Old Running Backs Don't Die, They Just Fade Away

It being rather obvious that we're watching the slow decline of Shaun Alexander, I thought it would be interesting to see how the careers of some other MVP running backs wound up.

Thurman Thomas:
After averaging nearly five yards per carry in his prime, Thomas had declined to the 3.8/3.9 range when the Bills drafted RB Antowain Smith in the first round of the 1997 draft.

Thomas was 31 years old going into the 1997 season. He went from 254 carries in 1996 to 154 in '97, and though his ypg went up to 4.2, Smith got the majority of the carries.

Thomas continued to cede more and more carries to Smith, before finishing his career in 2000 with nine games as a Dolphin.

Emmitt Smith:
The beginning of Emmitt Smith's end was 2001, at age 32.

After finally recording his first 100-yard game of the season in week 5, Smith sprained his MCL in the next game, and sat out two weeks in favor of Troy Hambrick. Hambrick had 204 yards in two games as Smith's replacement.

In 2002, despite playing all 16 games, Smith had the fewest carries in a season since his rookie year, as he gave up more and more carries to Hambrick and other backups.

He had only two 100-yard rushing efforts, and at the end of the season signed with Arizona, where he had just 1200 total yards in two seasons, and averaged less than 3.5 yards per carry. He retired after the 2004 season to become a celebrity dancer.

Marshall Faulk:
Faulk averaged more than five yards per carry for three straight years as part of the "Greatest Show on Turf" Rams offense.

After a stretch in 2002 when he ran for 158 yards vs. Oakland, 183 yards against the Hawks, and 178 against Arizona (that's 519 yards in just three games, folks), Faulk hurt his ankle.

Faulk, who was then 29 years old, would never again rush for as many yards in a game as he did in any of those three. He missed two games with that ankle injury, and then hurt his ankle again in 2003.

The Rams saw the writing on the wall and drafted Stephen Jackson in the first round in 2004. Faulk couldn't play in 2006 after reconstructive knee surgery, and retired for good in 2007.