He came, he saw, he probably won't conquer but he might sign.
Emmitt Smith, who's toted the pigskin farther than anybody who's ever played, is anxious to prove he has something left, and the Cardinals would like for him to do it in the desert.
Smith visited on Wednesday and Thursday, and during a news conference Thursday afternoon that drew a swarm that would have been the envy of Elvis (Presley, not Grbac) said he can envision playing with a red bird on his helmet. He would have to arm-wrestle cornerback Duane Starks to wear No. 22, though.
"I think you have to absolutely believe the organization is headed in the right direction, and the Bidwills are putting their best foot forward in acquiring some players," Smith said. "Like I told them, I've been coming out here since 1988, periodically, and I fell in love with Arizona in terms of the golf courses and the amenities."
It was the first free-agent visit for Smith, who was cut by the Cowboys last month after 13 seasons in Dallas. Smith, who turns 34 in May, was due to make $7 million in salary last season, and the Cowboys wanted to play younger running backs.
Smith is in the process of scheduling visits to other teams, which he declined to name, but the Cardinals would like to sign him soon, said Rod Graves, the team's vice president for football operations. He is expected to talk to Kansas City and Tampa Bay.
Smith returned home to Dallas Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals made him an offer Friday.
The Cardinals would be signing Smith for his leadership skills as much as his running ability. They have a starting running back, Marcel Shipp, returning, although Shipp likely would move to a backup role should Smith sign.
Playing time is important, Smith said.
"I have to feel like I can contribute," Smith said. "I think coming here there might be an opportunity for that to happen. Obviously, the Cardinals have some younger players on their ball club, and I don't want them to feel threatened by me. I want them to receive me as one of their own.
"I'm not coming in to be a distraction. I think I can add a lot of things to a young person's life. I don't want to look at myself as being a grandfather, but I look at myself as being a brother to teammates."
Whomever becomes the Cardinals' starting back will be running behind the NFL's largest line (as of last season), anchored by Leonard Davis, who played right guard as a rookie, right tackle last season, and might move to left tackle in 2003.
In addition, the Cardinals just signed a 270-pound fullback, James Hodgins, who has been Marshall Faulk's lead blocker in St. Louis.
"Emmitt would bring a lot of things: a believability, the heart of a champion, the will of a champion, the work ethic that it takes to get to the top," coach Dave McGinnis said. "Everybody can talk about it but until you are around it and you see it from people that have attained that type of status -- it is not just talk with Emmitt, it is something that he lives daily. I've been fortunate to be around three Hall of Famers in my career in an active coaching situation with Walter Payton, with Dan Hampton, with Mike Singletary. This is a first-time Hall of Famer. They all exude the same type of aura, and that is contagious."
With Shipp, who became the starter midway through his first season as an undrafted rookie, in the developmental stages, the situation could be similar to the one in Dallas that Smith is leaving. The Cowboys want younger backs to get more work. McGinnis said he doesn't see that as a problem.
"Marcel will still develop," McGinnis said. "It would be a very welcome situation. I don't see it as any type of negative at all. Emmitt would bring Emmitt, and he could transfer it.
"I think he's got plenty of gas left in the tank. I was fortunate enough to be on a team with Walter, and the similarities I see in these guys is incredible. I told him that a couple of times today just walking with him -- the quiet confidence that he moves with, walks with, displays. It is impressive to be around. He's got plenty left."
The Cowboys are a huge draw in Arizona. Their games came into the Phoenix TV market until the Cards moved to town in 1988. The Cowboys always have regarded their visits to Sun Devil Stadium as a ninth home game.
"That does play into the decision," Smith said. "Over my 13 years with the Cowboys every time I have come out here the fans have been very supportive. Hopefully over that 13-year period I have established some people that are Emmitt Smith supporters and hopefully it is enough that, if I decide to come here, would have the stadium full."
--In the Not-So-Immediate-Gratification Dept.: It was looking like the team with more money to spend than anyone was being skunked -- something with which the Big Red has some experience.
Rosevelt Colvin, the No. 1 target in free agency, said no thanks and signed with New England. Kordell Stewart said I'll get back to you, but his body language said "there's no way," before he signed with Chicago.
--The Cards also have paraded defensive end Vonnie Holliday through their training complex for a free-agent visit. He doesn't seem very enthused, either, although he hasn't yet signed anywhere else.
It was all reflecting poorly on new operations chief Rod Graves. When a team has a big bankroll -- still close to $30 million after tendering all of the restricted and exclusive rights players -- and obvious needs, and players still ignore or shuin them.
After Colvin jilted him, Graves said to Jay Nienkark, director of player administration, "Don't let anybody see me like this."
Publicly, Graves said, "I understand the frustrations of some of our fans. We can't twist arms to have people accept our deals, even when they are the best offers made to them. I would certainly have liked to have had several players in place and enjoy conversations about the new players under contract, but that hasn't happened."
--In a wild two-hour flurry Wednesday, Graves and the Cardinals finally struck paydirt. Cardinals signed Super Bowl MVP safety Dexter Jackson, quarterback Jeff Blake, fullback James Hodgins and linebacker James Darling.
Individually, with the exception perhaps of Jackson, would turn many heads. But collectively, it's a strong second-tier group of free agents who will upgrade a woeful franchise.
"I feel much better -- and we aren't through, yet," Graves said afterward. "To be honest with you, things just fell right for us today."
--The Cardinals decided to pursue Blake after Stewart put them on hold. Blake got a three-year deal worth $7.5 million, including a $1.5 million signing bonus with salaries of $2 million each year.
McGinnis says Blake is the starter, but also made it clear that the club has plans for Josh McCown, a rookie third-round pick last year.
"All those things don't matter," said Blake, 32, an 11-year veteran. "If I am doing my job, all that stuff will take care of itself. I don't worry about those things. Those are the cards I've been dealt my whole life. I've been in the league 11 years and started eight of those years and I've had one signing bonus until now, so it's no issue to me. I want to play. I really felt great when I walked through the doors here."
--The Cards thought Tuesday they'd also lost Jackson to Pittsburgh but sweetened their offer and turned his head. He agreed to a five-year deal worth around $14 million, including a $2.75 million signing bonus.
"It was nip and tuck all the way," Jackson's agent, Peter Schaffer, said. "Arizona really stepped up at the end. I have to give them credit. They overcame a lot of the stereotypes people say about the organization, and Dexter's excited to be a Cardinal."
According to Jackson, "I felt I was snubbed (in Tampa Bay), because we had so many Pro Bowlers. In order to go out and get your own name and become what you should be, you have to sometimes leave the nest. I'm trying to leave the nest and be my own person.
"You ask anybody who plays the game and understands the game, they'll tell you Dexter Jackson was a big part of our defense. If you go back and watch film, you'll see, and it's hard to make plays on that defense. I'm a worker, and I'm going to bring that enthusiasm to Arizona."
--Hodgins, who has been Marshall Faulk's lead blocker, got a four-year contract worth about $5 million.
"James Hodgins is a big, swab 'em out of the hole fullback that can line up in a lot of positions and can catch the football," McGinnis said.
-- Darling was a backup last year with the New York Jets but played in nickel situations and contributed on special teams. His four-year deal is worth an average of about $1 million a year.
--The team's history of losing has made signing free agents more difficult, Graves said.
The Cardinals thought they had a great chance of signing Colvin and were surprised when his agent called late Monday to say he was not going to play for a team in the West. Colvin had 21 sacks in the past two seasons for Chicago and would have helped the Cardinals, who have had the fewest sacks in the NFL the past two years.
--The signing of Jackson and Hodgins probably means the end for Cardinals unrestricted free agents Kwamie Lassiter and Joel Makovicka at safety and fullback, respectively. Lassiter has visited Seattle. Makovicka has not made any publicized visits to other teams.
-If signing the Super Bowl MVP and possibly the game's all-time leading rusher aren't big enough, the long awaited groundbreaking of the new retractable-roof stadium is Tuesday in the westside suburb of Glendale. It will seat 63,000 for Cardinals games and is expandable to 73,000 for Fiesta Bowl college football national championships and Super Bowls. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has promised to put metro-Phoenix back in the Super Bowl hosting rotation if a new facility is ever built. It is set to open for the 2006 season.
--Arizona will present a Super Bowl bid for 2008 or 2009 at the NFL meetings in two weeks at the Arizona Biltmore. The decision will be made in the October meetings, when several other cities will make their presentations for those years.
--It's almost as if Phoenix is becoming a real football city after Simeon Rice once described it as "an NFL backwater."
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Dinner was very rewarding. It was one of those types of things where the time just flew by and Mr B (Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill) looked down at his watch and smiled and said, 'Does any body know what time it is?' It was 11:30." -- Coach Dave McGinnis, on a dinner at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale with NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith.
Emmitt Smith, who's toted the pigskin farther than anybody who's ever played, is anxious to prove he has something left, and the Cardinals would like for him to do it in the desert.
Smith visited on Wednesday and Thursday, and during a news conference Thursday afternoon that drew a swarm that would have been the envy of Elvis (Presley, not Grbac) said he can envision playing with a red bird on his helmet. He would have to arm-wrestle cornerback Duane Starks to wear No. 22, though.
"I think you have to absolutely believe the organization is headed in the right direction, and the Bidwills are putting their best foot forward in acquiring some players," Smith said. "Like I told them, I've been coming out here since 1988, periodically, and I fell in love with Arizona in terms of the golf courses and the amenities."
It was the first free-agent visit for Smith, who was cut by the Cowboys last month after 13 seasons in Dallas. Smith, who turns 34 in May, was due to make $7 million in salary last season, and the Cowboys wanted to play younger running backs.
Smith is in the process of scheduling visits to other teams, which he declined to name, but the Cardinals would like to sign him soon, said Rod Graves, the team's vice president for football operations. He is expected to talk to Kansas City and Tampa Bay.
Smith returned home to Dallas Thursday afternoon. The Cardinals made him an offer Friday.
The Cardinals would be signing Smith for his leadership skills as much as his running ability. They have a starting running back, Marcel Shipp, returning, although Shipp likely would move to a backup role should Smith sign.
Playing time is important, Smith said.
"I have to feel like I can contribute," Smith said. "I think coming here there might be an opportunity for that to happen. Obviously, the Cardinals have some younger players on their ball club, and I don't want them to feel threatened by me. I want them to receive me as one of their own.
"I'm not coming in to be a distraction. I think I can add a lot of things to a young person's life. I don't want to look at myself as being a grandfather, but I look at myself as being a brother to teammates."
Whomever becomes the Cardinals' starting back will be running behind the NFL's largest line (as of last season), anchored by Leonard Davis, who played right guard as a rookie, right tackle last season, and might move to left tackle in 2003.
In addition, the Cardinals just signed a 270-pound fullback, James Hodgins, who has been Marshall Faulk's lead blocker in St. Louis.
"Emmitt would bring a lot of things: a believability, the heart of a champion, the will of a champion, the work ethic that it takes to get to the top," coach Dave McGinnis said. "Everybody can talk about it but until you are around it and you see it from people that have attained that type of status -- it is not just talk with Emmitt, it is something that he lives daily. I've been fortunate to be around three Hall of Famers in my career in an active coaching situation with Walter Payton, with Dan Hampton, with Mike Singletary. This is a first-time Hall of Famer. They all exude the same type of aura, and that is contagious."
With Shipp, who became the starter midway through his first season as an undrafted rookie, in the developmental stages, the situation could be similar to the one in Dallas that Smith is leaving. The Cowboys want younger backs to get more work. McGinnis said he doesn't see that as a problem.
"Marcel will still develop," McGinnis said. "It would be a very welcome situation. I don't see it as any type of negative at all. Emmitt would bring Emmitt, and he could transfer it.
"I think he's got plenty of gas left in the tank. I was fortunate enough to be on a team with Walter, and the similarities I see in these guys is incredible. I told him that a couple of times today just walking with him -- the quiet confidence that he moves with, walks with, displays. It is impressive to be around. He's got plenty left."
The Cowboys are a huge draw in Arizona. Their games came into the Phoenix TV market until the Cards moved to town in 1988. The Cowboys always have regarded their visits to Sun Devil Stadium as a ninth home game.
"That does play into the decision," Smith said. "Over my 13 years with the Cowboys every time I have come out here the fans have been very supportive. Hopefully over that 13-year period I have established some people that are Emmitt Smith supporters and hopefully it is enough that, if I decide to come here, would have the stadium full."
--In the Not-So-Immediate-Gratification Dept.: It was looking like the team with more money to spend than anyone was being skunked -- something with which the Big Red has some experience.
Rosevelt Colvin, the No. 1 target in free agency, said no thanks and signed with New England. Kordell Stewart said I'll get back to you, but his body language said "there's no way," before he signed with Chicago.
--The Cards also have paraded defensive end Vonnie Holliday through their training complex for a free-agent visit. He doesn't seem very enthused, either, although he hasn't yet signed anywhere else.
It was all reflecting poorly on new operations chief Rod Graves. When a team has a big bankroll -- still close to $30 million after tendering all of the restricted and exclusive rights players -- and obvious needs, and players still ignore or shuin them.
After Colvin jilted him, Graves said to Jay Nienkark, director of player administration, "Don't let anybody see me like this."
Publicly, Graves said, "I understand the frustrations of some of our fans. We can't twist arms to have people accept our deals, even when they are the best offers made to them. I would certainly have liked to have had several players in place and enjoy conversations about the new players under contract, but that hasn't happened."
--In a wild two-hour flurry Wednesday, Graves and the Cardinals finally struck paydirt. Cardinals signed Super Bowl MVP safety Dexter Jackson, quarterback Jeff Blake, fullback James Hodgins and linebacker James Darling.
Individually, with the exception perhaps of Jackson, would turn many heads. But collectively, it's a strong second-tier group of free agents who will upgrade a woeful franchise.
"I feel much better -- and we aren't through, yet," Graves said afterward. "To be honest with you, things just fell right for us today."
--The Cardinals decided to pursue Blake after Stewart put them on hold. Blake got a three-year deal worth $7.5 million, including a $1.5 million signing bonus with salaries of $2 million each year.
McGinnis says Blake is the starter, but also made it clear that the club has plans for Josh McCown, a rookie third-round pick last year.
"All those things don't matter," said Blake, 32, an 11-year veteran. "If I am doing my job, all that stuff will take care of itself. I don't worry about those things. Those are the cards I've been dealt my whole life. I've been in the league 11 years and started eight of those years and I've had one signing bonus until now, so it's no issue to me. I want to play. I really felt great when I walked through the doors here."
--The Cards thought Tuesday they'd also lost Jackson to Pittsburgh but sweetened their offer and turned his head. He agreed to a five-year deal worth around $14 million, including a $2.75 million signing bonus.
"It was nip and tuck all the way," Jackson's agent, Peter Schaffer, said. "Arizona really stepped up at the end. I have to give them credit. They overcame a lot of the stereotypes people say about the organization, and Dexter's excited to be a Cardinal."
According to Jackson, "I felt I was snubbed (in Tampa Bay), because we had so many Pro Bowlers. In order to go out and get your own name and become what you should be, you have to sometimes leave the nest. I'm trying to leave the nest and be my own person.
"You ask anybody who plays the game and understands the game, they'll tell you Dexter Jackson was a big part of our defense. If you go back and watch film, you'll see, and it's hard to make plays on that defense. I'm a worker, and I'm going to bring that enthusiasm to Arizona."
--Hodgins, who has been Marshall Faulk's lead blocker, got a four-year contract worth about $5 million.
"James Hodgins is a big, swab 'em out of the hole fullback that can line up in a lot of positions and can catch the football," McGinnis said.
-- Darling was a backup last year with the New York Jets but played in nickel situations and contributed on special teams. His four-year deal is worth an average of about $1 million a year.
--The team's history of losing has made signing free agents more difficult, Graves said.
The Cardinals thought they had a great chance of signing Colvin and were surprised when his agent called late Monday to say he was not going to play for a team in the West. Colvin had 21 sacks in the past two seasons for Chicago and would have helped the Cardinals, who have had the fewest sacks in the NFL the past two years.
--The signing of Jackson and Hodgins probably means the end for Cardinals unrestricted free agents Kwamie Lassiter and Joel Makovicka at safety and fullback, respectively. Lassiter has visited Seattle. Makovicka has not made any publicized visits to other teams.
-If signing the Super Bowl MVP and possibly the game's all-time leading rusher aren't big enough, the long awaited groundbreaking of the new retractable-roof stadium is Tuesday in the westside suburb of Glendale. It will seat 63,000 for Cardinals games and is expandable to 73,000 for Fiesta Bowl college football national championships and Super Bowls. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has promised to put metro-Phoenix back in the Super Bowl hosting rotation if a new facility is ever built. It is set to open for the 2006 season.
--Arizona will present a Super Bowl bid for 2008 or 2009 at the NFL meetings in two weeks at the Arizona Biltmore. The decision will be made in the October meetings, when several other cities will make their presentations for those years.
--It's almost as if Phoenix is becoming a real football city after Simeon Rice once described it as "an NFL backwater."
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Dinner was very rewarding. It was one of those types of things where the time just flew by and Mr B (Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill) looked down at his watch and smiled and said, 'Does any body know what time it is?' It was 11:30." -- Coach Dave McGinnis, on a dinner at the Four Seasons in Scottsdale with NFL career rushing leader Emmitt Smith.
