'll be able to show on the field.

Of course he's done next to nothing in 3 years, he's played 5 games in two years. That and your silly YPC and "take away his Philly game" argument are just plain weak.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

Lesser half of a committee is the guy's upside. Cardinals were smart to address altenatives at the backup RB position for this season in the draft. Maybe one of them surprises and becomes more.

I'm not one to use the 'take out one carry' type of guy, but a 3rd down draw on 3rd and 17 is one of the rare instances that I will. The guy that provided that video pretty much made our point for us w/o realizing he did.

 

[cstu]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

If you'd listen to the interview I posted he says that he was nowhere near healthy last and that he thought it was a blessing he hurt his shoulder.

I'll agree he's had a ton of injuries and may never stay healthy or live up to the potential he had, but I think it's absurd to use how he looked last year against him.

 

[cstu]

, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

I don't know how anyone can say this. I mean come on. So the O-line blocked the same way, and the defense was set up in the same way on at least one run for Powell and LRSH? That doesn't seem very likely. Lets remember that last yr was essentially Ryan Williams rookie season since he was out all of 2011 with a ruptured patella tendon. I think he gets at least this yr to prove if he can amount to anything. People are so quick to write players off, I just don't get it.

Under the same circumstances /= under identical situations

It's not like Powell and Stephens Howling were playing with Dan Marino under center and the Cowboy's o-line of the 90s. Powell, LRSH and Williams all played for the 2013 Arizona Cardinals, and the former two backs looked better than the later. Understand?

Some players never come back all the way from a ruptured patella. With another season of recovery, he may look better this season though, sure.

Outside of the Buffalo game Powell's YPC was 3.17. LSH had a big 52 yard run but outside of that he averaged 2.7 YPC. I won't argue that Williams played the worst of them (2.7 YPC) but considering he was not healthy and still recovering from a patella rupture I'd say it was pretty good of him to be in the same neighborhood.

 

[D'OHtis]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

If you'd listen to the interview I posted he says that he was nowhere near healthy last and that he thought it was a blessing he hurt his shoulder.

I'll agree he's had a ton of injuries and may never stay healthy or live up to the potential he had, but I think it's absurd to use how he looked last year against him.

As noted above, I've already listened to it. Any RB saying it's a blessing hurting their shoulder hasn't been hit on it yet.

It's no more absurd than using production from 4 years ago...in college...to access his current ability level

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

If you'd listen to the interview I posted he says that he was nowhere near healthy last and that he thought it was a blessing he hurt his shoulder.

I'll agree he's had a ton of injuries and may never stay healthy or live up to the potential he had, but I think it's absurd to use how he looked last year against him.

It's no more absurd than using production from 4 years ago...in college...to access his current ability level

Or Jonathan Stewart's 40 time from 5 years ago.

Mendenhall is playing for his starting career this year. Williams is playing just to remain in the league period. Both have plenty of incentive.

 

[menobrown]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

If you'd listen to the interview I posted he says that he was nowhere near healthy last and that he thought it was a blessing he hurt his shoulder.

I'll agree he's had a ton of injuries and may never stay healthy or live up to the potential he had, but I think it's absurd to use how he looked last year against him.

It's no more absurd than using production from 4 years ago...in college...to access his current ability level

Or Jonathan Stewart's 40 time from 5 years ago.

Mendenhall is playing for his starting career this year. Williams is playing just to remain in the league period. Both have plenty of incentive.

Or people paying a first round pick on a RB whose injury history is as severe or worse than Williams and had not played a full season since 2010 and probably won't play at all next year.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

I don't know how anyone can say this. I mean come on. So the O-line blocked the same way, and the defense was set up in the same way on at least one run for Powell and LRSH? That doesn't seem very likely. Lets remember that last yr was essentially Ryan Williams rookie season since he was out all of 2011 with a ruptured patella tendon. I think he gets at least this yr to prove if he can amount to anything. People are so quick to write players off, I just don't get it.

Under the same circumstances /= under identical situations

It's not like Powell and Stephens Howling were playing with Dan Marino under center and the Cowboy's o-line of the 90s. Powell, LRSH and Williams all played for the 2013 Arizona Cardinals, and the former two backs looked better than the later. Understand?

Some players never come back all the way from a ruptured patella. With another season of recovery, he may look better this season though, sure.

Outside of the Buffalo game Powell's YPC was 3.17. LSH had a big 52 yard run but outside of that he averaged 2.7 YPC. I won't argue that Williams played the worst of them (2.7 YPC) but considering he was not healthy and still recovering from a patella rupture I'd say it was pretty good of him to be in the same neighborhood.

It would be good if those guys' neighborhoods weren't the slums, I guess.

 

[jacobo_moses]

This is a guy whose knee wasn't 100%.

Eagles were atrocious against the run. And it was a 3rd and 17 draw play.

To show how bad he was on the majority of his other 57 carries (2.4 ypc), that run accounted for 15% of his total rush yards.

Not sure how a guy with a career NFL mark of 2.8 ypc and was replaced by William Powell on 3rd downs last year is better than a guy with 2 1000+ yard rush seasons and a career 4.1 ypc mark. And a shoulder injury never ever ever ever a blessing for an NFL RB. The ones that are saying that are the ones that have yet to have taken a hit.

Ok if you want to throw out the Eagles game than be fair about it. Rashard Mendenhall had 41% of his production last year against the Eagles. In non-Eagles games he ran for 114 yards and averaged 3 YPC and this is NOT and apples to apples comp as that Steelers line might have had some issues but was nothing as historically bad as what Arizona had on the offensive line or offense as a whole.

Other than trotting out numbers like a guys YPC when he's played a few games and has 58 total carries in his career is beyond comical and that's true whether you were making a case for or against a player.

You're not getting it.

He's played a few games....because he can't stay on the field. Been that way dating back to the 2010 season at VT, where injury caused him to get replaced by Darren Evans. If you think that suddenly changes, more power to you. I hope the guy can just turn into a competent backup player at this point.

Watched every single carry the guy had last year. The guy was atrocious. Perhaps injuries have taken their toll already on him. The guy has done next to nothing on a football field in nearly 3 years.

There's a reason a 3rd down down play against a prevent package is the highlight of his career to date.....

If you'd listen to the interview I posted he says that he was nowhere near healthy last and that he thought it was a blessing he hurt his shoulder.

I'll agree he's had a ton of injuries and may never stay healthy or live up to the potential he had, but I think it's absurd to use how he looked last year against him.

It's no more absurd than using production from 4 years ago...in college...to access his current ability level

Or Jonathan Stewart's 40 time from 5 years ago.

Mendenhall is playing for his starting career this year. Williams is playing just to remain in the league period. Both have plenty of incentive.

 

[cstu]

, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

I don't know how anyone can say this. I mean come on. So the O-line blocked the same way, and the defense was set up in the same way on at least one run for Powell and LRSH? That doesn't seem very likely. Lets remember that last yr was essentially Ryan Williams rookie season since he was out all of 2011 with a ruptured patella tendon. I think he gets at least this yr to prove if he can amount to anything. People are so quick to write players off, I just don't get it.

Under the same circumstances /= under identical situations

It's not like Powell and Stephens Howling were playing with Dan Marino under center and the Cowboy's o-line of the 90s. Powell, LRSH and Williams all played for the 2013 Arizona Cardinals, and the former two backs looked better than the later. Understand?

Some players never come back all the way from a ruptured patella. With another season of recovery, he may look better this season though, sure.

Outside of the Buffalo game Powell's YPC was 3.17. LSH had a big 52 yard run but outside of that he averaged 2.7 YPC. I won't argue that Williams played the worst of them (2.7 YPC) but considering he was not healthy and still recovering from a patella rupture I'd say it was pretty good of him to be in the same neighborhood.

It would be good if those guys' neighborhoods weren't the slums, I guess.

Calcutta.

 

[Casting Couch]

, but LRSH and Powell looked much better under the same circumstances.

I don't know how anyone can say this. I mean come on. So the O-line blocked the same way, and the defense was set up in the same way on at least one run for Powell and LRSH? That doesn't seem very likely. Lets remember that last yr was essentially Ryan Williams rookie season since he was out all of 2011 with a ruptured patella tendon. I think he gets at least this yr to prove if he can amount to anything. People are so quick to write players off, I just don't get it.

Under the same circumstances /= under identical situations

It's not like Powell and Stephens Howling were playing with Dan Marino under center and the Cowboy's o-line of the 90s. Powell, LRSH and Williams all played for the 2013 Arizona Cardinals, and the former two backs looked better than the later. Understand?

Some players never come back all the way from a ruptured patella. With another season of recovery, he may look better this season though, sure.

Outside of the Buffalo game Powell's YPC was 3.17. LSH had a big 52 yard run but outside of that he averaged 2.7 YPC. I won't argue that Williams played the worst of them (2.7 YPC) but considering he was not healthy and still recovering from a patella rupture I'd say it was pretty good of him to be in the same neighborhood.

It would be good if those guys' neighborhoods weren't the slums, I guess.

Calcutta.

Detoilet

 

[kface]

At this point I don't understand how anyone could be pimping this guy....when he played he looked horrible. He's 3 years into his nfl career, ARZ drafted two rookies and signed a relatively young veteran. Could williams blow up...sure he could. Joe McKnight could have 2000 combined yards this year as well...

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!!

The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition.

Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

 

[kface]

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!!

The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition.

Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

I don't consider myself passionate on either side but I don't understand the hardened pro-camp. It would be one thing that while he wasn't injured he came and looked at least serviceable but he couldn't even do that. He is a deep, deep flyer at this point...that is all

 

[jurb26]

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!! The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition. Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

I'm an optimist when it comes to Williams. I loved him when he came out of VTech and believe the natural ability to be an every down, starter is there. Injuries have certainly derailed much of his career to this point. What Williams has in his fair however, is youth (still only 23) and modern medicine. For those 2 reasons I see little reason to believe Williams will not regain the form I and many others loved about him in college. Now, opportunity is his biggest obstacle. Arz has a crowded backfield and that is concerning. At some point in the next few years (barring injury) I think Williams will emerge and show his talents. Perhaps that will be on another team.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!!

The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition.

Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

I don't consider myself passionate on either side but I don't understand the hardened pro-camp. It would be one thing that while he wasn't injured he came and looked at least serviceable but he couldn't even do that. He is a deep, deep flyer at this point...that is all

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!! The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition. Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

I'm an optimist when it comes to Williams. I loved him when he came out of VTech and believe the natural ability to be an every down, starter is there. Injuries have certainly derailed much of his career to this point. What Williams has in his fair however, is youth (still only 23) and modern medicine. For those 2 reasons I see little reason to believe Williams will not regain the form I and many others loved about him in college. Now, opportunity is his biggest obstacle. Arz has a crowded backfield and that is concerning. At some point in the next few years (barring injury) I think Williams will emerge and show his talents. Perhaps that will be on another team.

I'm in the middle here

 

[Shutout]

At this point I don't understand how anyone could be pimping this guy....when he played he looked horrible. He's 3 years into his nfl career, ARZ drafted two rookies and signed a relatively young veteran. Could williams blow up...sure he could. Joe McKnight could have 2000 combined yards this year as well...

A lot makes sense here in what you said. I guess another way of asking the question is asking "if any of the decision makers believe in Williams still, why did they use both money and draft resources (twice) to address the position?" The vikings must have had faith in ADP. Can't say the same about the Cards.

 

[FF Ninja]

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!!

The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition.

Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

At best? No, Mendenhall is not actually good. Williams has a chance to be the starter here. He looked like dookie last year, though, so this could be a two turd shootout between Williams and Mendenhall. I'll take the cheaper, unknown quantity here if the price is right. However, I think RB38 is too rich right now.

He is a deep, deep flyer at this point...that is all

RB38 is not a deep, deep flyer. That's RB3/RB4 territory. So he's actually a really expensive flyer. If he starts to slip to RB45 in the next few months, I might take a shot.

 

[cstu]

Why the passion on both sides about Ryan Williams? You can't ignore Mendenhall so at best he is going to get a 50/50 split...AT BEST!!!

The guy had his chance in 2011 and 2012 to show something and like it or not he was not able to show anything meaningful due to injury. I could tell you that Yatil Green was the most talented WR to come out of the Univ of Miami and had he not blown his knee out twice that he would have re-written the record books. But the fact is he did injure himself and that dream never came into fruition.

Let the guy take the field and get some meaningful snaps for a month before we make any rash decisions one way or the other here. But things do not look good so far.

I don't think anyone is confident that Williams will be the player he was. Heck, we don't know if he would have been as good as many of us thought he would be. He certainly could go the way of Yatil Green but unlike Yatil he's 'only' had one major injury and he's only 23. Had he torn his patella in college as a junior he likely wouldn't have been rushed back the way he was last year. Someone would have drafted like the 49ers did with Lattimore and possibly have given him the whole year to recover.

 

[cstu]

RB38 is not a deep, deep flyer. That's RB3/RB4 territory. So he's actually a really expensive flyer. If he starts to slip to RB45 in the next few months, I might take a shot.

RB45 is where he starts to make sense. I would take all of the guys with upside in bad situations before him.

 

[jacobo_moses]

"The sun was out, the air was chilly and Ryan Williams jogged a handful of yards at a time early Tuesday afternoon, catching looping passes from assistant athletic trainer Chad Cook as part of what has seemed to be his constant rehab.

It’s a lonely existence, especially this time of year. Only a handful of rehabbing players are around the facility, and few spend as much time there as Williams.

There is a reason for that. The former second-round draft pick hasn’t been the answer at running back, not after playing in just four games in his first two seasons because of serious injuries. His attitude is upbeat, even if the past has not been.

“I’ve got the label of damaged goods,” Williams admits.

“People can say what they want to say, feel how they feel,” Williams added. “I don’t want anybody on my side. I know they are going to talk, say what they will say, and that’s cool. I don’t need anybody on my side. I need all those doubters, I need all those haters.”

There is no bile in those comments. Instead, Williams smiles. “This is the happiest I’ve been in two years,” he says, because he has gotten right both physically and mentally as he tries – once again – to make his way in the NFL.

His rookie season was crushed after he ruptured his right patella tendon during the preseason. His second season ended after the fifth game when he suffered a coracoid process fracture to his left shoulder in St. Louis.

He’s missed more games than he ever thought he would and he doesn’t shy from the inevitable question about being worried about his spot on the roster.

“Who wouldn’t?” he says matter-of-factly.

But Williams still has a confidence he can be a factor, and a factor for the Cardinals. It doesn’t hurt that when new coach Bruce Arians was hired, before ever talking to Williams, Arians brought up his name speaking about the potential run game.

“I know Ryan can flat run the football -- I’m a Hokie,” said Arians, who like Williams played at Virginia Tech. “I know all about Ryan, and I love him.”

Those words found their way back to Williams, who also is hoping for – and counting on – the zone blocking scheme Arians has used in the past and a scheme Williams believes he is best within.

But, Williams said, “I have to show him, I have to prove to him that he’d be happy to say those words.”

The other part of Williams’ self-discovery came via a conversation with someone who is no longer around – former general manager Rod Graves. Last year, knowing Williams’ love for the late Walter Payton, Graves took some time to talk to Williams late one afternoon after the locker room had cleared out.

Williams remembered Graves coming to his locker – coincidentally, a few days before Williams hurt his shoulder – and pulling up a stool, loosening his tie and sitting there for almost a half-hour telling Williams stories about Payton working with the Bears back in the mid-1980s, when Graves was a Bears’ scout.

Graves told Williams stories about Payton working out 30 minutes before practice, getting up a sweat before his teammates even started. He told Williams about Payton’s leadership by example. The anecdotes resonated.

“I needed to grasp that to be the football player I needed to be,” Williams said.

Williams talks about where he is as a player, what he is returning from, and it’s hard not to notice he doesn’t even mention his shoulder injury. It’s about his knee and patella tendon, because that’s what Williams sees as the obstacle to rehab.

The shoulder, he said, will be fine. The other day, after Williams did one-legged hops right-footed onto a short stool, he said he hadn’t been able to do that as well last September even though he was playing in games. He gained just 164 yards on 58 carries (2.8 yards per attempt). If Williams sees his shoulder injury as anything, it was as a sign he wasn’t ready to play in the first place.

“My knee is the thing,” Williams said. “After you read about people with patella tendon injuries, you don’t read about them anymore.”

For the first time, Williams will be able to take part in a full minicamp. He is anxious to start the season, although he isn’t making any predictions. He joked that after all the talking he did last offseason during his rehab and comeback, no one wants to hear it anymore.

So he arrives at 8 a.m. almost every day for treatment and work. He waits for April to prove to Arians and the coaching staff he can still play and be a contributing member of the team. And he waits to show that even if he is damaged goods, he can be fixed.

“Most people get one chance,” Williams said. “This is my third chance. I don’t know how my stars are aligned to get three chances. But I finally know who I’m supposed to be.” Feb 2013 Article

I own Ryan Williams in a 24 team Dyn league. He is my 4th Rb behind David Wilson, Lamar Miller, and Ivory. I'm willing to give the kid the benefit of the doubt. I'm not so worried now about the RB's they drafted late in the draft. It makes sense to reload when Williams only has 1 more yr after this yr on his contract. And Mendenhall has 1 yr to prove he can be anything here in AZ. Just saying. Lets see what Williams does completely healthy now, better Oline, and a decent QB for once. If he bombs then yes he needs kicked to the curb. But lets wait and see.

 

[FF Ninja]

Wilson, Miller, Ivory, and Williams. You must've been hurting last year. Nothing wrong with him being an RB4 this year in a 24 team league, though.