Alexander helps Seahawks run down winless Cards
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| Team Stat Comparison |
| |  |  |
| 1st Downs | 15 | 29 |
3rd down efficiency | 3-13 | 6-13 |
4th down efficiency | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Total Yards | 266 | 447 |
| Passing | 176 | 284 |
Comp-Att | 18-36 | 21-32 |
Yards per pass | 4.9 | 8.9 |
| Rushing | 90 | 163 |
Rushing Attempts | 21 | 37 |
Yards per rush | 4.3 | 4.4 |
| Penalties | 12-71 | 3-25 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
Interceptions thrown | 1 | 0 |
| Possession | 26:31 | 33:29 |
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| | Seattle Fumbles | | | FUM | LOST | REC | | Bernard | 0 | 0 | 1 |
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| Scoring Summary |
| FIRST QUARTER | ARI | SEA |
 | FG | 5:14 | Neil Rackers 54 Yd Drive: 9 plays, 27 yds, 5:14 | 3 | 0 |
 | TD | 10:40 | Shaun Alexander 25 Yd Run (Josh Brown Kick) Drive: 10 plays, 80 yds, 5:26 | 3 | 7 |
| SECOND QUARTER | ARI | SEA |
 | FG | 0:53 | Neil Rackers 39 Yd Drive: 10 plays, 57 yds, 5:13 | 6 | 7 |
 | FG | 8:17 | Josh Brown 33 Yd Drive: 6 plays, 35 yds, 2:05 | 6 | 10 |
 | FG | 11:19 | Neil Rackers 50 Yd Drive: 8 plays, 56 yds, 3:02 | 9 | 10 |
| THIRD QUARTER | ARI | SEA |
 | TD | 3:09 | Shaun Alexander 1 Yd Run (Josh Brown Kick) Drive: 7 plays, 80 yds, 3:09 | 9 | 17 |
 | TD | 3:39 | Shaun Alexander 1 Yd Run (Josh Brown Kick) Drive: 1 plays, 1 yds, :04 | 9 | 24 |
 | FG | 9:54 | Neil Rackers 39 Yd Drive: 7 plays, 36 yds, 3:13 | 12 | 24 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | ARI | SEA |
 | TD | 0:04 | Shaun Alexander 1 Yd Run (Josh Brown Kick) Drive: 9 plays, 80 yds, 5:10 | 12 | 31 |
 | FG | 6:10 | Josh Brown 23 Yd Drive: 10 plays, 75 yds, 4:14 | 12 | 34 |
 | FG | 13:32 | Josh Brown 47 Yd Drive: 12 plays, 53 yds, 6:20 | 12 | 37 |
SEATTLE (AP) -- Shaun Alexander perks his ears when the Arizona Cardinals are next on the schedule.
"I think they talk a lot of mess," Alexander said. "That kind
of gets me excited."
| It was over when ... |
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Shaun Alexander scored on two 1-yard TD rushes early in the third quarter to put the Seahawks ahead 24-9.
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Game ball goes to ... |
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Alexander, who continues to tear up the Cardinals. He rushed for 140 yards on 22 carries with 4 TDs; he posted 135- and 154-yard games against Arizona the last two times the Cardinals visited Seattle.
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ESPN's take ... |
I think Shaun Alexander is like many other great players in that he is greatly underrated. He's exceptionally consistent and he's the anchor for this football team. He can go the distance and turn a yardage loss into a 45-yard touchdown and he makes everyone around him better. What I'm saying is quite simple
get him a new deal Seattle. If he's gone then this team's chances for the playoffs are gone.
-- Eric Allen
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-->
Apparently, excitement leads to production.
Alexander, Seattle's Pro Bowl running back, rushed for four
touchdowns, two in a 30-second span of the third quarter, and the
Seahawks broke open a 10-9 halftime lead, cruising to a 37-12 romp
over winless Arizona on Sunday.
Scoreless in the second half of its first two games, Seattle
coach Mike Holmgren guaranteed the Seahawks would score in the
second half sometime this season. His players made Holmgren look
like a prophet, after putting up 27 points in the final 30 minutes.
"I was right on that one," Holmgren quipped. "The team played
very well today especially in the second half."
Alexander continued his impressive track record against the
Cardinals at home. Alexander rushed for 135 yards and three scores
in the first three quarters, and his 1-yard TD run on the first
play of the fourth gave Seattle a 31-12 lead.
Alexander finished with 140 yards on 22 carries, the 24th
100-yard game of his career, tying him with
Chris Warren for most
in team history. The last two seasons, Alexander
rushed for 135 and 154 yards at home against the Cardinals.
Seattle's offensive line punched holes in Arizona's defense all
day. When the Cardinals had Alexander seemingly wrapped up, he
improvised.
Alexander set up his final score with a 45-yard rush, spinning
out of a tackle and reversing field before finally being tackled at
the Arizona 7. He scored three plays later from the 1.
"I think that reflects the whole offense," guard
Steve Hutchinson said of Alexander's day. "We just knew that once we got
down there, with their type of weapons, we can't just settle for
field goals."
Matt Hasselbeck finished 20-of-31 for 242 yards, and
Darrell Jackson had eight catches for 125 yards for Seattle (2-1).
Meanwhile, the day got progressively worse for Arizona (0-3), a
trendy preseason pick to win the NFC West.
Down 10-6 with 3:56 left in the first half, Arizona lost
quarterback
Kurt Warner to a right groin injury.
Facing a third-and-9 at the Seattle 32, Warner was pressured,
and ran from the pocket to his left. He attempted to throw across
his body to fullback
Obafemi Ayanbadejo, but the pass fell
incomplete.
Warner said he felt the groin begin got give out twice on the
play and limped to the center of the field after throwing. He laid
down and grabbed at his right leg, before trainers helped him off
the field. Warner was replaced by
Josh McCown on Arizona's next
possession.
Warner was 8-of-13 for 105 yards and was sacked once. McCown
didn't fare better, finishing 10-of-23 for 97 yards and an
interception on the last play. Arizona held a 175-170 advantage in
total yards at halftime, but gained only 91 in the second half.
Seattle finished with 447.
"It's not working," Arizona coach Dennis Green said. "You
have a lot of strategies, you plan strategies and you want them to
work. Now we're sitting 0-3 and played very poorly in the second
half."
Arizona also lost nose tackle
Russell Davis (biceps), linebacker
Eric Johnson (left hamstring), and cornerbacks
David Macklin (left
hamstring) and
Antrel Rolle (left knee) to injuries in the second
half.
Neil Rackers kicked field goals of 54, 39, 50 and 39 for
Arizona. The Cardinals have just one offensive touchdown all
season.
Seattle received the second-half kickoff and promptly went 80
yards in 3:09. The Seahawks clipped off at least 12 yards on every
play but one. Hasselbeck was 4-of-4 for 48 yards before Alexander
scored from the 1.
On Arizona's ensuing possession, Seattle safety
Michael Boulware
blitzed, jarring the ball from McCown. Defensive tackle
Rocky Bernard fell on the batted-around fumble and rolled to the Arizona
1 before being touched down. McCown said he felt the pressure
coming.
"It opened up for me and I got a clean hit," Boulware said.
It was the first turnover Seattle forced this season, and the
Seahawks implemented an aggressive blitz package. Seattle finished
with three sacks, and numerous hits on the quarterback.
Alexander plunged in on the next play following the fumble,
giving the Seahawks a 24-9 lead. He also had a 25-yard TD run in
the first quarter and
Josh Brown kicked field goals of 33 and 47
yards.
Game notes
Arizona LB Orlando Huff, who played with Seattle last
season, had a team-high 11 tackles, tied with Antrel Rolle and
Adrian Wilson. ... Former Seattle coach Chuck Knox was inducted to
the team's "Ring of Honor" at halftime. Knox coached Seattle from
1983-1991. ... Brown's 33-yard FG in the second quarter was his
first attempt of the season.