How the Cardinals Backfield Will Adapt Without Jonathan Dwyer

It feels grimy to be discussing football matters related to Jonathan Dwyer. Much like Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson did, Dwyer’s actions make football seem so very insignificant.

He’s now been placed on the reserve/non-football injury list after allegedly fracturing his wife’s nose this past July. There are concerns about his mental health after reports of suicidal text messages.

But as another domestic violence cloud hovers over the NFL, the business of football must go on for the Cardinals. And in the backfield going forward that will mean finding someone to replace Dwyer’s short-yardage presence. Oh, and a lot more Andre Ellington.

Dwyer had been used minimally, but still effectively, through two weeks. He has a long-established history with Bruce Arians dating back to their time together in Pittsburgh, when the now-Cardinals head coach and then-offensive coordinator liked to lean on the big brute as a goal-line back.

That was still happening now, just on a smaller scale. Dwyer was given 16 carries through two weeks mostly in short-yardage situations, and in an effort to keep a still somewhat hobbled Ellington fresh. He plodded at 3.2 yards per carry but still scored once and recorded a 20-yard run.

The need for a punishing force in the Cardinals backfield is now a mild concern. Stepfan Taylor climbs up the depth chart to become Ellington’s primary backup, giving the Cardinals a top pair of backs who are both 5’9”.

Robert Hughes, who finished 2013 on Arizona’s practice squad and is now rostered, falls somewhere between fullback and running back on the body-type spectrum. After being praised throughout training camp for his versatility as both a downhill runner and pass-catcher, the hulking Hughes (5’11”, 235 pounds) will likely inherit the goal-line role and at worst be a serviceable short-term solution.

The rest is on Ellington’s shoulders and not exactly ample body. Arians spent the offseason pumping a whole lot of air into Ellington’s tires, saying he could be given 25-30 touches per game.

Those numbers came from ridiculous offseason chatter. But don’t pay attention to them, and instead know that in a way Arians wasn’t lying. Ellington was always going to get a lot of work. Now he’s just getting more.

Even with a wonky foot that’s still causing problems (he missed practice yesterday), Ellington has been given 34 touches through two weeks. And as noted with the above percentage showing Ellington’s high-volume chunk runs, he’s been rather productive with them.

In two games he’s set a pace of 5.1 yards per carry, and he has 181 total yards overall (37 receiving). Remember, this is a running back who has a high slippery factor, forcing 28 missed tackles last year, according to Football Outsiders. Even better: He did it on only 157 touches.

That’s significantly fewer than much of his competition on the broken-tackles standings.

	Runs	Receptions	Total Touches	Broken Tackles
Andre Ellington	118	39	157	28
Eddie Lacy	284	35	319	29
Matt Forte	288	76	364	24
Alfred Morris	277	9	286	24

Ever since Arians’ offseason scuttlebutt about Ellington’s workload, there’s been concern about the diminutive back breaking. Those worries are legitimate, but they should also go only so far.

Exactly how small is too small? And where do we draw that arbitrary line? Ellington is 5’9” and weighs 199 pounds. Jamaal Charles is 6’1” and 200 pounds, and he’s endured 649 touches over the past two seasons. If he sits out this weekend it’ll be his first missed action due to an injury since a torn ACL in 2011, which by nature is a freak snap that can happen to even the most gargantuan players.

Then there’s LeSean McCoy, who’s 5’11” and 208 pounds. He’s missed six of a possible 80 career starts, and tiny Maurice Jones-Drew (5’7”, 210 pounds) was able to maintain a pace of 361.3 touches over three seasons (between 2009-2011).

If Ellington breaks because Dwyer is gone and the Cardinals backfield isn’t as deep, it won't happen just because he’s a small human. It will happen because football hurts sometimes.