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METAIRIE, La. ― Sedrick Ellis is nearly always affable, generally accessible and much of the time filled with a humorous retort or two.

But don’t at all think that his relative lack of intensity off the field translates to little focus on it.

Ellis, along with defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, think the third-year defensive tackle is on the verge of a breakout season.

“I think he has a chance to be a Pro Bowl player this year,” Williams said, voice beaming while talking about Ellis. “But the key part of it will be his health. He has to stay on the field for 16 weeks so people see him out there. Because when he’s out there, we’re different. We’re a better team when he’s out there.”

Ah, Ellis’ health. That’s the big question. In the two seasons the 6-foot-1, 307-pounder out of Southern California has been with the Saints, Ellis has missed nine out of 32 games with knee injuries.

Both could be considered unfortunate accidents, Ellis being in the wrong place at the wrong time, getting rolled on in piles at the line of scrimmage.

“It’s just kind of like a bad luck thing,” Ellis said. “Especially when you play defensive or offensive line, sometimes there are piles in there and you just get rolled up. It’s a high-traffic area and you just get rolled up, which what happened both years. It wasn’t like knee weakness or anything.

“I’ve just got to stay away from the piles and keep my feet moving and I’ll be fine.”

Prior to getting injured against Miami in Week 6 of the 2009 season, Ellis had 15 tackles, one sack and one pass defensed. All of this as the Saints defense worked its way into a top 15 unit.

But as soon as he left the lineup, the Saints defense began to experience issues. Prior to him leaving the lineup, the Saints allowed only one team to rush for more than 100 yards. Not counting Miami when he left the game early, New Orleans gave up 100 or more yards rushing eight times in 10 games. And while the offense putting up 30-plus points in the first five games, Ellis' role certainly played a part in the defense nearly reaching elite status.

Ellis returned to finish with 45 tackles and four sacks and one fumble recovery for the season. He added 12 tackles and a sack in the postseason.

Still, some might say he has underachieved considering he was the No. 7 selection in the 2008 draft. Ellis isn’t buying that.

When asked if there’s any pressure on him to perform because he’s a former top 10 pick, Ellis said, “I think the Saints know what they got. I was having a great year. I had a pretty good year after I came back from those injuries. I have no feeling that they’re questioning what they got. I just need to stay healthy for a whole year and stay away from those piles.”

Williams said Ellis reported to camp in the best shape he has seen him and believes that the young lineman is having a standout first week.

Ellis, for what it’s worth, sees a big year for himself.

“If (I) can have a full season without missing a game, which is the predominant goal for me this year, I feel like I can have a Pro Bowl year,” Ellis said. “I feel like I was well on my way to doing that last year before I encountered some knee injuries. … I’m definitely going to come out here and have a full season and I think there’s a lot better stuff to come.”

Rugby Saint II

If we could get an equally talented player along side him we would be able to get pressure in the back field which should turn into sacks or turn overs. Either way I'll be happy if Ellis has a really good year under GW and can stay on the field.

darstep

He was definitely right about us being a different/better team with Ellis in the lineup. When he went down, we gave up waaaaaayyy too many yards on the ground and started losing DBs to injury, I believe, from the increased amount of run support banging needed from those guys. Ellis does things that don't show up in the stats. I agree with Rugby, if we had a mirror image of Ellis on the other side of the ball, there is no telling how good this defense could be.