MIA in Miami: James, Simon and the kid they should be watching

MIAMI -- They should be here, the three of them. One knucklehead, one enigma, one dead man. They should be playing Sunday for the Indianapolis Colts.

But Super Bowl XLI will go on without them. Why? Because Edgerrin James is a knucklehead. And Corey Simon is an enigma. And Brandon Burlsworth is dead.

These are their stories. None feels particularly good, though if you feel a perverse glee at the plight of James, go with that. Be true to what you are. Edgerrin James certainly was.

Dulling The Edge

James had it all, and he threw it away to make his pile of money a little bit taller.

Edgerrin James no longer in blue due to his love of green. (Getty Images)

Like the flawed star of Yertle the Turtle, James stacked his money so high that he plummeted this season into a pile of mud, also known as the Arizona Cardinals.

History revisionists will tell you that James and the Colts had no choice but to part, and perhaps will go even one step farther and tell you that the Colts chose to end this relationship after the 2005 season, not vice versa.

Although it's true that Indianapolis had salary cap issues after last season, it's indisputable that with a little help from James -- a little less greed -- he would be with the Colts.

What's unknown is whether the Colts would have made it to the Super Bowl with James, as they have done with his replacement, Joseph Addai, whom they drafted in April, plugged into James' old spot and got a 1,000-yard season. The success of Addai suggests that the Indianapolis offense -- led by Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning and Pro Bowl receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne -- is a running back's dream.

That the system is more important than the identity of the tailback. That Edgerrin James, dare I say it, wasn't as good as everyone thought.

James didn't see it that way, of course. Even with Colts president Bill Polian saying last year there was a 50-50 chance that James would re-sign with Indianapolis, James made it clear he wanted the best possible contract, not the best possible team. That was his right, and he took Arizona's four-year deal worth $30 million. James got his yards this season (1,159), but he needed 337 carries, a career-worst average of 3.4 yards per carry.

The Cardinals went 5-11. The coach he signed to play for, Dennis Green, has been fired. The team he chose to leave is in the Super Bowl in Miami -- 90 miles from his hometown of Immokalee, and the city where James played college football. His spot in the Hall of Fame is uncertain.

His greed is not.