Top 5 Seahawks RBs

[seabowl]

Ricky Watters truly did have a career in San Francisco. Was one of the best backs in the league in those years.

Goes to Philly and has another great career during the years when they were almost at the top of the world.

Then comes to Seattle and damned if he isn't way better than average! He always wanted the ball and most times got the job done.

Watters was a damned fine running back and I salute his career and damned glad he spent part of it with the Seahawks.

:th2thumbs:

You are 100% correct. Watters not only had a great career but should also be in the HOF.

 

[dopeboy206]

Chris Warren, Shaun Alexander and Marshawn Lynch are locks in the top 5

 

[loafoftatupu]

Chris Warren, Shaun Alexander and Marshawn Lynch are locks in the top 5

I know Warren had some tough yards, but I remember specifically many of them coming in total garbage time. The Hawks would be down so far that teams would give him huge chunks of yards. It was like he had the numbers, but they were padded heavily.

It also could be because once while walking into Southcenter mall at 6'2 and a fairly solid 215, the huge SOB simply walked into me, knocked me back about 10 feet, didn't say a word and just kept on walking. I got big timed by Chris Warren and I didn't even talk to the guy.

Watters was a tremendous runner, that guy put the Hawks back on track and made them competitive. There was a period where he, Moon, Galloway and a few 2nd tier receivers could light it up. He brought us our first win in KC in a very long time too.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Alexander, Warner, Watters, Lynch and JL Williams

 

[drrew]

He was brought in to take the job to give us cap room, we ended up holding on to him a year longer, a first round pick that started to pout when he wasn't handed the job. This was before red shirting draft picks. 1st rounders were expected to be guys that contributed right away.
.

Stop making things up.

"Ricky is our halfback," he said. "He has earned that. He deserves the respect of everyone. He is a warrior. You need more than one. Ricky has played a long time and I don't know how much longer he is going to play. You're building for the future. (Drafting Alexander) has very little to do with Ricky."

- Mike Holmgren - April 28, 2000

 

[lukerguy]

Based on statistics, it's pretty hard to argue Lynch of Alexander, but if you consider the difference in lines...I would have to go with Lynch.

Can you image Lynch's number over a 5 year period with Walt and Hutch blocking for him? Conversely, can you image Shaun running with the line Lynch ran behind the last few years?

 

[Rainger]

Lynch
Warner
Alexander
Warren
Watters
Williams
Smith
Dornick

 

[HawkWow]

Warner
Lynch
Williams
Watters
Warren / Alexander

My favorites would be

Lynch
Warner / Williams
Watters
Warren / Strong

Took me 20 minutes to type this post. Tough to choose those 3 top spots. Rather amazing when you think about it all. In this short time, Pete has given us (arguably) our best back ever, our best QB ever, our best CB ever and (arguably ) our best *Safety ever and no question, our best ever D. Thanks Pete!

* No, I don't rank Earl over Kenny. No way (at least not yet).

 

[Giblien]

Based on statistics, it's pretty hard to argue Lynch of Alexander, but if you consider the difference in lines...I would have to go with Lynch.

Can you image Lynch's number over a 5 year period with Walt and Hutch blocking for him? Conversely, can you image Shaun running with the line Lynch ran behind the last few years?

:13:

 

[Hawknballs]

1. Lynch
2. Alexander
3. Warner
4. John L. Williams
5. Mack Strong

Just missed: Chris Warren

I know your list didn't include pure FB's but mine does, and Mack was one of the best I've seen.

Warren takes a hit in my book because those 90's teams were so bad it's really hard to know how important his role with the team was.

 

[HawkWow]

1. Lynch
2. Alexander
3. Warner
4. John L. Williams
5. Mack Strong

Just missed: Chris Warren

I know your list didn't include pure FB's but mine does, and Mack was one of the best I've seen.

Warren takes a hit in my book because those 90's teams were so bad it's really hard to know how important his role with the team was.

Warren ran a bit tall for my liking but he was a heckuva back, anyway. But forever he will be stigmatized with some of the off field stuff and as hard as I try to eliminate that from my brain, he takes a hit in my book just the same. OJ was probably as good a back as there ever was, but we now see him as something other than just a running back. Not comparing Warren's transgressions to OJ's, but still, it's a mental phenomenon that's hard to shake.

 

[BASF]

He was brought in to take the job to give us cap room, we ended up holding on to him a year longer, a first round pick that started to pout when he wasn't handed the job. This was before red shirting draft picks. 1st rounders were expected to be guys that contributed right away.
.

Stop making things up.

"Ricky is our halfback," he said. "He has earned that. He deserves the respect of everyone. He is a warrior. You need more than one. Ricky has played a long time and I don't know how much longer he is going to play. You're building for the future. (Drafting Alexander) has very little to do with Ricky."

- Mike Holmgren - April 28, 2000

Not that Chris can't speak for himself, but I actually think he is referring to the 2001 season where Shaun had a year under his belt and Watters' abilities had degraded a bit which you could see in the preseason but Watters still won the starting job and probably would have kept it if he hadn't hurt his shoulder in the third or fourth week of the season. Of course knowing now to what extent Holmgren preferred his veterans, it may just have been that he wanted to ride Watters as long as he could.

 

[chris98251]

He was brought in to take the job to give us cap room, we ended up holding on to him a year longer, a first round pick that started to pout when he wasn't handed the job. This was before red shirting draft picks. 1st rounders were expected to be guys that contributed right away.
.

Stop making things up.

"Ricky is our halfback," he said. "He has earned that. He deserves the respect of everyone. He is a warrior. You need more than one. Ricky has played a long time and I don't know how much longer he is going to play. You're building for the future. (Drafting Alexander) has very little to do with Ricky."

- Mike Holmgren - April 28, 2000

Not that Chris can't speak for himself, but I actually think he is referring to the 2001 season where Shaun had a year under his belt and Watters' abilities had degraded a bit which you could see in the preseason but Watters still won the starting job and probably would have kept it if he hadn't hurt his shoulder in the third or fourth week of the season. Of course knowing now to what extent Holmgren preferred his veterans, it may just have been that he wanted to ride Watters as long as he could.

Yes that was the period I was referring to, Shaun was in Pout mode from the beginning of the year. Watters also had a bigger then life personality as well that he was a leader on a team that was needing them. It's when Shaun started playing that we became offensively predictable.

 

[Escamillo]

Just a few thoughts:
Curt Warner is my favorite Seahawks RB of all time. And had he stayed healthy, would have competed with Eric Dickerson for best RB of that era.

Chris Warren is my least favorite Seahawk of all time. Why? Because he came out publicly in FAVOR of Ken Behring moving the team to California. All because he thought he wasn't getting his due national recognition, because he was toiling away in the boondocks of Southeast Alaska. This, whle Tez was publicly campaigning to keep the team in Seattle.

Sherman Smith was my first "favorite Seahawk" when I was a young tike. I'm glad he was on the team's coaching staff when we won the SB.

Shawn Alexander, I believe to be the greatest Seahawk RB to this date.

Marshawn Lynch is the hardest runner of Seahawks RBs to this date.

John L. Williams is the best Seahawk fullback to this date, and likely will remain so until teams again use the fullback as more than just a blocker. John L was a good runner and a great receiver.

 

[loafoftatupu]

Warren ran a bit tall for my liking but he was a heckuva back, anyway.

Totally agree. There was just something weird about that. He used to return kicks too (often in those days ) he actually led the league returning kicks in 92 I think. He would field them at the 1 and return many of them to the 25, seemingly getting there before the coverage made it downfield. The Hawks would receive 5 kicks and Warren would have over 100 return yards with a high average.

I don't know, I just don't think top 5 when I think of Warren even though there were times when he was the only offense. Warner, SA, Watters, JLW, Lynch yes... but Warren is just a reminder of the darkest days to me.

 

[Scottemojo]

Warner will always be my favorite, he was my first jersey, my first seahawk hero. When he went down on that godawful turf, I cried. Cut me some slack, I was 12. Without injuries, Warner could have put up Dickerson numbers with toughness up the middle like the hallowed one, Walter Payton. I have to make Warner 2nd.

Lynch is the best. Blocks, runs tough, and has done so behind some ugly blocking. Lynch can get in a defense's head with a two yard run that takes 6 guys to bring him down. Beastquake will live in infamy for the best back Seattle has ever had. When the Niners were rocking one of the best run defenses of all time, Lynch was the one guy they could not stop.

If Alexander had been as eager to take people on as he was when he got the ball in the red zone, he would be first. Numbers aside, he had less grit than both Lynch and Warner. Alexander was not totally a product of the line, but it was part of his transcendant numbers. For about 4 years there, Ladanian Tomlinson and Alexander ruled fantasy football. The way his career ended after that payday still leaves a sour taste.

Watters. It's too bad he becomes a post script for Alexander, but he does. Too short a tenure to be higher than Alexander.

Warren put up numbers, but most of his repertoire was student body left, lope east and west all upright real slow behind a lineman, then dart forward for six somewhere around the numbers or sideline. I do have to give him credit for producing a 4 plus average on one of the worst passing offenses ever seen, so there is that.

 

[Seahawkfan80]

He was brought in to take the job to give us cap room, we ended up holding on to him a year longer, a first round pick that started to pout when he wasn't handed the job. This was before red shirting draft picks. 1st rounders were expected to be guys that contributed right away.

Granted I hated his style, much like Franco Harris, where Franco ran out of bounds Alexander perfected the falling fetal position and never saw a person that he could'nt whiff a block on.

Also it took Holmgren questioning his toughness and calling him out to light a fire under his butt.

And as was quoted by John Madden one year. Shaun Alexander will last many years in the NFL because he just does not get hit. If ya are always escaping hits, you will last longer. But Ya may not be doing all you can do for the team.

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

1. Shaun Alexander
2. Marshawn Lynch
3. Curt Warner
4. Ricky Watters/Mack Strong
5. Chris Warren/John L. Williams

My list is both with and without the FB position. The OP's criteria said without, and thus Watters and Warren make the list. But to me, having a list without including fullbacks leaves off a couple of the best backs we've seen in the Seahawks uniform.

The first three are easy. Their position relative to one another is probably debatable, but their status as the top three is hard to argue against. They are a cut above the rest, and by a good bit.

Shaun Alexander suffers from public perception based on a year running with a broken foot. For years before that, I can't recall ever hearing the "soft" label about him. All we ever heard was how smooth he was, and how long that streak of at least one run of 10+ yards per game had become. Remember that? Every Sunday it was a given that Alexander was going to get his yards, and with it at least one decent run to extend that streak. Each run may have been inconsistent in that he gained yardage in a very Barry Sanders-esque fasion: sometimes a loss of two, sometimes a gain of 35. But while that aspect of his game may have been inconsistent, what was very consistent was his ability to get yardage by the time the game was done. You could not contain him; you could only postpone the yardage and try to mitigate the damage. I think if he'd have been IR'ed in '06 and allowed to heal completely, he'd have been a very different -- and much more productive -- back for years longer than he was, and our perception of him would be far different than it is.

Marshawn Lynch, on the other hand, benefits from public perception based on his running style, and largely influenced by one single play. While he is a great runner, and could well end up on top of the pile as the greatest Seahawks running back ever, he is a bit overrated when it comes to public perception. Everyone makes the comparison between the '05 and '13 offensive line, and uses that as an excuse for Alexander's dominance, but the '13 team wasn't that bad at run blocking. It was pass protection they were dismal at much of the time. And Lynch often runs straight into contact rather than avoiding it. While he has had some amazing plays juking opposing players out of their shoes, he often bulldozes straight into the defense and takes the hard yards, counting on blown tackles to add to his totals, instead of stepping around contact like Alexander did. If he had the '05 line in front of him, he'd almost certainly get more yards than behind the '13 line. But he may not get the yards people assume because of his running style. Still, he has the potential to eclipse Alexander if he gets the yards and touchdowns over the next few years. If their numbers are close, Lynch gets the nod in my opinion. He's not there yet, but he could get there if we don't move on before it happens.

Curt Warner suffers from the difference between potential and actual production. While he may have been the most talented back the Seahawks have ever seen, we'll never know if he was the best. He didn't put up the consistent, long-term numbers to make that case. That's just the way it is. Still, he's undeniably better than the rest of the guys on the list, and will be for quite some time. It'll take another long and accolade-filled career for him to be bumped into fourth place by another Seahawks back.

 

[Seafan]

Marshawn Lynch
Curt Warner
Ricky Watters
John L Williams
Shaun Alexander
Chris Warren
Theotis Brown
Sherman Smith
David Sims
Derrick Fenner

 

[Anthony!]

He was brought in to take the job to give us cap room, we ended up holding on to him a year longer, a first round pick that started to pout when he wasn't handed the job. This was before red shirting draft picks. 1st rounders were expected to be guys that contributed right away.
.

Stop making things up.

"Ricky is our halfback," he said. "He has earned that. He deserves the respect of everyone. He is a warrior. You need more than one. Ricky has played a long time and I don't know how much longer he is going to play. You're building for the future. (Drafting Alexander) has very little to do with Ricky."

- Mike Holmgren - April 28, 2000

Not that Chris can't speak for himself, but I actually think he is referring to the 2001 season where Shaun had a year under his belt and Watters' abilities had degraded a bit which you could see in the preseason but Watters still won the starting job and probably would have kept it if he hadn't hurt his shoulder in the third or fourth week of the season. Of course knowing now to what extent Holmgren preferred his veterans, it may just have been that he wanted to ride Watters as long as he could.

Yes that was the period I was referring to, Shaun was in Pout mode from the beginning of the year. Watters also had a bigger then life personality as well that he was a leader on a team that was needing them. It's when Shaun started playing that we became offensively predictable.

Hmm I would sure love to see some proof of any of that, it is obvious you are not an Alexander fan, neither am I, but I still give him credit and unless you can support your claim with something, you really only have your obviously biased opinion. Let me remind you it is the supposedly offensively predictability that got us to our first SB and gave us our first and only MVP. It also gave us 5 straight years of being top 10 in total offense, scoring offense, rushing offense so it could not have been that predictable or it would have been stopped.

Now as to the backs

Well as I said our only mvp, the first SB, all the records hard not to put Alexander 1, Lynch 2, Warner 3, Watters 4, warren 5.