KIRKLAND – As if a pair of playoff contenders weren’t enough incentive, Sunday’s game between the Seattle Seahawks and New York Jets will feature another race to the wire.
Seattle’s Shaun Alexander (1,385 rushing yards) and the Jets’ Curtis Martin (1,377) are both chasing the NFL rushing title.
The Indianapolis Colts’ Edgerrin James has a league-high 1,395 yards and is within striking distance of both running backs who will face off Sunday at The Meadowlands.
“We’ve got to get the defense fired up because he’s going to come out and try and prove himself, especially against me,” Alexander said last week. “I’m either barely in front of him (in the rushing race), or he’s barely in front of me. So he’s going to come out there ready to go.”
That neither player has ever won a rushing title comes as a mild surprise – especially when it comes to Martin. He has run for more yards than anyone in the NFL since 1999 and is 213 yards away from tying Eric Dickerson for fourth place on the all-time rushing list. This year alone, he has moved past names like Jim Brown, Marcus Allen, Franco Harris, Thurman Thomas and Tony Dorsett.
“He’s always been one of the better backs that doesn’t really get the credit for being one of the best,” Alexander said this week. “It’s one of those things where he’s always been a guy trying to prove himself.”
This could end up being Martin’s best season. He needs 136 yards and/or four rushing touchdowns over the final three weeks to establish career highs.
“Really, for us to get off to a good start, he needed to have a good year for us,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said. “It kind of all started in the pre-season for us. We actually let him run the ball in the pre-season early. A lot of our coaches had their fingers crossed when he was running it. I think it got him started.”
Because they play today, the New York Giants’ Tiki Barber (1,238 yards) and Washington’s Clinton Portis (1,173) could conceivably move ahead of Martin, Alexander, and maybe even James on the NFL’s rushing list.
Familiar faces: The Jets have their share of players with Seattle ties, beginning with former Seahawks Reggie Tongue, Pete Kendall and Kevin Mawae.
Tongue spent four seasons with the Seahawks before leaving the team as a free agent last March. He had a disappointing run as Seattle’s starting strong safety and was plagued by a calf injury at his first Jets training camp.
But he has started all 13 games for New York this year and had his first Jets interception last week against Pittsburgh.
“I think at the middle of the year he really got into a groove,” Edwards said. “He’s done a lot of nice things for us. He really has. He’s been a good player for us, especially down the stretch.”
The Jets’ starting free safety is Erik Coleman, a rookie from Washington State University who grew up in Spokane.
Kendall, a native of Massachusetts, ended up with the Jets after being released by the Arizona Cardinals early in training camp. Although there was a perception that Kendall was never really happy while playing for the Seahawks and Cardinals on the West Coast, he said that was never the case.
“It’s nice to have a job anywhere,” he said. “Being back on the East Coast wasn’t that big of a deal. I know some people out there thought I couldn’t wait to get back.
“I’m just happy to have a job and be in the organization that I’m in. Being close to home doesn’t mean all that much because in season there is not that much time anyways.”
No game-day calls: The Seahawks left a day earlier than usual for the East Coast road trip, but there weren’t many decisions to be made before they left Friday afternoon.
Reserve offensive lineman Jerry Wunsch returned to practice and made the trip. So did practice squad defensive lineman Otis Leverette, who could possibly be added to the active roster Sunday to add depth to an injury-depleted line.
Not making the trip were defensive end Grant Wistrom (torn MCL), defensive tackles Rocky Bernard (knee) and Marcus Tubbs (ankle) and cornerback Bobby Taylor (knee).
Taylor went to Alabama last week to get a second opinion from renowned sports doctor James Andrews. The team is holding out hope that he’ll be able to play at some point this season.
Taylor, who turns 31 in two weeks, has missed the past four games with the injury.
The team expects wide receiver Darrell Jackson to be in New Jersey tonight and to play in Sunday’s game. Jackson was attending services for his father, who passed away in Florida last weekend.
On their best behavior: Don’t expect many flags in Sunday’s game between the Jets and Seahawks.
Seattle and New York rank 1-2 among the least-penalized teams this season. The Seahawks have been flagged a league-low 70 times, while the Jets are tied with Baltimore for second (78).
The Jets are the least-penalized team in the NFL over the past four seasons (288), while the Seahawks rank third (327).
Quick slants: Defensive tackle Rashad Moore missed part of Friday’s practice with leg cramps, but he is expected to be available for Sunday’s game. … Game balls from the win over Minnesota went to wide receiver Darrell Jackson (offense), safety Michael Boulware (defense) and kicker Josh Brown (special teams).
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