Everett, Wash.
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2008

A return, but not a return to form for Shaun Alexander

Shaun Alexander will play at Qwest Field on Sunday, a place where he set records, scored many touchdowns and ultimately led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl. But he isn't that player anymore and he's OK with that.

By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer

 RENTON -- Shaun Alexander won't be running out of the tunnel this Sunday afternoon, arms raised and head pumping.

That was the old Alexander, the one who ran into Qwest Field to thunderous ovations -- and, near the end, a scattering of boos. The one who took the ball 25, sometimes 30, times every Sunday. The one who could be counted on for at least one touchdown every week.

That Shaun Alexander won't be playing in Seattle this weekend.

When the Seattle Seahawks host Washington on Sunday afternoon, the franchise's all-time leading rusher will be playing for the visiting team. And we use the term playing loosely.

With 24 yards on 11 carries this season, Alexander is making the kind of impact of … well, let the 31-year-old explain it himself.

"Who was the third running back when I first got there?" he said during a Wednesday conference call with Seattle reporters. "It was me, Ricky Watters and … Charlie Rogers."

As the No. 3 running back on Washington's roster, Alexander is far from the player who was named NFL most valuable player in 2005. Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts are ahead of him on depth chart, so Alexander will take whatever carries he can get.

"When you're the man, you're the man," Alexander said Wednesday. "And when you're not, you're not."

Three years removed from his MVP season, Alexander most certainly is not the man. He's buried deep on Washington's depth chart after signing with the team last month because of injuries to Portis and Betts. In the Sunday night loss to Dallas, Alexander carried the ball just one time. He had one carry for four yards in the previous game.

Alexander's best game this season? Eleven yards on six carries.

"I think it's frustrating (for Alexander), but he has handled it well," said Washington coach Jim Zorn, who spent the past seven seasons as Seattle's quarterbacks coach.

The good news, as far as Alexander is concerned, is that he has a job.

The longtime Seahawks running back was out of work for six months after Seattle released him in April, eventually finding a job when injuries to Portis and Betts sent a desperate Washington team in search of a veteran who knew the system.

Alexander and Zorn were reunited, although the glory days of Seattle's run to Super Bowl XL seem a long way away.

"Thinking I will be the guy to get 30 carries, that isn't reality," he said. "I'm hoping to be the man one day, but Clinton is playing well. And when a person is playing well, you have to ride that horse to take you as far as it can go."

Alexander's final two years in Seattle weren't nearly as forgettable, but they had their share of tough times. A foot injury hobbled him for most of 2006, while a broken bone in his wrist affected Alexander throughout a 2007 season that saw him average just 3.5 yards per carry.

While Alexander remembers the 2006 season fondly because of Seattle's success as a team -- "a lot of people throw '06 into the ground, but that was a great year," he said -- he admits that the 2007 season was somewhat disappointing.

"We were all beat up, losing (fullback) Mack Strong and guys retiring and people shuffling around," he said. "Things didn't get well for our offense. We still stuck together and won the division. … I really enjoyed the whole process."

Despite his success earlier in his Seattle career, Alexander started to hear boos from the crowd at the end. He brushed off that response Wednesday, saying that most of the fans were still on his side.

"The squeaky wheel always get the oil," he said. "We had 60,000 fans. If 5,000 fans are disgruntled, it sounds a lot worse than it is. My fan mail was really, really crazy high with: 'We love you. We're embarrassed for the fans booing you.'

"… I don't think anybody could even make everybody happy."

The 2007 season would turn out to be Alexander's last one in Seattle. He admitted Wednesday that team president Tim Ruskell told him in February that the Seahawks were likely to make a change at running back. Ruskell continually told the media that Alexander would be back, throughout a free-agent signing period that saw Seattle sign two veteran running backs.

On April 22, Alexander was released.

Alexander said Wednesday that the decision was all Ruskell's alone, adding that head coach Mike Holmgren and offensive coordinator Gil Haskell were against releasing him.

"I went up there and saw Mike, and he said he was definitely not happy with that," Alexander said during the conference call, adding that Ruskell was "gentle" in giving the running back the news. "… Nobody was happy about that. Coach Holmgren and Gil did not get to make that decision."

Holmgren admitted Wednesday that he was not in favor of letting Alexander go.

"I wasn't, if you want to be honest about it," he said. "But that happens. That happens with personnel. Not everyone agrees on everything all the time and the reasons for it."

Holmgren added that he "wasn't sure (Alexander) had lost his quickness. The last two years, he had been hurt -- his leg and then his wrist -- and that clearly affected him."

After the 2007 season, Alexander underwent surgery to repair a broken scaphoid bone in his left wrist, which he believes was the reason he was unemployed for so long.

The big question now is what part of Alexander's career the fans will remember when he takes the field as an opposing player.

"I think people will say stuff because we did great things while I was there," Alexander said of the reception he expects this Sunday. "There is not like a taunting thing that can go on, and there isn't a jovial thing that can go on, because I'm just a part of the system here instead of an impact to the system (like he was) in Seattle."

Seahawks middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu said that Alexander should not be forgotten.

"We'll see how the crowd reacts," Tatupu said. "You always associate Shaun with the Seahawks, and vice versa. When you talk about the Seahawks, the one guy everybody knew was Shaun."

Redskins RB Portis expected to play Sunday: Running back Clinton Portis said his knee is still sore, and although he remains limited in practice, he left no doubt he will play Sunday in Seattle.

"It's coming along," Portis said. "I'm sore, but I'm playing this week, no ifs, ands or buts about it."

Backup running back Ladell Betts "gave us something" at practice, Washington coach Jim Zorn said, and his knee is coming along.
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA