Alexander's Injury a Blessing in Disquise ?

[KennyEasley45]

Is his injury a good thing ? This will give another guy a shot. Is the injury causing his poor play ? If so this is a good thing ! He looks slow and old.

[ATLFalcons]

I can't see how this helps Seattle. The backup running backs are Josh Scobey and Maurice Morris. Those guys are more return men than starting running backs.

[cbenson5]

I don't see how having the reigning MVP go down could be a blessing.

[12th man seahawks fan]

No one thought Holms going down was either. I think Morris is decent, but dosn't get any carries. Strong will be rushing the ball more than Morris, but it looks like we are going to be supported by our passing game. I don't think Alexander was 100% at any time this season, so I am glad we arn't making him play any more. Our defense is really holding the team together.

Alexander going out a good thing? No.
Will we completly collapse? No.
Will it hurt? A little, but not enough to make us lose too many games.

Bears on Sunday night, going to be fun.

[football junkie]

That "blessing in disguise" as you call it was a direct effect of Alexander averaging 400 carries per season since 2003. I can guarantee that he'll never be the same back again and that Maurice Morris will never be half the back Alexander was.

Which is not to say that Alexander doesn't have maybe one more 1,000 yard season in him but he'll never be dominant again. There's a clear pattern in the NFL of teams burning out running backs in an attempt to make it through the bogus concept of the "window of opportunity" to win it all.

Look at the histories of Priest Holmes, Jamal Anderson, Tiki Barbar, Terrell Davis, Ricky Williams, Eddie George, etc., etc., etc.

[KennyEasley45]

Alexander is a good back, but the million dollar question is: Did Hutch help the running game that much or is Alexander a Great Back who is doing poor due to his injury ? Could Morris run well behind Hutch and Jones if Hutch was still here ? Could my grandma run through those holes ? The Vikings are running the ball pretty good these days. Taylor is getting most of the work and averaging four yards per carry.

[KennyEasley45]

Alexander is a good back, but the million dollar question is: Did Hutch help the running game that much or is Alexander a Great Back who is doing poor due to his injury ? Could Morris run well behind Hutch and Jones if Hutch was still here ? Could my grandma run through those holes ? The Vikings are running the ball pretty good these days. Taylor is getting most of the work and averaging four yards per carry.
Morris is now showing he can run the ball, which makes it easy to keep Alexander in recovery from his injury. Alexander says his foot is fine, but the test show otherwise. Now that Morris is doing well, I"m sure Shaun wants back in. Players won't lie to their coach about an injury / would they ?

[12th man seahawks fan]

You know Alexander wants back in badly. I wouldn't put it past him to stretch the truth to get back to playing. I would hope that he didn't, Morris is doing just fine, but if he wants back in and says he is feeling good, Holmgren won't stop him.

[cbenson5]

Alexander is a good back, but the million dollar question is: Did Hutch help the running game that much or is Alexander a Great Back who is doing poor due to his injury ? Could Morris run well behind Hutch and Jones if Hutch was still here ? Could my grandma run through those holes ? The Vikings are running the ball pretty good these days. Taylor is getting most of the work and averaging four yards per carry.

I haven't watched the Seahawks very much, but I can tell you that Alexander was a fabulous player in college. I think if he is healthy he will be an excellent player on any team. I predict that he will return to MVP caliber play when he gets healthy againn.

[football junkie]

I haven't watched the Seahawks very much, but I can tell you that Alexander was a fabulous player in college. I think if he is healthy he will be an excellent player on any team. I predict that he will return to MVP caliber play when he gets healthy againn.

That's 9/10ths of the problem. Alexander is never going to be healthy again like he was before this injury. Look at how awful he played this week.

Holmgren is being incredibly stupid playing him so soon. He should probably go on the IR. Morris can fill in for him for the rest of the season. If Alexander keeps playing he's just going to hurt himself more.

[cbenson5]

It looks like Shaun Alexander is back. He had 40 carries tonight (an NFL season high) and rushed for 201 yards. Frankly, it shocks me that people are not willing to hang with Alexander when he misses significant playing time for the first time in his career. I guess all the What have you done for me lately fans will be back on his bandwagon now. Congratulations to you Mr. Alexander. Roll Tide!

[football junkie]

One game does not a comeback make. Give him a season and see if he's putting up MVP numbers again. If he does actually make it back, he'll be the exception to the rule. Running backs who are run into the ground the way the Seahawks did with Alexander just don't come back to any prolonged success.

[12th man seahawks fan]

Of course he isn't going to put up numbers like he had last year, Hutch is gone. It's too early to tell what Alexander would do, I think Holmgren may have brought him back too early, but he looks like he is fine.

[Seattle1]

He looks slow and old.

Ha ha, 40 carries and 201 yards is really slow and old! ;)

I bet he still gets 1,000 yards this season!

[KennyEasley45]

I think the Seahawks miss Steve Hutchinson more than they are willing to say. They could have paid Hutch what he wanted and then trade Alexander to Oakland for some draft picks. Shaun will be 30 next year during Camp. That's old for a RB. Hell, any young buck out of college can run through the holes that Hutch and Jones make.

http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/187382

[Seattle1]

Look for Shaun to have another break out year in 2007. 2006 was a hiccup because of the broken foot, Steve Hutchinson or no Steve Hutchinson. No broken foot and he would have gotten another 1,600+ yards and 15+ tds. He's at the top of his game at this point in his career, and I don't think we'll see normal age-related decline in his play for several years yet.