Shaun Alexander scores Seahawks Ring of Honor, deserves the HOF

The Seahawks add Shaun Alexander to the Ring of Honor today. In truth, Alexander is the one who honored the Seahawks throughout his career. As great as it is, he deserves even more.

The Seahawks are addressing what I see as an egregious oversight this Sunday. No, I’m not talking about the horrendous run defense, although it would be nice to see some improvement there. No, I’m talking about something – and someone – absolutely timeless. At long last, the Seahawks greatest running back ever, Shaun Alexander, will be inducted into the Ring of Honor.

Now, I don’t use the term “greatest ever” lightly. I’m certain that most 12s already know this, but the younger fans, the more recent arrivals to the tribe of 12, may not be aware of the true greatness of Shaun Alexander. He wasn’t just great or the greatest. He was miles beyond any running back in Seahawks history.

Shaun Alexander deserves even more than the Seahawks Ring of Honor

John Boyle summed up Alexander’s career rather nicely in his article on seahawks.com. I won’t list all of the amazing achievements here; you can click on the link for that. As a bonus, you get all of Boyle’s excellent writing. Suffice it to say that in addition to holding the Seahawks all-time records for rushing yardage and touchdowns, Shaun Alexander holds nine other Hawks career records. It isn’t that he hasn’t had competition, either.

The Seahawks have had quite the roster of talented running backs over the decades. Name like Curt Warner, Chris Warren, and Marshawn Lynch are right behind number 37. I’ll add two more players, Chris Carson and Rashaad Penny. If not for injuries, either one of them may have broken into the top three for the Hawks. Who knows, Penny may still be able to do so, although it certainly won’t be this year. With better luck, the roster of Hawks running backs with gaudy career stats would be even longer.