I'm just as disappointed in Andre Ellington's Week 7 game as you might be. His lack of involvement is what really bugs me -- why did the Cardinals decide to give Alfonso Smith more work on passing downs? And why are they sticking with Rashard Mendenhall so much?
But it's not like Ellington didn't have his chances. Very late in the third quarter he was open on a wheel route in the end zone and got a hand on Palmer's pass that was just too far for him. He was also targeted on a pass in the end zone a few plays later but a Seattle defender tipped it. The annoying factor I didn't see coming was that Smith took many passing down snaps away from Ellington late in the game (they seemed to be on a rotation). Ellington had two catches on five targets; Smith had four catches on four targets.
The snap breakdown still favored Ellington with 41 pct. of the snaps compared to 32 pct. for Mendenhall and 28 pct. for Smith. With Mendenhall averaging 1.7 yards per carry in the game and 2.9 on the season, it still feels like it's just a matter of time before Ellington (and maybe Smith) start to really take over the Cardinals backfield.