In the estimation of his own coach, Matt Hasselbeck was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. The baggage of a struggling offense. The burden of a franchise on the verge of disappointment.
And how much could one man take?
It was enough to bring many men down, yet the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback wasn’t willing to crumble. Asked Thursday what it means for a coach to simplify the offense, Hasselbeck responded with his typical wit.
“That means I’m not very smart,” he said with the self-deprecating manner that is such a big part of his personality. “… It sounds like, ‘Hey, stupid, you can’t handle it.’ I know it’s not, but … “
In his own way, Hasselbeck showed once again that he’s handling adversity without allowing it to break him. Despite a week in which all eyes seem to be on how he’ll respond, Hasselbeck is standing tall in the pocket as everyone brings the heat.
He played one of the worst games of his NFL career last Sunday, yet Hasselbeck already has moved on.
“When you’re talking about the worst game you’ve ever played, you’re not going to forget it – ever,” he said. “But it’s gone, done. We’ve got a new game coming up, and that’s where my focus is.”
If the Seahawks are going to end a three-game slide, Hasselbeck will need to find his rhythm this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. He struggled in a loss to Arizona on Sunday, and his statistics have fallen off since the middle of the St. Louis game two weeks prior to that.
While Seattle’s offense has spent most of the early season working out some kinks, Hasselbeck had some early success through halftime of the St. Louis game. He entered that Oct. 10 contest ranked seventh in the NFC with a 90.7 quarterback rating. Things looked ever brighter when he threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns in the first half, leading the Seahawks to a seemingly comfortable 24-7 lead.
From that point on, it has been all downhill. Seattle stuck to a conservative attack in the second half of the St. Louis game, eventually losing in overtime. Hasselbeck and the offense struggled to play catch-up at New England the following week, then he hit rock bottom Sunday at Arizona.
In completing 14 of 41 passes and throwing a career-high four interceptions, Hasselbeck stumbled to an implausible quarterback rating of 18.9.
Hasselbeck took the blame after the 25-17 loss, then followed that up Monday by calling it, “probably the worst game I’ve ever played.”
At that point, coach Mike Holmgren announced that he would simplify the offense to take some of the load off Hasselbeck’s shoulders.
“Part of who we are as quarterbacks, you sometimes feel like you can handle it all,” Hasselbeck said Thursday. “You do, in a way, take offense to it; like, you’re not smart enough. I just think that’s how we’re made, though. The good ones probably don’t take it personally. So that’s what I’ve tried to remember this week.”
Hasselbeck is open to coaches’ criticism this week, while Holmgren is cautioning those outside the team to resist the urge to put too much blame on him.
“I think we have a good offensive team around him, which makes where we’ve gone the last couple weeks even more frustrating,” Holmgren said. “But it’s not just Matt. Matt will be fine. Honestly, Matt will be fine.
“Now I’ve got to get all 11 guys to be fine.”
There have been stretches where protection has broken down, occasions when receivers have failed to hang on to the football, and the pass patterns haven’t always been as crisp as coaches have wanted.
But this offense centers around the quarterback, and Hasselbeck hasn’t always done his part, either.
The quarterback’s most obvious struggles have been due to inaccuracy and tipped passes. He appeared to misfire on 17 of his throws Sunday, while seven others were tipped – including two at the line of scrimmage. Over the past two weeks, Hasselbeck has had four balls tipped by defensive linemen.
Holmgren said that the tipped balls were generally a byproduct of Hasselbeck’s mechanics, as his arm sometimes tends to drop when he is moving his feet. Hasselbeck’s ability to throw on the run always has been an area of strength, so the recent struggles have been somewhat surprising.
“When he moves in the pocket, and when he scrambles out of the pocket, he’s deadly accurate. And he wasn’t last game,” quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn said. “If that was the first loss, we’d go, ‘Oh well, we struggled. OK, let’s get back on track.’ But that’s the third loss, so now things are much more elevated.
“We have to find a much better answer, a much more examined answer. And that’s what we’re trying to do this week.”
Rather than tinker too much with Hasselbeck’s mechanics, Seahawks coaches are trying to improve the mental part of his game. That starts with simplifying things, and not because Hasselbeck isn’t smart enough to handle the load.
After going to the Pro Bowl last season, Hasselbeck still has the faith of those around him.
“There is no question we feel confident in Matt,” offensive lineman Robbie Tobeck said. “Matt’s going to have (bad) days. Everyone has (bad) days. Matt’s going to be great next week.”
Quick snaps: Hasselbeck returned to practice Thursday after missing the previous day with a sore heel. An MRI showed no major damage, and he is expected to play Sunday against the Panthers. “I don’t anticipate any problem with it,” he said. … Cornerback Marcus Trufant (shoulder), right tackle Chris Terry (shoulder) and punter Tom Rouen (hamstring) were among the players not practicing Thursday. All three are questionable for Sunday’s game. … Although there are a limited number of tickets available, sales for Sunday’s game hit their target by Thursday’s blackout deadline. It will be televised locally on channel 13.
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