Cardinals RB Edgerrin James

On what the last few weeks have felt like for him:
“It’s different. You focus on right now and look past everything that has happened and you focus on where we’re at right now. I wouldn’t trade this position for any other position right now.”

On adjusting to the sideline:
“It’s kind of boring. You get bored just standing around – and you learn sideline etiquette. You know when to get up, when to move, where to stand and it’s a new world, but it’s just part of it.”

On never reaching a Super Bowl with the Colts, but being one win away in Arizona:
“You’re happy to be here – but being that I’ve been in this position before, you look at it a different way. Before you had all types of distractions and you would kind of look forward to the next weekend, but now you just take everything day-by-day and not focus on what could happen and knowing that outsiders bring that into your world, you just focus on what we’ve got to do to play this game. So you focus on everything right now versus thinking about the things that can happen.”

On what it means to the team to have a balanced offense:
“It gives us a chance to make defenses pick their poison. If you want to stop the run, we can pass and if you want to stop the pass, then we can run. That’s what you want – you don’t want it where you’re one-dimensional and teams can just come at you. That’s the beauty of being able to run the ball.”

On not being in a run-heavy offense:
“As a running back, you don’t want someone playing downhill. You don’t want someone knowing you’re going to get it and they’re just coming downhill. You want someone to pause – even if they have to think a little bit, that gives you so much time. You want someone to have to think about what’s going on instead of just going downhill and making the play. That’s what happens when you’re one-dimensional – everyone is going to play downhill and that gives them an advantage. But when you have someone sitting back and figuring out if we’re going to run or pass – I know teams would rather you run than pass, because passing gives up big chunks. So I think a team would prefer you to run the ball on them and try to get a turnover or get a stop.”

On how he has kept a positive outlook after sitting for weeks:
“Because it’s football. For me, I’ve been playing this game a long time and football doesn’t change. The only thing that changes is it turns more into entertainment, but outside of that it’s just football and going out and doing the thing I’ve been doing my whole life.”

On whether he believed Coach Whisenhunt saying they would need him later:
“I never knew. I just sat there and waited. I didn’t know when I was getting in the game, I just made sure I went out and continued to practice and do what I’ve always done and not let whatever is going on take you from the type of player or person you are. I continued to practice and do the things that I’ve always done all my career and all of a sudden we’re back to doing what’s best for the team.”

On whether the playoff run changes his outlook on his future with the Cardinals:
“I’m not really worried about the future. I’m just living day-by-day and just trying to take this week and put everything into this week and go from there. I think anybody that is thinking about next week or the weeks ahead – they’re doing this team a disservice.”

On his relationship with Coach Whisenhunt:
“It’s the same as any other player. You come in here and you go to work. That’s my coach and I’m going to come out and play hard for my coach.”

On how much better the offensive line has gotten:
“They’ve always gotten better – it’s just when you ask an offensive lineman to (pass) block 50 times, that’s going to take a toll. Offensive linemen prefer to run the ball and now we’re in the position where we’re doing both, so I think they’re happy. The thing about it is we know we have to make it work. We can’t just get up there and think we’re going to run the ball and not get any yards.”

On Larry Fitzgerald:
“He’s a good player and he’s going to be one of the greatest to ever play. The thing about Larry is you come out here and you watch him work and that’s the sign of the good player – they continue to work hard every day regardless of how much success they’re having. He continues to work and he’s going to have more success than he’s having right now.”

On Philadelphia’s defense:
“The first game I was on the sidelines. They’re a good football team and you can’t take anything away from the Eagles and the type of football team they are. But in these type of games I really try not to focus on the other team – you focus on what you can do and try to make sure you’re not making mistakes and trying to make sure you’re doing what you can do. They’re going to do what they do and we’re going to do what we do and at the end of the day it’s going to boil down to who does what they do the best.”

On sideline etiquette:
“It’s according to who’s coming to the heater. If Fitz is coming to the heater, you have to move over. Some guys have to move since I’ve got a little seniority.”

On if he’s the same runner he always has been:
“My game doesn’t change. I have a game that’s really simple: north and south, try not to lose yards and keep going forward. I’ve led the league in rushing and my longest run was 30 yards and all of a sudden I don’t have big runs and I can’t run the same. But if you look at the way I’ve always run – it’s the same way and the way I train in the offseason, it’s the same way. I’m not really worried about what someone else says because if you go out and have a big day, that’ll change their thoughts instantly.”

On whether if he never wins a Super Bowl he’ll feel it’s missing from his career:
“I wouldn’t really look at it as something I missed out on, since I’ve done everything I could. I’ve always been a team player, I’ve always come out and worked hard and I did everything I could possibly do. I’m not really worried about whether I get it or not. Thanks to (Former Indianapolis Colts) Coach (Tony) Dungy and (Colts Owner) Mr. Irsay, I got a ring. That’s something that I’m really not worried about. Now if I went out and said I didn’t work hard or I didn’t try to put myself in a position to get there, I’d be disappointed, but anyone who knows me knows I’ve always worked hard and I’ve always done everything you’re supposed to do and I try to do everything the right way. If it happens, that’ll be good, but if it doesn’t, I won’t be down on myself because I did everything I could do.”

On whether he ever pinches himself because he can’t believe he’s here with Arizona:
“I pinch myself on the sideline – I couldn’t believe I was on the bench.”

On whether he feels any fresher since he hasn’t played as much this season:
“No – I’ve always trained to make sure I’m in tip-top condition. As the season goes, you cut back on the reps to make sure you’re not wearing yourself out. Everyone is going to have their takes on this or that, but the difference is you’re getting the opportunities and you’re playing. Usually when someone doesn’t do something for a while, you usually come out and pull a hamstring or have some kind of injury. That’s not the case with me and that’s not something I agree with, but everyone has their own opinion.”

On whether not taking as many hits has left him in better shape:
“I’ve played football a long time. Every year I’ve played I’ve always carried the ball a lot and I’ve gotten up. That’s the reason you train in the offseason, to prepare yourself to take those hits.”