Walter Jones throws shadow on Alexander...

[drdiags]

Alexander was able to extend runs because of our receivers mostly Joe Jaravicious. He was so good at blocking CB's and safeties down the field.
I really believe once Joe left, Alexander's production went down as well, check the stats.

Joe J was only with the team one year. Are you saying Alexander's production was only 1 year's worth? I know the love for Joe J ran deep but not sure I am buying this point.

 

[Smellyman]

Alexander was able to extend runs because of our receivers mostly Joe Jaravicious. He was so good at blocking CB's and safeties down the field.
I really believe once Joe left, Alexander's production went down as well, check the stats.

Weird post o the day

 

[Tech Worlds]

Alexander was able to extend runs because of our receivers mostly Joe Jaravicious. He was so good at blocking CB's and safeties down the field.
I really believe once Joe left, Alexander's production went down as well, check the stats.

Weird post o the day

He obviously started following the Seahawks when they went to thier first superbowl.

 

[Bobblehead]

Have you seen Alexanders stats for 2k5?

and

Interestingly, they went to the SB.

Just saying, we had a lot of good receivers who blocked well down field.. and especially Joe, even if for the one year.

 

[Rob12]

"All he had to do was make a linebacker or safety miss"

The thing is - that's what he did, time and time again. Marshawn can break tackles but those safeties and linebackers never got near Alexander, that's what made him a great back.

Alexander put up 1667 carries over a five year period (average 333 per year) without missing a game - and even in his 2006 injury season averaged 25 carries a game over the 10 game he played - including a 40 carry game against the Packers.

OK he didn't have the perception of toughness that Lynch has, but how many backs manage 333 carries in a single season let alone average it for 5 years? Lynch didn't hit that mark once in his career. No player in 2015 hit that mark, DeMarco Murray hit 392 last year and promptly disappeared this year, no player hit it in 2013 and 2012 is the only year since 2008 where more than one player has managed it.

Lack of toughness my ass.

Lynch is a great running back, but Rawls showed last year that his lack of speed left many yards on the field because safeties and linebackers could get to him and slow him down where a back like Alexander wouldn't have been touched in the first place.

Best post in this thread.

Alexander was special, too. So was Beast. They were different backs with very different running styles.

Really surprised at the lack of folks in here not respecting Shaun's game. Read that post quoted above again, please.

 

[Rob12]

It's pretty funny - the folks that are saying that Shaun would have been nothing without his line sound a hell of a lot like those that say RW isn't elite, and has won and played brilliantly only because of the Beast and an elite defense backing him up.

Good, very good, and great running backs typically need a good line to run behind. It shouldn't and doesn't subtract from their accomplishments.

It's called a TEAM for a reason... All working parts moving together in cohesion.

 

[Mistashoesta]

Surprised to hear that come from Walt.

Seattle fans are brutal on their running backs. Thanks for all the hard work fella. Sorry you had a injury plagued final season with us, but ehhh, we're ready to move on. Pick up your check at the door.

Tread carefully Rawls.

[youtube]9iFsJ4bF3Sc[/youtube]

Embed does not work so here is the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=9iFsJ4bF3Sc

 

[two dog]

Walter Jones contribution to this team demands that his opinion be taken seriously.
You may disagree, which you have every right to do.

Some of your opinions also deserve to be taken seriously. Your arguments are well ordered
and well presented. In the end though, they are just opinions. Which are certainly as good
as my opinion or that of one another.

I just think Walts' opinion is better informed than any of us.

 

[Rob12]

Walter Jones contribution to this team demands that his opinion be taken seriously.
You may disagree, which you have every right to do.

Some of your opinions also deserve to be taken seriously. Your arguments are well ordered
and well presented. In the end though, they are just opinions. Which are certainly as good
as my opinion or that of one another.

I just think Walts' opinion is better informed than any of us.

You'd just think the Seahawks are throwing out three or four Hall of Famers a year when reading how quite a few feel about Shaun here.

He was a workhorse, and moved the chains for a lot of years. Defenses had to really account for Shaun, just like they did with 'Shawn.

I don't know why both backs can't be great.

 

[chris98251]

Walter Jones contribution to this team demands that his opinion be taken seriously.
You may disagree, which you have every right to do.

Some of your opinions also deserve to be taken seriously. Your arguments are well ordered
and well presented. In the end though, they are just opinions. Which are certainly as good
as my opinion or that of one another.

I just think Walts' opinion is better informed than any of us.

You'd just think the Seahawks are throwing out three or four Hall of Famers a year when reading how quite a few feel about Shaun here.

He was a workhorse, and moved the chains for a lot of years. Defenses had to really account for Shaun, just like they did with 'Shawn.

I don't know why both backs can't be great.

Easy answer, it's the off season and look at the header on the page....................

 

[SixSeahawk]

Surprised to hear that come from Walt.

Seattle fans are brutal on their running backs. Thanks for all the hard work fella. Sorry you had a injury plagued final season with us, but ehhh, we're ready to move on. Pick up your check at the door.

Tread carefully Rawls.

[youtube]9iFsJ4bF3Sc[/youtube]

Embed does not work so here is the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=9iFsJ4bF3Sc

THIS!

 

[McGruff]

Oh, you're correct here, munn. I my have been a bit harsh when it comes to Shaun being a pansy, but from a production standpoint, I get it, and I agree. Well said.

My point is that toward the end there, he was making business/personal decisions early into some runs that caused me to throw things at the wall around my TV screen. It seemed like SA saw the play was diagnosed, rarely adjusted, and when the pursuit was there, he took a knee. That may have been a little Holmy-isms worked into the brain, but I just think he went into self-preservation mode a little too early.

There were times when our O-linemen would even tell the D what was coming and SA would wheel trough it all with ease. He absolutely helped our team, and he didn't earn an MVP of the league for running the wrong way on the field. Kudos for what was accomplished. (Not to mention, he's one HELL of a nice guy to talk with).

Marshawn just makes those guys pay for being in his way when they see what's coming at them. Even when he was hurt. DB's made "business decisions" on Lynch. Never saw a DB ever give Alexander a whiff, they tacked the crap out of him.

A lot

I think what happened towards the end of Shaun's career was that he could see the hole, he could see the block, he could see the cutback, he could see the angles, but he just couldn't get his broke down body to get where he could see he needed to go.

 

[beaumaris]

The way I remember Alexander was,he seemed to manage third down and short in the red zone,yet struggle
to do the same elsewhere on the field.

 

[Ozzy]

Alexander was a great back. It's completely fine to say Lynch is better but I think people are selling SA a little short. You have to be somewhat tough to avg 330 carries over any length of time. Tough crowd.

 

[kobebryant]

Alexander was a great back. It's completely fine to say Lynch is better but I think people are selling SA a little short. You have to be somewhat tough to avg 330 carries over any length of time. Tough crowd.

Agreed.

I also prefer Lynch; but using internet anonymity to call someone who carried the rock that much in the NFL "soft" is ridiculous to me.

 

[drrew]

Alexander was a great back. It's completely fine to say Lynch is better but I think people are selling SA a little short. You have to be somewhat tough to avg 330 carries over any length of time. Tough crowd.

Agreed.

I also prefer Lynch; but using internet anonymity to call someone who carried the rock that much in the NFL "soft" is ridiculous to me.

We've had at least one mod say this very thing...repeatedly. Drives me crazy.

 

[Barthawk]

The mob is fickle, brother. He'll be forgotten in a month.

http://movie-sounds.org/famous-movie-sa ... in-a-month

 

[Anonymous]

Interestingly enough, moderator status doesn't mean we're chosen for our ability to abstain from having our own opinions be known, nor were we chosen for being statistically (or even morally) correct when it comes to the issues at hand regarding the team. Mods simply are here to assist in keeping kind folks kind to each other. Doesn't mean we aren't bat-shit crazy once in a while, (sorry Sac...).

The fact remains that a signed Shaun Alexander pic hangs on my office wall, and I give it a glance each day with a fond heart. I remember the great times, the numbers accumulated, and the accolades received, but I also remember him falling down into a mass of wrinkled uniform, mud and disappointment after a one-handed foot tackle. That is what was disappointing to me and I wished I didn't have to witness that decline first hand.

The real difference between Marshawn and Shaun, is that SA continued until his play became a liability, and that is the exact truth. Marshawn is leaving having had not disappointed me in the slightest. That, is my point.

Call it the FO's fault, call it the salary cap, the draft, whatever; it was and is the case. Mod or not, I have a memory, and a lot of VHS tapes to refer to that support my position. So fire all the opinions you have in here too so we can read them. I, for one, am interested in hearing the varying viewpoints, and will be judgmental of none of them.

 

[kobebryant]

Alexander was a great back. It's completely fine to say Lynch is better but I think people are selling SA a little short. You have to be somewhat tough to avg 330 carries over any length of time. Tough crowd.

Agreed.

I also prefer Lynch; but using internet anonymity to call someone who carried the rock that much in the NFL "soft" is ridiculous to me.

We've had at least one mod say this very thing...repeatedly. Drives me crazy.

I don't know if people truly appreciate what it takes to even get through a collegiate strength and conditioning program, nevermind strapping it up and playing pro ball on sundays.

Freaks like Marshawn, Gronk and Watt tip the scale so far that other bad bad dudes don't come across as such.

 

[BirdsCommaAngry]

Alexander was a great back. It's completely fine to say Lynch is better but I think people are selling SA a little short. You have to be somewhat tough to avg 330 carries over any length of time. Tough crowd.

Agreed.

I also prefer Lynch; but using internet anonymity to call someone who carried the rock that much in the NFL "soft" is ridiculous to me.

We've had at least one mod say this very thing...repeatedly. Drives me crazy.

I don't know if people truly appreciate what it takes to even get through a collegiate strength and conditioning program, nevermind strapping it up and playing pro ball on sundays.

Freaks like Marshawn, Gronk and Watt tip the scale so far that other bad bad dudes don't come across as such.

Indeed. Shaun Alexander seems "soft" if he's only compared to someone who plays like Marshawn Lynch did. (Wow, it stings to write about Lynch in the past tense.) Shaun was one of the tougher guys on the planet if he's compared to the global population during the bulk of his career. In other words, it's a framing bias. Shaun is as tough as whoever he's compared to and we frequently fail to compare him in a context that demonstrates both how awesome and imperfect he was as a player.