Ryan Williams

[BurqueCardFan]

Trust me I feel your guys pain and this is hard to take I agree.

However for decades I have watched this team draft for need and it has murdered us. I'm willing to give the draft on talent regardless of position way a shot. See how it plays out?

Do we honestly think the TE we picked was the BPA at the pick #69?

 

[Shane]

Do we honestly think the TE we picked was the BPA at the pick #69?

I never said HE was BPA. But if you look at his measurables he is an athletic freak who just might turn into a dynamo. Like that scout stated if the kid played in a league other than the sunbelt he wouldnt have made it out of the 2nd round.

 

[Unsterblich856]

You are either a homer or just kidding yourself if you think he is anything more than another 2nd round RB.

He racked up 1,655 yards and 21 TDs as a freaking freshman. Had his hamstring not derail his sophomore season he would've undoubtedly been a 1st round pick.

I love the player, but I hate the pick. I think people are just flinging crap at him out of anger for not getting a linebacker or tackle.

 

[football karma]

from the NY Times sports blog:

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.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I will admit my ignorance to this player's ability.

My biggest question is not how good this running back is. My biggest question is why did we draft a RB ?

Is he THAT good ? He better be better than Hightower, and Wells, IMO, to justify the pick.

This team has NO pass rush, and IMO, have a severe lack of depth and talent on the offensive line.

Thus I question the choosing of this RB.

I feel the same way.

 

[Duckjake]

He racked up 1,655 yards and 21 TDs as a freaking freshman. Had his hamstring not derail his sophomore season he would've undoubtedly been a 1st round pick.

I love the player, but I hate the pick. I think people are just flinging crap at him out of anger for not getting a linebacker or tackle.

No. Just wondering if the guy was so good why these numbers as a Sophomore:

20 carries for 40 yards.
6 carries for 8 yards

Before his hamstring derailed his season.

Also if he was hampered all 2010 by a hamstring I'm looking forward to him sitting out or being slowed with injuries every year for us as well. That's just the way things happen for Arizona.

See Beanie Wells.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

NYT on Williams:

http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/n-f-l-draft-ryan-williams-second-ranked-rusher/

Redskin fanpage:

http://dc.sbnation.com/washington-r...81/mel-kiper-mock-draft-second-round-redskins

Looks like the Cards picked Williams right where he was slotted to go.

Raising Arizona:

http://raisingzona.com/2011/04/29/cards-take-risk-with-second-rounder-williams/

In an otherwise inane blog post, it is mentioned that Williams did not drop or fumble at the combine. The writer says this is an impressive feat, but I am not a draftnik, so I can't agree or disagree. I'll be happy to hear someone else's opinion on this....

 

[cardncubfan]

Trust me I feel your guys pain and this is hard to take I agree.

However for decades I have watched this team draft for need and it has murdered us. I'm willing to give the draft on talent regardless of position way a shot. See how it plays out?

This.

 

[Divide Et Impera]

No. Just wondering if the guy was so good why these numbers as a Sophomore:

20 carries for 40 yards.
6 carries for 8 yards

Before his hamstring derailed his season.

Also if he was hampered all 2010 by a hamstring I'm looking forward to him sitting out or being slowed with injuries every year for us as well. That's just the way things happen for Arizona.

See Beanie Wells.

He had 293 rushes 2 years ago (1655 yards, 5.6ypc).

Last year he had 110 rushes (477 yards, 4.3ypc).

If he had a full complement of rushes at 4.3ypc, he would have had 1260 yards and 23 TDs (at his TD scoring rate).

Would you draft a RB with 1260 yards and 23 TDs?

My hesitancy is that we visited this approach before. Just a few years ago, we drafted a supposedly top-10 talent at LB out of Oklahoma (I think). The reason this LB fell to us in the third (again, I think) was that he missed the season directly preceeding the draft with a broken leg (again, I think). Who is that LB? Well, I'd argue that the fact that I can't remember his name is proof enough that he didn't amount to anything. To some degree, that's the risk here, but if Whiz is truthful about bringing in competition to heat up the RB corps, maybe we'll see better production out of everyone....

 

[Divide Et Impera]

Also, he rushed 110 times in 10 games this past year (11 rushes per game) and he rushed 293 times in 13 games the prior season (22.5 rushes per game). So, he was clearly impacted on many levels by his injury. However, he did find the endzone at a pretty high rate (8.1% of carries) in spite of being hobbled. We have historically had problems with RBs driving it in at the goal line....

 

[Clif]

I completely agree with the McCoy comparisons. He runs almost identical to him and is a good receiver out of the backfield. Very nice.

 

[Doc Cardinal]

Talent and some swagger......if anyone needed an RB in round one and passed they may rue the day.....may turn out better than Ingram....love that he worships Walter Payton.

 

[Broseph]

i think his moves are very ankle-breaking. he seems to hit the hole fast with quick initial burst. he seems to choose the correct holes as well. i think this guy may be special, hopefully we are committing to pounding the rock, that would be awesome.

 

[Duckjake]

He had 293 rushes 2 years ago (1655 yards, 5.6ypc).

Last year he had 110 rushes (477 yards, 4.3ypc).

If he had a full complement of rushes at 4.3ypc, he would have had 1260 yards and 23 TDs (at his TD scoring rate).

Would you draft a RB with 1260 yards and 23 TDs?

..........................

Looks great until you check the individual games. 20 carries for 40 yards vs Boise State. 6 carries for 8 yards vs East Carolina. 6 carries for 10 yards vs Duke and 4 carries for 4 yards vs Stanford in the Bowl Game.

That's 1.7 yards per carry. If he had a full complement of rushes he would have had 498 yards. Would you draft a RB with 293 carries and gained only 498 yards?

It could be that I've just seen these type numbers too often from our RBs the last couple of seasons. 20 for 40, 6 for 10 then 14 for 124. So I may be more skeptical than warranted.

Of course the Cards could have looked at them and thought "Hey he'll fit right in here in Arizona."

 

[Dayman]

My hesitancy is that we visited this approach before. Just a few years ago, we drafted a supposedly top-10 talent at LB out of Oklahoma (I think). The reason this LB fell to us in the third (again, I think) was that he missed the season directly preceeding the draft with a broken leg (again, I think). Who is that LB?

Lance Mitchell from Oklahoma. He was a freak before he blew out his knee, but he never got his burst back. That 2005 draft was a disaster.

 

[Southpaw]

We can also take into consideration that Va Tech runs a very simple offense and their QBs ( Vick & Tyrod Taylor for example are the focal points as running QBs). Tyalor had more carries, 130, than Williams last year.

 

[Duckjake]

Lance Mitchell from Oklahoma. He was a freak before he blew out his knee, but he never got his burst back. That 2005 draft was a disaster.

You are right as none of the guys are still on the team and I think only Rolle is still in the NFL.

But...there were Rolle's interception returns and the fumble return vs Atlanta to turn the momentum in the Wildcard game as well as Arrington's Kickoff return that helped us beat the Cowboys in 2008. Loved beating them with a blocked punt in OT. Then beating Green Bay with a fumble return for a TD by Dansby. Or Warner's TD pass to Boldin in the 4th quarter to beat the 4and9ers or the amazing pass to the TE call by Coach McGinnishunt in the Atlanta game. Or Timmy's fantastic run on 4th down vs the Eagles in the NFC Championship game.

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009011800/2008/POST20/eagles@cardinals/analyze/box-score#tab:watch

Note: watch the second video. It has the Cards radio call over the highlights. Great stuff for a Cards fan.


We need that magic back. It was missing big time last year.

Watching that video makes me think that it just wasn't the QB. The Cards just didn't want to play football last season. Look at the effort! Where was that last year?

 

[desertdawg]

Judge for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LddTmQNu4ug

I was watching this again and while I could easily crack a joke with the shotgun-handoff 1 minute and 29 seconds in as the reason Whiz wanted him, I also noticed the runs when Williams has a lead block...enter Sherman. Williams ran it out of single back sets too but if we plan on running down someone's throat, these two can be a pretty mean combo.

Sounds to me like we are running the ball this year, it has sounded like it before but Whizzy does have me believing right now. Both of these guys can catch it in the back field. If Sherman can bring some quality pass protection, it could help our chances of a QB surviving the whole season. I'm jacked up!

 

[Pariah]

Watching these highlights it looks like he reads his blocks well--and is patient enough to let them develop. I like that--it's not something that Beanie does particularly well.

 

[Russ Smith]

I didn't think we needed a RB I was of the opinion we could wait until the 4th or 5th round. But I like that when he was there, we picked him. I didn't think he'd be there there were only 2 RB's in this draft I would have taken before the 4th round, Ingram and Williams. He's got really good feet, he may not be a burner but he has excellent balance. I mentioned in another thread Shane Vereen in the 4th or 5th round would be a nice pickup, color me surprised when NE took him 56th overall in the 2nd round. Great kid I thought he was a bit small to go that high but like Williams he has great feet and balance.

I think now obviously one of our RB's is expendable for a trade so I'm not at all unhappy we picked Williams.

I didn't think any of the LB's there were worth that pick, so you either pick a player who is, Williams, or you move down.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Watching these highlights it looks like he reads his blocks well--and is patient enough to let them develop. I like that--it's not something that Beanie does particularly well.

Runners like that make an O-line look good. They make the blocking look like its purposeful even when it isnt.

 

[Goldfield]

Runners like that make an O-line look good. They make the blocking look like its purposeful even when it isnt.

Thats exactly what this team needs.

 

[BirdMan21]

The thing I like more than anything in the video is the fact that he falls FORWARD. That is one thing that I always watch for in college backs, are they smart enough to realize the run is over and just turn North-South and get that extra half yard/yard. The great backs always have that balance to fall forward rather than sideways....and that one video of him dragging the guy 20 yards for the TD is just amazing. He runs with purpose and I think he will end up being a very good to great pick for us.

 

[Lagerfilled]

I'll give you three names and similar attributes I see that RWill possesses from each one...

DeAngelo Williams - multiple cutbacks & smooth acceleration
Frank Gore - incredible power & balance hitting the hole
Edgerrin James - outstanding patience, senses contact, & always falls forward for xtra yards

I know he isnt a speed merchant like Chris Johnson or bruiser like Michael Turner, but I definitely see much success in this young man's future.

 

[Cbus cardsfan]

I'm sorry but these highlight videos are more impressive to me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f718Ei0TAck&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-0mlHNP5u8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeMxWcHlSzA&feature=related


Williams seems to have better vision and quick cutting ability but there's no question who the more powerful, and imo better, runner is. I think they'd make a nice 1-2 punch. We'll see how Williams transfers. Keep both gus healthy and watch out.