For those that think Edge is the answer.

[gohard83]

Edge is not even ranked in the top 22 RBs in the NFL. The last RB is Lendale White with 22 big plays over 10 yards and Edge only has 16. Yup, that's even worse than Shaun Alexander (the softest RB in football). I don't know about you guys but we definately need a home run hitter in the back field. He's ranked 15th in the NFC and there 16 RBs in the conference so you do the math.




http://hosted.stats.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=NFL&type=Rushing&rank=069&year=


That's funny because Edge is 4th best in stuffs/carry. That means he isn't making the right cut or read after hitting the hole. Plus he doesn't have the ability to break tackles or the legs to make a long play.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Edge is not even ranked in the top 22 RBs in the NFL. The last RB is Lendale White with 22 big plays over 10 yards and Edge only has 16. Yup, that's even worse than Shaun Alexander (the softest RB in football). I don't know about you guys but we definately need a home run hitter in the back field. He's ranked 15th in the NFC and there 16 RBs in the conference so you do the math.




http://hosted.stats.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=NFL&type=Rushing&rank=069&year=


That's funny because Edge is 4th best in stuffs/carry. That means he isn't making the right cut or read after hitting the hole. Plus he doesn't have the ability to break tackles or the legs to make a long play.

I disagree. I think Edge broke an insane amount of tackles, also I can't see where his "stuffs/carry" is his fault and not the offensive lines.

A homerum hitter would be nice, but who can we get ?

Edge has had back to back 1,000 seasons and is only the second RB to do that in Cardinal's history. Plus he has never been a "big play" back, never claimed to be, and never will be. I would love to see what Edge's yard after contact stats are, tho. Plus if you base things on just this stat then Steven Jackson is even worse than Edge, so really it is a relative arguement.

Edge may not be the whole answer, but IMHO he is part of it. I would like to see a 2 back system next year.

That is a pretty cool site tho.

 

[Second Deck]

How many home run hitters have we had since the Cards came to AZ. I would like to get an LT but we don't have him so I am satisfied with Edge and his 4 yards per carry. We are nuts if we get rid of Edge.

 

[imaCafan]

Don't forget, some of those top guys running behind our line probably wouldn't make the top 50. But NEXT YEAR, after we add Faneca........

 

[football karma]

Interesting stats

here is the one I found interesting:

Yard per Carry by attempts:

Carry 1-10: 4.2 yards
Carry 11-20: 3.5 yards
Carry 21+: 3.0 yards

Just eyeballing other backs, some drop off but not not as dramatically while others get better.

This makes me wonder if he is just getting worn down at this stage in his career.

 

[john h]

Edge is not even ranked in the top 22 RBs in the NFL. The last RB is Lendale White with 22 big plays over 10 yards and Edge only has 16. Yup, that's even worse than Shaun Alexander (the softest RB in football). I don't know about you guys but we definitely need a home run hitter in the back field. He's ranked 15th in the NFC and there 16 RBs in the conference so you do the math.

I think Edge's effectiveness rest on the guys on the OL and our ability to pass the ball. He could be an all pro or he could gain 800 yds depending on just how these other things pan out. Some guys like the Bus could always be counted on to gain yardage due to their size and strength. Edge is not that type of player. He has the heart and lb of lb is strong but he needs good guys surrounding him to realize his potential. You cannot look at him in a vacuum like we did Hearst.

 

[DaisyCutter]

I'm not sure that Edge is an answer to a whole lot of questions other than: Who is the best Running back on the Arizona Cardinals right now?

If the Cards knew that Edgerrin James probably wouldn't be on the squad in 2008, they really pulled a ***** by passing on Adrian Peterson. Levi Brown is just all right; they could have gotten equal production from someone like Tony Ugoh in Round 2. Now they're going to have to locate another RB either in the draft or free agency, which will draw resources that are better suited to other areas of the team.

This franchise has done a good job of locating wide receivers, but I'm not sure how anyone can have faith in their ability to find productive running backs. Because Edge's cap number is relatively low for 2008, we're better off keeping him until we know there's a better option on the roster.

 

[Dr. Jones]

Interesting stats

here is the one I found interesting:

Yard per Carry by attempts:

Carry 1-10: 4.2 yards
Carry 11-20: 3.5 yards
Carry 21+: 3.0 yards

Just eyeballing other backs, some drop off but not not as dramatically while others get better.

This makes me wonder if he is just getting worn down at this stage in his career.

Now THAT is an awesome stat. Looks like the thing Edge wants (more carries) is exactly what he doesn't deserve.

As far as the draft is concerned.... We shouldn't compound one mistake (passing on AP) with another (Drafting Stewart). We have too many needs to want that to happen.

 

[football karma]

As far as the draft is concerned.... We shouldn't compound one mistake (passing on AP) with another (Drafting Stewart). We have too many needs to want that to happen.

arent you saying that: We made a mistake in drafting for need in 2007, so we should draft for need in 2008.

 

[DaisyCutter]

Interesting stats

here is the one I found interesting:

Yard per Carry by attempts:

Carry 1-10: 4.2 yards
Carry 11-20: 3.5 yards
Carry 21+: 3.0 yards

Just eyeballing other backs, some drop off but not not as dramatically while others get better.

This makes me wonder if he is just getting worn down at this stage in his career.

CNN/SI has these splits: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/4652/rushing_splits.html

Carries 1-5 : 3.8
Carries 6-10 :4.6
Carries 11-15 :4.0
Carries 16-20 :2.8
Carries 21-25 :3.3
Carries 26-30 : 1.4

Another interesting thing is that while Gandy and Wells have been taking a lot of heat on this board, Edge has his best per-carry average over the left side.

These are Willis McGahee's per-carry splits. They're not too far off. It's hard to come up with teams in the NFL who don't share carries a ton. I think that Edge needs to be complemented, not discarded:

Carries 1-5 :3.7
Carries 6-10 :3.6
Carries 11-15 :6.0
Carries 16-20 :3.2
Carries 21-25 :4.2
Carries 26-30 :2.3

 

[Dr. Jones]

arent you saying that: We made a mistake in drafting for need in 2007, so we should draft for need in 2008.

I am saying that we made a mistake not taking BPA.

In every off season there are ebbs and flows that cannot be ignored. Losing Big meant we HAD to take an OL at #5.

IMO AP last year was a "Franchise Changing" player. Drafting him was too compelling not to make the pick. This year, there really is no chance to make a pick that can be that compelling at #16. because of that, we need to make more of a play towards need rather than BPA. Of course we will draft the BPA in a position of need. DE/CB/OT.

 

[joeshmo]

Now THAT is an awesome stat. Looks like the thing Edge wants (more carries) is exactly what he doesn't deserve.

As far as the draft is concerned.... We shouldn't compound one mistake (passing on AP) with another (Drafting Stewart). We have too many needs to want that to happen.

Edge never asked for more carries. He question his lack of touches and lack of being apart of the game plan, concerning having his lowest reception total of his career.

 

[cardsfanmd]

Edge is not even ranked in the top 22 RBs in the NFL. The last RB is Lendale White with 22 big plays over 10 yards and Edge only has 16. Yup, that's even worse than Shaun Alexander (the softest RB in football). I don't know about you guys but we definately need a home run hitter in the back field. He's ranked 15th in the NFC and there 16 RBs in the conference so you do the math.




http://hosted.stats.com/fb/leaders.asp?range=NFL&type=Rushing&rank=069&year=


That's funny because Edge is 4th best in stuffs/carry. That means he isn't making the right cut or read after hitting the hole. Plus he doesn't have the ability to break tackles or the legs to make a long play.

Every post you write is a tad less ******** than the one before. That was the only nice thing I could think to say.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Edge never asked for more carries. He question his lack of touches and lack of being apart of the game plan, concerning having his lowest reception total of his career.

It would help if he caught the ball when thrown to him. Edge has had his share of drops since comming to Arizona.

 

[BigRedMO]

How many RBs have the Cardinals drafted or signed as the answer to the running game only to have them fail in AZ and go on somewhere else to have productive careers? Maybe you need an effective offensive line to have a running game. Vikings have 2 Pro Bowl offensive linemen. The games are won or lost in the trenches. Detroit loves drafting WRs. Look at what that has got them.

 

[Dr. Jones]

How many RBs have the Cardinals drafted or signed as the answer to the running game only to have them fail in AZ and go on somewhere else to have productive careers? Maybe you need an effective offensive line to have a running game. Vikings have 2 Pro Bowl offensive linemen.

NICE!

 

[cardsfanmd]

How many RBs have the Cardinals drafted or signed as the answer to the running game only to have them fail in AZ and go on somewhere else to have productive careers? Maybe you need an effective offensive line to have a running game. Vikings have 2 Pro Bowl offensive linemen.

I agree 100%, but you may want to delete this before the rest of the board reads it and tells you that you're an idiot, the Vike's line blows and that AD is the second coming of Christ.

 

[D-Dogg]

Did anyone really say that edge was the answer?

However, he also isn't "the problem."

 

[cardsfanmd]

Did anyone really say that edge was the answer?

However, he also isn't "the problem."

 

[JeffGollin]

How's Your Wife? (Compared to Who?)

Rankings are interesting, but what they won't tell you is how valuable a player is to a team within the context of its system and the surrounding players.

I was compiling my (initial) Top 16 prospects list for the BRS and wanted to see if any RB's available in the draft were worth listing that high. I didn't.

I wasn't all that impressed by McFadden (who figures to be long gone anyway), I don't think Rice - at 200 lbs - can stand the pounding carrying the ball 25 - 30 times as a feature back and neither Mendenhall or Stuart have declared their eligibility for the draft yet.

While it may be true that Edge (whose 1222 total yardage figure and #7 ranking is nothing to sneeze at) may not have attractive stats in other areas, he has fit the bill within the context of what our run-blockers have been capable of - namely he consistently was able to "turn lemons into lemon-ade" (i.e. what should have been losses behind the LOS almost always resulted in positive yardage).

Given the inability of our O-line to open up bigger holes on a consistent basis, I'd rather see a pattern of +3, +3, +2, +5. +3. +8 than a pattern of -3, -4, 0, -2, -4, -2, +40 because it sustains drives and therefore affords Kurt and his receivers more opportunities to make big plays on non-running downs.

(Incidently, during those few times where Edge did see daylight, he did gain 10 - 15+ yards. It's just that there weren't many of those opportunities).

Unless we can upgrade our offensive line by (say) 25% or more, Edge may be our best option. And, if you accept the premise that no RB with feature potential in his first 2 years will be available in the draft, our only other option would be via trade or free agency (and that veteran would not come cheaply).

Bottom line - If not Edge, then "who?"

(Note - I remain to be convinced otherwise, but from what I saw of McFadden vs. Mizzou - If a defense stays in its gaps, maintains discipline and keeps him hemmed in, he doesn't have an answer - i.e. instead of lowering his shoulders and picking up whatever yards he could, he tended to get trapped back there. When holes are opened up for him, he's extremely dangerous, but it begs the question: Will the Cards next year have an O-line that opens up those kind of holes?)

 

[football karma]

CNN/SI has these splits: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/4652/rushing_splits.html

Carries 1-5 : 3.8
Carries 6-10 :4.6
Carries 11-15 :4.0
Carries 16-20 :2.8
Carries 21-25 :3.3
Carries 26-30 : 1.4

Another interesting thing is that while Gandy and Wells have been taking a lot of heat on this board, Edge has his best per-carry average over the left side.

good stuff--

I recognize statistics limitations. One explanation (other than Edge has lost it) is that that in the flow of the Cards pass oriented offense ( carries 1-15), Edge gets carries that have a good yards/attempt. Get the defense worrying pass and run against 7 man fronts.

Then, if the Cards have a late lead (which is when Edge is most likely to get 16 or more carries), the defense is expecting run, and given the Cards are not yet a dominant run blocking unit, the average goes down.

Here also is where Edge's lack of breakaway speed hurts his average. How many times have you seen a team load up to stop the run late and because of one missed tackle, the back goes for 40+ yards (i.e. Deangelo Williams in the Carolina game).

I am not on the "get rid of Edge" bandwagon -- I just think the team is in a spot, like last year, where they could very well get a top notch, franchise type back for the long term. Compounding this is the fact the Shipp and JJ havent shown anything.

Absent a more compelling player at #16, the Cardinals cant let the presence of Edge change their draft thinking on taking a RB.

 

[imaCafan]

The only way I would agree with dropping Edge is if we drafted McFadden. We have bigger needs, though, and would prefer a CB or DE in round 1 as well as FA. Sooooo, just say NO to letting Edge go........and to get McFadden we would have to give up a ton to move up far enough to get him......

 

[cardsfanmd]

I guess the easy question that is really telling is this: What would make our team better, trading Edge for Peterson or Trading Wells for Faneca?

I vote for the latter. Instead of moving up and blowing multiple picks to get McFadden, I think we can sign Faneca and get McFadden-like production from a second rounder.

 

[imaCafan]

Absent a more compelling player at #16, the Cardinals cant let the presence of Edge change their draft thinking on taking a RB.

Always BPA, within reason of course......

 

[imaCafan]

I guess the easy question that is really telling is this: What would make our team better, trading Edge for Peterson or Trading Wells for Faneca?

I vote for the latter. Instead of moving up and blowing multiple picks to get McFadden, I think we can sign Faneca and get McFadden-like production from a second rounder.