RENTON — Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll put an end to the mystery Thursday, naming Matt Hasselbeck the starting quarterback for Saturday’s playoff game against New Orleans.
“Matt had a great week for us, made it through the week,” Carroll said. “I told him early i
n the week that he was going to start if he could make it through physically. He’s done all of that, so Matt Hasselbeck’s going to start the game for us at quarterback. Charlie (Whitehurst) is ready to go as well, both those guys split reps during the week so they’re prepared, and we’ll count on both if we need them, but I’m fired up that Matt’s going to go.”
Carroll declined to name a starter Monday, then again Wednesday, and would not even go so far as to say whether Hasselbeck would start if healthy. Carroll’s vague answers led to speculation that Whitehurst, who led the Seahawks to a win over St. Louis last week while Hasselbeck sat out with a hip/buttock injury, had simply moved past Hasselbeck on the depth chart.
But after Hasselbeck made it through a third straight day of practice without any problems with his injury, Carroll made it clear that the veteran is still his starter.
“First off, he’s been our starter all year long, and that’s it,” Carroll said. “Nothing has changed in that, and I just wanted to make sure Matt was healthy. Last week he did everything he could, he was a warrior about it, he would have gone if we had called on him. But it was better that we didn’t have to do that, and Charlie came through and did a great job for us, so we know we have two really good guys that can play, and we feel confident that both of those guys can give us a chance to win.
“Matt needed to get healthy and get right, he’s done that so we’re fired up for him.”
Hasselbeck was told on Monday that, as long as he was healthy, he was going to be the starter, and the quarterback said he wasn’t bothered by the week of speculation about his status, which only intensified as the week went on and Carroll declined to make his decision public.
“I really try to not pay too much attention to that stuff,” he said. “… It hasn’t been a big deal, really. More than anything I’m just trying to get healthy, and I think as a team we’re just trying to get our game better.”
Hasselbeck tried to make it back for last week’s game, and after a pregame workout was deemed healthy enough to be activated for the game, but the Seahawks ended up starting the fully-healthy Whitehurst. Despite that decision, Hasselbeck said he didn’t doubt his status as the team’s starter.
“I really was just unsure about my health, and I was very unsure about that,” he said.
Carroll says he is more confident in Whitehurst than ever after, in his second career start, the backup led the Seahawks to a division-clinching win over the Rams, and that he would be comfortable with either playing this week. Ultimately, however, Hasselbeck, who has played in nine postseason games, including a Super Bowl, and who passed for 366 yards against the Saints this season, remains the starter.
“Matt did play very well last time (against the Saints) as far as throwing the football,” Carroll said. “We need to play well around him this time.”
Locklear still absent
Right tackle Sean Locklear has been gone all week dealing with what Carroll called a “Very serious family situation that he had to take care of.” Stacy Andrews, who has started at right guard this season but is more of a natural tackle, has practiced all week in place of Locklear, who is expected to be back and be able to play Saturday.
“We could play with Stacy right now,” Carroll said. “He would do fine for us. We still have to see how Sean is when he returns because he’s been through a lot of stuff here. I’m counting on Sean to play for us, but Stacy’s ready to go.”
Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com. For more Seahawks coverage, check out the Seahawks blog at heraldnet.com/seahawksblog
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