A JOVIAL EDGE

Running back Edgerrin James has been in a light-hearted mood minicamp weekend, and there could be several reasons for that.

For one, the Cardinals didn’t draft a running back high – Tim Hightower was a fifth-round choice and won’t unseat James anytime soon – so James remains the unquestioned starter. Second is the stability of the offense, which James said is so much better defined than it was during times in 2007.

“Last year, we really didn’t even know who we were,” James said. “Now, I think from a coaching staff standpoint, they know exactly what they want and what they have.”

But the biggest reason is because James has stayed away from Arizona since the end of the season, a process he always regards as important.

“If you stay around this is becomes mundane and kind of boring,” James said. “For me, that’s always something that makes me miss the game, getting totally away and rest and recovery. I (do) train. When I get bored, I train. I hang with my cousins, and the University of Miami, so I am always around them and I am always training.

“As far as being with the guys and playing football, you look forward to that because you have been away. If I had been here every week, I’d be like, ‘Same old (stuff)’ ”

James is expected to take part in at least some of the voluntary OTAs that begin later this month.

(azcardinals.com)