No-hassle Hasselbeck
Seattle QB keeps his head as players drop around him
RENTON, Wash. – In a physical sense, Matt Hasselbeck appears as healthy as he’s been in recent years. Sure, there is that bulging disc in his back, but he swears that doesn’t bother him at all on game days.
Two weeks into the 2008 season, he has yet to miss any practice time with bumps, bruises or partially torn tendons.
The problem this season is that just about everything around Hasselbeck is wrapped in medical tape.
The team’s four top wide receivers, two starting offensive linemen and running back Maurice Morris sat out most of the first two games with injuries.
The result has been a Pro Bowl quarterback who is playing at far less than Pro Bowl level.
Through little fault of his own – although the quarterback is hardly without blame – Hasselbeck ranks last in the NFC in passing efficiency (48.6). He has thrown three interceptions and just a single touchdown, one that went to Nate Burleson before the receiver went down with a season-ending injury.
Seattle’s offense is crumbling at the seams and Hasselbeck is one of the few pieces left to save it.
“It’s OK,” a surprisingly upbeat Hasselbeck said last week. “It’s tougher this way, but it’s OK. It’s not like we can’t go out and win games with the situation that we have. We just all have to raise our play a little bit and expect a little bit more from ourselves and we can get it done.”
Through all of the Seahawks’ early turmoil, Hasselbeck has maintained his composure despite his unimpressive statistics.
“If you had to have a guy who can kind of deal with this, I’d put my money on Matt,” head coach Mike Holmgren said last week. “He’s handled these types of things pretty well. He’s played long enough now and had enough success and is confident enough to kind of be in a good position to handle it as well as anybody.”
“He’s been magnificent,” offensive coordinator Gil Haskell added. “He’s a true pro. He’s handled it great.”
Hasselbeck has thrown passes to nine different receivers this season. Two of those – Burleson and Logan Payne – have suffered season-ending injuries. Hasselbeck has yet to throw a pass to projected starters Deion Branch and Bobby Engram, who are coming back from injuries and could still be two weeks away from making their 2008 debuts.