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Living in Seattle gives me a unique perspective on this very religious man. He has a ready smile but doesnıt seem to hit the airwaves with commercials and endorsements. He seems to value his privacy and family life and the lack of scandal in the papers seems to uphold this very good and moral man. He doesnıt wear down defenses and prefers to drop at the first touch in order to save himself for another play and another season. He seemed genuinely embarrassed about his display of anger at the end of 2004 when he was taken from the last game a few yards shy of the rushing title and a lucrative bonus. In 2005 Holmgren made good on his promise to make it up to him and most of his touchdowns came from holes you and I could have waltzed through. The line in Seattle had become one of the leagues best by then and a plague of the dropsies assured the careful coach would rely on him. It certainly helped that the schedule was one of the leagues easiest as the division foes were all decimated by age, cap woes and bad decisions. Seattle went to the Superbowl and as much as they like to cry about the officiating it was the daring scheming of a gambling Cowher that won the day over the boringly predictable, cautious execution of Holmgren. After losing Hutchinson, and trying to rely on the revolving door Womack; Alexander, flush with a new contract, wandered through the season until an injury took him out so he could spend more time in charity work with Ex-Con (con-artist) Pastor Casey Treat. Yes, I had him #1 last year; but, careful reading of the text shows a breakdown of his running style, reservations about hutchıs loss, and a reference/prediction of injury. These lists have a certain provenance and this is an important distinction for you, the reader. At some point in your draft you will be faced with the best player available being a guy you donıt particularly agree with or like. Yet, at the level of talent left heıs the best. What do you do? I employ my patented "Cannon Fodder Theory". I have a list of players every year that I simply donıt believe in nor do I want them on my team. So, I leave them be and donıt even consider them. I would rather chose an upside risky player or move on to a different position then take a player I will not enjoy having. Example: Ahman Green, and Dominick Davis last year. There comes a time when they make the list and are next to chose yet are they worth it? At the time they were chosen in almost every draft last year Maurice Jones-Drew was still available. Shaun Alexander was an almost consensus #1 pick when weighing the risks last year. And this year he falls here at 7 where he actually deserves to be. In fact If I have the 6th or 7th pick in the draft I will be happy to have him. Taking away the aberrant season when he was the greatest and the stars aligned for him he has a great consistency. After his rookie season and his ascension to starter, he averaged 1400 yards and 15 TDs. He was on his way to the same stats last year. Throw in another 350 receiving yards and two more TDs and this is a great 7th draft pick leaving a crucial second pick 6 better then the guy that gets LT. Ok, we all want the first pick. But... Seattle will have a tougher time this year. Their line is gelling and losing two malcontents with holes in their hands really doesnıt hurt them. What does hurt is their division foes finally getting their act together. St. Louis, who has always had Seattleıs number, is looking better then ever. San Francisco, is gelling into a really talented team and they are still very young. Arizona has a creative, competent coach and a lot of talent. Plus, Seattle still has a champions schedule and will face Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Whew! Alexander is a talent and will stay healthy and deliver this year. |
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