KIRKLAND – Through all the rotating teammates, off-target passes and misguided decisions, one thing has stayed the same for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck this season.
He’s still a straight shooter in the interview room.
So when Hasselbeck is asked to assess his own performance this season, he’s not going to scramble out of the pocket of candor.
“It hasn’t been great,” he said on Monday afternoon, two days after the Seahawks overcame another un-Hasselbeck-like performance from their veteran quarterback. “Obviously, the stats are terrible.”
While the Seahawks are on their way to the divisional round of the NFL postseason, they’re still waiting to see Hasselbeck at his best.
His quarterback rating (from 98.2 to 76.0) and completion percentage (from 65.5 to 56.6) were down from the 2005 regular season, while his interception total went up (from nine to 15). After a memorable ‘05 season that saw him post a passer rating of 90.0 or better in 10 of 16 starts, he did it just five times during the most recent regular season.
Hasselbeck gave several reasons for his decline in numbers, all of which seem legitimate.
“Some of that is injury, some of that is bad weather, and some of that is just not playing well,” he said. “It happens. I guess it’s like golf a little bit. The same person can play the same course, and you shoot one score on Saturday and another score on Sunday.”
Using that metaphor as a measuring stick, Hasselbeck was a scratch golfer last season but posts a handicap of around 20 this year.
The most obvious reason is health. He missed four games with a knee injury, then fractured a bone in his left hand that has bothered him for the past six weeks.
Just as important has been the myriad of personnel changes the Seahawks have seen this season, resulting in 17 different starting lineups in the team’s 17 games.
Eight different offensive line rotations have started in front of Hasselbeck. Dependable receiver Bobby Engram missed nine regular-season games because of a thyroid condition. Leading rusher Shaun Alexander and leading receiver Darrell Jackson missed multiple games with injuries. And wide receiver Deion Branch, who is one of the few offensive starters to have a clean bill of health, wasn’t even with the team until after the regular-season opener.
“It may be just confidence a little,” Hasselbeck said of how the personnel changes have affected him. “Take the past game, which I just got graded on (by the coaching staff Monday afternoon). The throws that I threw to Bobby Engram, as an example, they were my better throws. I’ve got to believe it’s just because of the experience I have with him … and knowing what he’s going to do.
“… Deion Branch has been big for us this year, and we’ve connected a bunch in the games, but just looking at the mechanics, those throws are being thrown a little different. Those throws are being thrown with less speed, with less velocity, maybe staring (Branch) down a little more.”
While coach Mike Holmgren gives credence to those excuses, he’s still been baffled by Hasselbeck’s inconsistency this season. The 31-year-old quarterback steadily improved during each of his first five seasons with Seattle, earning Pro Bowl nods after the past two, but has seen his performance dip this year.
“He has way more interceptions then he should, being as bright as he is and understanding our system now the way he understands it,” Holmgren said.
While Holmgren admitted that Hasselbeck tries to do too much at times, the quarterback defended himself by pointing out that situations like big deficits have forced him to take more chances than he has in the past.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures sometimes,” Hasselbeck said.
Despite a Saturday performance that showed both the good (two touchdowns) and bad (two interceptions) sides of Hasselbeck, the quarterback is getting more comfortable.
“All in all, I feel pretty good,” Hasselbeck said Monday. “This is probably the best I’ve felt – about our team, my teammates, the plays that are being called. It’s the best I’ve felt all season.”
That still hasn’t translated to the field, at least as far as turning in a solid performance for an entire 60-minute game.
“The nature of my job is that I’ve got to be really, really good one day, and that’s on Sundays,” Hasselbeck said. “If I’m not really, really good, that hurts our team’s chances of winning. And if I’m really, really bad, our team has very little chance to win.
“I understand that I’ve got to play well, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
Despite Hasselbeck’s recent struggles, Holmgren still has faith in his quarterback.
“I think he has a chance to be great,” Holmgren said. “He’s a good player, and he had a great season last year. But I think he has a chance to be great.”
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