(My Sportsbook) - It couldn't have been easy for Edgerrin James.
Like a proud parent who watches their child head off to school for the first time, the NFL's 13th all-time leading rusher was forced to watch from the sidelines during the Arizona Cardinals' 34-13 win over the St. Louis Rams this past Sunday.
James did not get a single carry during the game, with rookie Tim Hightower notching 109 yards on 22 attempts instead. That includes a 30-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for the rookie out of Richmond, who accounted for six of Arizona's 24 points in that frame.
"It feels a lot better when you rush for 100 yards and you win," said Hightower. "If we were sitting here with a loss, I don't think I'd be feeling too good."
Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt said after the win that he wasn't planning on benching James, insisting the way the game developed accounted for Hightower's extended playing time.
The 22-year-old Hightower had been a touchdown machine prior to his start on Sunday, as he had six scoring runs to James' three before posting No. 7 against the Rams. With the Cardinals' high-octane passing game loosening things up, Hightower saw plenty of open field in front of him.
"I thought we had a good mix (Sunday), Whisenhunt said. "We ran it out of a number of different sets, but there are some things we need to clean up. I think that hopefully we will get a little better as we go forward."
Arizona's offense was already scary despite a running game that still ranks near the bottom of the league. If the Cardinals can mix in a solid ground attack with Hightower, Arizona will find itself playing deep into the postseason.
"We are a tough team to stop," said quarterback Kurt Warner. "It was nice to have us get it going (Sunday). We were able to do what the defense allowed. We were successful in (running the ball) and it will make us tougher."
This is an interesting turn of events for James, who with 11,987 career rushing yards is ranked 13th on the NFL's all-time list, a mere 88 yards back of ex-Buffalo Bills great Thurman Thomas. The 30-year-old is in the third season of a four-year deal signed prior to the 2006 campaign, but could be looking for work this offseason.
The four-time Pro Bowl selection has put up numbers during his time in the desert; he rushed for 1,222 yards a year ago (the fifth-highest total in franchise history) and is only the second back in team history to post back- to-back 1,000 yard seasons. Yet, he hasn't been the game-changing player that the Cards envisioned with they signed him.
Still, James has done nothing but help Hightower since the 2008 fifth-round selection came to Arizona.
"Edgerrin helped me out a lot this week in practice, just like he's helped me out all year," Hightower said. "It relaxed me and prepared me and he showed me what things to look out for. He kind of watched out for me a little bit and it made things a lot easier when I was out there."
UP NEXT: Now three games up on the Rams, 49ers and Seahawks for first place in the division, the 5-3 Cardinals host San Francisco this Monday night. The Cards defeated the Niners, 23-13, by the Bay in Week 1 and have won five of the last seven in the series.
RAMS: DOOMED BY LACK OF RUN GAME
St. Louis was as confident as it could have been heading into Sunday's big divisional showdown against the Cardinals. The Rams had won two of three games under interim head coach Jim Haslett and were expected to get running back Steven Jackson back after he missed the previous week's 23-16 loss to New England.
Things looked good early on, when Rams quarterback Marc Bulger hit wideout Derek Stanley for an 80-yard touchdown pass with 4:23 left in the first quarter. It was the first catch of Stanley's career and longest pass of Bulger's pro tenure.
Now with an early lead, all the Rams needed to do was try to control the clock and score some points while keeping Arizona's offense off the field. But then the wheels came off.
Jackson, returning from a strained right thigh muscle, was nowhere near 100 percent. Ditto for running back Antonio Pittman due to a lingering leg injury. So when running back Travis Minor left the game early with a concussion, St. Louis was rail-thin in the backfield.
"We were kind of rolling the dice by going with three running backs this week," Haslett said. "You have to be able to move the ball. You can't give the offense that (the Cardinals) have the ball that many times without thinking that they will score points, because they score points."
Jackson was limited to seven carries for 17 yards and Pittman added 10 for 12 yards. Bulger was the Rams' leading rusher, totaling 32 yards on three carries.
While injury may have limited the Rams' rushing game, allowing 24 points in the second quarter kind of made running the ball moot anyway. Bulger's two interceptions and lost fumble didn't help either.
For his part, Jackson said he didn't further injure himself, but he did admit after the game that he wasn't at full speed.
"I hate to take an injury as an excuse. I didn't play like myself," he said. "I am very down right now. I did not help my team out. I am really disappointed and it is something that I am going to use as motivation for the rest of the season."
Said Haslett on Jackson, "He worked out and said that he felt fine. He ran around and said he was ready to go. Obviously, by his nature he wasn't ready."
The Rams have now lost two straight to fall to 2-6, and the club is now winless in two divisional games this year.
UP NEXT: St. Louis will play its next two on the road, starting with a trip out East to take on the New York Jets. The Rams have won their last seven matchups versus the Jets and own an all-time record of 9-2 against them. The teams haven't met since 2004.
SEAHAWKS: CAN'T FIND SUCCESS OUTSIDE OF THE WEST
The Seattle Seahawks have won four straight NFC West titles by dominating their divisional foes. This season, though, the Seahawks look like a totally different team against the rest of the NFL.
Over the past four-plus seasons, the Seahawks are 19-8 against fellow NFC West residents and heading into this past Sunday's game with Philadelphia, were tied with the Eagles for the best record in the NFC since the start of the 2003 season at 53-34.
That margin over the Eagles was much better prior to the 2008 season. Seattle is now 0-5 in non-divisional games this year after losing to Philadelphia, 26-7, in Week 9.
The Seahawks are averaging 33.7 points per game in their three divisional contests this year, but just 10 per game in their five matchups outside of the NFC West.
"We hit kind of a little bit of a wall, it appears," said head coach Mike Holmgren.
The club hit an even bigger low on Sunday versus the Eagles. Things started off well, as quarterback Seneca Wallace hooked up with wideout Koren Robinson for a franchise-record 90-yard touchdown pass just 1:49 into the game on Seattle's first offensive play from scrimmage.
Over their next 28 first-half plays, the Seahawks totaled just 88 yards. Take out that first-play touchdown, and Seattle managed 143 yards in 54 plays and punted 11 straight times after its only score of the game.
"We've just got to stay on the field more, you know what I'm saying," said running back Julius Jones, who finished with 41 yards on 10 carries. "Give ourselves more opportunities. These three-and-outs are really hurting us. It's making the defense tired. We've got to stay on the field more."
There is no doubt that the Seahawks are missing Matt Hasselbeck under center. Hasselbeck, a three-time Pro Bowl selection who threw for 3,966 yards and 28 touchdowns last year, has missed the last four games due to a back injury that is causing weakness in his leg.
Still, like they have done all season, the Seahawks aren't making excuses.
"We're just not getting it done right now as a team," said tackle Walter Jones. "I don't think it has to with whether Hasselbeck is in there or not. We're working hard, we're just not making big plays like they did."
UP NEXT: Seattle will visit the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. The two clubs haven't played each other since 2004, when the Seahawks snapped a two-game series skid with a 24-17 win.
49ERS: BACK TO WORK UNDER SINGLETARY
The San Francisco 49ers made a roster move on Monday, signing tight end Sean Ryan. However, interim head coach Mike Singletary insisted during a conference call later that same day with the media that it had nothing to do with his relationship with Vernon Davis.
"After talking to Coach (Mike) Martz, he needed a tight end that he felt was a physical guy that could be a tight end/fullback," said Singletary of the Ryan signing. "We talked about running the ball and being able to have (running back) Frank Gore do some of the things he needed to do. He needed that kind of guy."
Singletary was then asked if the signing of Ryan was a reflection on Davis, who was pulled out of San Francisco's 34-13 loss to Seattle two weekends ago after he took a personal foul penalty late in the game. At the time, Singletary said he was more upset with how Davis reacted without emotion to the call than the penalty itself.
The sixth overall pick of the 2006 draft was eventually banished to the locker room after the incident.
Singletary, though, said that the decision to add another tight end was made before the run-in and defended Davis on Monday.
"I want you (the media) to understand that Vernon is not a bad guy, okay? Vernon is one of my favorite people, one of my favorite players," he said. "He's just misconstrued. I'm very excited about Vernon and I'm excited about the things he can bring to this team. Just understand that what happened on the field, that's it. That's all it was. It's over."
What is also over is Singletary's apparent hunt for the "leak" in San Francisco's locker room. That, of course, is a reference to the story that got out that the Niners' new head coach dropped his pants at halftime of the Seattle game in a symbolic gesture that the club was getting its butts kicked.
"Even in the interviews that I said, 'I'm going to find out who it was,' that's simply because we as an organization felt that this is something that shouldn't have happened," said Singletary. "We need to find out who it was and be able to deal with it, so that going forward there is no more sabotaging or whatever.
"But I think for me the best thing is to just let it go."
In on the field news, Singletary said on Monday he expects offensive lineman Jonas Jennings to be ready to return to the field. Jennings, who missed all but five games last year due to an ankle injury, has sat out San Francisco's last six games due to a shoulder ailment.
The club must still wait and see how his shoulder responds to practicing, though Singletary said Jennings could return to a starting role at some point in the season.
UP NEXT: San Francisco will try to avenge its Week 1 loss to Arizona this Monday night. The 49ers won both tests against the Cardinals last year.
