ARIZONA CARDINALS

Ellington the focal point?

Aug 14, 2014, 5:37 PM | Updated: 5:37 pm

Andre Ellington is running receiver routes. He has all camp but I’ve noticed more of this lately, the final manifestation of an offense that will try to get him the ball in many different ways. He motioned out of the backfield and ran one of the prettiest 5 routes I have ever seen. He’s going to represent a nightmare match-up whether they put a safety on him or a backer.

There are so many ways the Cards can get him the ball but…that really got me thinking. The Cards have so many weapons and one ball.

Larry should have a massive year. The Japanese Fighting Fish is going to draw single coverage more times than he’s seen in the last three seasons, combined. Michael Floyd is trending to eclipse last year’s 1,000-yard season and should have a monster year. His understanding of the offense, commitment to being a great player and overall athleticism has improved…and this is weird. It doesn’t typically happen where scouts are talking about somebody improving their athleticism but the evidence is there: Floyd is smoother, not nearly as stiff as he once was in the hips and upper body and he’s catching the ball more naturally than I’ve ever seen him. Ted Ginn Jr. can run and is a threat merely because he can still run by many DBs. John Brown is getting ready to explode on the national scene. John Carlson does nothing but catch balls all over the field every day. And the TD that was called back on Saturday is just a shadow of what he can do, especially in the red zone.

And now you have to get the ball to Ellington? The Cards have a great problem on their hands: they have weapons. And this is one more reason why I think Carson Palmer is going to get paid after this year! If they can protect him, he’s going to explode.

Getting Ellington the ball is paramount but making him the focal point may prove to be a ruse in the end. There’s only one ball.

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Ellington the focal point?