Lynch vs. Alexander

[redhawk253]

posted somethin else but startin a new thread on it..

anyway you look at it we've been lucky to have 2 great and entertaining rbs in seattle in the past 10 years and i cant honestly compare either because they are as far apart on opposite ends of the spectrum as you could get for guys playing the same position.. its like comparing a guy like calvin johnson to jerry rice.

 

[chris98251]

Alexander never ran hard and physical, would not run the hole designed many times to the frusteration of Holmgren and the line had to figure out where he was going. This is not my opinion it was stated several times by interviews at the time. Only time Alexander manned up was inside the 20. Alexander left a lot of yards on the feild every week, I'm not saying he had to bull through a fence of defenders either, many times he would duck and curl or give it up with just a linebacker and DB to bust through.

Lynch behind that line would have looked like Earl Campbell or John Riggins in their prime and in Houston and Washington. They like Lynch once moving and up to speed would look like a bowling ball plowing thru pins on their runs. Lynch would have had 3 to 5 yards most times to get momentum and it would have been devastating for teams, Add the blocking of Strong as well and our WR's that blocked down field as well.

Watters and Lynch are comparable I think. more closer compliment to each others styles.

 

[themunn]

What I'm reading is style vs. production.

While hypothetical are fun, Alexander produced.

Lynch's style though is easily something to long for. In their Prime Alexander's production is redonkilous.

Lynch doesn't produce? #2 this year, and only behind arguable the greatest RB in history who is playing out of his mind.

Lynch is also only 4,000 yards behind Alexander for career yards. At age 26 he should easily surpass that number.

Let me ask the Alexander supporters one question..........if your life depended on one of these backs getting one yard, who would you choose?

"only 4000"
"easily surpass"

very few running backs are effective past 28. Steven Jackson and Frank Gore are the only 2 in the league I can think of right now - one would be a first ballot hall of famer if he played for any team other than the Rams, and the other plays behind an even better line than Alexander had.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

.......and the other plays behind an even better line than Alexander had.

Look man, I also think the Whiners o-line is quite good but they are no way better than the Hawks' o-line SA ran behind. Walter Jones is simply one of the greatest football players ever and Hutch is a sure fire first ballot HOFer.

 

[redhawk253]

i hate it when people say alexander didnt run hard.. its all a matter of perception.. lynch trucks guys.. just blows them up and shakes them off.. alexander was a lot more like a greased pig he just shed tacklers with a slight drop of a shoulder, arch of the back, well timed highstep.. or made a slight cut with his deceptive speed and glided by them..

to say alexander didn't run hard and always got tackled by single cbs n what not.. go back to the film.. this is simply not true and people are generally basing their opinion off alexander's last year or two with the seahawks where he was oft injured and running behind a line that completely fell apart.

once again.. comparing alexander and lynch is like comparing jerry rice and calvin johnson... two completely different style players

 

[Rat]

Interesting debate. The only argument I can't see is the argument that it's a landslide in either direction.

Shaun made his job look so easy that we often wondered how hard he was trying. As far as natural running skills, there have been few in NFL history as blessed as Shaun Alexander. When he had the ball in his hands, it seemed there was nothing he couldn't do. If he got a glimpse of the end zone, he was gone.

Even though Lynch makes more jaw-dropping plays, I don't think he has Alexander's vision. However, Lynch seems to be able to do things that no other RB can. We're very fortunate to have one, and very fortunate to have had the other.

 

[hawks4thewin]

Lynch... for anyone thinking alexander.. remember he only did well if untouched... and if you look at it that way you may as well ask your self. Lynch or Washington.
leon goes down by air drafts... so.... to me the logical choice with this team is lynch.

I would take LEON over SHAUN i think in 2005 becuase he is faster than shuan and goes down just as easy.
I think... someone more intelegent should comment

 

[Seahawk Sailor]

What I'm reading is style vs. production.

While hypothetical are fun, Alexander produced.

Lynch's style though is easily something to long for. In their Prime Alexander's production is redonkilous.

Lynch doesn't produce? #2 this year, and only behind arguable the greatest RB in history who is playing out of his mind.

Lynch is also only 4,000 yards behind Alexander for career yards. At age 26 he should easily surpass that number.

Let me ask the Alexander supporters one question..........if your life depended on one of these backs getting one yard, who would you choose?

"only 4000"
"easily surpass"

very few running backs are effective past 28. Steven Jackson and Frank Gore are the only 2 in the league I can think of right now - one would be a first ballot hall of famer if he played for any team other than the Rams, and the other plays behind an even better line than Alexander had.

That's very true. Four grand is a lot of mileage, especially for a guy who runs like Lynch, and especially for a guy with a finicky back like Lynch.

As to the original question, I'd take Alexander there too. The guy had an awful lot of 1-yard touchdowns, and an equal number of converted 3rd and 4th and ones. He was absolutely money in short yardage in his peak. We don't see Lynch get the opportunities as often, whether they believe he isn't going to get the yardage, or if he gets the carry, it's not guaranteed he gets it. Not knocking Lynch at all. Dude's a beast. An absolute monster. But Alexander was special in his prime. If it was goal-to-go from the one yard line, we were already celebrating points when the ball was snapped.

I'd love to see Lynch eclipse everything Alexander did - because I want continual improvement. I want Turbin to eclipse Lynch when it's his turn to start. But for now, they're still behind Alexander in that department.

 

[hawks4thewin]

i hate it when people say alexander didnt run hard.. its all a matter of perception.. lynch trucks guys.. just blows them up and shakes them off.. alexander was a lot more like a greased pig he just shed tacklers with a slight drop of a shoulder, arch of the back, well timed highstep.. or made a slight cut with his deceptive speed and glided by them..

to say alexander didn't run hard and always got tackled by single cbs n what not.. go back to the film.. this is simply not true and people are generally basing their opinion off alexander's last year or two with the seahawks where he was oft injured and running behind a line that completely fell apart.

once again.. comparing alexander and lynch is like comparing jerry rice and calvin johnson... two completely different style players

I would say after 2005 alexander was not trying or he simply never had it.
he would fall before he got touched... (thats how i remember the post superbowl years anyhow).

 

[themunn]

.......and the other plays behind an even better line than Alexander had.

Look man, I also think the Whiners o-line is quite good but they are no way better than the Hawks' o-line SA ran behind. Walter Jones is simply one of the greatest football players ever and Hutch is a sure fire first ballot HOFer.

Yes, the left hand side of our line was all-world

Chris Gray and Sean Locklear?

 

[chris98251]

Gray was a warrior, never got national props but if you remember the credits his team gave him constantly you realize he was special as well. Our real hole that whole era was RT.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

.......and the other plays behind an even better line than Alexander had.

Look man, I also think the Whiners o-line is quite good but they are no way better than the Hawks' o-line SA ran behind. Walter Jones is simply one of the greatest football players ever and Hutch is a sure fire first ballot HOFer.

Yes, the left hand side of our line was all-world

Chris Gray and Sean Locklear?

Gray was a quality starting o-lineman. You don't play like 15 years and not be. Pro Bowl? Nope, but a good NFL guard. Locklear had a couple of pretty good years for Seattle and has also survived quite a while in the NFL though I wouldn't put him at the same level as Gray (and Tobek).

 

[redhawk253]

Lynch... for anyone thinking alexander.. remember he only did well if untouched... and if you look at it that way you may as well ask your self. Lynch or Washington.
leon goes down by air drafts... so.... to me the logical choice with this team is lynch.

I would take LEON over SHAUN i think in 2005 becuase he is faster than shuan and goes down just as easy.
I think... someone more intelegent should comment

this is by far one of the silliest posts i've ever read on here.. i love leon.. i went to college with him.. he's an exciting and really good player if used right... but to say you'd rather have leon than alexander hahahhahaha thats asenine at best.

apples and oranges guys.. who's better calvin johnson or jerry rice?

the one knock on alexander i have is he set himself up for a short career. i met him when i was in highschool. he came to latenight out of the blue at the ymca one friday night with tons of gifts n such his rookie year with the seahawks.

words right out of his mouth, "i get in trouble because i don't do my lifting routine.. im just naturally blessed god gave me the abilities and physical strength and size you see today. i don't lift. i don't need to."

if he had hit the weights like he was supposed to his whole career and conditioned better he probably wouldn't have gotten bit so hard by the injury bug at the end of his career.

 

[redhawk253]

also whoever said "alexander disappeared in the superbowl while lynch went beastmode in the playoffs vs the saints.."

silly statement.. 20 carries for 95 yards in the superbowl isn't exactly disappearing.. far from it really.. and he woulda been guaranteed a few td's if not for some of the ridiculous calls.. one for example.. the only play jeremy stevens made the whole game for the big pass to the 1 yard line that was called back for a ghost hold.. guarantee'd alexander woulda got the ball across the goal line.

 

[amill87]

SA just slipped by people, super slick for bring as big a back as he was. He had a very rare skill set and made it look easy. I think that strength is probably what makes him so under appreciated now.

He made it look so easy it often times looked like he was doing nothing special at all. It's a shame really.

This explains it perfectly IMO. Go watch some highlights of Alexander. Yeah he has holes but finding the right hole in a split second isn't as easy as some think. He just glides perfectly to the hole and accelerates through it. Lynch does not have Alexander's near HOF vision or acceleration but he makes up for it with pure determination.

I've watched Lynch miss hitting the right hole quite often this year. He still gets some yards but he could get more. Also next time Turbin comes in a game, watch how much more acceleration he has than Lynch. Don't get me wrong, Lynch is awesome and a good running back but he doesn't have HOF abilities like Alexander did.

 

[Sac]

SA just slipped by people, super slick for bring as big a back as he was. He had a very rare skill set and made it look easy. I think that strength is probably what makes him so under appreciated now.

He made it look so easy it often times looked like he was doing nothing special at all. It's a shame really.

This explains it perfectly IMO. Go watch some highlights of Alexander. Yeah he has holes but finding the right hole in a split second isn't as easy as some think. He just glides perfectly to the hole and accelerates through it. Lynch does not have Alexander's near HOF vision or acceleration but he makes up for it with pure determination.

I've watched Lynch miss hitting the right hole quite often this year. He still gets some yards but he could get more. Also next time Turbin comes in a game, watch how much more acceleration he has than Lynch. Don't get me wrong, Lynch is awesome and a good running back but he doesn't have HOF abilities like Alexander did.

Thanks for the compliment. I think Lynch COULD have more initial burst but he runs so bow legged he's practically breaking tackles before they come. You don't really see his burst until he sees daylight.

 

[HawkWow]

The mind set /style of these two backs are about as far apart as it gets. SA was all about self preservation, choosing to live to carry the ball another day. It was oft times less than admirable, but it was a strategy that obviously served him, and the team, quite well.

Lynch? Marshawn cares little about risk of injury. He is a demon and punishes would-be tacklers, fighting for every yard, even after hitting the wall. In the short term, his style is more exciting and for the most part, preferred. In the long term? There may be no long term. I'm glad he continues to deliver after getting paid and I certainly hope he has invested well.

Defenses hated both men. I think what pizzed off alot of us with SA, was he was not a small back, yet ran like one. He could be arm tackled and was quick to hit the turf to avoid contact. If he were smaller, like most scat (type) backs, nobody would have thought twice about his methodology. I was never a big fan but I am grateful for his service to this team. I rank him slightly ahead of Lynch, but behind Warner and John L.

 

[scutterhawk]

I'm happy we have had both and I'm even more glad that we don't have to try and make this decision.

I'm leaning towards Alexander because he lead us to the SB.

Lot a people have the "what have ya done for us lately" mentality, and say Lynch, without hesitation, BUT, Alexander had 25 TD's and 1,880 yards, + a huge factor in getting the team into the SB, and I'll add, that he was as responsible as Hasselbeck was for getting us there.
I love Lynchs tenacity and all, but I'm happy that we had Shaun here when we did, because I really don't know that we could have done as well with just putting in a so so RB.

 

[Sac]

We know exactly what another RB could do. Mo Morris had 71 carries for 288 yards (4.1 ave) and 1TD behind that 2005 line. He was about as average as average gets.

 

[GeorgeKush]

<=====this guy