Cardinal Tough: Assessing the RB Situation

[Mitch]

It's time for Ken Whisenhunt to commit to his version of the "dink and dunk." Kurt Warner worked it to perfection and the result was several long, time-consuming scoring drives a game.

What Whisenhunt needs from his RBs in this offense:

1-Production from a 1 back set (4 WRs)
2-Competitiveness
3-Pass Receiving Ability
4-Pass Blocking Ability

Current RBs (Ratings and Comments)

Scale: 1-Exceptional; 2-Above Average; 3-Average; 4-Below Average; 5-Minimal

Tim Hightower: 2 + 2 + 2 + 3 (Prod + Comp + PRA + PBA)
Beanie Wells: 4 + 3 + 4 + 4
LaRod Stephens-Howling: 4 + 2 + 2 + 4
Jason Wright: 4 + 3 + 3 + 4
Alfonso Smith: INC
Reagan Maui'a (FB): 4 + 3 + 4 + 3
Charles Ali (FB): INC
Nehemiah Broughton (FB): INC

Tim Hightower is a very good fit for Whiz's offense. He's tough and very competitive, is an able and willing blocker and is a very good pass receiving threat. The one concern is his propensity to fumble.

Beanie Wells does not appear to be a good fit. He's competitive, but lacks the RB versatility the offense requires. However, he has shown some improvement on his pass blocking and he could possibly develop into a pass receiving threat---just as he could excel running the ball out of a one back set (where the defense is stretched and spread wider than normal). Durability and fumble-itis remain issues for concern. Still have to love his size and speed---if and when healthy and focused.

As a third down RB, LSH is a very good fit as a speed back. The issue with him is durability.

Jason Wright has been a solid ST player and spot wrinkle-type RB. He brings veteran leadership and passion, but not a whole lot of production.

Alfonso Smith is an intriguing prospect and potentially a very good fit because of his speed and ability to score in the red zone. He could win a roster spot this year if he shows strong improvement in his strength and in his skills.

Reagan Maui's showed solid progress this past year as the team's FB. Ali and Broughton were injured. However, it may make more sense to acquire a combo TE/FB/HB who can participate in both the short yardage running game and the passing game.

Do the Cardinals need to draft a RB?

Not necessarily---but---there are some interesting fits available, particularly later in the draft.

Take a look at Scouts' Inc.'s RB ratings (Production--Competitiveness-- Passing Game Ability)

Mark Ingram (Alabama): 2--1--3
Ryan Williams (Va. Tech): 2--2--2
Mikel Leshoure (Illinois): 2--2--3
Kendall Hunter (OK St.): 2--2--3
Daniel Thomas (Kan. St.): 3--4--2
Johnny White (UNC): 3--2--2
Dion Lewis (Pitt): 2--3--4
Jacquizz Rodgers (OR St.): 1--1--2
Demarco Murray (OK): 2--2--1
Shane Vereen (Cal): 2--2--1
Jordan Todman (CT): 2--2--4
Delone Carter (Syr): 2--2--4
Charles Clay (Tulsa): 1--3--2
Bilal Powell (Louisville): 2--2--3
Alexander Green (Hawaii): 2--4--2
Derrick Locke (Kentucky): 2--2--2
Steve Ridley (LSU): 2--1--4
Roy Helu (Nebraska): 3--3--3
Taiwan Jones (E Wash): 2--3--3
Anthony Allen (Ga. Tech): 3--2--3

Fullbacks:

Shaun Chapas (Georgia): 2--2--2
Anthony Sherman (CT): 2--2--3
Owen Marecic (Stanford): 3--1--4
Stanley Havili (USC): 2--4--1

Good Fits for The Cardinals:

Jacquizz Rodgers
Demarco Murray
Shane Vereen
Charles Clay (combo RB/FB/TE/HB)
Derrick Locke
Taiwan Jones
Shaun Chapas
Stanley Havili (tremendous receiver)

Free Agents:

A tough short yardage back like Mike Tolbert, who can double as a FB would be a very nice addition.

Cardinal Tough Decisions:
1-Trade Beanie Wells to a more traditional running team. Get value for him.
2-Sign RB/FB Mike Tolbert OR draft Shaun Chapas or Charles Clay in the 6th round
3-Draft Demarco Murray (best fit) in the 4th round. If he's not there draft Shane Vereen in the 5th.

Roster:

34-Hightower
35-Tolbert (or 9-Clay or 47-Chapas)
36-Stephens-Howling
7-Demarco Murray

 

[Reddog]

Great stuff as usual Mitch. Can you edit in the rating scale for each of these so the values are obvious? Thx

 

[asuhoopsnut]

Mitch ..... What kind of value are you thinking the Cardinals could get for Beanie?

 

[Mitch]

Great stuff as usual Mitch. Can you edit in the rating scale for each of these so the values are obvious? Thx

I just provided it, thanks, Reddog.

 

[Mitch]

Mitch ..... What kind of value are you thinking the Cardinals could get for Beanie?

At this point, I don't know, asuhoopsnut. When the CBA is reached maybe the Cardinals could trade Wells for a player in a need area. I imagine that some coaches may believe Beanie could do well in their system...maybe Mike Shanahan in Washington, for example. Or Rex Ryan in New York.

 

[Cards Czar]

You keep saying - "Take a look at Scouts' Inc.'s RB ratings (Production--Competitiveness-- Passing Game Ability)". I went there and there is no info on there prod, comp or PGA. ???

 

[Mitch]

You keep saying - "Take a look at Scouts' Inc.'s RB ratings (Production--Competitiveness-- Passing Game Ability)". I went there and there is no info on there prod, comp or PGA. ???

Yes, the ratings are there, Czar. Are you subscribed to ESPN Insider? You need to be to get the Scouts' Inc. ratings.

What you do is go to the ESPN Draft page and click on players, then click on rankings...then when you go to the RB rankings, click on each player's name and the ratings will appear when you scroll down on the player's page. There are actually 8 categories they rate for each player. I picked the three that I think best apply to the criteria for Cardinal RBs within Whiz's system....production, competitiveness and pass catching ability.

 

[Early]

Fantastic posts as always.

I wonder why you gave Hightower 3 in PBA? I see blocking as his best skill. I would have given him a 2 or even a 1 here.

I think he is competitive in some areas. But he is not consistent and competitive in the area of football protection. I could see him getting 3 here.

He is one of the most complete backs in the entire league. That doesn't mean he belongs in the elite, he definitely doesn't. But it means that he can do an above average job in most areas and few backs can do that. Most that excel in something have one or few skills they completely lack, where they can't challenge any defense at. Only a very good QB can take advantage of having a complete back in the backfield. Warner could do that, because a complete back will always make multiple mismatches at a defense. You can be safe against a blitz, you can audible into a run, you can make him run routes, you can audible a screenplay. If you have a great signal caller, a complete back is something special to have. That's why Warner was able to audible so much, one of the reasons was Hightower. Many of the passes were short "dink and dunk" style, but many of those plays made either first downs, or made the next play much easier to convert for first down. Many of those avoided bad situations that would have been devastating for terrible QB's.

That's why we can't get the full potential of Hightower without a great QB. Warner needed a complete back to his success in both of the franchises he played so well for. Without those RB's, it would have been impossible for him to play that game in that manner. It was no surprise for me to see Warner's game go down when Beanie was on the field. Warner needs that type of flexibility for the backfield, because it's a vital part of his game. It's also a crucial part of Manning and Brady's game. Teams without great QB's that don't know hot to play the audible game, they are fine with having one dimensional running backs.

Also, Ingram is a very good reciever. I see his skills much the same as Hightowers, he is complete back, he is just even better at every of those skills than Hightower.

If a team with great QB gets Ingram, they will get much better. He can run with vision and he can catch and he has low point of gravity and breaks a ton of tackles. He is a much better version of Hightower.

 

[Mitch]

Fantastic posts as always.

I wonder why you gave Hightower 3 in PBA? I see blocking as his best skill. I would have given him a 2 or even a 1 here.

I think he is competitive in some areas. But he is not consistent and competitive in the area of football protection. I could see him getting 3 here.

He is one of the most complete backs in the entire league. That doesn't mean he belongs in the elite, he definitely doesn't. But it means that he can do an above average job in most areas and few backs can do that. Most that excel in something have one or few skills they completely lack, where they can't challenge any defense at. Only a very good QB can take advantage of having a complete back in the backfield. Warner could do that, because a complete back will always make multiple mismatches at a defense. You can be safe against a blitz, you can audible into a run, you can make him run routes, you can audible a screenplay. If you have a great signal caller, a complete back is something special to have. That's why Warner was able to audible so much, one of the reasons was Hightower. Many of the passes were short "dink and dunk" style, but many of those plays made either first downs, or made the next play much easier to convert for first down. Many of those avoided bad situations that would have been devastating for terrible QB's.

That's why we can't get the full potential of Hightower without a great QB. Warner needed a complete back to his success in both of the franchises he played so well for. Without those RB's, it would have been impossible for him to play that game in that manner. It was no surprise for me to see Warner's game go down when Beanie was on the field. Warner needs that type of flexibility for the backfield, because it's a vital part of his game. It's also a crucial part of Manning and Brady's game. Teams without great QB's that don't know hot to play the audible game, they are fine with having one dimensional running backs.

Also, Ingram is a very good reciever. I see his skills much the same as Hightowers, he is complete back, he is just even better at every of those skills than Hightower.

If a team with great QB gets Ingram, they will get much better. He can run with vision and he can catch and he has low point of gravity and breaks a ton of tackles. He is a much better version of Hightower.

Great post, Early.

I gave THT a 3 in pass blocking because of the few times he totally whiffs...but I agree with you that most of the time he gets the job done and then some.

Your point about playing with a QB who knows how to utilize his RB in the passing game is right on the money. I don't know if you watched much of Kevin Faulk with the Patriots. Tom Brady knows exacty how to use him and does a perfect job of timing up his circle routes and hitting him in stride so that he can juke his way for chunk RACs.

THT fits our system very well---and he's tough, one of the toughest players on the team, and now with Q in B'more, THT may be the toughest player on the offense. I would say he and Deuce.

 

[PJ1]

So Jason Wright grades out better than Beanie. Oh ok. All I needed to see.

 

[Mitch]

So Jason Wright grades out better than Beanie. Oh ok. All I needed to see.

Special team contributions factored in. Does Beanie factor into STs?

You grade Beanie, go ahead.

He had a miserable year last year, want to sugar coat it?

And if we are running the dink and dunk...he doesn't fit...or can you make a case that he does?

 

[DoTheDew]

I have to wonder why Whiz even bothered drafting Beanie? Everyone in the world knew what kind of RB he was. If Whiz wanted a guy to run out of single-back and pass-block or catch passes, Beanie made no sense. LeSean McCoy would have made more sense and was on the board at #31.

 

[splitsecond]

I have to wonder why Whiz even bothered drafting Beanie? Everyone in the world knew what kind of RB he was. If Whiz wanted a guy to run out of single-back and pass-block or catch passes, Beanie made no sense. LeSean McCoy would have made more sense and was on the board at #31.

This I agree with. It still blows my mind that the team has made zero effort to pick up a solid FB to block for Beanie and run a true 2 back formation. This H-Back blocking scheme using one of our half-talented TE's is baloney.

 

[kerouac9]

I have to wonder why Whiz even bothered drafting Beanie? Everyone in the world knew what kind of RB he was. If Whiz wanted a guy to run out of single-back and pass-block or catch passes, Beanie made no sense. LeSean McCoy would have made more sense and was on the board at #31.

It's mind-boggling. There are two options I think of reading the selection of Beanie Wells:

1) This was an example of the drafting for need strategy gone terribly wrong. The needs the Cards had in the 2009 offseason were rush linebacker, CB, and RB, more or less. When the Cards got on the clock, the player they wanted (Donald Brown was widely reported as the target with Beanie believed to be off the board before 31st overall) was off the board. There weren't players available at other positions of need (Clay Matthews, Michael Oher, and Vontae Davis were taken along with Brown picks 23, 25, 26, and 27). When the Cards went on the clock, they took the next best player available at a position of need, even if the fit wasn't fantastic. The Cardinals almost immediately had buyer's remorse.

2) Whis doesn't know what he wants at the RB position, nor many others. Ken Whisenhunt was a TE as a player and position coach before being made offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have a fantastic front office, and it's possible that most of the scouting and player evaluations were done without much input from the coaching staff (in part because the coaching staff understood that the scouts would get them good players for a system that had been in place for decades). Now Whis has full run of the ship in Arizona and the Peter Principle sets in.

It's hard to blame the Cards and even Whis too much for drafting Beanie, though. If we had to do it again we'd probably take James Laurinaitis (ILB, Ohio State) at that point in the draft if not Rey Maualuga. The Cards could have reached up a bit to take pass rushers Everette Brown (Florida State) or Clint Sintim (Virginia), but neither of those players have developed into anything in their first years in the NFL.

It's possible that the 2009 draft class just wasn't very good. Matthew Stafford needs to drink more milk, Jason Smith is a right tackle, Tyson Jackson is unremarkable, Aaron Curry doesn't make plays, and Mark Sanchez gets dragged along by his running game and defense.

 

[Dayman]

I'm going to echo what Duckjake has been preaching for weeks-it doesn't matter who's at RB. We just don't run the ball. In week 14, with Skelton making his first start and the team going up against the 31st ranked rushing defense, Whis started out with the following plays:

1st and 10 at ARI 39 T.Hightower right tackle to ARZ 40 for 1 yard
2nd and 9 at ARI 40 (Shotgun) J.Skelton pass incomplete short left to L.Fitzgerald (S.Thompson).
3rd and 9 at ARI 40(Shotgun) J.Skelton pass incomplete short left to J.Wright.

Whis then proceeded to run 3 more run plays and 6 more pass plays in the first quarter, bringing the total to 4 run plays and 8 pass plays. These 12 plays resulted in 4 straight three and outs.

This wasn't a case of Whis not having the proper personnel on hand. He simply chose to essentially ignore the run and leave the game in the hands of a QB that he deemed unready to start the week before. If he didn't commit to the run in that situation, I have a hard time believing it will ever happen.

No RB is going to look good in this offense. Pass blocking and catching are part of the position, but there's a reason these guys aren't tight ends. They need to run the ball to reach their potential. Plus, we don't even throw to the running backs anymore. All four backs combined for a total of 50 catches last year, which is 13 fewer than Hightower had by himself the year before. They're pretty much just blockers now.

 

[PJ1]

Special team contributions factored in. Does Beanie factor into STs?

You grade Beanie, go ahead.

He had a miserable year last year, want to sugar coat it?

And if we are running the dink and dunk...he doesn't fit...or can you make a case that he does?

I can read and saw the grades. Wells was hurt last year and probably shouldn't have played until completely healed. He also looked too light to me as he is a power back. I saw plenty the year before to be hopeful.

I will grade Beanie. He is a better back than Wright at running the football. What the hell does Wright do?

As for Hightower he sucked as a pass catching back last year and in fairness to him and Wells no back could run behind this line. They have people in the backfield as the ball is being handed off to them. With our passing game last year name a back that could have thrived in this offense.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Special team contributions factored in. Does Beanie factor into STs?

You grade Beanie, go ahead.

He had a miserable year last year, want to sugar coat it?

And if we are running the dink and dunk...he doesn't fit...or can you make a case that he does?

With the rule changes to kick-offs, I see LaRod's value going down. That's not a slight on him as he and Breaston are my favorite current players. (Love, love, LOVE Hyphen!) Just something to consider going forward.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I'm going to echo what Duckjake has been preaching for weeks-it doesn't matter who's at RB. We just don't run the ball. In week 14, with Skelton making his first start and the team going up against the 31st ranked rushing defense, Whis started out with the following plays:

No RB is going to look good in this offense. Pass blocking and catching are part of the position, but there's a reason these guys aren't tight ends. They need to run the ball to reach their potential. Plus, we don't even throw to the running backs anymore. All four backs combined for a total of 50 catches last year, which is 13 fewer than Hightower had by himself the year before. They're pretty much just blockers now.

Couldn't agree more. I don't understand what Whiz and this coaching staff have against the run, ESPECIALLY with the QB situation we had last year.

 

[BigRedArk]

Another reason Demarco Murray is a good fit for the Cards-his hometown is Las Vegas.

 

[Cardiac]

It's mind-boggling. There are two options I think of reading the selection of Beanie Wells:

1) This was an example of the drafting for need strategy gone terribly wrong. The needs the Cards had in the 2009 offseason were rush linebacker, CB, and RB, more or less. When the Cards got on the clock, the player they wanted (Donald Brown was widely reported as the target with Beanie believed to be off the board before 31st overall) was off the board. There weren't players available at other positions of need (Clay Matthews, Michael Oher, and Vontae Davis were taken along with Brown picks 23, 25, 26, and 27). When the Cards went on the clock, they took the next best player available at a position of need, even if the fit wasn't fantastic. The Cardinals almost immediately had buyer's remorse.

Mayhaps, interesting take on how things played out.

2) Whis doesn't know what he wants at the RB position, nor many others. Ken Whisenhunt was a TE as a player and position coach before being made offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh. The Steelers have a fantastic front office, and it's possible that most of the scouting and player evaluations were done without much input from the coaching staff (in part because the coaching staff understood that the scouts would get them good players for a system that had been in place for decades). Now Whis has full run of the ship in Arizona and the Peter Principle sets in.

Poppycock.

It's hard to blame the Cards and even Whis too much for drafting Beanie, though. If we had to do it again we'd probably take James Laurinaitis (ILB, Ohio State) at that point in the draft if not Rey Maualuga. The Cards could have reached up a bit to take pass rushers Everette Brown (Florida State) or Clint Sintim (Virginia), but neither of those players have developed into anything in their first years in the NFL.

I agree, we should blame Cbus, he willed the Beanie pick to happen.

It's possible that the 2009 draft class just wasn't very good. Matthew Stafford needs to drink more milk, Jason Smith is a right tackle, Tyson Jackson is unremarkable, Aaron Curry doesn't make plays, and Mark Sanchez gets dragged along by his running game and defense.

LOL at the Stafford remark.

 

[Mitch]

I can read and saw the grades. Wells was hurt last year and probably shouldn't have played until completely healed. He also looked too light to me as he is a power back. I saw plenty the year before to be hopeful.

I will grade Beanie. He is a better back than Wright at running the football. What the hell does Wright do?

As for Hightower he sucked as a pass catching back last year and in fairness to him and Wells no back could run behind this line. They have people in the backfield as the ball is being handed off to them. With our passing game last year name a back that could have thrived in this offense.

PJ: you claim that "no back could run behind this line."

The funny thing is---and people either forget or don't realize this---Tim Hightower rushed for 736 yards, 5 TDs at an average of 4.8 yards per carry.

The Cardinals' o-line was actually better equipped for running the ball this past year than in years---thanks to the addition of LG Alan Faneca, two tackles who are better at run blocking than pass protecting, and a rugged smashmouth RG in Deuce Lutui.

That's what makes Whiz's decision to favor the pass without sharp QBs all the more of a head scratcher.

This was supposed to be the year that Whiz was going to finally put much more emphasis on the running game. His rebuttal is that the Cardinals were always behind, so they had to throw the ball---but the reality is Whiz remained pass happy---

Perfect case...remember the game at home (I am pretty sure it was the Tampa Bay game) where the offense was moving down the field for a game winning drive and when it got into the red zone it was clear that the Cardinals should run the ball---as Whiz almost always used to---to wind down the clock and then give Tampa Bay no time to answer---only on first and ten he has Anderson pass the ball---first and ten! And, of course, Anderson throws over the middle into double coverage and the game is lost.

This was when the Cardinals still were very much in the mix for the NFC West crown...especially since the next three home games were Seattle, San Francisco and St. Louis.

We know what went on to happen in those three games---the Cardinals got routed in all three in a hapless and embarrasing fashion.

 

[PJ1]

PJ: you claim that "no back could run behind this line."

The funny thing is---and people either forget or don't realize this---Tim Hightower rushed for 736 yards, 5 TDs at an average of 4.8 yards per carry.

The Cardinals' o-line was actually better equipped for running the ball this past year than in years---thanks to the addition of LG Alan Faneca, two tackles who are better at run blocking than pass protecting, and a rugged smashmouth RG in Deuce Lutui.

That's what makes Whiz's decision to favor the pass without sharp QBs all the more of a head scratcher.

This was supposed to be the year that Whiz was going to finally put much more emphasis on the running game. His rebuttal is that the Cardinals were always behind, so they had to throw the ball---but the reality is Whiz remained pass happy---

Perfect case...remember the game at home (I am pretty sure it was the Tampa Bay game) where the offense was moving down the field for a game winning drive and when it got into the red zone it was clear that the Cardinals should run the ball---as Whiz almost always used to---to wind down the clock and then give Tampa Bay no time to answer---only on first and ten he has Anderson pass the ball---first and ten! And, of course, Anderson throws over the middle into double coverage and the game is lost.

This was when the Cardinals still were very much in the mix for the NFC West crown...especially since the next three home games were Seattle, San Francisco and St. Louis.

We know what went on to happen in those three games---the Cardinals got routed in all three in a hapless and embarrasing fashion.

Hightower had some big runs and some decent games but more often then not we could not run the ball. That is a fact. Faneca was awful and Sendelin gets pushed back on every play. Our pathetic passing game that scared nobody did not help.

In the Tampa game of course we should have run the ball with a fool like Anderson at QB. Whiz was trying to make his horrible decision work at all costs. It ended up costing us the season.

 

[Duckjake]

Perfect case...remember the game at home (I am pretty sure it was the Tampa Bay game) where the offense was moving down the field for a game winning drive and when it got into the red zone it was clear that the Cardinals should run the ball---as Whiz almost always used to---to wind down the clock and then give Tampa Bay no time to answer---only on first and ten he has Anderson pass the ball---first and ten! And, of course, Anderson throws over the middle into double coverage and the game is lost.

This was when the Cardinals still were very much in the mix for the NFC West crown...especially since the next three home games were Seattle, San Francisco and St. Louis.

Well it didn't help that the Cards defense gives up a 53 yard pass play on the next series after going up 35-31 to set up Tampa's go ahead TD. Or after DA's INT the D gives up a 46 yard run on the first play either.

What is it with the Cards. Rally at home from down 31-14 to go ahead 35-31 and just fall apart. And then the next week lose after being up 24-10 with two returns for TDs and a huge goal line stand.

The Cards know what to do with Mo Streety but not Mo Mentum.

Maybe it's just that they're always confused. Want to be a running team but pass all the time. Want to have a team defense but nobody respects their assignments.

 

[Stout]

*sigh* We aren't trading Beanie wells. Let's live in reality. The reality is that we really don't know what he can do--we saw flashes of it two years ago in limited time, and he was injured this past season. We also have a coach that seems to detest attempting a running game. We also have what seems like a bad run-blocking unit.

We should know what we have in Wells after this season. Factors in this will be:

Is he hurt again? If he has another injury-riddled season, he's likely toast in the desert.

Does Hightower do well as a healthy Wells does poorly? See above for the result.

Do we fail to attempt a running game again? That could prove a mixed performance.

Do our run blockers improve? Can we assume that they haven't if neither of our backs perform well?

Right now, I think we have way too many question marks to know how Beanie will turn out. That sucks, and I really wish we already knew if he would pan out or if he were an absolute bust, but we simply don't know yet.

 

[Duckjake]

*sigh* We aren't trading Beanie wells. Let's live in reality. The reality is that we really don't know what he can do--we saw flashes of it two years ago in limited time, and he was injured this past season. We also have a coach that seems to detest attempting a running game. We also have what seems like a bad run-blocking unit.

We should know what we have in Wells after this season. Factors in this will be:

Is he hurt again? If he has another injury-riddled season, he's likely toast in the desert.

Does Hightower do well as a healthy Wells does poorly? See above for the result.

Do we fail to attempt a running game again? That could prove a mixed performance.

Do our run blockers improve? Can we assume that they haven't if neither of our backs perform well?

Right now, I think we have way too many question marks to know how Beanie will turn out. That sucks, and I really wish we already knew if he would pan out or if he were an absolute bust, but we simply don't know yet.

Yes, Stout it really is a sad situation with the run game in Arizona. Great goal line stand vs Minny and can't gain 1 yard to put the game away. Can't run out the clock even with one of the most prolific passing offenses in recent NFL history in 2008 or 2009 so no lead is safe with Arizona.

Three years in a row with the fewest rushing attempts in the NFL.

What the heck is wrong?????