By Scott M. Johnson
Herald Writer
KIRKLAND – Thank you for the 1,000-yard season, Mr. Alexander. Now go sit on the bench.
Shaun Alexander, the Seattle Seahawks’ charismatic young runner, will go back to playing second fiddle this week. Coach Mike Holmgren announced Wednesday that Ricky Watters will return to the starting lineup, most likely for the final four games of the season.
“Ricky has proven that he can do this,” Holmgren said Wednesday in making the announcement. “He’s done it before. He was hurt. And last season he was clearly our best player. It’s not like I’m taking Joe Schmotz and sticking him in there. This is a guy who clearly can play. … The majority of my time spent on doing this was, what is the best thing for the team right now?”
Alexander took the news in stride, his pleasant demeanor unchanged despite the obvious disappointment.
“Since about the middle of the season last year, Rick and I said that we’ve got a problem: our best two players play the same position,” said Alexander, who ranks fourth in the AFC with 1,009 rushing yards and has a conference-high 12 touchdowns. “Rick’s finally healthy, and I’m caught in a situation where there’s nothing I can do. I wish that Coach Holmgren had the kind of mind that would put us both out there together, but he can’t do it like that. We’ll just go by what he says.”
Holmgren said earlier this week that he planned to pick one feature back, adding that using both in the same backfield was not a realistic solution.
The final decision, Holmgren said, came down to Watters’ “experience, enthusiasm and fire,” as well as his versatility as a receiver out of the backfield.
While earlier positional decisions like quarterback and wide receiver have resulted in young players learning on the job, Holmgren decided to go with the veteran running back as the team tries to make a playoff run.
“The coach is making this call more than the general manager,” said Holmgren, who holds both titles with the Seahawks. “But it didn’t take too much for the coach to talk the general manager into it.”
Watters, 32, missed nine games this year with a shoulder injury, but returned to the lineup last week and ran for 23 yards on five carries while splitting time with Alexander. The 11-year veteran was on the field for about 40 percent of the offensive plays, adding two receptions for 18 yards. In four games this season, Watters has 214 rushing yards.
Watters is not signed beyond the 2001 season, and Holmgren has continually said that Alexander will be the starter next year.
For now, it’s still Watters’ job.
“I didn’t really expect anything. I just came in, (Holmgren) said it, and I was like, ‘OK, I’m ready to go,’” Watters said of his reaction. “That’s what I do. I’m a professional. I play football. I think I have a lot to offer this team, so I was really excited that he went that way.”
Since entering the starting lineup on Oct. 7, Alexander has run for more yards (982) than anyone in the NFL except Kansas City’s Priest Holmes. He has recorded three 100-yard games, one more than Watters had all of last season, and led the Seahawks to a 5-4 record.
But Alexander has been held to 158 yards on 54 carries – a 2.9 average – over the past three games.
“He did a great job,” Watters said. “But, you have to look at, he’s a young guy. He’s going to have a great career. He understands that. We talked about it, and he knows. Of course, you want to play. Everyone wants to play, and he wants to play – especially once you taste the success like that. But he understands he has an endless future ahead of him. And he’s a good person, so I think things are going to happen for him.”
Alexander might be the running back of the future, but for now Watters is back to being the No. 1 guy.
“It’s been tough ever since I got hurt,” Watters said. “It’s about the way you handle things. You have to be a man. You have to be a professional about the situation. I would have been the man regardless.
“Like I said when I came into (training) camp, I don’t feel like I have anything to prove to anybody. And I still feel the same way. But at the same time, I want to get on the field.”
NOTES: When Seahawks cornerback Shawn Springs violated the league’s policy on anabolic steroids and related substances, Holmgren warned of the dangers players face when taking part in offseason workout programs not tied to their NFL teams. The assumption was that Springs had spent the summer working out at his alma mater, Ohio State University. Not so, said former teammate and OSU alumnus Joey Galloway. “Our first concern, after we wished the best for Shawn, is we hoped that people didn’t see this and think that that’s what we do back there, because it’s not,” Galloway said. “He was not back there this summer. He was elsewhere. I don’t know if he was with the team or what, but he was not with us.” … Defensive end Lamar King did not practice Wednesday and is expected to be tested today. He has missed the last three games with a strained calf.
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