How much will the lose of Edgerrin James hurt the Colts?

cubfanindy

You can't lose a guy as talented as Edgerrin James and not have it hurt the ballclub, but with the salary keep, you also can't realistically hope to keep everyone. The Colts did the right thing in letting Edge go and using that money to tie up some of the defense.

Edge brings a lot to the table, he can run, block, catch the ball, and most importantly, he helps Peyton sell the play action. I know Joseph Addai can run, but the other things? The play action is the biggest, followed by blocking. Will he be able to pick up the blitzer? I'm not so sure. Dominic Rhodes is not the answer. Addai will have the starting job by the end of camp. I like James Mungro, but he is not an everydown back. He'll come in to spell the other guy. I do like the way he runs - straight ahead, hit the holes, nothing fancy. Still, Joseph Addai will be the guy.
I think Peyton will work with him and make sure he can sell the play-fake. Peyton will not let him fail, and will be in his face until he gets it down. Also, the ever present threat of the pass will open up the run, which when established, opens up the pass, and keeps the defense guessing, and makes the play action that much more effective, as you never know what it's going to be. I'm just not sure how well he'll block. With the questions surrounding the offensive line, that's going to be key.

Even without Edge, I like the Colts chances. The defense is better, and with the offense, you don't need Addai to be great, you just need him to be good enough... and I think he'll be just that - good enough.