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James Revels In Being Featured Back Again

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By KATHERINE SMITH

ksmith@tampatrib.com

Published: January 27, 2009

TAMPA - Edgerrin James isn't known for being flashy.

Sure, he has a Lamborghini parked outside the Cardinals' hotel this week, but that's by design.

"I said if I ever get to the Super Bowl, I would do something that I wouldn't normally do," James said. "So I wanted something that was nice and fast and that everybody don't have."

The car is about the only thing James has done to call attention to himself. Though frustrated by a lack of involvement in Arizona's offense earlier in the season, there never was a sideline tantrum, a la Anquan Boldin, by James.

"Nobody else can complain about their time or role on the team if the superstar on our team has acted gracefully in that situation," Arizona wide receiver Sean Morey said. "He really, truly earned a lot of respect from the team. We understood that it is more about the team than any one individual. He encapsulated that lesson."

The Immokalee High and University of Miami product would rather be seen than heard. And this postseason, there has been a lot of James to see. Once relegated to the background, the tailback has sprung to the forefront and is reveling in his increased role - a role that helped lead his team to Super Bowl XLIII.

James started seven of the 13 regular-season games he appeared in, averaging only 39.5 rushing yards, as rookie Tim Hightower became the featured back.

In stark contrast, James leads the NFL in the postseason with 203 rushing yards.

"You want to play. This year, I worked extremely hard in the offseason," James said. "You actually want to play because you put in so much work in the offseason and you want to build on the previous year.

"The previous year, I had 1,200 yards and that was in a new system and I was expecting to build on it. At training camp, we were doing certain things that it looked like it was going to be promising, then all of a sudden, we were going in a different direction."

The direction the Cardinals are headed now has led James to Tampa, not far from his hometown of Immokalee. He credits his small-town upbringing with keeping him grounded during his times of frustration.

"There's a lot that goes with being an NFL player, the way you conduct yourself and the way you go about things," James said. "Just growing up in Immokalee, the city of Immokalee and the people in Miami, I think that's what molded me."

Though he departed Indianapolis for Arizona in 2006, he was still so highly thought of by his former Colts teammates that they gave him a Super Bowl ring when they won two years ago. James wants to add another to the collection - one he earns on the field.

"To get another ring, the more the better," James said. "But to actually play in the game and get one, that would be special also."

As far as his Cardinals teammates are concerned, if anyone deserves this moment in his career, it's James.

"He's a constant professional," Morey said. "He's a great role model for all our guys in the locker room - the way he practices, the way he studies film. All the things you guys don't get to see, we see it day in and day out.

"He's the standard to which a lot of guys set themselves."

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860.

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