Cleveland fans can add Chris “Beanie” Wells’ name to the laundry list of quality running backs their team has to face during the 2011 slate.
Wells in in the midst of a season that rivals his last two years combined, totaling 943 rushing yards and nine touchdowns through 12 games. Assuming Wells has seen tape of other bruising backs like Maurice Jones-Drew and Ray Rice doing a number on Dick Jauron’s defense, one would assume he would be salivating at the thought of the holes he’ll have to run through this Sunday when the Browns come to Arizona. Wells, instead, opted to play the diplomat when discussing his hometown team, specifically the front four who will serve as the first line of defense against the Cardinals’ run game.
“Aw, man. They’re beasts,” Wells said of the Browns defensive line via conference call. “They got a couple of young guys on there in [Phil] Taylor and [Jabaal] Sheard – they’re amazing guys. They’re going to be good football players in this league for a long time. It’s amazing where they’re playing as rookies.”
Wells, an Akron native and former Ohio State Buckeye, certainly was not set out to provide locker room material for the Orange and Brown, stating that the team’s current record is not indicative of how good of a football team they truly are. Though he may have used some hyperbole by calling members of the Browns defense “phenomenal,” it is a testament to a unit that has done more than it’s share when it comes to keeping the Browns in football games.
Taylor has largely been a bit of a roller coaster when it comes to his game-to-game success, but Sheard and teammate Atyhba Rubin have certainly carried their (admittedly very large) weight through the majority of this 4-9 season. Not to spoil tomorrow’s “Browns Will Win If…,” but it’s safe to assume that there will be a few mentions of the Arizona running back and what the team will have to do to steal a win on the road.
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