SEATTLE — As the words came out of his mouth last Wednesday afternoon, Mike Holmgren said them as if he were trying to convince even himself.
“He’s the quarterback right now,” Holmgren said of Seneca Wallace during his weekly press conference four days ago, “and the quarterback is a very important position on this team.”
While the Seahawks (2-5) still expect starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to return to the field at some point this season, they’re preparing themselves to move on as if he isn’t.
“(Wallace) is holding it down right now because it’s his job,” wide receiver Koren Robinson said. “He’s more comfortable with us, and we’re getting more comfortable with him.”
Players and coaches said that Wallace’s growing comfort is becoming apparent with each day. As evidence, Robinson pointed toward a practice last week in which the sixth-year quarterback was on top of his game.
“Some of the balls he threw today? Damn,” Robinson said last Thursday, shaking his head for effect. “Wooo. I mean, I didn’t even have to break stride.
“Those type of balls, he had a lot of them today. I’d definitely say he’s more comfortable.”
Offensive coordinator Gil Haskell has also noticed Wallace’s improvement, which he says is due in part to the quarterback’s healing calf muscle.
“He’s been hurt for a long time,” Haskell said. “Even in training camp, he was hurt, and he came out of it. We tried to make him a receiver, and he got hurt again. We tried to play him right away, and he wasn’t quite sure he could move.
“And then last week, he got in the game and said: ‘OK, I can play.’ And he’s practicing now like he should practice.”
Wallace admitted that he feels more comfortable — physically and mentally — after making his first two starts since 2006.
“There’s always room for improvement,” said Wallace, who is expected to make his seventh NFL start against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) this afternoon at Qwest Field. “I feel like I made some jumps from the week before, and so I feel good. I just want to keep improving.”
Wallace’s previous stint as a starter, during which he went 2-2 while filling in for an injured Hasselbeck in 2006, came with an entirely different receiving corps. Veteran Bobby Engram was out with a thyroid condition, and none of the other three receivers expected to play Sunday were on the team that year.
“It always takes time for a quarterback and receivers who have never really played together,” Robinson said. “You need time to jell. … It takes time, but we’re getting there.”
One area where extra practice reps might not be enough is in preparing for the blitz package that the Eagles are likely to display this afternoon. Wallace has never seen anything like it up close, other than his two stints watching Hasselbeck face the Eagles from the sidelines.
During those two games, Hasselbeck showed a knack for making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Philadelphia had just three total sacks in a pair of Seahawks wins.
With Hasselbeck out of action, it will be up to Wallace and his teammates to adjust on the fly.
“Seneca’s been in this system for a long time. He knows what’s going on,” center Chris Spencer said. “I don’t have to do anything different. I just have to line up, he makes the calls, and we go from there.”
The Seahawks don’t have much choice right now. Wallace is their starter until further notice.
Holmgren has come to terms with not having his starting quarterback, even if he’s still trying to adjust.
“It does change your team,” Holmgren said Friday. “The Eagles without Donovan McNabb are still a good football team, but it’s different. The Seahawks without Matt Hasselbeck; I think we’re still a good football team, but it’s different.
“I think you could say that about any team in the league.”
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