Wells was injured a mere hours after inking his deal(David Wallace/The Arizona Republic)
Less than 12 hours after inking his first professional contract and taking part in his first training camp session with the Cardinals, Beanie Wells finds himself in familiar territory: on the injured list.
As you can imagine, the right ankle injury he suffered isn't doing a whole lot to quell the worrying in Phoenix regardless of whatever work he put in to report in great shape. All the Cardinal faithful see is a guy that was banged-up quite a bit in college, saw his draft stock slip as a result of further injury concerns and now, the unthinkable has pretty much happened.
An MRI revealed a sprained ankle, and though it isn't thought to be serious, you have to wonder how eager the Cardinals are going to be to rush Wells back into contact. Will they sit him a week? Two?
I'm not sure what it says that two of the Buckeyes we pull hardest for at the next level, Greg Oden and Beanie Wells, both have a long and storied history of injuries. Oden is presently fighting off the bust label and if Wells doesn't catch a positive break on the health front, he could very well be in the same situation a year or two from now.
The Other Guys
NFL training camp is pretty much in full-swing and several other Buckeyes have recently come to terms with teams (with one holdout):
- Malcolm Jenkins (1st/NO)
The lone holdout of the bunch, Jenkins has already missed five sessions and Saints fans are getting a bit antsy. Brian Cushing just signed and he went one pick after Jenkins in the draft, so a number framework is at least in place and the two parties could be close to coming to terms. - James Laurinaitis (2nd/STL)
Little Animal signed on Thursday and is in camp, competing with former Buckeye Larry Grant (and we're contractually obliged to point out Grant is the only man on the planet to have lost four-straight national championship games) among other backers in Rams camp.
- Brian Robiskie (2nd/CLE)
Robo missed seven rookie camp sessions, but finally signed with the Browns on Friday and is in camp. - Donald Washington (4th/KC)
Washington signed with the Chiefs on Thursday and at this point, the only rookie holdout for Kansas City is 3rd round pick Tyson Jackson of LSU. - Brian Hartline (4th/MIA)
It wasn't that long ago that some of us were wondering if Hartline would even make it in the NFL -- and he still might not -- but as of right now, he's proving a lot of us wrong. He signed way back on July 15 and is battling to stay off the Dolphins' practice squad (with good odds that he'll make the team). - Marcus Freeman (5th/CHI)
Freeman inked with the Bears way back in May and although it will be a challenge to earn snaps with Urlacher, Briggs and Tinoisamoa in Chicago, he's earning rave reviews from the hometown press. - Alex Boone (FA/SF)
Boone is making the best of his situation, sequestering himself in his hotel room to stay out of trouble and continiously earning praise from observers at 49er practice. As much as he frustrated us the last few years, we can't stop rooting for the guy to turn it around. Singletary will help with that. - Nader Abdallah & Todd Boeckman (FA)
Both undrafted players have bounced around a bit -- Boeckman stopped by Cincinnati early on -- but both were eventually signed to by the Jaguars only to be released within days. Nader might still have a chance to catch on somewhere, but you have to wonder if the opportunities aren't starting to slip away for Boeckman. For handling his demotion with grace, he'll be taken care of in Columbus should things not work out in the NFL.
Ray Small Death Watch
Thursday was the day summer grades were to have come out and since we didn't hear anything on the Ray Small front, we're going to go ahead and assume (quite possibly foolishly) that he'll be a Buckeye this season. The king of knuckleheads is still immensely talented and you can bet he'll be good for at least one or two more special teams touchdowns this year.
Imagining an Offensive Line
Ken Gordon sees an offensive line of Adams-Boren-Brewster-Cordle/Browning-Shugarts. We could definitely see that and can live with that. He fairly points out the many uncertainties facing this edition of the line (most importantly, will Adams and Shugarts step up into the spots waiting for them), but we're left to wonder who we'd rather see at the RG spot, Browning (who could be a serviceable guard) or Cordle (who has already somewhat proven himself).
Comments
im not saying that i dislike the guy, but im glad wells is gone. to me he looked good as a freshman against michigan in '06 and after that....meh. i will give him the illinois game this past season but yeah, glad he's gone. yes the o-line didn't help him out that much at times, however, he didn't impress me. i got tired of the hobbling, the accompanied grimmace, and that feeling that he was saving himself for the nfl....guess that was a mistake on my part, seeing as how he already sustained an injury. im ready for the new blood and a more balanced attack on offense...and not let a majority of the responsibility fall on an "injury prone" back (pre-pryor).
he stiff armed opponents into the ground and such, but at the end of the day, what does his tenure at osu show? he was 3-0 against michigan. give yourself a pat on the back, beanie.....but that was a michigan team that was beaten by the likes of toledo and app. state while you were at osu. to me, he was average and not one of the greats.
...did you forget a "k" at the end of your username?
Beanie was great. He was also frustratingly pansy-ish, but he was great. As sick as I got of seeing him tap his helmet and pull himself at crucial moments, OSU is a better team with him.
yeah, i did. now go get yourself a new clock to hang around your neck and fuck off.
I disagree... don't get me wrong, I loved Beanie too--- but, the best player on the team taking himself out at the most critical times????? Texas is a prime examaple...
Development of the team suffered also.... so much focus was put on Beanie that other players did not get reps. Again, I love Beanie too but he is injury prone (Arizona is finding that out) and he has trouble with gut-checks.
Actually, it looks like Small won't be playing with the team. Nor Rob Rose.
http://bucknuts.com/index.php/...
The more things change, indeed.
....man this guy has a real problem. He has been warned, given several second chances, had his situation dragged thru the media, and all he had to do was go to class and do his work. This guy (Small) has obvious talent, but has quite frankly been a pain in the ass since he arrived on campus. He has been given so many chances it is ridiculous.... time for the saga to end. This kinda stuff kills team chemistry and takes the focus off what is important. Bye Bye Ray, it is a shame you never got to showcase your talent (and it is your fault). You also blew a sure pipeline to NFL fame and big $$$$$--- what a knucklehead.
Duron Carter is gonna get his chances this year......
I'm sorry, I don't have a problem with a guy taking himself out of the game *for having a concussion.* Word from the sidelines was that the kid was completely incoherent.
He played all of 2007 with numerous injuries and had what, like 40-something carries against michigan? Beanie came up big in nearly every big game he was allowed to play in (the Penn State game being the one exception, but they stacked their entire team in the box to stop him on every down and we had no passing game to open it back up for him). I wish he'd been healthier, but beat on the guy because he got unlucky.
Ken Gordon wrote after the Fiesta Bowl, that Chris wanted to go back in, but the Dr.'s and coaches said no.
Remember it's all Tressels fault. He is trying to "sabotage" Ray's career.
...yes, I forgot... Poor Ray has been singled out since he got to columbus and J.T. has it out for him.
Ken Gordon can write what he wants, but I saw his entire college career for myself. He took himself out at key point since the beginning and was hobbled by nagging injuries since his Sophmore year. J.T. called him out a couple of times for his lack of mental toughness (warrior ) ..... great player, not criticizing just stating the facts.
I heard Tress had his test answers changed after he handed it in.........
I think it's a win/win situation with Small. I think he could finally break out this year if he plays, but if he doesn't play it gives more reps to the younger (and capable) WR's which might be just as good.
I also think that Tress also had someone come in every morning and change the time on his alarm clock so that he would always miss class!
Ray, Ray, Ray....
FWIW, Ken Gordon is saying that only Rose is in trouble with grades. Small should be okay:
http://twitter.com/kgordonosu/...
Screw Ray Small's talent, the guy is a big jerk. You are given the opportunity to play football for a full ride through college and you continuosly blow it. Give me a Sanz any day, I mean really, has Small made much more of a difference than Dane has?
re good shizzy and library....
good to see the old place looking good. such a shithole when i left, just before they started the renovation. if you blindfolded me and stuck in the main atrium today, i would never guess it was the main library (unless, of course, Gee or some giant OSU banners were blowing around)
I don't think he was just "average" as you say. He had 576 yards and 7 TDs as a frosh, splitting carries with Pittman. As a sophomore, he had 1,609 yards and 15 TDs. That's a great year by any metric you use. As a junior, he had 1,197 yards and 8 TDs even while missing three games.
For his career, he had 3,382 yards rushing and 30 TDs in three years. That's far better than "average."
I posted it last week, but I can't say enough how Ray Small has just been a waste of space. I wasn't counting on this guy for this year simply because he gives no effort on the field. He's always doing something stupid or playing lazy and I say good riddance. He never has really shown that he was every going to be more than a mediocre player. He may have talent but his work ethic and attitude stink. There's no excuse for a football player to be inelligble because of his grades I'm sorry, they have tuttors and mostly their schedules aren't that tough. Him not qualifying just means he is lazy.
...AGREED
completely unrelated, but I finally finished my first season of NCAA 2010 in Dynasty mode and ended up having Jake Ballard earn the Heisman, finishing just ahead of LiC, hahahaha
He also broke all sorts of season and career records. I found that just running the first play listed under the pony formation (double something) over and over will destroy any team.
Well said, Mike.
In NCAA10, all things are possible.
How fast is TP on that game anyway?
Your an Idiot if you think Beanie Wells was Avg.
Sweet, I made Good Shizzy! Thanks guys!
90 and it's ridiculously awesome once you're around the edge.
Here, here!
So it looks like Ballard could reach the legendary gamer status of Cap Boso.
So which is it?
Small can play, then he can't, then he can again.....
I personally wouldn't miss him b/c he has never lived up to the hype, plus his Dad seems to be a prick.
I much rather see some of our younger, talented guys get some PT, i.e. Duron Carter, James Jackson, Lamaar Thomas, etc...
bush league move for Ken Gordon to report that Small was no longer with the team without solid proof.
I dont' think Gordon reported that. Bucknuts came out today and said their sources indicate Ray is no longer with the team, but Gordon argued that he is still on the team. I'm sure we will find out soon enough.
Regardless, if you are a senior, reports like this shouldn't even be circulating.
I hear all the time about how much talent Ray Small has, but other than 1 kick return and a lot of hype out of Ted Ginn Sr., when has this kid shown any talent since high school? I'm being dead serious too. This would not be the first kid who was a 4 or 5 star talent who flopped once he got to the NCAA. I just don't get the love affair with him. I always hear the argument about him having big time potential too, but isn't potential a word for freshman. By the time you are a senior, if you've been given a shot before, potential just means you've done nothing!
Bucknuts seems to jump the gun a lot, and they also seem to be wrong a lot.
I'v
I think he had the potential, but potential and talent get you to this level. Hard work is what separates you and Small doesn't seem to have that.
What p's me off is that on a team with few seniors, his experienced is sorely needed. Too bad he will be an example to young players of what NOT to do. Are you listening Berry and Hyde?
While I agree with what you're trying to say, calling someone an idiot in a sentence where you use an incorrect homonym doesn't add much to your argument.
I agree. He was a very good back especially when healthy. Looks like he is going to recover and be back with the Cardinals soon.
I used to bad mouth a couple different sites online, like the Planet. But it's not worth it. Just keep working on your own site and make the content as good as possible.