Confident, ‘improved’ Andre Ellington has Super expectations for Arizona Cardinals

For the past decade, the Cardinals have never finished with a rushing offense that ranked higher than 23rd in the NFL. In five of those years, including last season, they either finished last or second-to-last in total rushing.

On Sunday, however, running back Andre Ellington raised some eyebrows when he said the Cardinals are Super Bowl-bound or bust and that Arizona’s running game has the potential to be one of the best in the league.

He said the goal is to “win the Super Bowl, not just make it past the first round of the playoffs, but play in the Super Bowl game and actually win it.”

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Meanwhile, only once since 2005 have the Cardinals averaged 100 or more rushing yards for a full season. That was in 2011. Last year, they averaged 81.8 rushing yards per game and ranked 31st overall.

But citing his improved health, the addition of rookie running back David Johnson and a retooled offensive line that coach Bruce Arians and others agree might become one of the most reliable units in all of football, Ellington said, “We should be way better than we were last year at running the ball. Hopefully, we can be top five when the season’s over.”

Ellington dealt with a torn tendon in his foot all of last season and eventually was placed on injured reserve because of a hernia, although he still led the team with 660 rushing yards. He led the league with a 5.53 yards-per-carry average in 2013 as a rookie and is one of just two players in franchise history (Ottis Anderson in 1979-80) to record 1,000-plus yards from scrimmage in each of their first two NFL seasons.

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He stressed Sunday, however, that he has something to prove in 2015.

“Yeah, I have a lot to prove,” he said. “My first year is over with. That’s two years ago. I’m a new and improved player now and I want to be ready to go out there and show what I can do.”

Asked in what way he has improved, Ellington grinned and said, “We’ll see in Game 1.”

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He said the injuries held him back last year, adding he “wasn’t able to be myself” and that his sore foot was always “in the back of my mind."

“It kind of slowed me down a little bit, but I’m out here feeling good and getting better every day. … I feel like I’ve got my explosion back.”

Johnson pulled up after a long run in the final hour of practice Sunday and headed straight to the locker room. His status wasn’t immediately known.

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COOPER GAINING STEAM

It was a healthy and happy Jonathan Cooper who reported to training camp and the third-year pro, who has been moved from left guard to right guard, has been looking so good that Arians didn’t want to say too much about him on Sunday.

“I don’t want to jinx him,” Arians said.

After missing his entire rookie season because of a broken leg, Cooper dealt with wrist and knee injuries a year ago along with a bout of turf toe. It taught him a lot.

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“You just have to have a mental fortitude and be tough,” Cooper said. “All this stuff was just freak accidents and couldn’t really be controlled, so you’ve just got to be tough and block out all the negativity and keep fighting and try to be the best player you can be.”

Cooper said his level of motivation is at an all-time high, in part because the injuries are now a thing of the past and he can just react and play football.

“It’s sort of what it feels like your rookie year when all you really have to do is go out and play and know your stuff,” he said. “That really does make life a little bit easier on you. … I’m excited to have a great year and for the team to have a great year.”

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CENTER OF ATTENTION

One of the better position battles in camp is the competition between A.Q. Shipley and Ted Larsen for the starting center job. Arians said it likely will go down to the wire and be decided by “who plays the best on a consistent level.”

Both players are getting turns running with the first-team offense in practices and they’ll get equal time with the starters during preseason games. It’s too early for either to gain an edge over the other at this point, however.

“We’ve just got to put the pads on; nobody wins jobs in shorts,” Arians said. “They both have a lot of experience in the system, so we’ll just wait and see. They’re both little refrigerators and that’s how you like them – smart and tough.”

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AMERICAN HONEY BADGER

Safety Tyrann Mathieu isn’t only back and healthy as ever, he also remains one of the most popular players in the NFL. Much of that has to do with the ball-hawking ability he displayed during his two years at LSU, but Mathieu said there is another reason why fans probably are attracted to him.

“I’m a little guy, so I think a lot of fans, they don’t really expect me to go out there and compete with the Calvin Johnsons,” he said. “But when I do it, I think those guys can relate to me.”