Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis summed up the history of his new halfback, Emmitt Smith.

"I've never seem Emmitt go backwards,'' McGinnis said. "As a runner, he's always going forward enough to keep moving the chains. The thing I've always admired about him is that he's going forward faster in the fourth quarter in most games.''

		Wed, March 26 Emmitt Smith will bring some instant credibility and leadership to the Arizona franchise. I know Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis well, and he is trying to bring people in who know how to win championships. Emmitt still has a little gas left in the tank, but he will also he able to help the Cardinals learn the proper way to go about getting to the Super Bowl. He will help McGinnis instill good habits on that team as a leader on the field and in the locker room. Football-wise, Emmitt is not going to give them 30 carries per game, but he can still bring consistency and accountability. There is enough left in him that if he is managed correctly he can contribute and be productive throughout the entire games, giving them something like 15-20 good carries over four quarters.

But that's the question about Emmitt Smith going from the Dallas Cowboys to the Arizona Cardinals. Is this the first backward run in his NFL career? The answer depends on how you view the Cowboys, now coached by Bill Parcells.

Despite the prestige of the Cowboys organization, the Cowboys teams of the past couple of years haven't been better than the Cardinals, a perennial non-playoff team. Like the Cardinals, the Cowboys were 5-11 last season, the same record as the Cardinals. Smith rushed for 975 yards and had a 3.8-yard average behind what was considered one of the worst offensive lines in football.

On a good team, Smith, 34, is good enough to rush for 1,200 yards. He believes there are still 1,300 yards in his tireless legs. But unless the Cardinals find the right group of wide receivers, Smith might have trouble getting 1,000 yards.

Kevin Kasper, Jake Soliday, Jason McAddley and Byron Gilmore are the team's top four signed wide receivers. This isn't exactly like having Michael Irvin trying to draw attention away from Smith. McAddley, a rookie last season, had 25 catches. Kasper, Soliday and Gilmore combined for 20.

At least in Dallas, Smith could count on the 105 catches from Joey Galloway and Antonio Bryant to take away some of the pressure.

As it stands, the minute that Smith steps onto the field, defenses will be stacked against him. The Cardinals committed $7 million to $8 million over the next two seasons with the hopes of Smith teaching McGinnis' young offense how to work and how to win. Unless the Cardinals improve their receiving threats, that might not work and Smith might have taken a step backward.

"We're a young football team and we have to address that,'' McGinnis said. "We need wide receivers. We need pass rushers. We've got to continue to address those issues. I don't have answers as to who those players are going to be, but we are going to work hard to get those players. We have the draft. We have free agency. We have those guys who might get cut after June 1.''

There is some hope, though. Jeff Blake is a capable quarterback who did well in the beginning of turnaround situations in New Orleans and Baltimore. Blake and Smith give the Cardinals two leaders. Unfortunately, the Cardinals don't have a lot of playmakers to follow them.

"Emmitt is the ultimate warrior,'' McGinnis said. "Sitting and talking with him, you can see that his heart is still burning.''

The winner with this signing is the Cardinals organization. Smith didn't get more than minimum salary feelers from other teams. The Cardinals stepped up and paid him as a spokesperson and as a leader for the organzation.

And to Smith, that commitment from the Cardinals was enough to make him take the leap to Phoenix.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.