ProFootballCentral.com

 

By PFC Writer Brian Harrington  

The National Football League officially now has the “Not for Long” moniker stamped onto the label due to the number of casualties, especially at the running back position that this league has went through. The latest name in this long list is now former NFL MVP in the 2005 season, running back Shaun Alexander. Explain to me why a running back who has rushed for 9,429 yards and 100 touchdowns is now sitting in the “not for long” unemployment line? The answer could be the number 8. What does the number 8 mean? No I am not referring to the 8 year deal he signed in 2006. That would be the 8 injuries that Alexander has sustained in his eight year career.

It is hard to believe that Alexander went his first two seasons in the NFL without an injury but that changed in October of 2002 when he injured his knee and then he capped off his 2002 campaign with an injured foot. When a running back has sustained ankle, foot, knee, wrist and head injuries during his career, it is very hard for me to believe the rumors that Alexander has played the past two seasons “too soft”. I do agree with the assessment that he takes a little too long to hit the hole and is very patient doing so but to question this man’s toughness is flat out wrong. The Seahawks (instead of reaching an injury settlement with Alexander) decided to in a classy move wait till he passed a physical to show other teams that Alexander can and will compete at full speed with no restrictions at training camp.

The fact remains that the harder you play this game the shorter your career will be and the name of Robert Smith comes to mind right away when I think of that statement. The (at the time) 28 year old Robert Smith rushed for 6,818 yards and 32 touchdowns in eight seasons as a Viking and really fell under the radar and to this day has not received the proper credit he deserves. Smith easily could have played five more seasons in this league but already underwent 3 knee operations and decided that the right thing for him to do was retire early instead of risking a possible serious injury.

Another running back in July of 1999, also decided to retire early instead of withstanding a possible serious injury and that was Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. Although the main reason Sanders did retire was because he was fed up with the teams losing streak, he did leave football healthy. He gained 15,269 rushing yards, 2,921 receiving yards, and 109 touchdowns (99 rushing and 10 receiving). He retired within a one-season striking distance of Walter Payton’s career rushing mark of 16,726 yards. Only Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith have rushed for more yards than Sanders but the fact remains that this league eats up running backs and spits them out and Sanders did not want to be another name on that long list.

The fact remains, that there are a lot of NFL General Managers out there that believe that the injuries have succumbed to Alexander and that he should just retire with his head held high. When I hear these rumors I do realize that Alexander has fell off from his 1,880 yard season in 2005 but did we really think he could do that again?? I really think that some people think that if a player like Michael Strahan can get 22.5 sacks in 2001 that he could have got 26 sacks in 2002 but that didn’t happen and the simple reason is this: game film. After every season NFL teams look at the game film diligently every single day and do whatever they can to make sure that Michael Strahan didn’t get 23 sacks and that Shaun Alexander didn’t rush for 1900 yards. Besides that the fact remains that defensive ends hit players and running backs well, they get hit and have to endure a more rigorous workload.

Do I think that Shaun Alexander can rush for a few more 1,000 yard seasons? That is very hard to tell because Alexander does have a lot to prove with being released from the only team that he has played for.  He definitely wants to show critics he has not lost a step. He has publicly stated that he wants to play again but do any teams want him??

Looking at the current state of the NFL running back depth charts, the two headed running back monster thanks to Jacksonville (Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones Drew) has became really a must have in the league.  So what teams can afford Shaun Alexander? Well the answer for that is no one because I don’t think any team will offer him the kind of money that Seattle gave him during the peak of his career. Looking at this league right now the Chiefs, Patriots, Bears, Redskins, Chargers, Detroit, Eagles, Arizona, and St Louis all could use a compliment to their starter and I will look into those situations individually right now.

Kansas City Chiefs- The Kansas City Chiefs have showed one thing during their 2007 season and that was that they cannot win without Larry Johnson. That is not a good thing. The fact remains that this team lost their last 8 games without Johnson. I do believe that Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles will be good running backs, but this will be a few years to come.  Having Alexander work with Johnson, Smith and Charles in a similar way that Priest Holmes did with Johnson will do nothing but help Johnson and the Chiefs.

Chicago Bears- The Chicago Bears right now have an offense riddled with question marks. There whole offense besides there offensive line have huge question marks so why not but the incumbent quarterback Rex Grossman at ease a little bit with a veteran like Shaun Alexander? I know Lovie Smith has said that he is set at the running back position but this team has a questionable quarterback, questionable receivers and not a proven running back what does this mean? Disaster. I think that Adrian Peterson and Garret Wolfe are good backup running backs but I highly doubt that he can handle the ball 320 plus times. I also think that throwing rookie Matt Forte into the starting lineup so early will hurt his chances at a great NFL career. I think signing Alexander to a two or three year deal and allowing Forte to learn under Alexander will benefit everyone on this team including taking the pressure off Grossman and this receiving core.

 

New England Patriots- When Shaun Alexander went public after his release he stated that he still wants to do something that he has wanted to do for eight seasons and that’s to win a Super Bowl. What team has the best chance of doing so? The New England Patriots.  While I do think that Laurence Maroney is a great running back, he definitely needs a player like Alexander to give him some rest on the sideline. Maroney has yet to rush for 1000 yards in two seasons and after the 2007 departure of Corey Dillon, the workload was handed to Maroney. He did miss three games last season. In his two seasons as a pro, Maroney has injured his shoulder and his ribs and may need to lower his workload.  Having a better running back than Kevin Faulk to carry the workload (while Maroney is out resting) Alexander could be used. He has experience with high octane offenses (like the Patriots) thanks to his work with Seattle. I do think he would definitely take a pay cut to play for the Patriots because his odds of leaving this game with a ring would be greatly improved.

Washington Redskins- Call me crazy but am I the only one to think that Clinton Portis is the most underrated player in the league? I think the fact that he got injured in 2006 and only played half a season may have dimmed his spotlight, but he has rushed for atleast more than 1200 yards five of the six seasons that he has played. What does this mean? I think that there may be a fear of slowing down for the seven year veteran. It seems like the more times the Redskins give Portis the ball then the more yards he rushes. However, I really do think that giving Portis the ball more than 320 times will definitely take a toll on the Hurricane alum.  The Redskins should pay close attention to the Alexander situation because the more times the Seahawks gave the ball to Alexander (like Portis) the more yards he rushed but he began to slow down and became injury prone is now looking for work. I am not saying this to jinx Portis but I think bringing in Alexander to give Portis some rest definitely would help this team and prolong Portis’s career.

 

San Diego Chargers- How cool would it be for Philip Rivers to have Ladanian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander in his backfield? With the departure of Michael Turner to Atlanta, the Chargers now have a hole in the running back position and that could definitely hurt Tomlinson’s chances of having another 1000 yard plus season. I do think that Darren Sproles is a good running back but not a better option than Shaun Alexander. With this team giving their backup the ball 228 times in 4 seasons, I definitely think that Alexander would be the best compliment to Tomlinson. He would  take a lot of pressure off of Tomlinson who has never missed a regular season game due to injury and maybe that good luck can rub off on Alexander (I said maybe).

 

Detroit Lions- The Detroit Lions decided to make a similar move that the Seahawks made this off season, releasing their starting running back of last year due to injury in Kevin Jones. The big question that remains is, do we really think that Tatum Bell can be a legitimate starting running back for this team? The answer may be no but they did draft running back Kevin Smith with the presumption that he could possibly carry the ball as a starting running back in this league. There is no doubt that Kevin Smith was a very good collegiate running back when he rushed for a NCAA record last year with 2,567 yards but that was at the collegiate level. The one big knock on Smith is speed.  The fact that NFL defenses are a lot faster than college defenses may result in a difficult transition to the pros.  Maybe it is best for him to compliment a veteran such as Alexander, provide leadership to Smith, and allow him to learn under Alexander for a few season’s. Detroit may be the only team in the league right now where Alexander can jump into and start right away.

Philadelphia Eagles- Another team that could give Shaun Alexander a chance at the Lombardi trophy could be the Philadelphia Eagles. While there is no doubt that Westbrook may be the best running back in the NFC , there was a time in this league specifically 2005 that Alexander was the best. Looking at this team’s depth chart there may be only one other running back in this league injured more than Alexander and that’s the backup to Brian Westbrook- Correl Buckhalter. Buckhalter may be an inspiring story for the Eagles after knee injuries forced him to miss three out of four seasons from 2002-2005. When healthy, Buckhalter has been very productive, averaging 4.5 yards per carry over his career, which ranks tied for 5th on the club’s all-time list with former Eagle great Wilbert Montgomery. The team’s fourth round draft choice in 2001, Buckhalter amassed a team rookie-rushing record with 586 yards, and later posted a career-high 9 TDs in 2003. The fact remains when you line up Shaun Alexander with Correl Buckhalter,  Alexander would be a better compliment to Westbrook. Also, the fact that other defenses would have to adjust several times to the different playing styles of Westbrook and Alexander could be a very good thing for the Eagles’ offense.

 

Arizona Cardinals- The Arizona Cardinals may be the best team in the NFC West right now surpassing Alexander’s former team and how great would it be for Alexander to play his former team twice a year?? Let’s look at another Miami Hurricane alum that has pretty much carried this team’s running game on his back for the past two seasons: Edgerrin James. James has put up some very impressive numbers in his first two seasons in Arizona rushing for 1.159 yards in 2006 and 1.222 yards in 2007 but the fear of breaking down definitely worries me.  The team before James already gave backup’s Marcell Shipp and JJ Arrington opportunities to be the starter on this team and they both have failed. This is why I think bringng in Alexander will give this team an opportunity to allow James a chance at more breathers on the sideline and an inside look at a team they play twice a season in the Seahawks. I really don’t think there is a player on the Seahawks that knows the ins and outs of this team more than Shaun Alexander.  He had played for this team for 8 seasons all under Mike Holmgren. Even when Mike Holmgren leaves this team they are expected to make a strong push to keep Gil Haskell who is the offensive coordinator ever since Alexander’s rookie season. 

St Louis Rams- Similar to the Larry Johnson situation, the St Louis Rams can’t seem to win without Steven Jackson. The Rams lost all four of the games that Jackson sat out. Looking at this depth chart the Rams seem to have Travis Minor and Antonio Pittman to compliment Jackson and neither of these players could have a greater impact as of now than Shaun Alexander. In 2007 Jackson only had two games with 100+ rushing yards and six total games with 90+ rushing yards. The Rams were behind in nearly all their games, which took the focus off the running game which is why Jackson (when healthy) didn’t get the ball as much as he should have. The Rams have seemed to corrected their passing game problems heading into the 2008 season and Jackson is now entering a contract year. A compliment back would help Jackson out extremely much. Steven Jackson was injured very early into the season with a pulled groin and a twisted ankle and pretty much had to put off healing these injuries because he had to carry the workload with this team’s running game. With the addition of Alexander the Rams would have the chance to play it safe with Jackson and allow him proper time to rest without the fear of a depleted running game in his absence. Also the NFC West factor of playing the Seahawks twice a year and giving this defense some inside information on the Hawks definately doesn’t hurt.

Will anyone doubt the fact that Shaun Alexander is a sure pick to be a future Hall of Famer? The negative side of Alexander continuing his pro career is the fear that he becomes an absolute bust on another team and doesn’t rush for more than 300 yards or so similar to what happened to Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas. Thomas was released from the Bills  in 1999 after three disappointing seasons and signed with the Miami Dolphins only to rush for 136 yards in an injury plagued season that only lasted 9 games for Thomas.  Do any of us remember Thurman Thomas playing for the Miami Dolphins? As a Bills fan I do but I don’t think the rest of the fans for the 31 other teams fans do, so I think Shaun Alexander must choose wisely as to what team he continues his career with. 

Also, the fact remains that the following Hall Of Fame running backs (besides Thomas) have closed their NFL career on a disappointing landslide. However, that doesn’t take away their accomplishments during the prime of their careers. History has shown that the running back position is the most rigorous position in the league and no matter who you are it will take a toll on you and possibly knock several years off your career.

Earl Campbell- Inducted Class of 1991
1983- Houston Oilers (1301 yards)
1984 Houston/New Orleans (463 yards)
1985 New Orleans (643 yards)

Eric Dickerson- Inducted Class of 1999
1989-Indianapolis Colts- (1311 yards)
1990 Indianapolis Colts- (677 yards)
1991 Indianapolis Colts- (536 yards) 
1992 LA Raiders- (729 yards)
1993 Atlanta (91 yards in just 4 games)

Tony Dorsett- Inducted Class of 1994
1985 Dallas Cowboys- (1307 yards)
1986 Dallas Cowboys (748 yards)
1987 Dallas Cowboys (456 yards)
1988 Denver Broncos- (703 yards)

Franco Harris- Inducted Class of 1990
1983 Pittsburgh Steelers (1007 yards)
1984 Seattle Seahawks – 8 games (170 yards)

John Riggins- Inducted Class of 1992
1984 Washington Redskins- (1239 yards)
1985 Washington Redskins (677 yards)

OJ Simpson-Inducted Class of 1985
1976- Buffalo Bills- (1503 yards)
1977 Buffalo Bills 7 games (557 yards)
1978 San Francisco 49ers (593 yards)
1979 San Francisco 49ers (460 yards) 

————————————————————————————

Comments on my article? Please register and feel free to let me know what you thought of my article.