This guy went from setting the NFL TD record to being waived in less than 4 years. He has to really be messed up for some team to not even try him out.
He was very overrated to begin with. He lived off of Hutchinson and Jones on the left side. Plus, he was always all about himself. Classless clown deserves to be out of the league.
You're completely wrong about this guy...his career's over NOW, but he was a damn good running back for the majority of this decade. Sure he ran behind two of the best offensive linemen in the game, but is that his fault? No. He was a top running back in the NFL for most of his career. People didn't knock Priest Holmes for dominating behind one of the best offensive lines of all time. The same comparison can be used on Larry Johnson. Also, Tomlinson isn't thought of differently for running behind the best fullback in the game and a very, very good offensive line. Talent around a player is a stupid excuse to use... The only time Alexander was "all about himself" was when he called Reid a backstabber for not giving him carries late in a game. He needed one yard to win the rushing title over Curtis Martin. Any player in the league would've been upset about that...
Two things though if I am not mistaken.... 1. He FUMBLED on that near TD vs NYJ which turned the tide of that game completely in 2004. He doesnt fumble and goes in the endzone, theres your 1-2 yards. 2. His team I think vs ATL was tied and his coach wanted to do a QB Sneak I believe which is what triggered Alexander to be upset. I think the play worked though. Alexander I still dont think had any right to call out his coach and question his move to try and win a game. Alexander's just been hurt too much and is too slow now to be a major impact for any team.
I'm with Mr. Electric, I never read anything about him being difficult. However, there must be more to it than his last injury...
He was pathetic in 2007. He frequently went down upon first contact. He looked to run to the sidelines as often as possible. He had a terrible season. He was a jerk with the whole rushing title thing in late 2004. However, he was not a jerk in the 2002 game vs Minnesota. He scored 5 TDs in the first half. If he played at all in the second half, it was only a few plays. He did not complain. One more touchdown and he would have tied Ernie Nevers, Dub Jones, and Gale Sayers as the only players to score 6 touchdowns in one game.
It's not unusual for RBs to fall that quickly. Those guys take a big pounding every year and the body can only take so much.
He benefited from that OL moreso than Tomlinson benefits from SD's line and Holmes benefited from KC's line. Those two were much better RBs than Alexander ever was. Talent around a player is not a stupid excuse to use. Is Emmitt Smith the all-time rushing leader w/o the offensive line he had? What if we had drafted him instead of Blair Thomas? Would he be the all-time rushing leader? The fact is and always will be that Alexander was overrated.
If that is the case then how come Baltimore had Holmes and drafted jamal Lewis in the 1st rd then KC had no problem replacing him? The man averaged 1500 yds a year from 2001-2005 w/ a 4.5 YPC and averaged 17 rush TDs a year. That's pretty damn good and along the way he helped Seattle get to 5 postseasons, led them to a SB and won a league MVP. I woulnd't put him up there w/ the best of all time but for a 5 year stretch he belongs and he's been a top back most of his career. 1653-7504
Two reasons. One he was injured in 1999. And two, Billick wanted to install a power running game. Priest Holmes did not fit the bill. Most people in Baltimore thought he was too injury prone as well. They were able to replace him in KC because they did have a good OL, probably the best and Larry Johnson is a pretty good back. Thank you for the stats update. However I am saying that Alexander benefited from having the best OG, and the best OT in the NFL to run behind. That's why his stats during that stretch was so great. Case in point: Prior to Hutchinson leaving: Shaun Alexander '01 4.3 YPC '02 4.0 YPC '03 4.4 YPC '04 4.8 YPC '05 5.1 YPC Maurice Morris '02 4.8 YPC '03 6.3 YPC '04 4.2 YPC '05 4.1 YPC Post Hutchinson Alexander '06 3.6 YPC Morris '06 3.8 YPC I won't count 07 because Alexander was injured all year...but you get the point. I'm not saying Morris is as good as Alexander either, but when you see a significant drop off in rushing production from both your starter and backup you see what kind of loss Hutchinson was. I feel Alexander was very overrated and if he played on a team with an average OL, he would never have been NFL MVP. He also wasn't much of a threat out of the backfield, and in today's game being able to catch the ball as a RB is very important to the teams success. He was a nice fantasy back during those years though..I wish I had him on my team.
Baltimore had him for 3 seasons so the injury in '99 wasn't the reason they decided to draft Lewis. They didn't feel Holmes was a feature back. You say that(and I agree that obviously helps) but earlier in this post you say how KC had such a great OL. Look at all the top backs and show me any of them that have done it w/o a good OL. That's a little unfair since Alexander got hurt in 2006 and the man still had a 200+ yd game in 2006. Does 2007 not count? Morris averaged 4.5 YPC last year and Chester Taylor went from 4.4, 4.5, 4.2 YPC in from '03-'05 to 4.0 YPC in '06 w/ Hutch. Show me a RB who was NFL MVP who played behind an average OL. That's a different argument, RBs are judged mainly on how the run the football not what they do in the receiving game and he stakcs up well in the rushing dep't and he did have 44, 59 & 42 recs from '01-'03 so he could be effective as a receiver. He was a GREAT fantasy back. I do agree he was a tad overrated as a REAL player but he was still a top back for a 5 year stretch which is very good.
I cited TWO reasons, not one. He was injured in 1999 and they were very concerned about his knee injury. They did feel he wasn’t the back to use in their power running game they wanted to install. He showed he could be a feature back when he was a 1,000 yard rusher in 1998 but after the knee injury most people in Baltimore felt he was too fragile. And I said I felt Alexander benefited more so than Holmes benefited from KC’s OL. He hurt his hand not his knee. It didn’t affect HIS play. I don’t remember comparing Chester Taylor to Shaun Alexander. But the Vikings went from a team that averaged 3.9 YPC to 4.1 YPC in one year and 5.3 YPC last year. Fine, let’s include 2007. Alexander 3.5 YPC Morris 4.5 YPC Although, I did like their schedule against the run last year: Code: Seattle Seahawks Rush TD's Week vs. Run Allowed 1 Tampa Bay 107.9 11 2 Arizona 97.9 13 3 Cincinnati 118.3 11 4 San Francisco 118.5 9 5 Pittsburgh 89.9 6 6 New Orleans 102.9 7 7 St. Louis 115.2 16 8 BYE - - 9 Cleveland 129.5 8 10 San Francisco 118.5 9 11 Chicago 122.9 17 12 St. Louis 115.2 16 13 Philadelphia 95.8 10 14 Arizona 97.9 13 15 Carolina 110.7 13 16 Baltimore 79.2 9 17 Atlanta 127.1 12 Uh, ok. Let me put it another way, if there was a decent runner in Sea. instead of Alexander there would have been a good chance they could have been an 1800 26 TD runner and NFL MVP as well. He had a TON of drops. Yes, he was a great fantasy back.
I agree. I think we fans hyped him up due to production, but insiders, probably knew he was a soft RB, who benefited from a good offensive line. Yeah he has talent too, but probably not as much as his production indicates. And now with some injuries and not the same offensive line reality set in quickly.
How can you call a guy that put up big numbers "overrated"? He produced those stats. It's not like the "experts" predicted him to dominate and he didn't. He actually put up dominant numbers and controlled the clock for one of the better teams in the NFC for about 5 years. That Maurice Morris YPC stat is worthless. He's a spell back. He ran against tired defenses that Alexander wore down. If Morris was so good, Holmgren wouldn't have signed TJ Duckett and Julius Jones to run the ball in Seattle.
