Age: 24
2nd
season in pro football & with Seahawks
College: Alabama
Height: 5’11” Weight: 218
Prelude:
After rushing
for 3565 yards in college, including 1383 as a senior when he was SEC Player of
the Year, Alexander was chosen by the Seahawks in the 1st round of
the 2000 NFL Draft. He backed up starting RB Ricky Watters as a rookie, rushing
for 313 yards on 64 carries (4.9 avg.). Alexander started the ’01 season behind
Watters but, when the veteran was injured, broke into the starting lineup.
2001 Season Summary
Appeared in
all 16 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 309
[9]
Most
attempts, game – 35 (for 266 yds.) vs. Oakland 11/11
Yards – 1318
[6]
Most yards,
game – 266 yards (on 35 carries) vs. Oakland 11/11
Average gain
– 4.3 [17]
TDs – 14 [1]
200-yard
rushing games – 1
100-yard
rushing games – 4
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 44
Most
receptions, game – 7 (for 66 yds.) at Oakland 9/30
Yards – 343
Most yards,
game – 66 (on 7 catches) at Oakland 9/30
Average gain
– 7.8
TDs – 2
Scoring
TDs – 16 [2,
tied with Terrell Owens; 1st in AFC]
Points – 96
[20, tied with Terrell Owens & Olindo Mare]
Seahawks went
9-7 to finish second in the AFC West (their last year in that division before
being realigned into the NFC West).
Aftermath:
The
thousand-yard, double-digit touchdown season in 2001 was the first of five
straight for Alexander. He also improved on his pass receiving and blocking. He
was named to the Pro Bowl following the 2003 thru ‘05 seasons, rushing for 1435
and 1696 yards in ’03 and ’04 before leading the NFL with a career-high 1880
yards in 2005. He also scored a then-record 28 touchdowns that year as the
Seahawks won the NFC Championship and he received consensus MVP honors.Alexander signed
an 8-year contract extension but broke his foot three weeks into the 2006 season
and was limited to just 10 games, gaining 896 yards rushing, including 201 on
40 carries against Green Bay. After a less productive year in ’07, in which he
suffered a series of nagging injuries, he was released. Alexander joined the
Redskins during the 2008 season, to provide depth following the loss of backup
RB Ladell Betts, and ran the ball just 11 times in four games in his final year
at age 31. Overall, Alexander rushed for 9453 yards on 2187 carries (4.3 avg.),
caught 215 passes for 1520 more yards (7.1 avg.), and scored a total of 112
touchdowns (100 rushing, 12 receiving). 9429
of his rushing yards, and all of the TDs, came with the Seahawks, making him the
franchise’s career leader in both categories.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
