Is Hasselbeck ready to overcome?

If you’re one of the few Seahawks fans still fretting over Matt Hasselbeck’s state of mind after the team’s tough playoff loss to Green Bay last season, don’t worry.

Hasselbeck seems to have dealt with the events of that cold January day with the same aplomb as he’s handled previous setbacks in his career: Live and learn, then come back stronger and wiser.

To recap, Hasselbeck passed for 305 yards and led the Seahawks on a scoring drive late in the fourth quarter to tie the score. After Seattle won the overtime coin flip, TV cameras caught Hasselbeck boldly telling the officials, “We want the ball and we’re going to score.”

On Seattle’s second possession of overtime, Hasselbeck threw in the flat for receiver Alex Bannister but it was picked off by Al Harris, who returned it 52 yards for the game-deciding touchdown. Bannister apparently ran his route at the wrong depth, but there’s no disputing that Harris got a great jump on the ball.

“You think back to a lot of different plays and games during the season, and that’s obviously one of them,” Hasselbeck said. “Usually it’s the games you lost that are the ones you think about all off-season, not the games you won. There’s a handful of plays that could have made a difference in the game that could have got us a win and I was involved in probably, well, all of them.”

Former NFL quarterback Phil Simms, now a CBS broadcaster, recalls throwing handfuls of costly, painful interceptions – and thinking about them at length.

“I’m sure he’s thought about that play many times,” Simms said. “Let me assure you and any fans worried about the psyche of Matt Hasselbeck – it’s silly, it’s absurd. Of course, he’ll overcome it. He’s going to go on the field and play and that play will never be part of who he is any time or in any situation. ‘Oh, let me think as I drop back to pass’ – that’s what people will say. Those people are idiots, trust me. He’s not standing there getting ready to hit a golf ball and thinking about what could go wrong. He’s reacting.

“I threw some big ones, interceptions in playoff games, crushed the team, the fans and after the game the coach hated me. I hated myself, but I came back. You just come back in and it’s, ‘Here we go,’ because you have to be so strong mentally.”

Hasselbeck, who threw for more than 300 yards in four of Seattle’s last seven games, has heard considerable feedback about his coin-flip comment.

“It was one of those things where I knew the other players well and it wasn’t like they were just some strangers,” said Hasselbeck, who spent three years as a Packer before being acquired by Seattle. “If I see those guys this year during the preseason (game with Green Bay on Aug. 16) and we win the coin toss, I’ll probably say something different. Hopefully I’ll say nothing.”

Hasselbeck’s statement further cemented his role as a team leader, but that wasn’t his intention.

“The intention wasn’t to show up anybody,” he said. “I have a lot of respect for those players, those coaches and even those fans. The intention was, `Hey, I played for you guys,’ and I saw so many teams come in and be intimidated by Lambeau Field, by the history and tradition. I just wanted them to know, ‘We don’t care about all that. We think we can win the game,’ and I think it really brought our team together.”

Hasselbeck’s game has come together the last two seasons, neatly timed with the emergence of running back Shaun Alexander and receivers Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson.

“It’s a combination of him just being more comfortable with the offense and with the discipline it takes to throw the ball in rhythm, to read and throw,” quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn said. “Also our receivers started playing faster and once they got it, everyone was in the right spots.

“The thing we’re hoping for is that Matt just continues to go back to back to back as the seasons roll on and he’s consistent every week. He’s very capable.”

Simms has no doubts that Hasselbeck is a rising star.

“I saw Matt at Boston College and I liked him then,” Simms said. “He has a redeeming quality that people don’t give enough credit to – he can throw the ball. You can talk about all the other stuff, but it doesn’t work if you can’t throw the ball.”

Line dancing

Going on their third year without starting left tackle Walter Jones at training camp, several offensive linemen have been fairly obligated to learn multiple positions. Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack, whose future is likely at guard, filled in for Jones the first couple of days, but he’s been sidelined with a strained calf. That prompted Matt Hill to move to left tackle Wednesday.

“He’s a hard-working player and we’ll be fine with Matt Hill,” offensive line coach Bill Laveroni said. “We’ll be fine with Matt there.”

In the past, Jerry Wunsch has played guard and tackle. Third-round draft pick Sean Locklear played center, guard and tackle at North Carolina State. Locklear is a backup at left tackle.

“One good part about going through some tough times with the depth, guys don’t have to make traumatic adjustments,” Laveroni said. “That’s important as the seasons goes on because guys get hurt and things happen.”

The annual re-shuffling of the line prompted Laveroni to think of his old boss. Laveroni was assistant line coach the last two years under Tom Lovat, who retired after the 2003 season.

“I did call Tom last week, but I got his answering machine,” Laveroni said. “He probably had a cigar in his mouth and was out walking his dog. I have to call again because I’ve got to tell him, ‘I’m right in the middle of it now, Tom.’ “

Prior to retiring, Lovat offered sage coaching advice to his understudy.

“He was so tremendous,” Laveroni said. “I thought of him last week because I opened my drawer and there was an Advil bottle in there. He told me, ‘Hey, Lav, next year on Monday mornings when you’re grading the film, pull out that bottom drawer because the Advil is in there.’ “

Notes

Starting center Robbie Tobeck missed the final half-hour of the afternoon practice with a strained calf. Reserve quarterback Brock Huard left the field with tightness in his back. Cornerback Bobby Taylor is sitting out selected practices to rest a sore knee… . Cornerback Marcus Trufant had at least two near interceptions, one in which he couldn’t quite secure the ball after wrestling it away from receiver D.J. Hackett during a spirited morning practice. Ken Lucas and Trufant intercepted Hasselbeck on consecutive passes in the afternoon.