Arizona Cardinals: Andre Ellington has become a forgotten man

By Nick Ziegler | Oct 28, 2015

The Arizona Cardinals were able to improve to 5-2 on Monday Night Football with a win over the Baltimore Ravens at home.

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Arizona has emerged as one of the better teams in the NFC this season with the struggles of playoff teams from last season. In many people’s eyes, the Cardinals are in the upper tier of the NFC with the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, who are both undefeated.

Like all teams in the NFL, the Cardinals are not perfect. Last season, one of the flaws of the Cardinals was their inability to run the football. Losing their starting quarterback Carson Palmer for the season certainly didn’t help that aspect of their offense, as teams were stacking the box against backup quarterbacks.

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Another reason for their poor rushing attack last season was the ineffective play of running back Andre Ellington. In his rookie season, Ellington played well, as he totaled 652 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, a 5.5 yards per carry average, 39 receptions, and 371 receiving yards.

The impressive rookie season for Ellington led to the Cardinals putting a lot of faith in him as their starting running back in 2014, but injuries help contribute to a sophomore slump for Ellington.

In 2015, Ellington once again came into the season as the starting running back with a lot of confidence that he would bounce back from the down season. In Week 1, Ellington totaled 69 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown against the New Orleans Saints, but a sprain to the PCL ligament in his knee led to him missing three straight games.

With Ellington sidelined, it was the former 2000-yard rusher, Chris Johnson, who made the most of the opportunity given to him. This season, Johnson has totaled 567 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, and a very impressive 5.1 yards per carry average.

Oct 26, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Chris Johnson (23) runs the ball in the third quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Ravens 26-18. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Johnson was cut by the Jets in the early part of the offseason and it took him a while to find a home with some off-the-field issues to go with diminishing play in the past few seasons. Johnson has seemingly found his groove in Arizona, as he has taken the starting job from Ellington.

Ellington returned to the Cardinals’ backfield against the Detroit Lions, and in the Cardinals’ blowout win, Ellington totaled three carries, 63 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. In the following week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ellington only touched the ball once in the Cardinals’ surprising loss.

In the Cardinals’ most recent game against the Ravens, Ellington was involved in the offense a bit more, but he still only totaled eight touches in the win.

Even with Ellington back and healthy in the lineup, it has been Johnson getting a majority of the carries, and with the production that the Cardinals are getting from Johnson there is no reason not to give him the ball.

Ellington may have lost his starting job for now, but he is still getting some snaps occasionally, and it is important for the young running back not to get down on himself because he has lost his starting job.

The Cardinals’ offense is very impressive through the first seven weeks of the season, but it is very surprising to see that it is Johnson giving the Cardinals a balanced attack and not Ellington.

Things can change in an instant in the NFL, but as of now, Ellington is becoming a forgotten man in Arizona.

Next: Has Palmer been to blame for the Cardinals' losses?

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