INDIANAPOLIS - It was easy, given the spectacular performance against the Broncos on Sunday, to get lost in the precision of the Colts passing game.
What Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and company did to the No.4-ranked defense in the league was one for the ages.
Completion after completion. Touchdown after touchdown. Heck, Manning had a perfect passer rating.
But it didn't happen in a vacuum.
The Colts were able to pass because they were able to run. And they were able to run because Edgerrin James is playing with fresh legs and fresh resolve.
"I feel it, I definitely feel it," said James, who rushed for 78 yards on 17 carries in the 41-10 pounding of the Broncos in the opening round of the playoffs. "It's like it's supposed to be. But it's been through hard work, and that's something I can't lose sight of, what it took to get back. That's why I have to continue to do my rehab and work and do my weight training and all that."
As devastating as the Colts passing attack is, virtually all of offensive coordinator Tom Moore's big plays are set up by play action. And though Manning sells it as well as any quarterback in the league, no defense will fall for it if James is not a threat.
"He's a huge difference," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "Edgerrin has been great for us down the stretch, and being fresh I think has really helped him. Last year, he never got healthy and couldn't really run the way he's capable of down the stretch. This year, he can.
"He had that big game for us (against the Texans) so the Broncos were focused in on him. Brandon Stokley's long touchdown (an 87-yarder that gave the Colts a 28-3 lead) was a play-action fake to Edgerrin. It held the Broncos just a step, and we were able to get the ball in there. If he's not running well and they're not counting on that, you don't get those big plays down the field."
Now that the Colts have moved on to a second-round matchup with the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, James' ability to run will be crucial. In one of the noisiest venues in the league, running effectively means moving the chains, and moving the chains means keeping crowd noise to a minimum.
Enter James. Now at the end of his fifth season, James seems to be returning to the form that made him one of the game's most dazzling backs through his first two.
After a stellar career at the University of Miami, the Colts shocked draft experts in 1999 when they traded up to the fourth overall pick and took James ahead of Ricky Williams, considered the premier running back in the draft.
All James did in his first two seasons was prove the Colts brass right. Using his speed and underestimated power, James rushed for 3,362 yards, added 1,180 receiving yards and totaled 35 touchdowns.
Then the injuries came.
A severe knee injury, sustained in Kansas City in October 2001, ended his season after six games.
The next season, James returned from reconstructive surgery and battled two ankle injuries, a bad hamstring and a rib cartilage injury to start 14 games and rush for 989 yards with two TDs.
The Colts believe he is almost 100 percent. James did miss three games early with back problems, but in recent weeks he has looked every bit the player he was when he arrived.
"Last year, he wasn't even able to practice every day," Dungy said. "We had to rest him either on Wednesday or on Friday. This year, he is practicing. In fact, he hasn't really missed a practice all year, except for the three weeks he was hurt. He's finishing his runs and moving more fluidly. He's feeling better, and you can sense that."
James said his body is fine and attributed his late-season resurgence to knowing what he can do and when to do it.
"It's cool; I feel good out there," he said. "I'm older now and with age comes wisdom. You know when to come out and how. I come out and stay fresh all game. Before, I would go every play, every play, every play without coming out at all. Now, it's important to have someone with all the energy coming into the fourth quarter."
