With the Arizona Cardinals' loss in the playoffs still fresh in their memories, it’s time to review the 2014 season, while previewing 2015. Over the next 11 installments, I’ll look back, and then ahead, at every position for the Cardinals.

2014 Review: Arizona’s running game took a hit before the first snap of the season when Andre Ellington suffered a foot injury in the week leading up to “Monday Night Football” in Week 1. He never fully recovered throughout the season, which, for him, ended after Week 13 in Atlanta when Ellington suffered a hip pointer against Atlanta and a week later was placed on IR. Unable to regain the explosion he displayed as a rookie, Ellington wasn’t as effective in 2014 despite finishing with 1,055 all-purpose yards. He had only 660 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Before the season, Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said he wanted Ellington to get between 25 and 30 touches per game. Ellington averaged 20.6.

But the running game’s biggest blow came when Jonathan Dwyer was arrested after Week 2 and subsequently put on the non-football illness list for the rest of the season. Arizona missed his size and ability to get short yards, which placed an emphasis on fullback Robert Hughes. But Hughes had just seven carries for 11 yards and was more effective as a receiver. Six of Hughes’ seven carries were on third-and-1, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and he failed to get the first down on three of those plays. Trying to find a solution, Arians signed four running backs to the active roster throughout the season – Kerwynn Williams, Marion Grice, Jalen Parmele and Michael Bush. All but Bush were given a chance, although Parmele’s lasted one carry. In the final few games, Stepfan Taylor and Williams combined to give Arizona a solid backfield combination but it wasn’t enough to carry the Cardinals past the first round of the playoffs.

2015 Preview: The Cardinals have five running backs under contract for 2015 – Ellington, Taylor, Williams, Grice and Hughes – but how many will stay on the roster come Week 1? Ellington and Taylor are locks, but will the Cardinals look to the draft to find another complement to Ellington? If the Cardinals can find a bigger back in the draft who can get tough yards and is more durable than Ellington, the Cardinals might be faced with an offense-changing dilemma. Do they stick with Ellington as their feature back or incorporate another option while making Ellington more of a receiving option? A healthy Ellington coupled with a bigger back would be the type of punch Arizona needs, but couple them with Taylor and Arizona has enough depth to carry the rushing load deep into January. The end of 2014 was important for Taylor, who saw his confidence grow after he was named the starter following Ellington’s injury. Grice’s growth during the offseason will determine whether he has a job with the Cardinals next season. Physically, he’s longer than Ellington and Taylor, but Grice needs to have a flawless understanding of the playbook. Arizona has plenty of depth at running back as of now, but is it the right kind of depth?

Coming Saturday: Tight ends