For yet another season, Razzball will be interviewing local NFL beat writers for some in-depth actual football knowledge to sway some insight in our fantasy football knowledge. Keep your eye out for an interview for every NFL team through the summer and check out each one on the “2012 Fantasy Football Team Previews” link. This installment comes courtesy of Tyler Nickel from Arizona Cardinals blog Revenge of the Birds:
1) Larry Fitzgerald is obviously one of the best wide receivers in the league, but he need a friend to throw him the ball. It’s been a little too much like Charlie Brown depending on getting the ball from Lucy. Arizona opens with Kevin Kolb as the starter – do you see him holding onto the job the whole year if healthy?
I think that as long as Kevin Kolb can stay healthy, he should hold onto the starting QB job for the whole year. We have to remember that he didn’t have an offseason last year and I think that with some extra time, he should be much improved. We just have to hope he stays healthy.
2) A lot was expected from Ryan Williams, the Cardinals second round pick last year, but a knee injury in preseason ending his season early. Beanie Wells has been anything but consistent, despite flashing some huge numbers in a few games. How do you expect the workload of the backfield to be distributed and do you see Williams with a shot of becoming the starter this year?
In this day and age, I think being a starting RB is quite overrated. Beanie Wells is currently on the PUP list, but is expected to be off in a couple of weeks. I would expect Ryan Williams and Beanie to split the carries pretty evenly once the season begins, with LaRod Stephens-Howling getting mixed in as well.
3) Todd Heap was an interesting addition to the Cardinals offense last year, but injuries claimed over half his season. Is there any chance Heap could be a big contributor on offense if he can stay healthy?
If Heap can stay healthy, he can be a huge part of the offense. He was brought in to be a short route, third down and red zone target, which is what we should expect of him this season.
4) Early Doucet was having a pretty solid season in the first half of last year, only to taper off down the stretch with Andre Roberts coming along. Do you see either one of these receivers being a consistent fantasy option all year and who do you like to have the bigger overall season?
With the addition of Michael Floyd, I’m not crazy about Roberts and Doucet as fantasy options. The team will be running the ball as much as they can and I expect Floyd to take the #2 job at some point in the season. Throw in Heap, Rob Housler and of course, Larry Fitzgerald and all of a sudden, Roberts is in the slot and Doucet is the 4th receiver with way less targets.
5) As with any rebuilding teams, players buried on the depth chart will have more of a chance to see the field and make their mark. Are there any sleepers you expect to put up some offensive stats that us uneducated about the Cardinals may be missing?
I think Rob Housler could really have a breakout year. He is a tight end in the mold of Jimmy Graham and if the quarterbacks can finally hit him in stride, he will put up some decent numbers.
