Upon reading over this article by Steve Rudman on whether or not Shaun Alexander will receive or deserves election to the Hall of Fame, I wondered whether or not I even thought he deserved election to the Hall of Fame.
Blasphemous? Maybe. But Alexanders perception around the league as "soft" and that he benefited from playing behind the greatest left side of an offensive line ever might have worn me down over the years. It's not that I don't think that Alexander should or will, but it's more about the fact that I have to question it at all. I defend my Seahawks like none other, but as each day passes from the 2005 season it gets harder and harder to remember what it was like to tune in every Sunday just to watch the man run.
Quick Shaun Alexander Facts:
- His 9,453 yards are 29th all-time, ahead of Earl Campbell and Jim Taylor and Herschel Walker. However, if we're going to talk about "counting stats" then it's less than Thomas Jones, Tiki Barber, Warrick Dunn.
- His 100 rushing touchdowns are tied with Marshall Faulk for 7th all-time. The only players in the top 10 that aren't in the Hall of Fame will be in the HoF eventually: Jerome Bettis and LaDainian Tomlinson.
- His 27 TD 2005 was an NFL record for one year until Tomlinson scored 28.
- His 1,880 yard 2005 season is the 10th highest of all-time.
- His 4.3 career YPC number is tied with HoF players like Tony Dorsett, Marshall Faulk, and Larry Csonka. It's also tied with Ryan Grant, Earnest Graham, Reggie Bush.
I got nothing bad to say about Shaun Alexander, but these are the things that voters are going to look at. If they are staring at a ballot with Alexander and Corey Dillon, what are they going to see about Alexander to put him over the top of Dillon? Does Dillon feel like a Hall of Famer?
During the five years that he was the primary RB in Seattle (much shorter than I remembered) Alexander averaged 1,501 yards, 17 TD, 4.5 YPC and 93.8 Y/G with 37 catches for 269 yards and 2 more TDs. Pretty remarkable peak.
I now ask you the question below and please pay attention to how the question is worded before you answer.