Anyone that is confused about Edgerrin James being benched in Arizona needs to watch this.
James might not even be on the roster next year if Hightower continues to run like he did Sunday against the Rams.
Tag: Edgerrin James (Page 4 of 4)
There has been some talk recently of Edgerrin James having his workload reduced by the Cardinals, with Tim Hightower getting the extra work. Paola Boivin of AZCentral.com dug into the story.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt never said Hightower was supplanting James. He simply said Monday, when asked, that he is open to the possibility.
“I think we’ve shown we’re going to play with the players that we feel give us the best chance to win,” he said. “We’ve done that with the quarterbacks, we’ve done that with linebacker, with the offensive line.
“At a point we feel Tim gives us the best chance to win, then absolutely. Just don’t think we’ll judge it based on just yesterday’s game. It’s a process.”
After averaging 20 carries in the Cardinals’ first three games, James has carried nine and seven times, respectively, in the past two.
Hightower carried seven and six in those games but has six touchdowns overall to James’ three.
The scenario is complicated by a recent offensive shift to a pass-heavy attack. Against Carolina, the Cardinals had 14 carries to 51 pass attempts in part because the Panthers frequently had seven or eight players in the box, creating situations such as one of the touchdown passes to Boldin, when he was covered by only a linebacker.
On the season, James has 118 touches (108 carries, 10 receptions) while Hightower has 65 (49 carries, 16 receptions), which represents a 65/35 split. However, over the last two games, James has 16 touches to Hightower’s 19, a 45/55 split. Lately, it certainly seems like the Cardinals are intent on giving Hightower more work. But as long as James is on the roster and able to play, I don’t think we’re going to see him get 6-7 touches to Hightower’s 20.
This looks like a RBBC for now, and Hightower has more fantasy value because of his receptions (in PPR leagues) and goal line work.
Racking up yards in the NFL looks easy, but these guys take a beating like nobody else in football. The ones that do it year in and year out are just tough physical specimens who are also quick and elusive, and probably work their butts off in the gym. Here is a list of the active career rushing leaders…..
1. Edgerrin James, Arizona Cardinals (11,970)—Most of these yards were in Indianapolis playing in one of the best offenses in NFL history. But Edge is still only 30…and no, that’s not a typo.
2. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (11,096)—LT needs to get over his toe injury and have a few LT-like games to climb past James. If he doesn’t do it this season, he will in 2009.
3. Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars (10,957)—Taylor and WR Joey Galloway are those older players who just won’t go away. Just when you think they have reached the peaks of their careers, they drink from the fountain of youth, as Taylor did last year with 1202 yards.
4. Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay Bucs (10,604)—Dunn only has 48 career touchdowns, but this guy has always had breakaway speed in the open field.
5. Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns (9508)—He tormented Cleveland for years with those “former Browns” known as the Baltimore Ravens. Now he’s one of the good guys.
6. Shaun Alexander, Washington Redskins (9437)—Was it as weird for you to see Alexander in a Redskins uniform last week as it was for me? Clinton Portis has rushed for the equivalent of a few country miles the last few weeks, so Alexander could see some action soon.
7. Ahman Green, Houston Texans (8929)—He can’t seem to stay on the field, but when he does, he still has skills. Could Green now be used as a touchdown vulture to Steve Slaton?
8. Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins (8533)—I always want to avoid this guy in my fantasy drafts, but then he always comes back to haunt me when I play against him.
9. Ricky Williams, Miami Dolphins (7363)—Williams, who likes to smoke reefer, missed the 2004 season, the 2006 season, and 15 games of the 2007 season. Yet, he’s still on this list. Well, those 1853 yards in 2002 have something to do with that.
10. Thomas Jones, New York Jets (6981)—Julius’ older brother has had a nice career, but you get the feeling he is on the downside of it, don’t you?
Source: Pro Football Reference
FOLLOW US!
CATEGORIES
© 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑