That is correct, the Arizona Cardinals have agreed to a 4 year deal with Edgerrin James. This is big for the Cardinals, as one of their biggest flaws was the running back spot. They have great recievers, and now a great running back. If the Cards can figure out there QB, then they could have one of the leagues top offenses. Kurt Warner is old, and I'm not sure he is the QB they need. The Cardinals next year could be a playoff team.
Onto the Colts, James has been a staple of their explosive offense for the last couple years, and without him, the Colts offense will definetly struggle. Last year, when Edge didn't have 100 yards, the Colts struggled. Dominic Rhodes and James Mungro aren't very good, which leaves defenses to focus solely on Peyton Manning. The Colts I think have lost their chance to be a Super Bowl contender, unless they seriously fix the D. They may be letting Cato June go, a talented young linebacker. (Every year the Colts get rid of good young LBs, Marcus Washington, Mike Peterson...)
In other free agent news, the 49ers traded away talented young reciever Brandon Lloyd to the Redskins for draft picks. This is increbibly stupid, as Lloyd is a good reciever, and the only reason he lacks good numbers is because his QB and RB suck. He made 3 one handed catches along with a lot of other good plays. The 49ers needed to trade Kevan Barlow, because they have no running game, and Alex Smith sucks.
Also the Browns have struck gold, getting great center LeCharles Bentley and veteran wide-out Joe Jurevicius. The Browns do nothing but gain from this. The Seahawks are dumb for letting Jurevicius go, as he was a reciever who could actually catch. The Saints shouldn't have let go of Bentley either, because if they are gonna draft Cutler, Leinart, or Young, they are gonna need to give those guys an offensive line?
The Ravens signed good DE Trevor Pryce. Tough loss for the Broncos, he has been a sack machine for a long time.
LAST and probably least, the kicker. The Vikings signed long time Packers kicker, Ryan Longwell. While Longwell is a good kicker, why are they tossing Paul Edinger. Edinger had a good season for the Vikes, but I guess he gets the drop.
you can view reasons for the brandon lloyd trade scattered on other nfl/free agency blogs and comments.
as for the seahawks being dumb for not re-signing jurevicious, you really cant fault a team for not bringing back a guy who has the freedom to sign with anybody he chooses, especially when its his hometown team.
ryan longwell to the vikings....for the second year in a row, the purple horn blowers swipe one of the packers castoffs. last year it was darren sharper, who was cut after a pair of sub-par seasons in which he struggled with injury, and refused to rework a contract which would have counted some $9 against the cap. this year, it was longwell, the career team leader in almost every statistical category a kicker could acheive. why? because ted thompson still has the mindset of the '80's, which is that kickers are a dime a dozen, and you can find 1 anywhere. dont be suprised to see them draft 1 in the 3rd round. dont laugh, they've wasted 3rd round picks on punters already.
Anything with the Cards is "I'll believe it when I see it." That organization is poison.
The 49ers probably moved Lloyd because he was a troublemaker. I'd be pissed off too if I was playing for the Niners. Look for him to have a nice season this year.
i just dont get why he signed an extension a month ago, if he didnt want to be there. perhaps because he didnt think anyone would go after him as a free agent. once again, he wasnt thinking, as he must have forgotten about daniel snyder and the wheelin and dealin redskins front office.
I agree with you that James is a great back and partly responsible for the Colts success, but if they give the ball to Rhodes or bring in someone else, say Jamal Lewis, he will be successful. Defenses can not focus on both Peyton and a quality RB. James was at least partly successful because he had Peyton at QB.
As to defense, the Colts were much improved the entire year in defense. It was their offense that let them down against the Steelers.
socal - It is rare that I feel compelled to address you, but this is one of those occasions.
Bring in Jamal Lewis and "he will be successful" ???
Do you watch football? Jamal is a bruiser who can't catch a cold out of the backfield and has never been particularly known for his blocking. If you are going to throw out names, avoid the word "successful".
What the Colts *will* do is draft someone who has an all around game that neither Lewis nor Mr. MVP Shaun Alexander possess. They lack the draft position to make a Edge type splash, but don't count them out of a move up in the 1st round.
Colts losing Edge is huge. Lewis could never replace Edge because Jamal is useless out of the backfield. I think the Cards signing Edgerrin shows they want to actually improve their team for next year. Pete Prisco from CBS was saying that you don't pay 28 year old RBs that kind of money. But it's only a 4 year contract and the signing bonus isn't that bad. The Edge is a huge upgrade in what they had and I commend the Cardinals for actually using their immense cap room. Now one team I'm disappointed in is Green Bay. For a team with alot of cap space, they have only resigned Kampman. I know Ted Thompson is known for building teams through the draft rather than FA, but come on now. With as many holes as the Packers have, they need to sign some quality guys. Letting Hutchinson and Bentley go and not aggressively pursuing them will hurt the Pack in the long run. If they are satisfied with the mediocre line that played last year, be my guest. Also, I hope that the signing of Kampman doesn't show the Pack won't draft Mario Williams with the 5th pick or trade down for some #### player. AJ Hawk would be a good pick also, but they need a pass rush and KJB is not the answer. I guess time will tell.
Colts losing Edge is huge. Lewis could never replace Edge because Jamal is useless out of the backfield. I think the Cards signing Edgerrin shows they want to actually improve their team for next year. Pete Prisco from CBS was saying that you don't pay 28 year old RBs that kind of money. But it's only a 4 year contract and the signing bonus isn't that bad. The Edge is a huge upgrade in what they had and I commend the Cardinals for actually using their immense cap room. Now one team I'm disappointed in is Green Bay. For a team with alot of cap space, they have only resigned Kampman. I know Ted Thompson is known for building teams through the draft rather than FA, but come on now. With as many holes as the Packers have, they need to sign some quality guys. Letting Hutchinson and Bentley go and not aggressively pursuing them will hurt the Pack in the long run. If they are satisfied with the mediocre line that played last year, be my guest. Also, I hope that the signing of Kampman doesn't show the Pack won't draft Mario Williams with the 5th pick or trade down for some #### player. AJ Hawk would be a good pick also, but they need a pass rush and KJB is not the answer. I guess time will tell.
I was shocked to see the Cardinals get James, it is so huge!! Warner is getting old, but his primary problem is that he lacks mobility and if he is the quarterback for the team with the worste rushing game in the NFL that spells trouble. His numbers were actually quite good for running for his life and I see him doing big things next year with "the edge" taking some of the pressure off of him, great move by the Cardinals.
The Redskins got Brandon Lloyd for a song. Maybe he was a trouble maker for the 49ers but on that awful team can you blame him for complaining? Think about it. Santana Moss, Lloyd, Portis, and Cooley. If their O-Line plays halfway decent even Brunell should have a field day next year. On paper the Skins look real good already.
the packers would have had no shot at bentley. shoot, philly thought they had him wrapped up, and he still went to cleveland. he's playing in his hometown. hutchinson? i'm happy as pie they didnt try signing him. seattle would have matched any reasonable offer, and minnesota's offer is just insane. not to mention, as you said, thompson likes to build through the draft. which translates into he's cheap and doesnt like spending money. they did sign marquand manuel at safety, so they havent been completely idle.
Since when did Lloyd become good? he is slow, makes one-handed catches, but doesn't get separation, is inconsistent, and can't block, I guess as long as he is not T.O., mediocrity is praised. This is why the 49ers are terrible, their second #1 receiver that they traded and got absolutely nothing. At least this time there is no production loss since Lloyd
REC
48 YDS
733 AVG
15.3 TD
5 , is very replaceable!
I hope all the money is worth it for Edgerrin to leave a winning franchise. If the Cardinals don't get their #### together, he might go insane there. On the other side of the coin, it looks like the Cardinals (and Browns) will improve. After all the dust settles, I'm looking forward to another year of parity.
Brandon Lloyd really could have the good numbers if he had an offense around him. I'm sure I saw more of the 49ers then any of you, and he can make plays, his QB just can't get the ball to him.
Jamal Lewis as a replacement?? Hell, they are better off with Rhodes or Mungro. Jamal is terrible, and can barely get 3 a carry.
I had a friend pitch me the idea to trade Rhodes and their 1st round, to get a higher pick in order to get LenDale White. Not sure if he would be the solution. Without a running game, the Colts WILL NOT make the Super Bowl.
do you also want to tell me how good Brandon Stokely is? He did really well this year. some guys benefit from the players around him, and Lloyd is one,he was the #1 option and still only had so so numbers, Boldin had jeff blake and others throwing to him and he went to the pro bowl. I guess lloyds big numbers would be 60 or 70 catches and 1000 yds. If you watch the Niners so much tell why don't they play Rashaun Woods and let him prove on the field that he is such a bust?
DatSTAR - Are you watching football with a blindfold on? Since Lloyd was the only option for the 49ers that should make it HARDER for him to catch passes not easier. You've said a lot of baseless things about football and it just makes me wonder what game you are watching. Lloyd is a solid addition with great hands who will make an impact on the Redskins. Done and done.
I agree that Kevan Barlow sucks. Ever since he signed that $20 million contract 2 yrs ago he hasn't ran for over a 1,000 yards. Of course his offensive line sucks but Domanick Davis of the Houston Texans ran close to a 1,000 yards with a worse offensive line. The problem here is job security. Barlow believes he has no competition for the job since Frank Gore has injury problems(both shoulders) even though he rushed for more yards with less carries. They need to trade this guy away whatever the cost. He's become complacent and hasn't delivered as he promised 2 years ago. The problem with the niners is that they hyped Barlow up too much and now they're paying for it through games lost and money as well. If I was paying someone $20 million in 4 years and hasn't done their job I'd get rid of him. Its just too much money. Even if they are given weak draft picks for him take it.
