Shaun Alexander Receives High Praise From Former Teammate Matt Hasselbeck

Chicago, IL – September 17, 2018 – Soldier Field: Matt Hasselbeck on the set of Monday Night Countdown (Photo by Joe Faraoni / ESPN Images)

In mid-September of this year, it was announced that there were five players and two coaches that spent significant time in the Seattle Seahawks organization were amongst 102 modern-era nominees for the class of 2019 for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The four players who had a long residence with Seattle, who were nominees such as quarterback Dave Krieg, running backs Shaun Alexander, Chris Warren, center Kevin Mawae, and Left Guard Steve Hutchinson. Former Seahawks Mike Holmgren and Tom Flores amongst the nominees, while Mawae and Hutchinson were also finalists in 2017.

Last month (November), the nominees were reduced to 25 semifinalists and will be cut again to 15 in January. The trio of Krieg, Warren, and Alexander were considered longshots, but Mawae and Hutchinson, who were both drafted by the Seahawks in 1994 and 2001 respectfully. Both Mawae and Hutchinson along with Tom Flores are still in amongst the semifinalists heading into next month’s vote. Hutchinson was a considerable part of the 2005 Seahawks team that help lead the way for Shaun Alexander to capture the MVP that season and helped lead the Seahawks to the Superbowl. They would eventually end up losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 21–10 in Detroit. On February 2, the day before the Superbowl a panel consisting of 48- Hall of Fame members will vote on who will be a part of next year’s enshrinement ceremony in Canton, Ohio in early August. Alexander was not chosen in the final 25 candidates this year.

So, the question is will Alexander get into the Hall of Fame at some point?

Well, that is actually what asked Walter Jones when spoke to him earlier this year.

“Running backs are tough because of numbers it all depends on the voters. It is a popularity thing as well nowadays, and I think from a media standpoint Shaun was a great guy.” Jones told me.

I also recently asked Matt Hasselbeck if he thought Alexander‘s numbers were good enough to land him in Canton one day?

“I sure do. I’m not an expert on the numbers, and I was never that big into stats. When we were teammates, he was one of the best running backs in the game, a household name, on the cover of Madden, a breaking franchise and NFL records seemingly all the time. He was also the MVP of the league, and I would put him in that category as one of the great,” said Hasselbeck.

He would continue:

“I don’t know of a better red zone runner. There were some great runners in NFL history that were Hall of Fame runners but weren’t great goal line running backs. I think Barry Sanders might be the greatest running back of all time. But on the goal line or inside the three-yard line was not his strength. I would say Shaun Alexander on the flip side when he got anywhere near that end zone; he was going to find a way to get in. Almost like a shark smelling water, he got near the end zone and was going to find a way to score a touchdown. I think that is one of the special things about Shaun Alexander as a player.“

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Tags: Canton Ohio, Chris Warren, Kevin Mawae, Landon Buford, Madden, Matt Hasselbeck, Mike Holmgren, Shaun Alexander, Steve Hutchinson, The Hype Magazine, Tom Flores, Walter Jones

About the Author

Landon Buford Washington State Graduate Past Interviews include Grammy Award Winner Kenny G, David Banner, WNBA President Lisa Borders, What's Trending's CEO Shira Lazar, Ice Cube, NBC's Chicago PD LaRoyce Hawkins, Family Matters Darius McCrary, En Vogues Maxine Jones, Team USA Track & Field Member Norris Frederick, James Kyson, WNBA Great Lauren Jackson, and more.