Joyner discusses Edge & Cardinals' running game

KC Joyner, the "Football Scientist" and espn.com contributor, has a new article that goes into great detail about the struggles of the Cardinals' O-line in 2005. If you don't have Espn Insider, you won't be able to access the article--and I really recommend getting Insider. Joyner alone makes it worthwhile. He analyzes a lot of game film, and has created his own statistics for rating players--essentially doing for football what sabremetrics has done for baseball. I can't recommend him enough.

While Joyner has some optimism that the Cardinals will succeed in implementing a zone blocking scheme (like the Colts), his article first addresses just how bad 'Zona's O-line was last year. By his metrics, the line consisted of one average performer and the remainder ranked near the bottom of the leage. The point of my earlier post was simply that their line is terrible, and simply adding James isn't going to give them a potent (or even competent) rushing attack. I simply disagree with Joyner as to whether the Cards can address this problem by implementing a new scheme. Even if they do, I suspect it may be weeks into the season before they enjoy any success.