GRIFF COOMER
We spend a lot of time talking about Richard Burrier and his amazing run with LaDainian Tomlinson. The fact is, it was a beautiful relationship between the two that lasted 4+ years (this is prior to the three-year keeper limit). However, Rich wasn’t the only one who benefited from this type of relationship. Griff had his own L.T. in Shaun Alexander.
Let’s take a trip back in time to 2003.
It was the year we brought in four new people, thus we got rid of four old people. Three of the people who left were three folks who had missed the playoffs the year before. This allowed Burrier, who finished 9th the previous season, to earn the top pick in the draft. This also allowed Griff, who won nine games and lost in the semis in 2002, to get the fifth overall pick in the draft.
With the top pick, as we all know, Burrier took Tomlinson. Eric followed with Ricky Williams, David snagged Clinton Portis and Masterson swept up Priest Holmes. All these picks were great picks in 2003. There were no keepers yet and all four ended up finishing 2003 in the top-10 among all running backs.
With the fifth pick, Griff took Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks’ running back that had finished #4 and #9 the previous two seasons.
While a handful of players picked in the first-round of the 2003 draft would be kept the following year, only Tomlinson, Alexander and Portis lasted more than two years and only the Tomlinson and Alexander would have major impacts.
The question is, who had the bigger impact, Burrier’s L.T. or Griff’s Alexander?
When you calculate all of the seasons each one had their star running back, Burrier has the advantage because (A) he had him longer and (B) Alexander broke down in his final season with Griff (more on that later).
However, during one three-year run (2003-2006) Alexander was actually the better back. Let’s look at the numbers.
Tomlinson (2003-2005): 4,444 yards rushing, 48 touchdowns. Alexander (2003-2005): 5,011 yards rushing, 57 touchdowns.
During these three years, both Rich and Griff produced three winning seasons, but Griff won more, winning at least 10 games all three seasons, making it to the finals all three years, winning it all in 2005.
No doubt, Griff/Alexander > Rich/Tomlinson during this three-year period. However, this wouldn’t be fair if we just left out 2006 and part of 2007. You see, that’s where things went wrong for Alexander.
If you recall, after winning the 2005 championship behind the legs of Alexander and Larry Johnson, Griff was the clear favortie in 2006, as he could keep both backs again. With Johnson getting a full season to start, we were talking about records being broken with Griff’s running back duo.
However, Alexander hit a wall…hard. He ended up missing six games right in the middle of the season. He came back in week 10 and in week 11, rushed for 200 yards, but in weeks 12,13 and the quarterfinals, he would average just 80 yards per game. Griff would lose in the quarterfinals for the first time in his career and the following year, Larry Johnson would move up to category one and Alexander would be gone from Griff’s roster.
So when you calculate these backs’ entire careers with their respective teams, L.T. ends up on top when it comes to stats, but when it comes to leading ones team to victory, Griff/Alexander remain on top.
Rich/Tomlinson (4+ seasons): 42-26 (.617 winning percentage), 3-3 post-season record, one title.
Griff/Alexander (4 seasons): 40-24 (.625 winning percentage), 7-3 post-season record, one top seed, one scoring title and one championship.
In the end, both Tomlinson and Alexander would end up on the first-team All-Robio All-Decade team.
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