With Rashard Mendenhall returning to the Arizona Cardinals' starting lineup on Sunday to face the Houston Texans, the broader question is how much rookie running back Andre Ellington will touch the ball. According to coach Bruce Arians, the Cardinals would like to get the football to Ellington around 20 times a game, per the team's official website. Source: NFL.com DaBears22's Take: Ellington had a great game next week and with Mendenhall returning, the Cards backfield is that much stronger. As the article suggests, how the Cards use the two players from this point on will be interesting. Mendenhall is the feature back but maybe Ellington has earned another start.
No...but in those games he's been out Arians has primarily opted for the passing game with about 40-45 attempts/game. For the season Ellington's only got 43 rushing attempts but he's averaging 7.7 yards per attempt. He started the Cards' last game and blossomed with 155 yards rushing.
I actually think he will. The realization that the Cards' O-Line can't pass defend along with Palmer making less than optimal decisions has me thinking that Arians will run the ball vs. JJ Watt and Antonio Smith living in the backfield. I'm confident that Mendenhall will leave the game for another anatomical reason.
NOTICE: I'm officially eating my words from my last post. And I'm so glad that Mendenhall stayed healthy enough to be able to be in the game up by 10 with 2 1/2 minutes to go, only to fumble it on the Texans 5 yard line.
11 rushes (55yards), 2 receptions for a total of 13 touches. Mendenhall had 14 rushes. Sports talk radio is having a field day down here just waxing Arians and his insistence on playing his love child Mendenhall.
So whacha smokin' this mornin', @CaptainSubing? Not so much about the playoffs, but about saving Ellington. That is a riot. Arians is so far up Mendenhall's butt the Cards have sent out a search party.
