Old and in the way?

Published 12:01 am Thursday, September 6, 2007

The recipe for success in the NFL does not typically include a 30-something running back, an aging left tackle, a quarterback who’s coming off surgery and two other offensive starters who have already celebrated their 35th birthdays.

And yet that’s exactly what the Seattle Seahawks’ offense is hoping will take it to another Super Bowl this year.

In quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (he turns 32 later this month), fullback Mack Strong (he turns 36 on Sept. 11), running back Shaun Alexander (30 years old), left tackle Walter Jones (33), tight end Marcus Pollard (35) and guard Chris Gray (37), the Seahawks have more offensive starters above the age of 30 six than they do twenty-somethings. And that doesn’t even include 34-year-old Bobby Engram, who will get his share of starts, and plenty of game action, as the No. 3 wide receiver.

If experience is a football player’s best friend, then wear-and-tear is his most bitter enemy. And at some point, the latter takes precedence over the former.

The 2007 Seahawks hope that point comes some time in 2008, if not later.

It’s entirely possible that the Seahawks’ offense will start showing its age very soon.

Not that head coach Mike Holmgren is worried.

“I think we have a pretty good blend of youth and experience,” he said in the days leading up to the Seahawks’ final preseason game.

The most important question may be whether Alexander becomes the latest running back to fall victim to the big “3-0.” He celebrated his 30th birthday on the night of the preseason finale, and that hasn’t been a good milestone for NFL running backs over the years. Of the 92 times a running back has rushed for 1,000 rushing yards or more in the past five seasons, just 10 have come from thirty-somethings.

Strong, who knows a little something about maintaining productivity in your 30s, isn’t putting too much stock into past statistics.

“It’s all baloney,” he said when reminded about the statistical drop of many 30-something running backs. “… I don’t get all involved in stats and production at a certain age. I feel like I’ve had some of my best years after 30, so who knows?”

Strong has actually been better after his 30th birthday, but even he showed signs of age last season. Holmgren admitted that Strong wore down in December, so the team will try to limit his plays by letting one of the younger running backs see more action in ‘07.

Like Strong, Jones had a down year in 2006. But even in his down year, Jones was still better than almost every left tackle in the league.

Jones turned 33 in January, and he missed most of training camp with a shoulder injury, so there are legitimate concerns about his age. But both Jones and Holmgren dismissed any talk about Father Time catching up with the seven-time Pro Bowl player.

By quarterback standards, Hasselbeck’s age of 32 is not over the hill. But his offseason surgery left reason for concern until he answered all doubts with a solid performance at training camp.

Gray also made a statement at camp, holding off a bigger and younger challenger in 6-foot-6, 25-year-old Ray Willis for the starting job.

With an average age of 29.91 years among offensive starters, the Seahawks have the oldest offense in the NFL. Only the Kansas City Chiefs, with seven, have more projected starters at or over the age of 30 than Seattle’s total of six.

But the startling fact is that the Seahawks are much older than anyone else in the NFC West. The St. Louis Rams (27.45) rank 20th in terms of average age, while San Francisco (26th at 26.82) and Arizona (32nd at 25.91) have two of the league’s youngest offenses.

Still, Holmgren is unconcerned. He explained that the offensive line had three young players to go along with Jones and Gray, pointed toward a receiving corps that includes Deion Branch (28), D.J. Hackett (26) and Nate Burleson (26), and even stuck up for the thirty-something backfield.

“Shaun didn’t play a whole lot his first year and a half,” Holmgren said. “He didn’t play a whole lot last year. He doesn’t get hit a lot. So his body is a little different than the normal running back age.

“Mack Strong is old he is but he is an amazing guy.”

Holmgren went on to debunk any talk about a so-called window of opportunity.

“I think what you strive for is to be a playoff-caliber team, get into the (playoffs) every year,” he said. “… The window is always there. That’s how I choose to look at it.”