Matt Hasselbeck may not have had a very good game yesterday, but let’s not get the quarterback controversy started up just yet. Yes the Seahawks did bring in a potential starter for the future in Charlie Whitehurst, but Pete Carroll said he isn’t even considering a change at the position.
“Matt’s our guy,” Carroll said. “We’re counting on him and we know he gives us the best chance to win.”
Asked if the he wants to get a look at Whitehurst at some point in a regular season game, Carroll said: “That’s not even in our minds right now.”
Hasselbeck, meanwhile, said Carroll was a little harder on him when they talked about the game, but Hasselbeck also said he is encouraged because the team feels like they can fix the mistakes that led to Sunday’s loss.
That optimism came through in Hasselbeck’s demeanor, as he was able to joke a bit about his struggles, a change from his mood in the locker room yesterday. Asked where he should have thrown the ball on his first interception, a ball that was picked at the 4-yard line by Champ Bailey, Hasselbeck said: “Probably row five.”
Other notes from Monday’s press conference:
LB Leroy Hill (calf strain) was the only injury from the game, and Carroll said he is in a boot and that “he’s going to be out a bit.”
Rookie LT Russell Okung is ready to begin “on-land” running this week. I’m not positive what that means, and Carroll indicated he wasn’t either, but my guess is that “on land” is the next step up from running on a treadmill, which he did last week. Carroll said that if all goes well, Okung could return to practice next week.
Ben Hamilton moved ahead of Mike Gibson in the starting lineup at LG, and it didn’t have to do with the sore back that took Gibson out of the season opener.
“Mike is healthy,” Carroll said. “We moved Ben up.”
No surprise here given that he went 63 yards on his first punt return, but Carroll confirmed that Golden Tate is the team’s punt returner moving forward.
“We can’t afford to take him out of there,” Carroll said.
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