Skip down to the part where the cards GM says "the fans are going to see a lot more of Ellington in the coming weeks".
Locked and loaded, baby!
Like the Mepkin Abbey monastery in Andre Ellingtons small South Carolina hometown, the Cardinals running back prefers reflection over verbosity.
Painfully shy, subdued, low key were answers to inquiries on Thursday about Ellingtons personality. Dynamic, flashy, electric were responses to questions about his running style.
The rookie is one of the more-intriguing story lines of the Cardinals pedestrian season. His 6.4 yards per carry are the most in the NFL among running backs with at least 25 carries. His speed and ability to make defenders miss are head-turning.
And as the team prepares for Sundays clash with the Atlanta Falcons, it finds itself facing one of the more-important personnel decisions of the season: how best to utilize Ellingtons skills.
He has carried the ball just 28 times to Rashard Mendenhalls 92. He is the Cardinals third most productive receiver with 20 catches for 190 yards. Does the team use him more as an every-down back a decision that could be forced by the health of Mendenhall, who missed Thursdays practice with a toe injury or stick with its instincts that Ellington, who is 5 foot 9, 199 pounds, is not built for that kind of wear and tear?
Throw into the mix the saga of Ryan Williams, who has been healthy but inactive all season, and the Cardinals face some decisions that are among the bigger of the Steve Keim-Bruce Arians era.
We have to be smart in what we do with him, offensive coordinator Harold Goodwin said.
General Manager Keim agrees.
You looking at a rookie with a slight build to him, he said. You dont want to get into a situation where you pound a guy, he has an injury and thats a setback.
But at the same time, its a double-edged sword. Every time he touches the ball something good happens. I think in the next couple weeks our fans will be excited because at the end of the day youre going to see a lot more of Andre Ellington.
This isnt the first time Ellington has befuddled the Cardinals.
Like other teams in the NFL, they werent sure what to make of him. He was a standout at Clemson, finishing fourth on its list of all-time rushers and averaging 5.1 yards a carry his senior year.
Cardinals officials were giddy watching video of him.
I tell our scouts all the time, we spend four months a year falling in love with a player, Keim said, and then in the spring we spend four months tearing him apart.
The issue with Ellington was a hamstring tweak at the combine that resulted in a 4.61 time that contradicted everything teams officials saw on tape.
So you have a running back who is a thin-hipped, slight built guy who didnt run well, Keim said. You end up overthinking the process.
Keim never forgot what he saw on video of Ellington, however, and when he proved still available in the sixth round, he jumped at the opportunity to take him.
Well, sort of.
Just before he selected him, Keim first placed a call to Robbie Caldwell, the offensive-line coach at Clemson who also was Keims offensive-line coach at North Carolina State.
Im just trying to confirm why this guy is still available, Keim told him.
Just take him, Caldwell said. Just take him.
He did, and the Cardinals ended up with one of the bigger steals of the draft.
They also ended up with a player who had a healthy chip on his shoulder.
Ellington is not one who stands up and shouts You messed up! He is quiet until he gets to know you. But he admits he knows teams made a mistake by passing on him and it motivated me more than anything and I was determined to work my way back to the player I was.
And he did. In five of the six games he has carried the ball, he has busted out for a run of at least 15 yards. He also had a rushing touchdown against San Francisco and a receiving one against Detroit.
And although he is clearly not a guy who will question the coaches decision about the amount of touches he gets a game he had three in the Cardinals loss to Seattle he clearly believes he can handle a bigger load like he did at Clemson.
My goal is just to work as hard as I can and get the coaches to trust in me, he said.
Thats as bold as Ellington gets. Goodwin confirms he is quiet around most everyone.
He is, he said. He just has that funny-looking smirk on his face. Its tough (for him) to talk this week after what happened to Clemson last week.
Yes, that blowout to Florida State had to be a tough one for Ellington to swallow.
Not that the running back had said much about it.
In Moncks Corner, S.C., they are taught not to brag.
They let their actions speak.
Reach Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter at Twitter.com/PaolaBoivin. Listen to her on Big Guy on Sports streaming live on pros2preps.com with Brad Cesmat every Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Up next
Cardinals (3-4) vs. Atlanta Falcons (2-4)
When: Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1:25 p.m.
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale.
TV: Channel 10.
Radio: KTAR-AM (620)/KTAR-FM (92.3) (Dave Pasch, Ron Wolfley).
Spanish radio: KVVA-FM (107.1) (Gabriel Trujillo, Rolando Cantu).