Alexander expected to play Sunday
SEATTLE – A knock to Shaun Alexander ended any lingering knocks against Matt Hasselbeck.
When the NFL MVP went out with a concussion in a playoff win over Washington, Hasselbeck proved he could carry the load. There was even better news Sunday.
Though coach Mike Holmgren said Alexander was “wobbly” and “got dinged around pretty good,” he is optimistic the league rushing champion will be ready to play in the NFC title game Sunday against Carolina.
“Obviously, we have an extra day, which is good,” Holmgren said of the seven days between games. “(The doctors) seem to think that he’s going to be fine for next week.”
Alexander will undergo more tests to ensure the injury isn’t more extensive than first believed. The league doesn’t require the Seahawks to give an official status on Alexander until Wednesday, when the first injury report is due.
But Pro Bowl fullback Mack Strong already has an assessment on Alexander’s return.
“No doubt, we have to get No. 37 back,” Strong said. “Whatever we have to do, (we have) to find a way to get him back and healthy in the lineup and ready to play next week.”
Hasselbeck will be ready.
The NFC’s passing leader and Pro Bowl starter completed 16 of 26 passes for 215 yards with one touchdown pass against Washington’s rugged, smash-mouth defense. This, after he completed 76 percent of his throws over the final month of the regular season.
After the game, Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer walked into the Seahawks’ locker room and went right for his former Seattle protege.
“Awesome,” Dilfer said, gripping Hasselbeck in a big bear hug. “That was awesome.”
But Hasselbeck’s numbers don’t fully tell why he got Seattle its first playoff win since 1984.
They don’t show how Hasselbeck can beat a team as efficiently and more unpredictably than Alexander can.
Seattle’s first touchdown came on Hasselbeck’s first bit of improvisation. Hasselbeck noticed Redskins safety Ryan Clark had inside position on Darrell Jackson’s seam route to the end zone. So instead of throwing the ball over Clark’s head to Jackson, he threw to Jackson’s back shoulder, away from Clark. Jackson adjusted for the 29-yard touchdown reception.
Hasselbeck ad-libbed less subtly in the third quarter. On third-and-3 near midfield, Hasselbeck was about to throw quickly to Joe Jurevicius, who ran a hitch route. But Washington’s Carlos Rogers jumped in front of the pattern.
So Hasselbeck motioned for Jurevicius to break deep with his left hand while holding the ball in his right. His pass hit the veteran receiver in stride for a 31-yard completion.
That set up his scrambling, 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that gave Seattle a 14-3 lead. On that play, he recognized the type of man-to-man coverage the Redskins were using. He knew the defenders would follow his receivers to the middle of the field and back of the end zone. That left a huge expanse on the field’s right side.
Hasselbeck, not exactly fleet, outran half the defense for the score.
In the fourth quarter, he saw Taylor preparing to blitz inside on third-and-6. He called an audible to a run by Strong. The 13-year veteran romped to a career-long, 32-yard gain to set up Seattle’s clinching field goal.
“Great for Mack,” Hasselbeck deadpanned. “It must have been tough his rookie year in 1984, the last time they won a playoff game.”
No one was laughing at Hasselbeck on the Washington sideline.
“My hat goes off to No. 8,” Clark said. “He played a phenomenal game and, single-handedly, he worked to beat us.”
That could be bad news for their next opponent – regardless of whether Alexander is at full speed.
But it was no news to at least one Redskins player.
“I was not surprised that Matt could do that, because I have seen him do it before,” former Seahawks cornerback Shawn Springs said. “Matt is a good player.
“If Shaun wasn’t the MVP, it’s not like Matt couldn’t be. He’s been doing that all year.”