Dodging pressure
KIRKLAND, Wash. – In the estimation of his coach, Matt Hasselbeck was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. The baggage of a struggling offense. The burden of a franchise on the verge of disappointment.
How much could one man take?
It was enough to bring many men down, yet the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback wasn’t willing to crumble. Asked Thursday what it means for a coach to simplify the offense, Hasselbeck responded with his typical wit.
“That means I’m not very smart,” he said. “…It sounds like, ‘Hey, stupid, you can’t handle it.’ I know it’s not, but …”
In his own way, Hasselbeck showed again that he’s handling adversity without allowing it to break him. Despite a week in which all eyes seem to be on how he’ll respond, Hasselbeck is standing tall in the pocket as everyone brings the heat.
He played one of the worst games of his NFL career last Sunday, yet Hasselbeck has already moved on.
“When you’re talking about the worst game you’ve ever played, you’re not going to forget it – ever,” he said. “But it’s gone, done. We’ve got a new game coming up, and that’s where my focus is.”
If the Seahawks are going to end a three-game slide, Hasselbeck will need to find his rhythm this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. He struggled in a loss to Arizona last Sunday, and his statistics have fallen off since the middle of the St. Louis game two weeks prior to that.
While Seattle’s offense has spent most of the early season working out some kinks, Hasselbeck had some early success through halftime of the St. Louis game. He entered that Oct. 10 contest ranked seventh in the NFC with a 90.7 quarterback rating. Things looked brighter when he threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, leading Seattle to a seemingly comfortable 24-7 lead.
It has been all downhill since. Seattle stuck to a conservative attack in the second half of the St. Louis game and lost in overtime. Hasselbeck and the offense struggled to play catch-up at New England the following week, then he hit rock bottom at Arizona.
In completing 14 of 41 passes and throwing a career-high four interceptions, Hasselbeck stumbled to a quarterback rating of 18.9.
Hasselbeck took the blame after the 25-17 loss, and followed that up Monday by calling it, “probably the worst game I’ve ever played.”
Coach Mike Holmgren announced that he would simplify the offense to take some of the load off Hasselbeck’s shoulders.
Hasselbeck is open to coaches’ criticism this week, while Holmgren is cautioning those outside the team to resist the urge to put too much blame on him.
“I think we have a good offensive team around him, which makes where we’ve gone the last couple weeks even more frustrating,” Holmgren said. “But it’s not just Matt. Matt will be fine. Honestly, Matt will be fine.
“Now I’ve got to get all 11 guys to be fine.”
Notes
Hasselbeck returned to practice after missing the previous day with a sore heel. An MRI showed no major damage, and he is expected to play Sunday against Carolina. … Cornerback Marcus Trufant (shoulder), right tackle Chris Terry (shoulder) and punter Tom Rouen (hamstring) were among the players not practicing. All three are questionable for Sunday’s game.