<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>KIRKLAND -- Life has changed just a tad for Shaun Alexander in the two years since the Washington Redskins knocked him loopy in the 2005 playoffs. In 36 games since getting KO'd by a first-quarter concussion in Seattle's 20-10 victory over the Redskins, Alexander has averaged 56.0 yards a game and tallied 14 touchdowns. In the 36 games prior to that Redskins game, he'd averaged 107.8 yards and cranked out 54 scores. That sharp decline has far more to do with age and injury than getting his marbles rattled that particular Saturday by the 'Skins, but clearly that 2005 postseason represented the tipping point between Alexander's prime and present. Two seasons ago, Alexander was the NFL Most Valuable Player and the focal point of the Seahawks' Super Bowl-bound offense. Now he's in a job-share situation with Maurice Morris in the backfield on a team leaning more heavily on quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and its West Coast passing attack. Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren credits the 30-year-old running back for dealing gracefully with the difficult situation of having his role reduced without creating the rancor often associated with such shifts in the stars. Though Alexander received considerable criticism after saying Holmgren "stabbed him in the back" by not giving him a chance to win the NFL rushing title when he came up 1 yard shy in the final regular-season game of 2005, there has been nothing but smiles and platitudes in this far-more-difficult circumstance. "Typically in this situation with an MVP player (in a diminished role), all the sudden there is some sort of problem," Holmgren said. "There's something that comes up that isn't very healthy for your team. Someone is mad. The coach isn't calling the right plays. What is he doing? "But none of that is taking place," Holmgren said, "and that's a real credit to the young man because he's used to playing a lot. He's used to being the man. Now his role has changed and he's come to me on more than one occasion and said, 'Hey, I'm OK. Don't worry about me.' Bless his heart, because I really do understand what this could be doing to him." Alexander rationalizes his reduced role around the fact he's been physically banged up all season. He broke his left wrist in the season opener and continues playing with a cast on the arm. Knee and ankle injuries knocked him out of three games in midseason and have limited him to 716 yards and five touchdowns, a far cry from the 1,880 yards and 28 touchdowns in '05. So, yeah, Alexander is willing to accept a lesser role, but don't ask him to accept the thought of any decline in his abilities leading to this shared situation with Morris, who fits in more readily with Holmgren's passing attack. "I just think for me it's a health thing. When I've been healthy, there's not even been a need for a co-thing," Alexander said. "Since I'm not, you do whatever it takes for our team to win. And I think that's the best thing for our team to win." Things don't figure to come easily for either back against Washington, given the Redskins rank fourth in the NFL in run defense. The Seahawks are coming off their best two rushing games of the year (144 yards against Baltimore and 167 at Atlanta), but Holmgren indicated the Hawks will continue relying on what they do best. "We were a little better (running the last two weeks). That was encouraging to me," he said. "Now keep things in perspective. Baltimore didn't have Ray Lewis, but they had a good run defense. And Atlanta, they struggled a little bit all year, but I was pleased with some of the things we did in the running game there. Hopefully we can balance it off just a little bit." For Alexander's part, he doesn't remember much from the 2005 playoff game against Washington when he got knocked out after rushing for just 9 yards on six carries. He's been criticized for not returning to that game after TV cameras showed him smiling and cheering on the sideline in the second half. "I remember everybody making fun of me because somebody on our team scored and I was jumping up and down," he said. "But besides that, I don't remember much." Alexander went on to rush for 132 yards the next week against Carolina and 95 more in the Super Bowl loss to Pittsburgh, so it's not as if his season ended on that hazy note. Since then, however, the skating hasn't been nearly as smooth and he's missed nine games the past two years with injuries. As for Saturday? "This is probably the best I've felt in a long time," Alexander said. "That's where I'll leave it." Holmgren said he didn't realize initially how much the wrist injury was affecting his veteran back. Unable to ward off tacklers with his arm or shift the ball to his left side, Alexander looked and felt vulnerable. "It did change his style," Holmgren said. "Now I think he feels like he can be who he was. ... I'm really pleased with how he's playing right now and I think we will need him to play like he was in 2005." The ever-positive Alexander figures the pieces are in place for a breakout game. "You know what? The Redskins have been stopping some great running teams the last four weeks. We've got our hands full," he said. "But that's one thing about this offensive line I'm really proud about. They do accept challenges. They've been ridiculed for a lot of things. They're going to man up and play this game better than they have all year. I just believe that." And what about Alexander? Surely this is a statement game for him as well, the opportunity to prove he's still a potent back on the playoff stage. Against a team that knocked him out two seasons ago, no less. "No," he said, declining to take the bait. "I've just got to go play ball. For me, it's always been about winning Super Bowls and trying to make plays for our team to go farther. I'm the same as always."</div> Source: Seattle PI
