James vs Alexander

[mkapp]

Maybe it is just me but it seems that if the Cards are gong to go after a big name free agent RB, then Alexander would be the better choice. He has had less injuries and seems to have better stats. Edge had a huge injury a few years back. Unless James' talent is overshadowed/hidden by the rest of the names in Indy (Manning, Marvin, Wayne, Stokley...etc) it just doesnt seem like he would be the best option. The other factor that I am unaware of is what the two teams want in return. I thought Seattle said "less than a number 1" but I could be wrong. I am out of the loop on the whole thing, and maybe some of you die-hards with all the info can get me straight. So who is better?

 

[azdad1978]

Maybe it is just me but it seems that if the Cards are gong to go after a big name free agent RB, then Alexander would be the better choice. He has had less injuries and seems to have better stats.

Not gonna happen. The Seahags won't trade a elite player inside their division.

 

[spanky1]

I just have a terrible feeling that Edge James would be a mistake for us. It's not just that he had a pretty bad ACL injury not too long ago (yes I know, he has seemingly overcome it, a la McGahee) but I think trying to sign him will have cap implications that will set us back at some point.

I realize that we need a solid RB to make Green's vertical passing offense shine (and that Manning was able to execute this type of offense perfectly as a result of having Edge in the backfield) but I think that this years RB class in the draft will produce a solid answer in either rounds #1 or #2.

I guess I might be more inclined to consider him if we had a better idea as to what was the eventual outcome of Shelton, Clement, Thompson etc. and what will happen with Boldin. I believe that we have a playoff calibre team this year (although not ready to compete for the whole enchillada yet). I don't think signing Edge gets us there this year anyway.

The chemistry of this team is being built by finding players who have something to prove.......developing our own talent with an eye to establishing a "family". I'm not too sure that James has this characteristic. He has nothing to prove. He's at the time in his career where it's about the chance to go for the gold (don't get me wrong. I understand that).

This is the year to stockpile high draft picks if possible and to get to the point when we are only one player away from getting to the big dance. That's when an Edgerinn James comes into play.

As always.......JMHO.

 

[JeffGollin]

This is the year to stockpile high draft picks if possible
We went that route 2 years ago (i.e. Pace and Johnson instead of Suggs) and found out what it's like when you sacrifice quality for quality.

Granted, this time we'd have Dennis bringing his "magic touch" to the drafting board, but I think this franchise has developed far enough so that we needn't make a hard & fast rule of stockpiling picks when we have the opportunity to add proven talent (when it makes sense).

Whatever direction we go isn't without its risks: We could draft one of the top 3 RB's and have him turn out to be Thomas Jones. James could reinjure the knee. Or our drafted RB could get injured (What's the life-expectancy of RBs? 4 years?)

But it seems to me that James is a proven entity. We've seen him run the ball and his last year's 1500+ yard numbers suggests he's recovered from the knee injury. We haven't had a 1500 yard rusher since...class? ...class?... Buehler? ... anyone?...zzz.

(Note - The only 1500+ rusher we ever had in the history of the franchise was in 1979 - Ottis Anderson with 1605).

(Another Note - Our only 1000+ rushers were John David Crowe with 1,071 in 1960, Jim Otis with 1,076 in 1975, Anderson with five 1,000+ years from 1979 to 1984, Stump Mitchell with 1,006 in 1985, Ronald Moore with 1,018 in 1993 and Adrian Murrell with 1,042 in 1998. We haven't had a 1,000 yard rusher in six years).