The "Edge" of the Road for James?

I'd like to start with a trivia question in today's article. Who has more career rushing yards, Edgerrin James of the Arizona Cardinals or degenerate murderer O.J. Simpson?

If you answered "James," give yourself a pat on the back.

Perhaps it's because he was overshadowed by the greatest quarterback the game has ever seen in Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison with Indianapolis, but James has quietly become one of the more proficient runners in NFL history.

My favorite book (right up there with the informative novel, Jesus the Christ), the NFL Record & Fact Book, revealed that James is the active NFL rushing leader with 11,607 rushing yards entering this season. Interestingly, that is good enough for 13th place all time.

Now, however, despite the potential for the Cardinals' finest season since 1976, when they were in St. Louis and finished 10-4, the usually stoic James is showing some disappointment.

Obviously, the NFL is a game for young men and Tim Hightower has been excellent in the rare instances when the prolific Cardinals' offense decides to run the ball, but agent Drew Rosenhaus, as he always does, has stirred the pot. Rosenhaus, as James' agent, has gone to Cardinals management in an attempt to force a release or trade, but wisely Arizona seems to be focusing on matters on the field.

Nevertheless, we've seen this movie before. When Rosenhaus affects a client already full of himself, we have seen successful teams implode such as the Philadelphia Eagles.

While Philadelphia has been flirtatious with excellence in the interim, they've never returned to the top of the NFC East consistently since Terrell Owens' less-than-amicable departure.

As a fellow "James," I would just like to remind Edgerrin that pyrrhic victories aren't worth it. It's better to be like Clyde Drexler with the Houston Rockets as although he had to sacrifice personal numbers, he finally won a championship.

In this crazy NFL season, who knows what the Cards are capable of? If James swallows his pride and remains a consummate team player, this team can really go places.

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