Shaun Alexander scores Seahawks Ring of Honor, deserves the HOF

Shaun Alexander was practically the Seahawks best two running backs

Want to see just how amazing he was? Let’s get just a little mathy and look at the stats of some of the Seahawks best running backs not named Shaun Alexander. We’ll start with rushing yards. Add the yardage of Carson, Penny, and Ricky Watters. Watters ranks seventh all-time among Hawks backs. That total is 9,429 yards. Add the touchdowns of Warner and Warren, and you’ll get 99 scores. That would be one heck of a running back, right? Well, that is exactly the career rushing yards for Alexander. The touchdowns are one shy of number 37’s 100 career TDs.

To clarify, I’m just counting stats as a member of the Seahawks. I frankly don’t care what Watters did before he arrived in Seattle. Sure, if I add the Hawks number two and three career leaders in rushing touchdowns – Lynch and Warner – they crossed the goal line 113 times, Lynch in his own inimitable style. But it took them 176 games to do it. Alexander scored his hundred in 119 games. Oh, did I mention that he also caught 214 passes for 1,511 yards and a dozen more TDs?

As for the Hall of Fame argument, Alexander has a stronger case than some might think at first glance. Now, I’m not a proponent of the “if this guy is in, then my guy should be too” argument. Not normally. But in this case, the oversight is pretty outlandish.

It’s true, Alexander’s career rushing totals don’t put him in the top rank of the league’s greatest of all time. His 9,453 yards – yes, for this I’ll include his final season in Washington – rank him just 36th all-time. As a point of reference, there are just 25 backs in the Hall.

But let’s look at some of the guys that are in, while Alexander is waiting on the outside. All of these players have fewer career yards than our Seahawks legend: Earl Campbell, Jim Taylor, Larry Csonka, Terrell Davis, Leroy Kelly, Floyd Little, and Gale Sayers. Sayers gets a pass as he obviously contributed so much in the return game. But the rest of them don’t match up to Alexander.