James to Arizona

Sometimes it's all about the money.

 

The Colts just didn't have enough.  Edgerrin James signed a 4-year deal worth $30 million with the Arizona Cardinals.  It's no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention.  Polian has been bracing us for this all week with is talk about how little cap room the Colts actually have.  Of course, that didn't stop us Colts fans from holding out hope that we might be able to retain the franchise's all-time leading rusher.  No such luck.

 

You certainly can't blame James for taking the kind of deal that he deserves.  He's put in seven fantastic seasons in the NFL and he deserves a big payday.  Unfortunately, that was something the Colts couldn't provide him.  We are all lucky for the opportunity to watch James play for the Colts and I wish him well in Arizona - unless they're facing the Colts.

 

Now what?

 

Obviously, the Colts don't have much ability to fill this gaping hole through free agency so they'll probably have to rely on the draft to find a new feature back.  Polian is historically great at finding the right talent in the draft, but the tailback position is tough to fill.  Even if Polian manages to find the next James in this upcoming draft, there will be the standard adjustment period for him to get up to NFL speed.  The biggest concern will be the rookie's ability to recognize pass coverage and pick up the blitz.  This will be the one thing that the Colts will miss most about James as they adjust to the post-James era.

 

Let's just hope that Polian has something up his sleeve.