In those great 5 years he had 87 TDs which averages to 17 a year. The average length of the rush TDs scored was 10 yds. 2001(14, 309): 22 yard avg. 2002(16, 136): 9 yard avg. 2003(14, 95): 7 yd avg. 2004(16, 117): 7 yd avg. 2005(27, 256): 9 yd avg. 2001-2005: 87 TDs, 10 yd average per rush TD Let's compare that to Priest Holmes 3 great years in KC: 2001(8, 91): 11 yd avg. 2002(21, 152): 7 yd avg. 2003(27, 173): 6 yd avg. 2001-2003: 56 TDs, 7 yd average per TD rush Longest TD run of '01: 26 yds Longest TD run of '02: 26 yds Longest TD run of '03: 31 yds In 2001 alone Alexander had 4 TD runs longer than 31 yds.
LT: 2001(10,26): 3 yd avg. 2002(14,142): 10 yd avg. 2003(13,228)18 yd avg. 2004(17,73): 4 yd avg. 2005(18,136): 8 yd avg. 2006(28,333): 12 yd avg. 2007(15,207):14 yd avg. 2001-2007: 115 TDs, 10 yd avg(9.956 vs. 10.49 for Alexander)
You can put all the stats up you want, it doesn't change the fact that Alexander would not have done what he did if it weren't for that offensive line. He was not as good as his stats indicate.
Woah, woah, woah. You've made some decent arguments man but this is silly. If 5 yds/carry is to most, considered good, then a 20 yard run is a %400greater gain. This is exceptionally good, and I would absolutely consider 20 yards a long run. Think about it. By 20 yards you have gotten through all levels of the D.
OK you proved it. if it wasn't for his Ol he would have been Blair Thomas but guys like priest Holmes and others would have been great behind the 2007 Jets OL. You complain it was all his Ol and that all he did was run in 1 yd TD runs, I PROVE to you his average TD run was greater than Priest AND LT and now it's just b/c of the OL. So I guess on his 80 yard TD runs his Ol was getting downfield to block everybody? None of this was the result of the talent of Shaun Alexander. He's the worst plyer in the history of the game, what luck to have such a great Ol b/c no other good Rbs played behind great OLs. it was all the effort of those great backs. In 2004 we had an excellent OL and Curtis led the NFL in rushing, in 2005 our OL fell apart and Curtis had the worst year of his career. Even top RBs need some help.
What are you talking about!? I have never said any of this. I didn't complain it was all his OL, nor did I say all he did was run in 1 yd TD runs. Actually I never said anything about his 1 yard TD runs. In fact what I DID say was that a majority of his TD's in 2005 were inside the 10 because when the Seahawks got inside the 10 they mostly ran the ball and ran it to the left side. You are getting way too emotional over this. I never said he was the worst player. I said he was overrated. He was not as good as his stats indicate. Sometimes stats don't tell the whole story. In 2005 Martin banged up his knee early in the season. I never said that RBs didn't need good OL's to be successful. I have said that Alexander benefited from his OL much more than Holmes did or LT did with theirs. Without that dominant OL Alexander would have been a 1100-1200 yd 8-10 TD guy tops. Holmes was a very good back. He was able to run between the tackles, bounce it outside and was an amazing receiver out of the backfield. He was overall a much better RB than Alexander. LT should go down as a Top 5 RB in history.
So Curtis gets a pass for a banged up knee but Alexander doesn't for breaking a toe or foot or whatever injury he had? To say he's overrated is one thing but every time I pull up simialr players you say it was all Ol for Alexander and dismiss him. For those 5 years he was one of the best RBs in football, he didn't last long enough but for those 5 years his #s stack up w/ anyones. I also feel he's a bit overrated but he was still a top RB.
I dismiss Alexander because: Alexander benefited more so than those other players by his OL. I've said it repeatedly. And during those 5 years he had one of the best OL in football.
How many Seahawks games did you actually watch? If you actually saw Shaun Alexander play instead of just looking at the stat sheet on Monday morning it was very clear that Alexander was not nearly as good as his stats indicate. By actually watching the games, it was quite obvious that Alexander lived off of the Seahawks left side of the line.
I have watched enough seahwak games to know how good Alexander was. I don't have them on tape and watch them over and over agin like I do Jet games but I saw enough. You want to call him overrated? That's fine but you are taking all credit away from him and giving it to the Ol which isn't fair. The Seattle OL was excellent but you talk like they are the greatest of all time and that's the only reason Alexander was a good player. You also forget how Seattle never really had top WRs so he was the first key for the defenses and he still had a great 5 years.
I am not taking all credit away from him. I have said in this thread that he would have been an 1100-1200 yds 8-10 TD guy if he played on a different team. That's not taking all of the credit away from him. I have not suggested they were the greatest OL of all time either. I have said that he benefited from his OL much more than other RBs. Darrell Jackson was a top WR.
Darrell Jackson was a GOOD WR, he was never a top WR and I don't know how it can be supported that Alexander benefited more from a good OL than someone like Priest Holmes. There's nothing to back that up, it's pure speculation.
Of course its pure speculation. Except for the fact that he had already rushed for 1,000 yards behind an average line in Baltimore. Darrell Jackson was a very good receiver, but Hasslebeck had three starting caliber receivers to throw to. Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson.
you guys debate the whole supporting cast argument. i wouldnt call him overrated, id say moreso his running style has finally taken a toll on his body. whether the OL gave him great holes to run through early in his career, the point in case is he was a bruiser. fast forward to today and hes starting to go down on contact. very uncharacteristic of him. injuries or not its not something you like to see. im still surprised as to why nobody wants to bring him in and give him a look. thats still surprising. maybe he has an ego and is demanding starting money in a role which hed most likely be a spell back. he has lost some burst and his toughness is now in question. which were his two best assets. maybe its just that simple.
He had 1,008 yds, let's not get carried away and that was his only 1,000 yd season in his 4 seasons in Baltimore. Bam Morris put up similar #s to priest the previous 2 years. Old Bam Morris(who was never good in his prime) and old Earnest Byner combined for 331 carries in 1996 and ran for 1371 yds on 4.1 YPC. In '98 Holmes ran for 1,008 on 4.3 YPC. 2000: 507 attempts, 2960 yds That doesn't change the fact that Seattle never had big time WRs. They had good, not great, WRs and a big reason they were effective was b/c of the fear of the ground game w/ Alexander.
He wasn't even the starter for the first 3 games in 1998 and only had 234 carries. He got hurt in 1999. And they drafted Jamal Lewis in 2000. By the time it was 2000 Jonathan Ogden was a complete and dominant LT. They had a very effective passing game. What difference does it make if they had "great" WRs or not. They had an effective balanced offense. Teams did not stack against the run because the Seahawks could burn them in the air so your theory on why the WRs were effective because of the fear of the ground game is incorrect.
If Baltimore thought they had something special in Holmes they wouldn't have spent a 1st rounder on Jamal lewis. He had a good '98 then got hurt in '99, you don't throw away a good player or draft his replacement after 1 injury. Baltimore didn't draft a 1st rd RB when Lewis got hurt in 2001. The Seahwaks could pass so effectively b/c D's worried about the run first. The only bad year hasslebeck has had since '02 was the ''06 season whent he ground game was poor. Last year Morris had a decent year and overall their ground game was better and it opened up the passsing game. In '06 Alexander and Morris had a YPC of 3.6, last year Morris had a YPC of 4.5 which helped their passing O.
I already explained what happened with Holmes in Baltimore... He got injured in 1999. Baltimore wanted to install a power rushing game and they thought Holmes was too fragile so they drafted Jamal Lewis. They really wanted Holmes to stay with the team in 2000 and asked him not to test the restricted free agent waters. He stayed for the 2000 season then left for FA in 2001 looking and ultimately found a starting job in KC. You believe what you want to believe but they weren't stuffing 8 or 9 in the box to stop the run. The ground game and the passing game suffered in 2006 because of the loss of Steve Hutchinson. # Sacks given up 2004 - 34 2005 - 27 2006 - 49 Last year Hasslebeck had a career year and it had NOTHING to do with Maurice Morris and everything to do with the fact they threw the ball more.
Your comments on Young are similar to Murrell2878's comments on Alexander. The player is overrated, got lucky, had superb teammates, etc.
