KIRKLAND – In a locker room filled with players who rarely point fingers, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck extended a long one toward a teammate this week.
The man responsible for Sunday’s 34-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was none other than … Trent Dilfer?
Actually, Hasselbeck shouldered most of the blame himself. But he said earlier this week that Dilfer was partly responsible even though he didn’t take a single snap in the game.
“I think a little part of the lack of our success was that Trent wasn’t here last week; he was sick with the flu,” Hasselbeck said of the practice week prior to that game. “A lot of what he does are behind-the-scenes things.”
Despite being relegated to backup duty this year, Dilfer has been a key ingredient to the Seahawks’ success.
It may be quite an adjustment to go from Super Bowl winner to No. 2 on the depth chart, but Dilfer knows that company is only a phone call away. In fact, he made that call 12 weeks ago, the last time the Seahawks and St. Louis Rams were scheduled to play.
Dilfer and the Rams’ Kurt Warner had a short conversation in which one of the topics was what it felt like to go from Super Bowl hero to the guy with the clipboard.
“I don’t think many people could understand,” Dilfer said when asked to describe what he and Warner are going through. “We could probably try to explain it if we felt like it, but I don’t think it’s really explainable.
“It’s difficult. We’re both very competitive people.”
Although their situations differ in a number of ways, Warner and Dilfer share a few undeniable bonds.
Both suffered injuries that allowed young backups to get playing time. Both watched those backups play so well that they never got their starting jobs back. And both mentioned their religious faith as the biggest reason they’ve been able to put the importance of their respective teams ahead of themselves.
Rather than coming off as disgruntled malcontents, Dilfer and Warner have found ways to help their teammates without seeing much playing time. They’ve swallowed their pride and focused on contributing in different ways.
“People assume you can’t have two emotions at the same time, that you can’t be excited and happy and still be disappointed and frustrated,” Warner said Thursday via telephone. “I’m disappointed and frustrated every day. It’s hard not to go out there every day and be the starter and run the team.
“But at the same time, you have a position and a role. I’m not here to get excited when somebody does bad. I still want to see the team succeed. I still have emotions, but I have to balance my emotions and not let them dominate my feelings.”
Both players have taken their experiences and used them to help their young counterparts. Hasselbeck and the Rams’ Marc Bulger have thrived in their respective systems, each giving credit to the experienced veteran they replaced.
” (Warner) can talk me through why-you-don’t-do-this and why-you-don’t-do-that because he has been there,” Bulger said.
Warner made his most symbolic gesture of the team-first concept in a game at Chicago five weeks ago, when coach Mike Martz toyed with the idea of putting him in for the second half of a game in which Bulger was struggling. Warner advised Martz not to make the move.
“I had to take myself out of the equation,” Warner said. “If I was in Marc’s shoes, what would I want if I was in that situation? I think Coach owed it to him, and to the team, to show confidence in the guy – win, lose or draw.”
Some may have misread Warner’s gesture as saying that he did not want to play, but that assessment couldn’t be further from the truth. Both he and Dilfer are competitors who relish the opportunity to get back in there.
Dilfer’s emotion was apparent two weeks ago, when coach Mike Holmgren sent him into the game during the final few minutes of a blowout victory over Cleveland. Dilfer responded by pumping his fists and letting out a howl of glee before putting on his helmet.
“What was he going to do out there in six minutes?” quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn said when recalling Dilfer’s reaction. “He was going to hand off, take a knee and run the clock out. What kind of a game is that? Yet he got to play. He had to wipe off his nose because he had snot bubbles coming out, he was so fired up.”
Dilfer, who helped lead the Baltimore Ravens to a Super Bowl title after the 2000 season and once had a 15-game winning streak as starter, jumps at any chance he gets to play these days.
“It’s difficult, just because I’m a competitor and I want to be in on the action,” Dilfer said. “I want to have the ball in my hands, and I don’t. But at the same time, I’m helping this team do better, and there is great gratification in that.”
Dilfer works as a sounding board for Holmgren on game days, but his more important role may well come in meeting rooms the week of a game. That’s why Hasselbeck missed him so much before the Minnesota loss.
“Him not being around didn’t help,” Hasselbeck said. “I’m glad to have him this week.”
As usual, Dilfer remains in Hasselbeck’s corner despite the fact that he envies his playing time.
“Sometimes the circumstances aren’t as you would like,” Dilfer said. “I don’t think Kurt wants to be a backup; I don’t want to be a backup. But that doesn’t mean it changes the way you approach the situation you’re in. The biggest thing I try to do is maximize my potential as a teammate and as a football player.”
Dilfer and Warner have been doing just that, even though they’ve been placed in roles that would make almost any other former Super Bowl champion throw a tantrum.
So as they stand on opposite sidelines Sunday when the Seahawks and Rams square off, don’t expect any show of frustration.
And don’t assume they’re content, either.
“Ultimately, I know I’m going to play more football, even if it’s not with the Rams,” Warner said. “I’ve got to be able to balance my emotions and still be positive in the situation.”
Notes: Hasselbeck was named the Seahawks’ candidate for NFL man of the year. The announcement was made Thursday, based on Hasselbeck’s work in the community. … Cornerback Ken Lucas was added to the injury list because of the flu. He practiced Thursday and is listed as probable for Sunday’s game. … Right tackle Chris Terry was excused from Thursday’s practice but is expected to play in the game. … Safety Reggie Tongue (hamstring) and linebackers Anthony Simmons (neck) and Randall Godfrey (ribs) missed a second consecutive day of practice Thursday.
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