By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – Forgive Shaun Alexander if he feels like he’s been here before.
So when the Seattle Seahawks’ young running back faced the media Wednesday for the first time since Ricky Watters went down with a season-ending ankle injury, Alexander stood there like a wily veteran.
“It’s almost like I took a bye week,” Alexander said of Sunday’s win over the Dallas Cowboys, “except that I got another touchdown.”
Alexander could make light of his most recent NFL experience, in which he went from one of the league’s most successful running backs to a reserve and back to starter within one week. With Watters sidelined by a broken ankle – he was officially placed on the injured reserve Tuesday – Alexander is back to his most comfortable place.
“Any starter would like the starting role,” Alexander said. “You can get in a rhythm and feel the flow of the game, the intensity and everything from the beginning. So it is a lot easier.”
Over the final three games of the season, beginning Sunday against the New York Giants, Alexander has a chance to build on the incredible numbers he has amassed this season. With 1,036 rushing yards this season, he’s already moved into eighth place on Seattle’s career rushing list. His current year ranks 10th all-time in team history, and he’ll need to average 170 yards per game to challenge the Seahawks’ record for yards in a season. His 13 touchdowns are three away from the franchise record for a single season.
But none of those marks matter to Alexander right now.
“Knowing that if we win we have a shot at going to the playoffs, that is always pressure,” Alexander said.
On second thought … : Alexander was the fourth of four running backs taken in the first round of last year’s NFL draft, but he’s been by far the most productive this season.
In fact, Alexander’s 1,036 rushing yards are more than the total of the three running backs taken before him. The Giants’ Ron Dayne and Arizona’s Thomas Jones have a combined 775 rushing yards this season, while Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis is out for the year with a torn ACL.
During his Wednesday conference call, Giants head coach Jim Fassel said he has not regretted selecting Dayne ahead of Alexander.
“The grades were very close,” Fassel said. “We just felt like, probably as much as anything, (Dayne) gave us a different look than what we had in Tiki Barber. I think (Alexander) would have been more similar. I think Shaun has overall ability to do a lot of things. We needed to increase our power running game and a guy to go in there and take the pounding and come back.”
Alexander said he expected to be drafted by the Giants with the 11th overall pick, but wasn’t entirely disappointed to slide to No. 19.
“They made a choice, and I am happy here in Seattle,” Alexander said.
LaBounty goes on IR: Defensive end Matt LaBounty joined Watters on injured reserve after suffering a shoulder injury at practice last week.
The Seahawks activated defensive end Joe Brown and wide receiver Kerwin Cook from the practice squad and signed two players to the practice squad: defensive tackle Nigel Tharpe and cornerback Shawn Forte.
Seattle will have to make another roster move Monday, when cornerback Shawn Springs returns from a league-mandated, four-game suspension for violation of the NFL’s drug policy.
No guarantees: Fassel was careful not to make any predictions on Sunday’s game, especially after the media coverage his guarantee last season got.
That guarantee, which Fassel made after Week 11 by saying that the Giants would make the playoffs, made the coach look like a genius. But it could have just as easily backfired.
“I don’t think you want to pull that plug every year,” Fassel said Wednesday, 10 months after his team made a shocking run to the Super Bowl. “Coaches don’t make guarantees, players do. I really stuck my neck out on that one, but that is OK. The reason I did that was because I thought our team needed a fusion of confidence.”
Fassel took notice when Seattle Mariners manager Lou Piniella made a guarantee in October, promising that his team would return to Seattle for Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Piniella’s comments were played up in the East Coast newspapers, with one printing a copy of seven famous guarantees in the Big Apple. Three of those – from Fassel, Mark Messier and Joe Namath – came true. Piniella’s, as local fans certainly remember, did not.
“I looked at that and it was a little scary,” Fassel said of seeing Piniella’s bold prediction in print. “It’s not good percentages if only three out of seven came true.
“Sometimes as a coach you have to take risks. Sometimes you have to step up and be the leader and say, ‘Shut up, this is what we are going to do.’”
Quick slants: The Seahawks have not played a game this season with both Watters and Springs in the lineup, yet this Sunday will mark only the second time they have played with neither. … As a response to the actions in Cleveland last week, the New York Giants have stopped selling plastic bottles for this week’s game against the Seahawks. … The head coaches for Sunday’s game, Fassel and Seattle’s Mike Holmgren, were roommates on road trips while spending a year together as backup quarterbacks at USC.
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