Because the Arizona Cardinals next play the Monday Night Football game against the San Francisco 49ers, there is no official injury report today, as would be customary. There, however, is still news happening. Beanie Wells in an interview Monday with a local radio station expressed his frustration with the running game and with the amount of carries he gets.
"If I got [carries] on a consistent basis then the sky is the limit," Wells said. "I can be one of the elite backs in this league. I just want the football and I'm sure Tim [Hightower] does too. We want to run it collectively as a football team."
This is not the first time he has expressed a desire to run more and get more carries. He also did the week before the New Orleans game. Ken Whisenhunt responded by getting Beanie 20 carries, but that only netted 35 yards.
Well's concern is understandable, considering the Cardinals have run the ball less than any other team in the NFL. They have run the ball 31 times less (196) than the next lowest team, the pass-happy Dallas Cowboys (227) for the entire season. This comes to less than 20 carries a game, which is not much for a team that has two capable backs in Wells and Tim Hightower. It is also understandable considering how inconsistent and often ineffective the passing game has been.
Both Wells and Hightower have stated the desire for more carries publicly. With the four next games being very winnable, it will be insteresting to see how Coach Whisenhunt responds in his offensive gameplan. Will it be more of the same or an attempt to commit to the running game more and not abandon it so quickly? Many fans are hoping for the latter.