The Edgerrin James Factor
Edgerrin James, who has signed with the Arizona Cardinals, will make a huge impact on the field in their 2006 campaign. The Cardinals have now filled in their "missing link" by grabbing up James, a stud fantasy player in 2005 who is flanked by some of the leagues best veterans and up-and-coming talents. The Cardinals are poised for a breakout season. Now, everyone knows what James has done in the past, but just how good of an investment is he in Arizona? It is no suprize that James is on top of the impact players list for the '07 season (just behind Terrell Owens' impact on the Dallas Cowboys) . Looking at what he's done over the his all-star career, we all know what he's capable of, but what can we expect of him with the Cardinals?
James, a four-time Pro Bowler, signed a four-year, $30 million deal with the Cardinals on March 12, 2006. James received an initial signing bonus of $7 million and will pocket a $4.5 million roster bonus on the seventh day of the 2006 league year, essentially the end of this week. The base salaries in the contract are $3.25 million (for 2006), $5.25 million (2007), $5 million (2008) and $5 million (2009). The contract, negotiated by agent Drew Rosenhaus over the last two days, makes James one of the highest paid tailbacks in league history.
He is considered the Cardinals' most significant addition during the 2006 offseason and one of the Cardinals' most significant personnel acquisitions ever. The Arizona Republic reported that the team's Web site, azcardinals.com, crashed on the day it announced James' signing "because of the number of people trying to access it, according to the club. The traffic, they said, was 10 times higher than the previous top day, when former player Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan." Despite the honorable death of the active American soldier Pat Tillman, we now understand just how much love Cardinal fans really have, and it's just what the NFL needs.
James heads to the desert and will be seen as a savior to Cardinals fans. He's already had four seasons with over 1,500 rushing yards and was a key contributor to the Colts' passing game as well. He has been one of, if not the #1, the biggest RB workhorses to ever play the game by averaging 23 carries a game over his career. He also ranks #1 all-time for most total yards per game at almost 126 ypg. The Cardinals offense seems on the verge of exploding and seems to be on the rise. Edge gives the Cards a dominant RB that they may not have seen since Ottis Anderson in the 70s.
The Cardinals have set the table for the arrival of James. Securing James, who played the first seven years of his career with the Colts, should immediately upgrade an Arizona running game that for years has ranked among the NFL's least productive. The Cardinals ranked last in the NFL in rushing in 2005, averaging just 71.1 yards per outing. The team's leading rusher, Marcel Shipp, had only 451 yards. The Cardinal's Second-round draft pick J.J. Arrington, who many felt would be an immediate star in the NFL, rushed for just 370 yards and havn't had a prominent RB since Adrian Murrell in 1998.
This year, the knock will be the OL, but the Cardinal's can expect good things starting with the two-tight end offensive set which should give the running game a rise from last year's 3.2 yards per carry. The move to Arizona's offensive schemes will be familiar to James who has totaled over 5,000 yards the past 5 seasons. When Dennis Green coached in Minnesota, the Vikings often used either two-tight end or three-wide receiver sets, and Robert Smith would run for 1,200 or 1,300 yards. Edgerrin James took part in the same scenarios when he played for Indianapolis. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, who had over 100 receptions each in '05, should also spread out the secondary and give linebackers multiple responsibilities. This balance will give the Cardinals great diversity and unpredictability. The Cardinals are now milti-dimentional and can move from a pass first team to a team that can establish the run, stifle linebackers with the play-action, and treaten secondaries with their talent at wide receiver.
So let's do the math. They now have their man in James who although suffering a season-ending knee injury back in November of 2001, has recovered nicely and imporved his total yardage 3 out of the last 4 seasons. Not only is James a superb rusher, but he also is an accomplished receiver. And one of the strongest elements of his game, although often overlooked, is his terrific ability to pass protect. In the Indianapolis offense, James was often called on to pick up the odd man on the pass rush. Music to Kurt Warner's ears who suffers from chronic concussions, will now be able to get a little sleep the night before games.
The word from their 11 day voluntary training camp in June has been all positive. The Cards bring in one of college football's biggest success stories in Matt Leinart who will learn under the veteran Warner. The all new state-of-tthe-art Gendale Stadium will bring in the fans. "We're serious about winning," Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill told the Republic. "The new stadium allows us to do some things that we haven't been able to do before." James says the desert heat doesn't bother him - and I'm a beliver. So wether at home or on the road, the only heat people are going to have to worry about this season is stopping the '06 Cardinals offense once it gets going this year...What? Did someone say Playoffs?!
