Fifty-eight carries over two games should be enough. The guy gained 355 yards, for Pete’s sake, so Shaun Alexander should be satisfied.
But he never is.
So when Alexander was asked earlier this week if he had a limit for carries in a game, he surprised all by having a definitive answer.
“Yeah,” Alexander said, “I believe it’s 81. After 81, I’m like, ‘No more carries. We’re going to have to wait until next week.’”
The way Alexander has been running the ball lately, the Seattle Seahawks might be wise to push that limit.
He’s got more rushing yards the past two weeks than anyone in the NFL. Only Reuben Droughns has had more yards in back-to-back games this season (369 on Oct. 10-17).
Alexander now ranks second in the NFL with 879 rushing yards and is on pace to break the Seahawks’ single-season rushing record (1,545 yards, by Chris Warren in 1994). He leads the NFL with a 5.1 yards-per-carry average.
So maybe the Seahawks should test Alexander’s limits. Could eighty-one carries really be that taxing?
“He’s playing well, now,” coach Mike Holmgren said this week. “As long as we’re running the ball, I’m going to hand it to him. All of a sudden we stop running, I’ll try something else.”
Alexander has given no indication that he’s slowing down, nor should the St. Louis Rams’ 28th -ranked run defense tempt Seattle to get away from its ground game. So Sunday’s game plan might look a bit like a political strategy.
Shaun Alexander to the right. Shaun Alexander to the left. Shaun Alexander right down the middle.
“Defenses have to stop the run,” left guard Steve Hutchinson said. “They have to respect it, and that opens up the passing game.”
When Alexander is running the ball well, it seems to bring out the best in everyone. Seattle’s receivers would undoubtedly like 81 passes thrown their way every week, but they can’t help but notice how much easier their jobs are when the Seahawks’ running game is on cruise control.
“If they want to put eight people in the box with the way Shaun’s running the ball, it definitely gives us a lot more opportunities against man-to-man coverage,” said receiver Darrell Jackson, who caught five passes for 114 yards to compliment Alexander’s 160 rushing yards Sunday.
Alexander averaged 19.2 carries per contest over the first six games of the season, including a total of just 28 in back-to-back games against New England and Arizona. Holmgren came out after the Arizona game and said he needed to start running the ball more often, leading to Alexander’s 32 carries in a win over Carolina, followed by 26 carries last Sunday.
While the increase in runs has generated offensive success, Holmgren isn’t willing to start calling himself Ground Mike. He points toward an early deficit leading to Alexander’s 16 carries at New England and a slow start to the ground game in the 12-carry effort against Arizona.
“It can be a little misleading sometimes,” Holmgren said of a team’s run-to-pass ratio. “I try for balance. I know we’re a better team when we’re balanced. I really don’t care who scores the touchdown or the numbers thing.
“I know this: If we ever have to throw the ball more than 35 times, usually we’re losing.”
Statistically, the Seahawks are usually winning when they’re running the ball. In games in which Alexander touches the ball at least 25 times (including receptions), Seattle has an all-time mark of 19-5. The Seahawks are 3-0 this season when Alexander gets the ball 25 or more times.
(For the record, they are 0-0 when he carries it 81 or more times.)
The way Alexander has responded to a bigger workload recently, he’ll probably continue to carry the weight of the offense.
“I can’t imagine someone running better now,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “He’s running hard. He’s really improved on a lot of things he set out to improve on this offseason, and it shows. His hard work is definitely paying off, and he’s been a huge part of our success.”
Alexander said that his offseason was pretty typical, except that he did a little more of everything: running, lifting, catching passes. But he’s looked like a better player in every way.
“He’s doing things quicker, and he’s playing like a veteran,” offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said. “He’s playing with the confidence he had in college, and that makes all the difference in the world.”
What also makes a difference is to get the football. Alexander had a career-high 326 carries last season, and he’s on pace to carry it 346 times in 2004. He is on pace to break team records for touchdowns and yards in a season.
Considering that Alexander will be a free agent in March, he’s picked a pretty good time to have a career year.
“My timing has always seemed like it’s like that,” Alexander said. “Even though I’m not thinking about it, it’s a hindsight thing. I’ll be like, ‘Wow, if I was to pick a time to have a good year, that’s a good time to do it.’
“… That’s just how I am. It seems like whenever the pressure is highest, or it’s the most intense moment, that’s just when things happen for me.”
Notes: The St. Louis Rams are so desperate to turn things around that coach Mike Martz had them wearing pads and doing full-contact drills this week. … Seahawks linebacker Anthony Simmons was added to the injury report with a strained hip, but he returned to practice Thursday. … Wide receiver Bobby Engram (ankle), tight end Itula Mili (groin), defensive end Chike Okeafor (neck spasms), cornerback Ken Lucas (bruised lung) and safety Ken Hamlin (knee) were held out of Thursday’s practice, but all are hoping to play Sunday. Defensive end Grant Wistrom (knee) also was held out of practice and is doubtful for the game.
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