Rams leave Hasselbeck feeling exhausted

Published 10:45 pm Sunday, November 25, 2007

ST. LOUIS _ Matt Hasselbeck’s afternoon got off to a painful start. It ended in an even more humbling spot.

Thirty minutes after the conclusion of the game, an exhausted Hasselbeck sat next to his locker with head in hands. The Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback eventually stood and wandered toward the bathroom, where he retched several times.

“Honestly, I’m just exhausted,” Hasselbeck said a few minutes later when standing in front of reporters. “I need a cheeseburger or something. I need something.”

The Seahawks’ quarterback maintained his sense of humor in the postgame locker room, joking that it was a teammate who was the one getting sick. He then went on to point out that former Boston Celtic great Bob Cousy used to get sick before every game.

But Hasselbeck’s afternoon was no laughing matter. Playing with a flak jacket to protect his bruised ribs, Hasselbeck took constant abuse from the Rams’ blitz-happy defense. He got sacked five times, matching a season high, and was drilled on several other occasions.

Rams linebacker Will Witherspoon sacked him on the second and third plays of the game, setting a tone for what was to come.

“They were definitely into our rhythm,” Hasselbeck said. “(Eventually, Holmgren) said, ‘All right, I want to go no-huddle.’ And then we dictated the tempo a little better.”

Hasselbeck also stopped making audible calls at the line of scrimmage, and Seattle’s offense had more success in the second half.

Seahawks offensive lineman Sean Locklear was just as baffled as to why the Rams put on so much pressure throughout the game.

“They were bringing more than we could block,” Locklear said. “They were bringing guys from both sides. Whatever they could do to bring people.”

Hasselbeck said that his ribs did not suffer any further damage, but did offer: “It was not a Tylenol-free day.”

One thing that made the pain easier to take was the victory, no matter how strange the circumstances at the end.

“They’ve got to be scratching their heads right now,” Hasselbeck said of the Rams, “but we’re scratching our heads too. But I don’t feel like apologizing for it.”