By Mel Reisner
The Associated Press

PHOENIX - It took two years for the Arizona Cardinals to lay the groundwork to sign Emmitt Smith. The next two will determine whether the NFL's career rushing leader made a mistake. Smith signed a two-year contract with the Cardinals on Wednesday, adding the luster of his name to a franchise that might be capable of tarnishing it. Somehow, the Cardinals convinced him they were committed to improving.

He certainly convinced them he has some big games left.

"There is still fire in that man to play this game," coach Dave McGinnis said after the Cardinals announced the acquisition during the NFL owners' spring meeting. "He is filled with the desire to excel. It transcends him."

Details of Smith's contract were not disclosed, but it was thought to be worth about $4 million a year.

Smith, who turns 34 on May 15, did not attend the news conference. The team planned to introduce him - wearing his familiar No. 22 on an unfamiliar, red-and-white jersey - at its headquarters in Tempe on Thursday.

That's two weeks after Smith paid his first free-agent visit to the Cardinals. He wrapped up two days of talks with McGinnis and the front office on March 13 feeling exhilarated by the all-out push to make him feel at home.

"We think Emmitt brings so much to our program in terms of his attitude, his desire and his track record," said Rod Graves, the Cardinals' vice president. "And we think incorporating all of that into our program will lift the level of where we are."

Smith's career with Dallas ended on a low note - the Cowboys wouldn't guarantee him a starting job and then released him Feb. 27. McGinnis said Smith will start, and also will help tutor young running backs like Marcel Shipp, who led the Cardinals in rushing last season in his second year.

What the Cardinals couldn't guarantee was a return to the Super Bowl. Smith won three Super Bowl rings with Dallas, but now plays for a franchise that finished 5-11 last season, has had just one winning season in 15 years in Arizona and has been to the playoffs only twice since 1947.

Smith contributed to the Cardinals' woes over the years, scoring 25 of his NFL-record 153 career touchdowns against them, the most against any opponent.

Smith broke Walter Payton's career rushing record of 16,726 yards last season, but came up 25 yards short of his 12th consecutive 1,000-yard campaign, the first time he failed to run for that many since he was a rookie in 1990.

McGinnis, who was a Chicago assistant when Payton was finishing his career with the Bears. expects Smith to exert the same kind of uplifting influence on his teammates.

"Walter was a great example to everyone who was there at the time," he said. "Emmitt will do the same, on the field and in the locker room."

If nothing else, Smith should help boost attendance - the Cardinals have rarely sold out since moving from St. Louis after the 1987 season. And when they did, it was usually against Dallas, which still retains a solid fan base that existed before the Cardinals arrived.

Michael Bidwill, the team's vice president and general counsel, said Smith was No. 1 on the Cardinals' shopping list as soon as he became a free agent.

"We've spent the last two years preparing for this offseason," Bidwill said. "We had to clear cap room, because this year we wanted to begin acquiring highly skilled, free agent veterans."

The Cardinals began the free agent period with two negatives - losing quarterback Jake Plummer to Denver and wide receiver David Boston to San Diego.

But Smith is the sixth player they've signed since then. The Cardinals brought in Jeff Blake to replace Plummer; Super Bowl MVP Dexter Jackson, a safety who had two interceptions for Tampa Bay against Oakland; linebacker Frank Garcia; and offensive lineman Frank Garcia and fullback James Hodgins, two players from NFC West opponent St. Louis.

"Once cap room was made available, we knew that this would be a year of opportunity for us to go out and spend money and get the type of player we'd like to have in our program," Graves said.

Graves suggested that it was a unique contract, perhaps involving marketing. Smith already does several national television commercials.

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