Published: Thursday, August 27, 2009
Newest Seahawk says: ‘I just want to win’
Edgerrin James says he’s comfortable playing a ‘complementary’ role in Seattle’s backfield
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Mike Siegel / Seattle Times
Julius Jones (right) and fellow running back Edgerrin James talk during the Seattle Seahawks’ practice Wednesday in Renton. James, the NFL’s leading active rusher, signed a one-year contract with the Seahawks late Tuesday.
RENTON — Edgerrin James spent much of his first practice as a Seahawk watching from the sideline and asking questions of fellow running back Julius Jones.
After practice, James said he knows he wasn’t signed to replace Jones as Seattle’s starter. James, once one of the top running backs in the NFL, will complement Jones in the running game, and the former Indianapolis Colt and Arizona Cardinal said he’s ready to embrace that role.
“In this day and age in the NFL, everything is pretty much two backs,” James said. “I’m not here to compete with Julius, I’m here to complement him and for us to work together. I just want to win.”
James participated in limited drills after having missed the first three weeks of training camp, and both he and Seahawks coach Jim Mora said they didn’t know if he would play in the preseason game Saturday at Kansas City.
At 31, James is a year past the age when many running backs have experienced a noticeable drop in production. But he and the Seahawks think he has enough left in the tank to still be a valuable part of the offense, though not in a starring role.
“You have to consider his age,” Mora said. “It’s irresponsible if you don’t, and we did. We talked about it at great length. But the fact of the matter is that he’s going to be a complementary back to Julius. Julius is going to be our workhorse, our lead dog, and to be able to get a guy of Edgerrin’s caliber, and of his personality, and of his pedigree I guess you want to say, to come in here and do what he’s going to do, it’s really a bonus for us.”
Mora said that in evaluating James, the Seahawks looked at his performance over Arizona’s last four games last season, and still saw a player who can be a productive back. The endorsement of the elder Jim Mora, who coached James in Indianapolis, didn’t hurt either.
“I take my dad’s opinions pretty seriously, and he told me that this was one of his favorite football players of all time — a great locker-room guy, a great teammate,” Mora said. “So I’m looking forward to what he can add to this team.”
Of course adding James meant somebody had to go, and that ended up being T.J. Duckett, who excelled as a short-yardage back, but didn’t fit into the offense in many other situations last season.
“I have a long history with T.J. and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and think he’s a very good football player in this league,” said Mora, who coached Duckett in Atlanta. “It was our opinion, as a staff, as an organization, that at this point, he was a little bit more of a role player for us, and we were looking for more of a complementary player.”
And while James may have a new role this year, he is wearing his familiar No. 32, which was given up by cornerback Kevin Hobbs. Hobbs said he gave the number up without being asked because James is a veteran who has earned that respect, but James said the gesture won’t go unnoticed.
“I’ll keep that between me and him, but he’ll be happy,” James said.
Mora dismisses rumor
A blog posting on NFL.com Tuesday speculated that left tackle Walter Jones, who had his knee scoped last week, could be out for the season. Mora addressed that post Wednesday, saying he doesn’t have any reason to believe that Jones won’t be back.
“That’s all rumors and speculation,” Mora said. “That’s just some guy that decides that he wants to throw it out there and see if it sticks. ... People can say what they want, and speculate whatever they want, but I feel confident that he’ll be ready to go here shortly. I’m not in his mind, I can just tell you what I see. ... That’s my expectation. I don’t sense anything other than that from him. I haven’t heard a whisper of that from anyone in the organization that’s close to him — not a whisper.”
Injury report
In addition to the longer-term injuries of Jones, Marcus Trufant (back) and Chris Spencer (quad), the Seahawks also were without linebacker David Hawthorne (knee) and cornerback Travis Fisher (hamstring).
Hawthorne has a mild MCL sprain, Mora said, but should be back for Saturday’s game. Fisher is likely out this weekend.
After practice, James said he knows he wasn’t signed to replace Jones as Seattle’s starter. James, once one of the top running backs in the NFL, will complement Jones in the running game, and the former Indianapolis Colt and Arizona Cardinal said he’s ready to embrace that role.
“In this day and age in the NFL, everything is pretty much two backs,” James said. “I’m not here to compete with Julius, I’m here to complement him and for us to work together. I just want to win.”
James participated in limited drills after having missed the first three weeks of training camp, and both he and Seahawks coach Jim Mora said they didn’t know if he would play in the preseason game Saturday at Kansas City.
At 31, James is a year past the age when many running backs have experienced a noticeable drop in production. But he and the Seahawks think he has enough left in the tank to still be a valuable part of the offense, though not in a starring role.
“You have to consider his age,” Mora said. “It’s irresponsible if you don’t, and we did. We talked about it at great length. But the fact of the matter is that he’s going to be a complementary back to Julius. Julius is going to be our workhorse, our lead dog, and to be able to get a guy of Edgerrin’s caliber, and of his personality, and of his pedigree I guess you want to say, to come in here and do what he’s going to do, it’s really a bonus for us.”
Mora said that in evaluating James, the Seahawks looked at his performance over Arizona’s last four games last season, and still saw a player who can be a productive back. The endorsement of the elder Jim Mora, who coached James in Indianapolis, didn’t hurt either.
“I take my dad’s opinions pretty seriously, and he told me that this was one of his favorite football players of all time — a great locker-room guy, a great teammate,” Mora said. “So I’m looking forward to what he can add to this team.”
Of course adding James meant somebody had to go, and that ended up being T.J. Duckett, who excelled as a short-yardage back, but didn’t fit into the offense in many other situations last season.
“I have a long history with T.J. and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him, and think he’s a very good football player in this league,” said Mora, who coached Duckett in Atlanta. “It was our opinion, as a staff, as an organization, that at this point, he was a little bit more of a role player for us, and we were looking for more of a complementary player.”
And while James may have a new role this year, he is wearing his familiar No. 32, which was given up by cornerback Kevin Hobbs. Hobbs said he gave the number up without being asked because James is a veteran who has earned that respect, but James said the gesture won’t go unnoticed.
“I’ll keep that between me and him, but he’ll be happy,” James said.
Mora dismisses rumor
A blog posting on NFL.com Tuesday speculated that left tackle Walter Jones, who had his knee scoped last week, could be out for the season. Mora addressed that post Wednesday, saying he doesn’t have any reason to believe that Jones won’t be back.
“That’s all rumors and speculation,” Mora said. “That’s just some guy that decides that he wants to throw it out there and see if it sticks. ... People can say what they want, and speculate whatever they want, but I feel confident that he’ll be ready to go here shortly. I’m not in his mind, I can just tell you what I see. ... That’s my expectation. I don’t sense anything other than that from him. I haven’t heard a whisper of that from anyone in the organization that’s close to him — not a whisper.”
Injury report
In addition to the longer-term injuries of Jones, Marcus Trufant (back) and Chris Spencer (quad), the Seahawks also were without linebacker David Hawthorne (knee) and cornerback Travis Fisher (hamstring).
Hawthorne has a mild MCL sprain, Mora said, but should be back for Saturday’s game. Fisher is likely out this weekend.
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