The Seattle Seahawks took somewhat of a hit after learning that running back Shaun Alexander broke his left wrist this past Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Despite the injury though, Alexander is expected to play with a protective cast. His wrist is scheduled to heal the same whether he plays or not, and Alexander feels he's capable of going..

"He will wear the cast for a while. He's not going to take the cast off. We do not have to have a 'Cast Watch,' you know. He will wear the cast and will wear it for a while," said head coach Mike Holmgren.

Alexander began having wrist problems after the team's first game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He's worn a cast during practices and over the past two games. The injury became worse after facing the Bengals, forcing him to wear a much larger cast after halftime. Still, he was able to run for 100 yards, 44 of those yards coming in the final quarter of the game.

"I'm pretty beat up," said Alexander, following the game. "These last three weeks have probably been the most physical for me in a long time."

Alexander has had injury problems for the past several years, which was a reason the Seahawks nearly missed the postseason last year. Still, since Alexander will still be able to play, the Seahawks hope to continue their momentum. The division lead will be on the line this week against the San Francisco 49ers. Still, Holmgren knows that Alexander will have to play a little less aggressive then he'd like to be.

"Yeah, you watch him run, and you watch him fall. You know, it's just he's a little reluctant," Holmgren said. "He's aware of it being there."