Edge

by shake n bake on Jun 20, 2008 2:39 AM EDT in Analysis Comment 4 comments

With all the Edge nostalgia flowing in the comments of the last story I think it's time to look at his place in history.

Edgerrin James burst onto the stage leading the league in rushing and topping 2,000 yards from scrimmage in both of his first two seasons in the NFL. Those high totals came at a high cost when in his third season Edge buckled under the punishment of over 950 carries in 2 1/2 years.

He was never the same explosive back after the knee injury, but his great blocking and receiving skills along with a pounding running style allowed him to remain elite. Even after leaving Indy Edge continued to turn out 1,100+ yard seasons on the ground and contribute in the passing game.

Edge is the active leader in both rushing yards and yards from scrimmage. I'll use his average in two seasons with the Cardinals to estimate how fast he moves up. The Cardinals might get better, helping James, but Edge's skills will start to decline soon if they haven't started to already.

Rank/Player/Career Rushing Yards/Lead/Years to pass

1.	Emmitt Smith	18,355	6748	6
2.	Walter Payton	16,726	5119	5
3.	Barry Sanders+	15,269	3662	4
4.	Curtis Martin	14,101	2494	3
5.	Jerome Bettis	13,662	2055	2
6.	Eric Dickerson+	13,259	1652	2
7.	Tony Dorsett+	12,739	1132	1
8.	Jim Brown+	12,312	705	1
9.	Marshall Faulk	12,279	672	1
10.	Marcus Allen+	12,243	636	1
11.	Franco Harris+	12,120	513	1
12.	Thurman Thomas+	12,074	467	1
13.	Edgerrin James (29)	11,607	-----
14.	John Riggins+	11,352
15.	Corey Dillon	11,241
16.	O.J. Simpson+	11,236
17.	Fred Taylor (31)	10,715	-892	N/A
18.	LaDainian Tomlinson (28)	10,650	-957	-3
19.	Ricky Watters	10,643
20.	Tiki Barber	10,449

(Stats from and Tables modified from Pro Football Reference)

Rank/Player/Yards from scrimmage/Lead/Years to pass

1.	Jerry Rice	23,540	8673	7
2.	Emmitt Smith	21,579	6712	5
3.	Walter Payton+	21,264	6397	5
4.	Marshall Faulk	19,154	4287	3
5.	Barry Sanders+	18,190	3323	3
6.	Marcus Allen+	17,654	2787	2
7.	Curtis Martin	17,430	2563	2
8.	Thurman Thomas+	16,532	1665	2
9.	Tony Dorsett+	16,293	1426	2
10.	Tiki Barber	15,632	765	1
11.	Eric Dickerson+	15,396	529	1
12.	Tim Brown	15,124	257	1
13.	Jerome Bettis	15,111	244	1
14.	Ricky Watters	14,891	24	1
15.	Edgerrin James (29)	14,867	-----	----
16.	Jim Brown+	14,811
17.	Franco Harris+	14,407
18.	Isaac Bruce (35)	14,259	-608	N/A
19.	James Lofton+	14,250
20.	Warrick Dunn (32)	14,190	-677	N/A
21.	LaDainian Tomlinson (28)	14,025	-842	-2
22.	Marvin Harrison (35)	13,972	-895	N/A

Edge is currently 4th among active players in rushing touchdowns.

Rank/Player/Rushing Touchdowns/Lead/Years to pass

1	Emmitt Smith	164	87	14
2	Marcus Allen	123	46	7
3	LaDainian Tomlinson(28)	115	38	6+
4	Walter Payton	110	33	6
5	Jim Brown	106	29	5
6	John Riggins	104	27	5
7	Shaun Alexander(30)	100	23	4+
	Marshall Faulk	100	23	4
9	Barry Sanders	99	22	4
10	Jerome Bettis	91	14	3
	Franco Harris	91	14	3
12	Eric Dickerson	90	13	2
	Curtis Martin	90	13	2
14	Priest Holmes	86	9	2
15	Jim Taylor	83	6	1
16	Corey Dillon	82	5	1
17	Ottis Anderson	81	4	1
18	Ricky Watters	78	1	1
19	Tony Dorsett	77	0	1
	Edgerrin James	77	---	--

Edge is currently 13th in rushing yards, 15th in rushing plus receiving and 19th in TDs. He is 7th in the history of the league in rushing yards per game and despite having the most carries of any active player, Edge ranks 19th among active players in fumbles.

Just continuing the level of production he's had while with Cardinals for another 2 years will put him in or just outside the top 5 in both yardages and top 10 in TDs. James has surpassed the career production of multiple HOF backs before his 30th birthday. His continued production after leaving Indy proves he was more than just a production of the talent around him. Edgerrin is a Hall of Fame back and one of the best ever to play in Indy.

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Comments

Edge Vs. LT

I have a couple of friends at work who always brag about LT. Is there any way someone can do a comparison between Edge and LT. I’m tired of listening to the LT this and LT that form these Chargers fans.
JamRed

by JamRed1 on Jun 20, 2008 9:56 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

short answer

In two less years LT has averaged similar yards per year and has scored an insane number of TDs. He’s only a year younger than Edge so it’s possible he would catch Edge in yards, but Edge isn’t catching him in touchdowns. It goes back to Edges big flaw, for whatever reason he’s not a good goal line back, despite being a powerful runner everywhere else on the field he doesn’t do well punching it into the endzone.

They ball when they can and I'm ballin' by nature
Addicted to the game like Jordan and Peyton
-Lil' Wayne "Fireman"

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by shake n bake on Jun 20, 2008 12:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Terrific! Thanks for providing all Colt's (Edge) fans this info

I’m sure that prepapring these sort of analyses is time consuming and thankless. But they provide us with so much good information that we really have our “ducks in a row” when it comes time for football debating with some of the opposition’s neanderthal fans. This is why our football team is elite, and our fans are/remain elite in the NFL. Because cats like shake and bake go the extra mile and provide us with our most valuable commodity, knowledge. Truly, had Edge not been slowed down by the injury, the sky is the limit, probably, but undoubtedly, Edge will retire rich and successful, with his place secure in the halls of football Vallhalla!
Thanks shake and bake. Kudos.

by peterbones on Jun 20, 2008 11:54 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs