Time for Cards to return to Edge

If this was Terrelle Smith's football team, he knows exactly what he'd do next. He'd reinstate his roommate.

He'd bring back Edgerrin James as a featured running back.

"I wish they would," said Smith, the Cardinals' fullback. "Because the guy I live with is a terrific running back, and he's a true professional."
Let's hope Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt is open for suggestions.

Go to Edge. Talk to him. Enlist his help. Clear the air. Give him the ball. Lean on his experience. With the clock ticking toward the playoffs, it seems to be the only move the Cardinals have left.

It's worth a shot for many reasons, and if you haven't noticed, the crowd has thinned out around the punch bowl. After these past two games against the Giants and Eagles, it's clear the Cardinals' high-flying passing game can't impose its will against top-flight defenses. Their signature dish doesn't smell so special. At the moment, they are easy fodder for teams that can play rough and nasty come January.

Hence, the new data, the new elephant in the room: If the Cardinals' running game continues to be an embarrassment, they will just be taking up room when the playoffs begin. Even Kurt Warner knows that a change is needed, even though his MVP candidacy is built largely on an avalanche of 300-yard passing games.

"We've got to figure something out," Warner said. "When you're playing against good teams with good schemes, it's tough to throw all the time. It's tough to be a one-dimensional team and continue to be successful week in and week out.

"Do I think we do it as well as anybody in the league? Yeah. Can we be successful doing it? Yes. But it's tough to do it every single week. And so, we just have to get better, and we have to figure out a way to balance our passing attack."

The Cardinals can attack this problem from many fronts. They can throw shorter passes that look like running plays. They can block better. They could even integrate Anquan Boldin as a primary ball carrier. But gimmicks go only so far in football, a game where brute force usually prevails. Look it up. Historically, teams built to succeed are teams that can run the ball, stop the run and pressure the opposing quarterback.

Sadly, the Cardinals don't do any of that particularly well. But they can get hot, they can be a terrific team at home, and they can be a real threat if they regain some respect up front. The easiest fix seems to be stoking the pride of James, who does not make big plays but gets the tough yards.

While he lacks burst, James brings an earthy feel to the Cardinals offense. He makes a bigger impact against the better teams. That's the way he's built. That's why it's worth another shot, especially if James has something to prove.

Consider this another bizarre twist in a topsy-turvy season. On his first day of sideline exile, James watched the Cardinals punish the Rams, rushing for 176 yards. While James has made cameo appearances since, the refitted rushing attack has all but collapsed.

Collectively, the Cardinals' running backs have rushed for 27 yards or fewer in three of the past four games. Rookie Tim Hightower is no longer considered a draft-day steal, a guy worthy of national attention. He has just 85 yards on his past 42 carries. He is starting to dance a little too much, showing his inexperience and getting caught in the backfield a little too often.

"I guess I'm just focusing on doing whatever I can to help the team win," Hightower said when asked about the decline of the running game. "Regardless of what play is called and who is in the game, we've got to make it work. I don't think it's what other teams are doing to us. I don't think we're making plays in critical situations like we did earlier in the season."

Problem is, football constantly evolves. It changes with the weather and it changes with the calendar. When the games get later and the games get tougher, the holes (and the hurt) are inside. That's James' neighborhood.

So go to him, coach. He has pedigree. He won't pull a Stephon Marbury and turn the other cheek. He may even react like Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia, proof that you can bench a superstar and go home again.

(azcentral.com)