Sports Radio Interviews

Beanie Wells: “I am a lot more comfortable out there and able to play full-speed ahead as opposed to last year”

The 2010 Arizona Cardinals are entering an era of uncertainty after Kurt Warner decided to hang up his cleats at the conclusion of last season.  After primarily being a passing team for the last three seasons and with Warner gone and Matt Leinart behind center, the offensive line and running backs will need to step up and become a dominant force running the football.  Chris “Beanie” Wells, who was a rookie last season, is on the verge of becoming a star after having a terrible first half of last season only to rebound and get better as the season progressed.  Wells is a rare package and is big enough to bulldoze over defenders and he is quick enough to run by or beet defenders with his quick feet.  He is a project in the making and is still learning on the job.  Pass-blocking and recognizing blitzes weren’t things he did much of at Ohio State, but as a pure rusher he could become one of the NFL’s elite backs.  If Leinart struggles early in the season, the Cardinals will look to give teams a heavy dose of Wells and Tim Hightower.  Only one question remains, can Wells remain healthy for an entire season?  While in college and his rookie season in the NFL, Wells has dealt with a bunch of injuries, but he has shown that he can bounce back, regain form and become productive.

Beanie Wells joined KTAR in Phoenix to talk about how training camp has been going for him, whether this offense is going to be a little bit different than it was in the past, and what it is about the 49ers that he hates so much.

How training camp has been going for him:

“It has been going pretty well.  Finally get a chance to enjoy the teammates and enjoy this beautiful weather.  We had some rain here so I was excited about that.  All in all other than getting nicked up in the ribs I have been fine and practice has been going well.”

What the difference is this training camp as opposed to last year’s:

“Definitely I am a lot more comfortable this year as opposed to last year I am able to be there in the OTA’s with teammates and get caught up on plays that sometimes you tend to forget at the end of the season and when you get to OTA’s it gives you a chance to refresh and renew everything.  I am a lot more comfortable out there and able to play full-speed ahead again as opposed to last year I would go in there and at times I don’t know where to go, where to line up and who to block.  It leaves me out there just clueless.”

Whether he feels comfortable with the playbook:

“I think I know pretty much everything in the offense that we have been putting in this year and last year.  I think it helped me tremendously as opposed to last year, like I said, I was clueless and now I can just go out there with a sense of reassurance that I know what I am doing and I am not second-guessing.”

Whether this offense is going to be a little bit different than it was in the past:

“I think so.  When we had Kurt here he was able to slow everything down just with his play and his reads as opposed to our guys, don’t get me wrong, they are good guys but nobody is Kurt Warner.  The way he attacks blitzes was incredible.  I don’t think they are up to his par yet, but I mean I think they will be eventually.”

Whether he feels like the running backs and offensive line was going to step up this season after Kurt Warner’s retirement:

“I think I kind of had that sense in the back of my mind that was a possibility.  I am definitely excited and willing to take on that challenge this year of running the football.  Of course that is what I love to do to get the football and carry the ball 25 times a game and I think our offensive line loves to run block.  We haven’t had a chance to do that with Kurt here so this year is going to be a good year for us.”

Whether the team is able to ignore the national media stating the Cardinals will be down this season and the 49ers will be a better team:

“I think we can ignore them to a certain extent but, to be quite honest, I hate the 49ers.”

What it is about the 49ers that he hates so much:

“I have no clue.  Once I got here and put on this Cardinals uniform I had instant hate for the 49ers.  I am looking forward to playing them this year and getting after it.”

Beanie Wells on KTAR in Phoenix with Doug and Wolf

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Beanie Wells, Chris “Beanie” Wells, former 1st round pick, former Ohio State player, hates the 49ers, Matt Leinart, NFC West division, perennial division winners, with Warner gone the Cardinals running game is going to be key to their success