CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The way Matt Hasselbeck tells the story, his position of choice was dictated not by him but by others.
“As a freshman in high school, when I went out for the freshman football team, I tried to play tight end,” the Seattle Seahawks’ quarterback and son of a former NFL tight end said. “The coach moved me to quarterback. He said, ‘You can throw, and you’re too skinny to block anybody.’ They chose the position for me.”
Little did he know what he’d gotten himself into.
Seventeen years later, Hasselbeck is one of the hottest quarterbacks in football. And when you’re a quarterback, that means taking the most heat.
No position in sports is as scrutinized as football’s quarterback. In Seattle, Hasselbeck took most of the shots when the Seahawks were struggling. And right now he’s the one getting most of the kudos.
That’s what being a quarterback is all about.
“He gets all the goods,” wide receiver Deion Branch said of NFL quarterbacks, “and then the bad when something bad happens. They take it all.”
Quarterback play is an essential part of teams’ success, as evidenced by the statistical performances of some of the playoff contenders’ signal-callers this season. The teams with the NFL’s top eight quarterbacks in terms of passer rating — Hasselbeck ranks eighth — are a combined 80-22 this season. All eight of those teams are likely going to the postseason.
In contrast, the bottom eight quarterbacks come from teams with a combined record of 32-72. Only Tennessee’s Vince Young (28th) and Minnesota’s Tarvaris Jackson (26th) are playing for playoff contenders.
“You look around in the league, and the teams that have been fortunate enough to have their quarterback pretty healthy the whole time, those are the teams that have the best chance,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said last week. “That’s just the way it is.”
A quick scan of the standings reveals that many of the NFL’s top teams have big-time quarterbacks. The Indianapolis Colts’ Peyton Manning, Green Bay’s Brett Favre and New England’s Tom Brady are future Hall of Famers who have their respective teams in the thick of the playoff race. By contrast, teams like Philadelphia and San Francisco have quickly fallen out of contention because of injuries at the position.
A perfect example is today’s opponent, the Carolina Panthers. Starter Jake Delhomme injured his elbow in the third game of the regular season, and the Panthers have been in free-fall mode ever since.
“Anytime you lose your starting quarterback,” Carolina coach John Fox said earlier this week, “it’s no day at the beach.”
The quarterback’s importance to a team is not lost on other players in the league. As much as they might like to tease signal-callers, players appreciate what quarterbacks bring to the team.
“It’s the amount of time and work they put in,” Seattle’s Branch said. “We have Tuesdays off, and some guys come in, but they have to come in. They don’t have days off. Sunday we have a game, and then Monday and Tuesday they’re already in here working on the next week’s game.”
The Seahawks put extra pressure on Hasselbeck five weeks ago, when Holmgren announced to the world that he would be throwing the ball as often as possible. Defenses have come after Hasselbeck, yet he’s still been one of the league’s most effective quarterbacks during that span — with 11 touchdown passes and just three interceptions.
Hasselbeck has carried the team to five wins in a row, leading to some big-time comparisons.
“Right now Matt’s playing at a high level,” said tight end Marcus Pollard, who played seven seasons with Manning in Indianapolis. “When Peyton broke the record for most touchdowns in a season (in 2004), he was throwing the ball to a lot of guys and letting guys make plays for him. That’s the same with Matt (now).
“Both of them were really hot, their eyes were big looking for the open guy, and they’re both taking apart defenses.”
Branch was less willing to compare Hasselbeck to his former quarterback, New England’s Brady.
“Two different guys,” he said last week. “Everybody asks me to compare, but you can’t. Two different systems, two different guys. But both are leaders.”
Like Branch and Pollard, Holmgren has been around some of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But he has shied away from making any comparisons between Hasselbeck and superstars like Joe Montana, Steve Young and Favre.
“I’ve been asked that question over the years, and it’s always hard for me to compare the guys I’ve coached,” Holmgren said on Friday. “I see myself as being very privileged to be around guys like that — talented, hard-working guys, (and) competitors that want to be good. Matt plays right into that group that way. Other than that, they’re all very unique.”
For what the Seahawks have been asking in recent weeks, Hasselbeck has been the perfect man for the job. He’s completed 63 percent of his attempts during the five-game winning streak while throwing touchdown passes to six different receivers.
And along the way, he has earned Holmgren’s undying respect.
“I’m much more comfortable, and I believe he is now, than we used to be when we first started out together,” Holmgren said during his weekly press conference last Wednesday. “The trust factor is real high.”
Holmgren hand-picked Hasselbeck in 2001, having remembered him from their single season together in Green Bay. Hasselbeck had become a preseason star for the Packers, earning the nickname Mr. August, and so Holmgren engineered a trade to acquire him for draft picks.
That decision brought some early criticism toward Holmgren, but it’s worked out for the best.
And now the Seahawks have the franchise quarterback that eluded them for so many years.
“It’s hard to do it without that guy, I think,” he said. “So I will always worry about (keeping) Matthew (healthy).”
When it comes to Hasselbeck’s recent play, that’s the only worry Holmgren has had to endure.
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