Hasselbeck suffered with Seahawks fans

RENTON, Wash. – Start by naming the months in reverse order.

Now count backward in increments of seven starting at 100. Oops, forgot to tell you to do that with your eyes closed.

Those are just some of the tests Matt Hasselbeck underwent after suffering a concussion Oct. 31. He was cleared to return to practice Wednesday.

Last week, he missed the defeat that was tough for all of Seattle to watch. Even Hasselbeck … no, especially Hasselbeck.

“It’s hard when you’re not out there,” he said, “and it’s even harder when your team doesn’t play well. It’s not easy to sit on the sidelines and watch. … It’s bearable if your team is playing well, and you’re winning and things are going well. That’s like the exact opposite of what happened.”

Seattle’s 41-7 defeat against the New York Giants was bigger than any single position, even quarterback. There is no bigger topic of discussion, though, than Seattle’s quarterback.

The city just saw Charlie Whitehurst start his first NFL game. He is the quarterback Seattle not only signed in the offseason from San Diego, but sacrificed draft capital to acquire him. He is the franchise’s most immediate alternative to Hasselbeck, and Seattle got its first real look at the on-hand alternative at quarterback. The result – three quarters of scoreless football for Seattle and a quarterback rating of 16 for Whitehurst during that time.

The best thing to be said about Whitehurst’s game is he got better at the end, and there’s a long list of successful NFL quarterbacks with forgettable first starts.