Fickle fans make quarterback’s job even tougher

  • Scott M. Johnson / Herald Writer
  • Tuesday, October 2, 2001 9:00pm
  • Sports

By Scott M. Johnson

Herald Writer

KIRKLAND – The crowd roared his name, bellowing in such perfect unison that the word was unmistakable.

Dil-fer … Dil-fer … Dil-fer.

This was no dream. For Trent Dilfer, it was a replay of a living, recurring nightmare. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback had been in this situation before, back when fans were calling someone else’s name.

When the home fans turned on starter Matt Hasselbeck during last week’s 27-3 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Dilfer lent an understanding shoulder to cry on.

“I told Matt that what he went through last week was nothing,” Dilfer said. “I’ve been hit by binoculars, I’ve been booed at restaurants, been flipped off in my car – with tinted windows. It’s the life of an NFL quarterback.”

Before even playing a single down with the Seahawks, Dilfer became the darling of the home fans last week when Hasselbeck and the Seattle offense were struggling. During his seven seasons as a quarterback with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dilfer often found himself on the other end of the crowd-favorite spectrum.

“People think (quarterbacks) live a pretty glamorous life, and at times we do; it’s the best position in all of professional sports to play because of the amount of responsibility you shoulder,” Dilfer said. “But with all the good things comes a lot of bad things, and that’s one of them. We were able to joke about it. He had a great attitude about it, and those things make you tougher.”

This week the fans may get their wish, as Dilfer could make his first start as a Seahawk unless Hasselbeck’s injured groin and foot heal up by Sunday.

The role Dilfer could fill this week, as well as the one he filled when Hasselbeck drew the ire of the crowd, were the main reasons coach Mike Holmgren brought him to Seattle.

“I really am starting to understand why I’m here,” Dilfer said. “I knew this was where I was supposed to be; a lot of people questioned it. I’ve lived what Matt’s living right now. It’s not fun, but it’s good for this football team, it’s good for the organization, and it’s really good for Matt.”

Dilfer went through his share of struggles after Tampa Bay made him the sixth overall pick in the 1994 draft. His unique perspective has given Dilfer a glass-half-full philosophy regarding Hasselbeck’s early struggles. Dilfer said he didn’t respond well to early criticism.

“I didn’t, and it hurt my growth curve as a quarterback,” he said. “Matt’s a lot more mature than I was at this point. I think that he’s going to be able to handle this better than I did. I’ve seen him handle it so far.

“Last week was the hardest week a quarterback can go through. And he was phenomenal in practice, he was a great leader. And he went out and showed his teammates that he will play with knives in his back. That’s a very courageous thing to do, especially when things aren’t going well.”

Although the official injury report doesn’t come out until later today, it’s safe to assume that Hasselbeck has about a 50-50 shot of playing in Sunday’s game against Jacksonville. Holmgren already has said that Dilfer and Brock Huard will see most of the practice repetitions this week.

“I think his experience will be important,” Holmgren said about the possibility of Dilfer playing Sunday. “I think there’s a couple of things he can do kind of naturally because he’s played longer and seen most situations. His lack of experience in this system, we’ll have to make adjustments for that as a coaching staff.”

Dilfer’s experience has already started to come into play. Much like the perspective he had on the fans’ chant, he has watched the team’s offensive woes with a sense of deja vu. It was Dilfer, football fans may remember, who took over when the Baltimore Ravens’ offense was struggling last year and eventually helped lead them to the Super Bowl. Dilfer watched from the sidelines as Baltimore went five weeks without scoring a touchdown, so he saw the Seahawks’ recent skid of 10 quarters without a TD as no reason to panic.

“I’ve been a part of this before, and it’s actually not that hard to come out of,” Dilfer said. “It’s one of those things where you keep working, you keep doing it. Guys are willing to come to work and make things happen. And usually when you have that attitude, good things happen.

“The disease that can happen in these times is when a team can tear apart and start pointing the finger and making excuses. And that hasn’t happened, and I know it won’t happen.”

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