News: PFT: Keim says Ryan Williams was outperformed by other tailbacks

[NewsBot]

So what happened with former Cardinals running back Ryan Williams, a second-round pick in 2011 whom the team cut last week?

“I think you always want to try to always give the player the benefit of the doubt and try to see the process through,” Cardinals Keim told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Tuesday. “He was bit early with the injury bug, then he came back and he was healthy.

“Quite frankly, [coach] Bruce [Arians] and his staff gave him several opportunities last season, and quite frankly, he was outperformed by some of the younger backs on our roster. . . . You had guys like Andre Ellington and Stepfan Taylor come in and play as well as they did, and Rashard [Mendenhall] still had some gas left in the tank. [Williams] just couldn’t get on the field, and really, in my mind, was just outperformed when it was all said and done.”


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[WoodysGirl]

And there you have it... straight from the horses...er GM's mouth.

 

[DFWJC]

They're in pretty good shape with those two young backs: Ellington and Taylor.

 

[speedkilz88]

Ellington maybe.

 

[guag]

Quite frankly, quite frankly, and quite frankly.

 

[Common Sense]

Well, yeah. Otherwise he'd still be a Cardinal. He only needs to be better than Joseph Randle here.

 

[DBOY3141]

Good low risk signing.

 

[DFWJC]

Ellington maybe.

You'll be thrilled to be reminded that the Cowboys' liked Joseph Randle more than Andre Ellington and Zac Stacy...and drafted him ahead of them.

 

[DallasEast]

“I think you always want to try to always give the player the benefit of the doubt and try to see the process through,” Cardinals Keim told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM on Tuesday.

Someone other than Jason Garrett using the p word? Shocking.

FYI: I bolded the p word.

Ryan Williams could be setup for a Cinderella scenario. If:

• he's fully healthy
• works his way up to be THE backup running back
• DeMarco Murray suffers an injury setback

--Williams could step in and shine. The talent is there. It simply hasn't had an opportunity to be unleashed yet.

 

[dillinger319]

You'll be thrilled to be reminded that the Cowboys' liked Joseph Randle more than Andre Ellington and Zac Stacy...and drafted him ahead of them.

I never understood the Randle pick... Undrafted FA's come and can run better than he can. I wish him well in the future but he shouldnt be a back up much less a starter.

 

[OhSnap]

You'll be thrilled to be reminded that the Cowboys' liked Joseph Randle more than Andre Ellington and Zac Stacy...and drafted him ahead of them.

Maybe but they liked him better than the Cowboys liked DeMarco Murray and drafted him instead.

 

[DFWJC]

I never understood the Randle pick... Undrafted FA's come and can run better than he can. I wish him well in the future but he shouldnt be a back up much less a starter.

Yeah, we messed up RB picks badly last year.

Took Escobar ahead of Eddie Lacy (or Larry Warford for that matter)
Took Randle instead of Stacey or Ellington.

All teams mess up draft picks at times but that really was a major cluster.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Who knows? Maybe this Ryan Williams will turn out for us like WR Jimmy Smith did for the Jaguars ... minus the jail part after his successful career was over.

 

[CyberB0b]

The guy is competing for the #2 or #3 spot. Who cares?

 

[RS12]

The biggest issue with him IMO is the article I read where it said he was running not to get hurt again since he came back. Not a good trait for a RB, cant play to your ability that way.

 

[speedkilz88]

The biggest issue with him IMO is the article I read where it said he was running not to get hurt again since he came back. Not a good trait for a RB, cant play to your ability that way.

That doesn't sound right. His only time back early on he had pain in the knee and the Cards wanted him to play on it anyway and he refused. Once he was better he got some carries in their last preseason game and then was shelved as an inactive the whole year.

 

[Idgit]

The guy is competing for the #2 or #3 spot. Who cares?

Right. It's also pretty self-evident that they liked all their other backs better since they kept them on the roster, isn't it?

I like that Williams is in camp, though. It sets things up for a good competition for that last RB spot, and I like the dynamic of a young, highly regarded athlete squaring off against a hard-nosed work-hard guy like Malena. Randle, too, because while I wasn't impressed with him last season, the staff obviously really liked him. Whoever comes out of this will have really earned it.

 

[BigStar]

Quite frankly, quite frankly, and quite frankly.

It is like when starting a sentence with "Hate to say it"...knowing full well one is enjoying the statement they are about to make. (Me Included)

 

[Dcowboy84]

i was actually listening to this interview in the car yesterday (i live in phoenix) and then the discussions afterwards and the overriding theme was that they believed he hit a psychological wall after that patella injury where he was not confident in pushing on that leg the same way after the injury. and then when that knee would get sore he would be tentative and think he couldn't go (afraid it was hurt again). that seemed to be what they said caused Arians to keep him inactive all last year

that and it seemed to be a thought that since Arians was not the coach that drafted him and he did draft Ellington and Taylor that he got the "isn't my guy" treatment also (similar to the Whisenhunt/Matt Leinart saga out here several years back)

the other part that came out a lot was that the guy had jaws dropping his rookie year before that patella injury b/c of the moves he could make in space and in traffic, to the point where veterans would crowd the sidelines to watch him

so who knows..in the end as it's been said it's a low risk/potentially high reward investment to take a chance on a guy who was very highly rated coming out of school. and he's going to be the backup at best here and not taking the full load and he's in a situation where he has to fight for a job.

you never know what that kind of situation and motivation could do to the psychy of a player that felt like everything went wrong for him in his first stop.

if nothing else it will be something fun to follow during this offseason and into training camp to see how well he can perform

 

[Idgit]

i was actually listening to this interview in the car yesterday (i live in phoenix) and then the discussions afterwards and the overriding theme was that they believed he hit a psychological wall after that patella injury where he was not confident in pushing on that leg the same way after the injury. and then when that knee would get sore he would be tentative and think he couldn't go (afraid it was hurt again). that seemed to be what they said caused Arians to keep him inactive all last year

that and it seemed to be a thought that since Arians was not the coach that drafted him and he did draft Ellington and Taylor that he got the "isn't my guy" treatment also (similar to the Whisenhunt/Matt Leinart saga out here several years back)

the other part that came out a lot was that the guy had jaws dropping his rookie year before that patella injury b/c of the moves he could make in space and in traffic, to the point where veterans would crowd the sidelines to watch him

so who knows..in the end as it's been said it's a low risk/potentially high reward investment to take a chance on a guy who was very highly rated coming out of school. and he's going to be the backup at best here and not taking the full load and he's in a situation where he has to fight for a job.

you never know what that kind of situation and motivation could do to the psychy of a player that felt like everything went wrong for him in his first stop.

if nothing else it will be something fun to follow during this offseason and into training camp to see how well he can perform

Nice share. Yeah, I can imagine snapping your inter-patellar tendon and having your kneecap floating up near your quad as a result might do a psychological number on you. That's just gross.

Mindset is such an important part of an athlete's performance, and it's a variable that's really hard to predict for a college player going into the pros. How your perform when you're king of the hill v. how your perform as the low man on the totem pole, or how you handle a specifically challenging injury...these things can make or break careers.

It'd be great, though, if we pick up off the street a guy capable of dropping jaws in practice. I hope he's in shape and confident. It'd be great to have a replacement for Demarco Murray next season buried on the depth chart already.