I think Ryan Williams is the pickup of the week, at least at RB. It is hard to get too excited about a Cardinals RB but it does appear he will get a shot at a Feature role now and that in itself makes him valuable in the NFL right now. The early indication is Wells will miss some time and the Cardinals really have been trying to give Williams the job right from the start of the season but he just struggled too much out the gate to overtake Wells but his better performance in week 3 coupled with Wells injury changes that now. it also appears Williams will be thrown the ball a few times a game as well which could help a bit and Williams could even play all 3 downs. As a committee the Cardinals situation was one to avoid but with a chance at a feature role Williams really has a chance to become fantasy relevant. The stat line put up by LaRod Stephens-Howling may be the worst I have ever seen by a RB( 8 carries for -14 yards) so he obviously isn't a big threat to steal too many carries.
Fitzgerald's presence will keep D's from overloading against the run and the Cardinals Defense obviously is good enough to keep them in a lot of games which means they won't have to abandon the run.
If Wells injury turns out to be really minor then it would hurt Williams but otherwise this could be Williams' big shot.
Elsewhere, there isn't much talk about McGahee's injury right now but he could miss some time. The problem in Denver is that they will likely go to a fullblown committee if McGahee does miss time. It sounds like Fred Jackson will be back this week and Spillers injury isn't that serious so I don't think Choice has any value. I think Powell has potential and will see more and more work but the Jets just can't run that well and Greene isn't likely to just go away completely so it stills looks like a bit of a committee but Powell would be my 2nd choice amongst the backs.
That's a good write up with some nice points.
Strength of Schedule
One thing to note about R. Williams is his upcoming schedule:
Mia (#3 run D), @StL (21), Buf (14), @Min (12), SF (8), @GB (26), bye, @Atl (24), StL (21), @NYJ (28), @Sea (2), Det (11), Chi (6), SF (8)
So I count 5 games vs. top 10 run D, 2 vs. top 5, and 4 against those ranked in the 20s.
Four of his next 5 games aren't very easy. His schedule in the last 4 games of the season (3 if you don't count Wk 17) aren't too favorable, either. However, Weeks 9, 11, 12 and 13 look great though to finish off the fantasy regular season.
AZ Rushing Proficiency
AZ is ranked 27th in rushing offense. They played Seattle (2 against the run), NE (7), and Philly (16).
Football outsiders ranks AZ's OL as 28th in run blocking. See
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol
Week 3 Production
I saw this in another forum -- most of Williams' points were in garbage time. Another thing to keep in mind.
Arizona Cardinals at 10:26
3rd and 17 at ARI 32 (Shotgun) R.Williams up the middle ran ob at PHI 43 for 25 yards (D.Ryans).
1st and 10 at PHI 43 R.Williams up the middle to PHI 44 for -1 yards (K.Coleman).
1st and 10 at PHI 29 (Shotgun) R.Williams up the middle to PHI 22 for 7 yards (D.Ryans).
2nd and 3 at PHI 22 (Shotgun) R.Williams left end to PHI 22 for no gain (P.Hunt).
3rd and 3 at PHI 22 R.Williams up the middle to PHI 11 for 11 yards (K.Coleman).
Arizona Cardinals at 3:05
1st and 10 at PHI 36 R.Williams up the middle to PHI 16 for 20 yards (B.Rolle). ARZ-R.Williams was injured during the play. His return is Questionable.
He had a 25 yard draw on a 3rd and 17 and then 38 more yards in garbage time, that is 63 of his 83 yards.
One more note: Williams was in on 35% of Arizona's week 3 snaps; Beanie was in on 23%, and Stephens-Howling 34%. Source:
http://rosterwatch.com/?p=5178