Better RB, Larry Johnson or Shaun Alexander

[nmarq8]

To me the Kansas City system is similar to the Denver system. KC has had 3 RB's who have been very good (in the least) in the last couple of years (Priest, LJ, Blaylock). When Denver sticks with one guy he runs for tons of yards and TD's.

Since Seattle has only had Alexander over the last few years it's a harder comparison, obviously his line is a factor. But LT's line shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as the aforementioned and in my mind is the most talented back in the league. Without LT the Chargers are a sub-.500 team.

I'll mimic Mercer Boy and say LJ and Alexander are both very good at what they do which is excelling in their systems.

[Slingblade]

2000 Seattle Seahawks 16 1 64 313 4.9 50 2 1 20
2001 Seattle Seahawks 16 12 309 1318 4.3 88 14 8 61
2002 Seattle Seahawks 16 16 295 1175 4.0 58 16 10 61
2003 Seattle Seahawks 16 15 326 1435 4.4 55 14 9 79
2004 Seattle Seahawks 16 16 353 1696 4.8 44 16 15 77
2005 Seattle Seahawks 15 15 350 1807 5.2 88 26 14 103

Consistency...I love it. It all depends on if you want to play it safe or take the risk with LJs possibility.

[lsufan]

I like both LJ and SA(see team below). Im excited to see how both do next year stat wise. If priest retires I have to give the edge to LJ, barring no injury. I think LJ is running like he has something prove right now. He is powering through people. I have been watching both LJ and SA all season and I enjoy watching LJ run more.

On a side note, I do think LJ is more likely to get hurt. SA has been around a while and seems to know how to take a hit a lot better then LJ. LJ powering through people with 4 players on his back is going to wear him down and likely going to cause an injury.

[Atog]

I think SA is the better RB outright, although both are heavily carried by their O-Lines. The two are almost the same Height/Weight Distribution (5'11-225 v. 6'1-230), but the fact that Shaun has been doing it (and doing it good) for 5 years, compared to LJ never really carrying his team for an entire season.
Next year, I'd draft LJ in front of LT, pending offseason moves. If SA stays in Seattle, I'd probably take him ahead of LJ.

[Wenchtamer]

1) SA
2) LT
3) LJ

[Shaffe]

IMO shaun is the better back. you can't simply take LJ's 8 starts and double them, that really isn't fair. in those 8 starts he's had 235 carries. if you double his stats to make the 2200 rushing yards comparison, you also have to assume he would carry the ball 470 times. a lot of what LJ has been able to do was because he was pretty fresh from splitting time early. he's gotten nearly a season's worth of carries already (310) and i think that you'll see similar end of season numbers next year as this year.

shaun on the other hand, has been doing it for 4 years. he also avoids contact very well, which would lead to a lesser liklihood of an injury. both of them run behind great o-lines and are both great backs. but shaun is just mroe consistant for a longer period of time, and a safer bet. however, i think it will be hard to go wrong.

my projections for next year:
shaun: 1800 yards, 24 td
LJ(getting 20-25 carries a game): 1600 yards, 22 td

[Shader]

I think Larry Johnson has benefited a little from the "Julius Jones-2004 fresh legs" phenomena. When a back hasn't had many carries and then he becomes the starter in the middle of the year when lots of people are worn down...he can really put up big numbers.

That being said, him and Alexander are both GREAT options next year. I don't know how anyone can pick Tomlinson ahead of either of them?

[Mercer Boy]

The thing with Tomlinson is that he does more of the all-purpose yardage stuff...Alexander rarely makes any catches out of the backfield. Tomlinson had like 100 receptions two years ago! Remember that Tomlinson has had a rib problem ever since the Oakland game, and I think that it affected him for this year.

Anyway, if you are in a PPR league, I wouldn't fault you at all for taking Tomlinson. And remember...without the huge TD numbers that he accumulates, Alexander would be Deuce McAllister. Of course, there's really nothing you can do about that except stop Alexander from getting those easy TD's.

I would also like to note that the top 5 RB TD performances have all come in the last 10 years (and the first four in the last five). Why is that when the NFL is supposedly a passing league?

(Sorry for the hijack...interesting question though)

[MEK4178]

Larry has been amazing, and i mean amazing, but the only thing i worry about is that i'm not sure he can go a full season of carrying 30 times a game (like he has been)..

[Shader]

The thing with Tomlinson is that he does more of the all-purpose yardage stuff...Alexander rarely makes any catches out of the backfield. Tomlinson had like 100 receptions two years ago! Remember that Tomlinson has had a rib problem ever since the Oakland game, and I think that it affected him for this year.

Anyway, if you are in a PPR league, I wouldn't fault you at all for taking Tomlinson. And remember...without the huge TD numbers that he accumulates, Alexander would be Deuce McAllister. Of course, there's really nothing you can do about that except stop Alexander from getting those easy TD's.

I would also like to note that the top 5 RB TD performances have all come in the last 10 years (and the first four in the last five). Why is that when the NFL is supposedly a passing league?

(Sorry for the hijack...interesting question though)

Deuce Mcallister? How many times has Deuce won the league rushing title? When has Deuce averaged 5.0 ypc in a season? Answer? Never. Deuce's high is 1600 and 4.7.

It amazes me the stuff people post about Alexander?