KIRKLAND – While a Monday MRI provided some answers about the health of Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander, the biggest question of all still remains.
Will Alexander be available to play this Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
The good news is that the MRI on Alexander’s right knee showed no ligament damage. But a bone bruise still leaves his availability for Sunday in question.
“He’ll be day-to-day this week,” coach Mike Holmgren said Monday afternoon. “But it was good news, actually. It was really good news. It could have been a lot worse.
“… There’s a chance he could play this week. We just have to see how he feels.”
Alexander, walking with only a slight limp Monday, also said it was too early to make a definitive call. But the eternal optimist is planning on playing.
“I’m a fast healer,” he said, “so I’ll be all right.”
Alexander was hurt on a fourth-quarter play, during which his right leg got tangled with linebacker James Allen as he came down on the Superdome’s Momentum Turf. He came out of the game and had X-rays afterward, but the team wanted to take a precautionary MRI on Monday morning just to be certain.
If Alexander can’t play, third-year veteran Maurice Morris would start at halfback. Morris has shown a lot of potential in preseason games, but he’s never had more than 15 carries or 72 rushing yards in a regular season game. His only start came in last year’s first game against the St. Louis Rams, when Alexander arrived in the middle of the first quarter due to the birth of his daughter.
In 27 NFL games, Morris has 392 rushing yards on 70 carries. He has just one touchdown, which is 54 fewer than Alexander.
“I am going to treat it like any other week,” said Morris, who holds the University of Oregon record for most carries in a season (286). “Even if Shaun didn’t get hurt, I am going to be ready to play just in case an injury happens. This is like a normal week to me.”
A normal week, but not a normal Sunday.
“I’m not going to try to do too much, just go in there and do what I’ve been doing the last couple of years,” he said. “When I get my opportunity, just try to take advantage of it.”
While the Seahawks are hoping Morris’s big opportunity doesn’t come Sunday against Tampa Bay, the coaches and players are comfortable with the prospect of starting him in a regular season game.
“You don’t forfeit the game,” Holmgren said. “Obviously, (Alexander) is a fine football player, he had a good start to the season, and we’re all hopeful he can play. But if he can’t, we have to go to the next guy.”
Alexander has yet to miss a full game due to injury. Since entering the league in 2000, he has played in 65 consecutive games, including 44 starts. He ranks among the franchise’s top 10 in touchdowns (third, 55), rushing yards (fourth, 4,376) and points scored (seventh, 330). He also went to his first Pro Bowl in February.
In Sunday’s 21-7 win over New Orleans, Alexander rushed for 135 yards and scored three touchdowns before getting hurt with 3 minutes left in the game.
“Obviously, (Alexander) is one of our stars; there is no question about that,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “… We have a lot of confidence in our younger guys, Maurice and Kerry (Carter), and we feel those guys can play in this league. But Shaun is the guy, and losing him would be very tough.”
Alexander played at the University of Alabama and still has a strong following in the Deep South, so he welcomes any opportunity to play down there. He’s confident that it will take more than a bruise to keep him out of Sunday’s game in Tampa.
“Anytime you get to go back to the South, it cranks me up again,” he said. “It’s the same as always: I’ve got friends and family that are waiting for the Tampa game as much as they waited for the New Orleans game.
“Anytime you can go back there, you are excited to play. I’m excited for this game.”
If Alexander can’t play, fans of the Seahawks could be feeling the opposite emotion this Sunday.
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