Will James be back in 2008?

Edgerrin James wants to feel appreciated. James, who ranked seventh in the NFL with 1,220 rushing yards this season, is starting to feel the speculation about whether he will return to the Cardinals next season.

Signing own free agents will be Cards' priority

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His salary-cap number is $7 million next season. If the Cardinals, who are trying to work other deals to retain players, can find a less-expensive alternative, it’s possible he may not return.

James ranks No. 13 in NFL history in rushing. His goals include moving up the list as far as possible and shooting for Hall of Fame status.

While saying, “Good things always happen to me,” James sounded unsure about next season.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I came into the toughest situation you could possibly come in. Look what I’ve accomplished. I guess because it’s me it’s not enough. That’s the crazy part. No matter what I do, it’s not enough.”

A reporter, noting “Edge” wished the Cardinals would have run the ball more, asked coach Ken Whisenhunt if James was “still the guy.”

Whisenhunt didn’t directly answer, preferring to talk of the pros and cons of running vs. passing the ball more often.

“We’re going to do what’s best for us to try to win football games. If that means we have to throw it a little bit more based on what’s the best fit for us, we’re going to do that.”

That said, “I want to run the football more. We have to do a better job of that.”

The key to a balanced attack, he suggested is to keep turnovers to a minimum so the team doesn’t fall behind and get forced into an all passing attack.

TOUGH SCHEDULE

Whisenhunt acknowledged the Cardinals next year will face a tougher schedule, including road games at New England, Philadelphia and the New York Giants.

“Obviously one of the things we have to improve on is our road record. It will be a challenge. But I think we’ll be a better team, too.”

NO HUDDLE, NO PROBLEM

Whisenhunt gave a strong endorsement of the team’s no-huddle offense, saying, “It’s always going to be a part of what we do. I think we’ll even be better at it next year because we didn’t have a lot of time to work on it this year. We kind of felt it out as we went.”

STAT NOTES

• The Cardinals allowed just 24 sacks, none in the final two games. That tied them for eighth-best in the league.

• Their offense ranked No. 12 (No. 5 pass, No. 29 rush). They also scored 404 points (25.3 per game), the second-highest point total in franchise history.

• The Cardinals’ offense inside the 20-yard line ranked No. 2, behind New England, by scoring 94 percent of the time. They were No. 3 in touchdown percentage at 68.

• They converted 12 of 14 fourth downs, including 3-for-3 Sunday. The 86 percent success rate was the NFL’s best.

EXTRA POINT

The Cardinals re-signed cornerback Travarous Bain, running back Steve Baylark, wide receiver Jemalle Cornelius, cornerback Demario Winter, tight end Alex Shor and tackle Elliot Vallejo, all of whom finished the season on the practice squad.