Holmgren: Didn't know Alexander needed a yard

KIRKLAND, WASHINGTON - Mike Holmgren had no chance Tuesday.<br> <br> The Seattle coach wanted to focus on this weekend&#39;s playoff game against St. Louis rather than rehash Shaun Alexander&#39;s caustic comments from last weekend. Sorry, coach.<br> <br> Alexander&#39;s claim that he was ``stabbed in the back&#39;&#39; and denied the NFL rushing title by Holmgren was a popular topic during the coach&#39;s weekly news conference.<br> <br> There were plenty of questions, too, about Holmgren&#39;s handling of trouble-prone receiver Koren Robinson.<br> <br> ``Shaun&#39;s situation came and went. It&#39;s over,&#39;&#39; Holmgren said. ``Koren&#39;s situation? We haven&#39;t had Koren much in the last six weeks. We&#39;ve been playing without him. Would I like to have Koren? Yes, I would. But we&#39;re moving forward.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Holmgren said he hadn&#39;t received an apology from Alexander. The running back claimed after last Sunday&#39;s 28-26 win over Atlanta that a 1-yard quarterback sneak cost him the NFL rushing title.<br> <br> On Monday, Alexander apologized to fans for his comments, but said he didn&#39;t need to apologize to Holmgren or his teammates saying they know him well enough to realize he doesn&#39;t value statistics ahead of wins.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s a non-factor,&#39;&#39; fullback Mack Strong said. ``Nobody even brought it up today, which I think is the right thing to do. Shaun did what he had to do yesterday, in a press conference and a formal apology. As far as I&#39;m concerned, it&#39;s done.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Holmgren said he didn&#39;t even know Alexander was 1 yard short of tying the Jets&#39; Curtis Martin for the NFL rushing title when he called for Matt Hasselbeck&#39;s decisive TD sneak, which put Seattle up 28-20 with 4:28 to play.<br> <br> ``Honest to goodness, you guys, I suppose this is interesting,&#39;&#39; Holmgren said. ``To me, it wasn&#39;t that complicated. No one was intentionally doing anything. Inches? Quarterback sneak. That&#39;s it.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Holmgren said he planned to help Alexander get 2 more yards on Seattle&#39;s next possession. That never happened, because the Falcons used the rest of the clock on their final drive, capped by a TD as time expired.<br> <br> ``There was no one, other than Shaun, who wanted him to get that record more than me,&#39;&#39; the coach said.<br> <br> Seattle&#39;s defense held, foiling the Falcons&#39; 2-point conversion attempt and sealing the victory. That gave the Seahawks the NFC West title and a home game Saturday against the Rams.<br> <br> Holmgren said he hadn&#39;t discussed the issue with Alexander.<br> <br> ``We&#39;ll practice. At some point, we&#39;ll probably bump into each other in the hallway,&#39;&#39; Holmgren said. ``It&#39;s only a distraction if you make it a distraction, and I don&#39;t think this is a distraction.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Dealing with Robinson is more complicated. Holmgren must decide whether the standout receiver will play against the Rams. He sent Robinson home before kickoff last weekend for violating an undisclosed team rule.<br> <br> ``He is practicing today,&#39;&#39; Holmgren said. ``I haven&#39;t made the decision on what his role will be. My players committee is involved in this, as well. I&#39;ll make a decision by the end of the week.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Robinson, who declined interviews Tuesday, missed six of the final seven games: two for breaking team rules and four after an NFL suspension for violating the league&#39;s substance-abuse policy.<br> <br> Holmgren repeated his position that he feels obligated to help his players if they have personal problems. He said Robinson isn&#39;t receiving special treatment and hinted there&#39;s more to the issue than he can disclose, but it&#39;s a private matter.<br> <br> ``There are things that no one knows are going on,&#39;&#39; Holmgren said. ``There are reasons. I know that&#39;s going to raise questions, and probably no one&#39;s ever going to get those answers.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Holmgren met with Robinson on Monday.<br> <br> ``I did a lot of talking. He did a lot of listening,&#39;&#39; Holmgren said.<br> <br> Around the locker room there was plenty of support for Robinson, who is liked by teammates and valued for his talents as an athlete.<br> <br> ``All we can do is put our arms around this guy and hope he can get through this,&#39;&#39; receiver Jerry Rice said. ``It&#39;s not really for us to say. All we can do is try to show him how to do it, try to lead by example and hope he can catch on.&#39;&#39;