Hasselbeck bounces back
SEATTLE – Seattle Seahawks fans suffered through some anxious moments midway through the first quarter of Sunday’s 41-3 rout of the San Francisco 49ers.
The focus of their concern was the health of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who had just taken a savage hit from 49ers linebacker Derek Smith and was struggling to get to his feet.
“I was just trying to breathe,” explained Hasselbeck, who shook off the effects of Smith’s helmet-to-sternum blow – which drew a personal foul penalty – to throw for 226 yards and four touchdowns.
“I got the wind knocked out of me. I felt like I was drowning, except I wasn’t in water. I just couldn’t get any air.”
When Hasselbeck finally staggered back to the huddle, he was greeted by a friendly barb from center Robbie Tobeck.
“I just told him, ‘Hey, way to take one for the team,’ because it got us a first down,” Tobeck recalled. “Despite the way he dresses, he’s tougher than he looks. That was quite a shot he took.”
Hasselbeck said he remembers Tobeck’s comment, which drew some laughs from his teammates.
“But I really wasn’t in a humorous mood,” he added. “Thankfully, coach (Mike) Holmgren called three or four runs in a row after that. I really was having a hard time breathing.”
When asked if it was the hardest hit he’s taken in the NFL, Hasselbeck waffled.
“I don’t know. Maybe, probably not,” he said. “It’s not really how hard you get hit. It’s where you get hit.”
And Smith’s take?
“I thought I hit him with my facemask, not my head,” he said.
The growth of a QB
There were plenty of locker room comments made about the obvious maturation of Hasselbeck as an NFL quarterback – and with good reason.
His efficiency rating for the game was a lofty 127.2.
“I really hate saying nice things about him,” Tobeck said of Hasselbeck, who completed 21 of 25 passes, “but he’s playing really good. I don’t know what his stats are or how he compares yardage-wise or quarterback rating or all of that. But he’s doing a great job of leading this offense.”
“Matt had a fine game today,” Holmgren added. “He was really on it. He made really good decisions, and had a good audible game. He’s been pretty steady all season long, and if he plays at this level, he gives us a chance, every week on offense, to do some good things.”
Wait-and-see attitude
Seattle’s young defense set a team record by holding San Francisco to 113 total yards on Sunday. But 49ers coach Mike Nolan warned against reading too much into that number.
“Defensively, they are better than they have been in the past,” he said of the Seahawks, “but I don’t believe we are a great measuring stick. Defensively, we will wait and see how they measure up against other teams.”
To rest, or not to rest
With the division championship already in hand and home-field advantage in the playoffs, perhaps, just a win away, Holmgren was asked about the possibility of resting some of his starters in the Seahawks’ last three regular-season games.
“Until I have to make that decision, I can’t give you an honest answer,” Holmgren said. “I have never rested guys, and I can’t remember, honestly, if I was ever in a situation where I had the luxury of doing that.”
Quick kicks
The Seahawks’ 11 victories are the second-most in team history and just one-game fewer than the 12 they won in 1984. … Seattle’s combined 80-point victory margin in the last two games is its largest ever in back-to-back contests. … The Seahawks continue to led the NFL with 44 sacks – four more than Jacksonville, which is No. 2 with 40. … With his 108 rushing yards against San Francisco on Sunday, Seattle’s Shaun Alexander became the first running back in NFL history to record nine-consecutive 100-yard games against divisional opponents. … Alexander’s 3-yard scoring run in the third period of Sunday’s game raised his touchdown total to 23, just four shy of the single-season NFL record 27 scored by Priest Holmes in 2003.