Shaun Alexander has an idea for the cover of this magazine. He wants his idea to be written down, and he wants someone to follow through. He's seen this cover in his head, over and over, and he's waited for the moment when he can share his vision. Every time his mind's eye focuses on the composition of his creation, he thinks, in his own words, Oh man, it'll be so cool.
His moment comes about an hour after his team, the best-in-the-NFC Seahawks, defeats the 49ers in San Francisco on Nov. 20. He's standing in the visitors' interview room, a windowless echo chamber that would work as a fallout shelter. "So, we gonna make this a cover?" he asks. Alexander is fervent about most things, and this is no exception. His tone manages to bridge the gap between plea and demand. He edges closer--the man is a close talker--and unleashes the platinum-elite version of his ever-present smile.
Without waiting for the answer, he says, "Here's my idea."
There's a timing element here; the conversation is taking place a month before Christmas. For his cover, Alexander says he wants "my five offensive linemen" standing in a semicircle behind him. He pauses, then asks, "You taking this down?" He hovers over the notebook and waits, like a CEO giving dictation, until a rudimentary semicircle appears on a page before him.
In front of the offensive linemen, in a Santa Claus chair, will be the man of the moment, Shaun Alexander. He laughs and asks, "Can you see it? Can you?" He's rolling now. On the floor in front of Alexander will be the Lombardi Trophy, signifying the Super Bowl champion. On one side of the Lombardi will be the NFL MVP trophy, and to the other the trophy given to the NFL's leading rusher.
He pauses to make sure the scene is sufficiently set and adequately recorded-six men, three trophies, the Santa thing. "Got it?" he asks. Confident that it is gotten, he says, "Underneath, the headline is: All I Want for Christmas.' "
To anyone who has followed the man's career, it will come as no surprise that Alexander conjures up ways to seize the spotlight in his own production. He is a fascinating study. How could someone be so openly conceited and yet so likable? The ambition is see-through, the self-aggrandizement thorough, and yet the smile is so engaging and inviting. In short, Shaun Alexander is an enigma-a mystery, if you will-and mysteries raise lots of questions. Questions like these:
Who is this guy?
He is a supremely confident and equally talented sixth-year running back who played college ball at Alabama. He is the kind of guy who believes you should know more about him than you already do, but won't hold it against you. He believes in the reality of the Seattle media vortex, and he believes the Seahawks can defeat it by winning games through January. Mostly, Shaun Alexander believes in these things because Shaun Alexander believes in Shaun Alexander.
As the NFL's leading rusher, Alexander is a legitimate MVP candidate. This is his fifth straight 1,000-yard season, and through 11 games, his 20 rushing touchdowns are more than any other team's. He's on pace to best Priest Holmes' single-season record of 27.
And the Seahawks, after years of empty promise under Mike Holmgren, have quietly assembled a team that can talk about the Super Bowl without eliciting derision. At the very least, they're favored to get their first playoff victory since 1984. "I've always had a family feeling from my teams in high school and college, and I fought to get that here," Alexander says. "Right now it seems we've got the right mix. Everybody's like, that's my brother right there, I've got his back. It's a different feeling here."
Like his personality, Alexander's game can be difficult to describe. He is not necessarily elusive, but he's hard to tackle and always sidesteps the big hit. He's not necessarily fast by NFL standards, but he's hard to run down. There's a Zenlike quality to everything from his demeanor to his running style. Both proceed at a pace of his choosing, and he's not encumbered by much in the way of convention. Above all, he seems comfortable with that.
But about that cover idea-isn't that like painting a bull's-eye on your forehead?
This type of thinking misses the point of the rapidly growing Alexander mystique. There is the perception by the outside world, and then there is Alexander's perception. Rarely are the two the same. To him, the presence of the offensive linemen and the Lombardi Trophy in the cover concept make it a team thing. This is the enigma of Alexander. It's what makes him far more fascinating than people in the East Coast-centric world might expect, consumed as they are with Mannings and Brady and Terrell. There's the appearance of team, of unity, of belonging, of being part of something bigger. But at the center there is Shaun Alexander, with or without a Santa throne. "This year has been awesome," he says. "I'm like the man, yeah, but it's not a big deal. We're going to go about our business, keep plugging, and hope it ends up in the Super Bowl."
Why isn't he better known?
There's no single answer. Part of it is Seattle's remove. Even in the age of the global village, being 810 miles from any other NFL team while playing in the league's weakest division diminishes media attention. Part of it might even be Alexander's smooth, effortless style, and the lack of you-gotta-see-this excitement in his highlight reel. "Shaun's a glider," Seahawks center Robbie Tobeck says. "Sometimes you want to scream, Run harder! Run harder!' But then you realize something--he's running past everybody."
Another reason for Alexander's relative anonymity (his national-headlines-per-yard ratio is far below other top producers) is his sanguine, hard-to-figure personality. He is, by all accounts, an openly God-fearing family man, with a foundation that works to help children growing up without fathers. He is, according to Tobeck, "a good example of the type of guy kids should look up to."
Football, though, is a game of attitude. Guys like Alexander--who smile a lot and talk about God even more--tend to make people uncomfortable. We'd rather they be ogres than saints, is one way to put it. Alexander is the type of guy who named his children Trinity and Heaven. Nothing wrong with that, of course, but it carries a vibe that's tough to square with the locker room mentality. "He's always got that smile on his face," Tobeck says. "I think there were times in his career when that was mistaken for being lackadaisical."
And the Seahawks don't seem obsessed with promoting him either, which might have something to do with the attention deficit. Approached about this story and a possible cover, a member of the team's media relations department said, "We're going to take a pass." He claimed Alexander was too busy for an interview, much less a photo shoot. Meanwhile, Alexander was not only willing to cooperate for an interview but anxious to play creative consultant on the photography.
Then again, maybe the media guy had already heard the linemen-as-elves idea.
Which other NFL players have scored 15 touchdowns in five straight seasons?
None. Not Jerry Rice or Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders or Walter Payton. Only LaDainian Tomlinson is close. He reached four straight years of at least 15 TDs earlier this season. As any selfrespecting fantasy leaguer knows, Alexander scores a touchdown roughly once every 20 touches. In five-plus seasons he has reached the end zone 92 times. That's already more than Hall of Famers Tony Dorsett (90 in 12 seasons), O.J. Simpson (75 in 11) or Earl Campbell (74 in eight).
How much of Alexander's performance is connected to his being an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season?
Over the past year, the Seahawks chose to make long-term, big-money commitments to offensive tackle Walter Jones and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, instead of Alexander. After this year, they must pay Shaun-a lot-or lose him. Alexander is 28, entering late middle age for a premier running back, especially one who carries much of his team's load. But he's never missed a game, and his ability to sense tacklers from every angle adds to his durability. At his weekly press conference the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Holmgren said, "I told Shaun I'm very proud of how he's handling this, because to say you're not thinking about the contract thing is foolish. You think about it. It is what it is, and he's approached this season very professionally."
There is always a low rumble of discontent regarding Alexander's commitment to the Seahawks versus his commitment to Shaun. The most egregious example came after the final game of last season, when he said he felt "stabbed in the back" by Holmgren after finishing the season one yard short of Curtis Martin in the race for the rushing title. Alexander's comments were perceived as yet another sign of selfishness, since they came moments after the Seahawks had clinched just the third division title in team history.
Alexander's personality clashes with Holmgren have long been background noise in Seattle. The coach's idea of a complete back was not fulfilled by Alexander's lack of interest in pass-blocking and route-running. The two have always had a passiveaggressive relationship, with Holmgren prodding for more and Alexander standing back with a smile on his face, saying his coach doesn't understand his inner peace. This year, though, Holmgren has praised Alexander's maturity, practice habits and newfound interest in pass protection, even while Alexander's 10 catches through 11 games indicate he's not yet in the LaDainian Tomlinson class of all-around back. "I think Shaun's always known he's a great runner," says guard Steve Hutchinson. "But this year I think he's really studied other parts of the game. He's really focused on making himself as good a blocker as he is a runner."
At the end of last season, Alexander called his linemen together for a meeting. Tobeck says the back stood in front of them and said, "I've been doing some things I shouldn't have been doing, but that's going to change." And Tobeck says he's seen the change. Asked if Alexander is a better teammate now, an admittedly have-you-stoppedbeating-your-wife question, Hutchinson says, "Shaun's never been a bad teammate."
So what's the difference in his game this year?
There are three differences, actually--effort, toughness, attention to detail. In years prior, Holmgren constantly questioned Alexander's ability to hit the hole and get the tough yard, but Alexander leads the NFL in third-and-one conversions. In the fourth quarter of Seattle's overtime win against the Giants on Nov. 27, Alexander took a fourth-and-one handoff near New York's end zone, slammed into the line and got turned around. He not only found his way to the first down but bulled his way over the goal line for his 20th score of the year.
As a corollary, the Seahawks throw successfully in short-yardage situations because of the threat posed by Alexander. A play-action pass on fourthand-one is one of Holmgren's favorite calls. In the first quarter against the 49ers, Matt Hasselbeck pulled off a Penn-and-Teller play fake to Alexander on fourth-and-one from the Niners' 35-yard line and hit a wide-open Jerramy Stevens for 27 yards. It doesn't happen without Alexander.
What is the most common saying around the Seahawks these days?
Easy: "The old Seahawks teams would have lost that game." They said it after beating the 49ers by stopping a last-minute two-point conversion, and they said it after beating the Giants in overtime on the strength of three missed field goals by Jay Feely. It might not be a rousing mantra-and it's scientifically impossible to prove-but they seem to like it. "We have big goals," Alexander says. "It's all about coming together and shooting for the one big goal. The linemen are like, we're going to rip open a hole for you, and I'm like, okay, I'll get through it. This is the first time we've all been together. All the focus used to be on me or Matt, but now it's everybody. For so long we've wanted to be in this position, and now we're there."
And if it happens? If the Seahawks somehow sidestep their history and take it all the way? If their main man finds that everything on his wish list lands in his lap?
Oh, man, it'll be so cool.