Cardinals Release RB James

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Edgerrin James Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

Ladell Betts Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

Shaun Alexander Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

I'll put some analysis in a post below, I just wanted to throw these up there.

I put these guys up here because one is the control (Alexander) who obviously will never play in the NFL again. Betts is the guy currently under contract here. And Edge is the best the FA market has to offer.

All three of these guys have something in common: that their days as a quality starter are clearly in the rear view mirror. But Portis is what, a year or two from that himself? The presence of a complementary back is more important this year than ever before.

Edge is clearly the better player than Betts at this point in their careers, and he's historically less of an injury risk (1 game missed due to injury in last 5 years), and he's coming off a year where the Cardinals did not at all abuse his legs, and he was effective in limited action.

I say this because Football Outsiders has him as the perfectly average back last year while backfield mate Tim Hightower was one of the worst in the league behind the same line, which ranked 30th in adjusted line yards and 29th in power rushing success. As riddled as our line was last year, it was unquestionably better than that, even in it's worst form.

Going back a season, Edge was still an average runner, even while JJ Arrington was one of the least valuable players in the league.

Bottom line is: I don't think Edge can still be a starter, but even at age 31, he's still a more effective runner behind a worse OL than what Betts (age 30) is behind ours. I think he's a better runner for our scheme than Betts is, and ultimately, we'd be a better team with Portis and Edge splitting carries than with Betts and Portis.