Seahawks great Shaun Alexander gets real about why he is not in the Hall of Fame

In 2005, Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander had one of the best seasons by any player in NFL history. He was named Most Valuable Player after leading the league in rushing yards (1,880) and a ridiculous 28 total touchdowns. That number still ranks second in NFL history. 27 of Alexander's touchdowns came on the ground.

But Alexander did not have just one good season. Between 2001 and 2005, Alexander ran for at least 1,175 yards each year and had at least 14 rushing touchdowns in each season. He had at least 1,635 total yards in each of those years as well.

In Seahawks history, Alexander ranks first in rushing yards (9,429), rushing touchdowns (100), and total touchdowns (112). His number of rushing touchdowns is 42 better than second-best Marshawn Lynch. Yet, none of the numbers Alexander produced have been deemed worthy of induction by voters of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Seattle Seahawks great Shaun Alexander tries to explain why he is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The reason for that, Alexander recently told Kay Adams of the Up and Adams Show is two-fold. One is that Seattle is still disrespected by the national media as the Pacific Northwest seems so far away from everything. In a modern world with so much technology that makes everyone closer than they used to be, Hall of Fame voters should not use that as an excuse.

The other reason is that Alexander's shine might be diminished because of the greatness of the players in front of him. Both players who got the majority of snaps on the left side of the offensive line during Alexander's time with the Seahawks, Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson, are in the Hall of Fame already. Voters seemingly think that because Jones and Hutchinson were so good, Alexander's numbers are misleading.

Alexander was not as good as his numbers, voters might believe, because lots of running backs who could do what he did behind such a fantastic offensive line. That is not only unfair, it is also untrue. The line and Alexander worked in harmony and augmented the production of both.

Alexander told Adams, "My line was good. I would never go against that. But you see what happened when (Tom) Brady and (Randy) Moss got to play together."

In other words, Walter Jones and the line made Alexander better, but Alexander also made the line better. Shaun Alexander deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Had he played with the New York Giants, for instance, he would already have been voted in.

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