Huh?

The title for my post will be self explanatory after you read this so bear with me.
In a recent post, ADP brought up a point that I really don't hear anyone talking about, but which I have noticed and has bothered me excessively for the last two seasons.
Why in the world is it, that on third down situations, Mike Holmgren is not going with the guy who is our most dangerous weapon? Why is it that on third downs he pulls Shaun Alexander and chooses to run third and short with Mack Strong again and again and again with the same lousy results? I have seen this exact same play, repeated over and over the past two seasons and so has every other coach in the NFL. Every team in the NFL knows what is coming and it simply doesn't work.

Also, why in the world is it that whenever Shaun Alexander is on the sidelines getting a breather and Maurice Morris is in the game, you can rest assured that the call will be sweep left? I mean every single time for cryin out loud. Again, every team in the NFL knows it is coming!

Finally, and most importantly, why is Shaun Alexander, our most dangerous weapon running the ball, on the sideline on third downs anyway?
I know I am going to hear a bunch of SA haters whine that "he doesn't block and has lousy hands." I know, I know that is what you all will say, but trust me, what we are doing now isn't working any better. Watching Strong get stuffed for a loss on yet another third and short, is humiliatingly predictable. Watching MoMo sweep left every single time he is in the game, is just plain embarrassing.
Is this really the best Holmgren can come up with? I would rather see us throw the ball than do either of those two plays yet again.
If it's true that Strong is brought in on third downs to block, then let him block already!
And if it's true that MoMo is our backup because he is an NFL caliber running back, then let's him bust one up the middle just one single time! Let's see if he can actually run between the tackles once.

Apparently I am not the only one who has noticed this, but am I the only one who is truly fed up with it? Am I overreacting? I cannot see how I am when we continue to fail to convert on third and short because we have become so bland and predictable that the entire universe knows what is coming.

Look, this whole thing is very easy to solve; if you want to frighten teams, and be unpredictable on third and short, here's all you have to do leave Shaun Alexander in the game! It's that simple! Why? Because if he is in the game, defenses cannot simply load up and go after Hasselbeck, because the threat that he can take one to the hole is always there. With Strong or with Morrris the threat is simply not there. The point isn't whether or not Strong can block better, or whether or not Morris has better hands (something I am entirely unconvinced of) the point is that with Shaun Alexander in on third and short, the defense, if it wants to take something away, has to guess. They have a 50% chance of quessing wrong and getting hurt bad. With Alex in the game on third downs, the defenses are forced to play more conservatively, because they have to respect BOTH the pass and the run.
As it is now, they are simply loading up in the box, and run blitzing our pants off. A run blitz, even if we are throwing the ball can quickly turn into a pass blitz which puts pressure on Hass. Thus our third down conversion rate is still MUCH lower than it should be, given the weapons we have on offense.

The bottom line is that we are doing right now, with Strong and Morris is like forcing a boxer in a very big round to fight with one hand behind his back; and in my opinion, until we start leaving Alexander in on third downs, we will continue to have a lower third down coversion ratio than we should have.