In my opinion: Matt Hasselbeck

Disclaimer: Usually journalist and especially good journalist don’t usually use “I” in articles and recently I’ve been trying to improve on that and just stick with reporting. However I’ve decided to try a little experiment and create a new series of articles titled “In my opinion” which will include players, coaches and other aspects of the NFL an give my opinion on those topics. So articles titled “In my opinion” will be the only time I use “I” in an article, but when it comes to reporting on the Seahawks and the draft, “I” won’t be included. Just needed to clear that with this disclaimer.

Matthew Hasselbeck has come a long way since growing up in Boulder Colorado. Hasselbeck, now 34-years old went from receiving honorable mention All-American in high school to being selected in the sixth round in the 1999 draft by the Green Bay Packers all the way to being a starting quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks for eight years and counting.

Hasselbeck became a part of the NFL in 1999 when Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid (Packers QB coach at the time) selected the Boston College quarterback in the sixth round of the 1999 NFL draft. At the time Reid was pressing harder for Hasselbeck then Holmgren was but neither coach really saw Hasselbeck as a franchise quarterback.

For the first two years (99-01) Hasselbeck was holding field goal kicks and a clip board as he sat behind future hall-of-famer Brett Favre.

In 1999, a year after the Packers selected Matt Hasselbeck; his head coach Mike Holmgren left the Green Bay Packers organization for a lucrative offer from Seattle Seahawks owner Paul Allen to become the team’s head coach and general manager.

Holmgren did not forget about Hasselbeck and two years later, on March 2nd 2001 Mike Holmgren traded the Seahawks 10th overall pick and two third round draft picks in exchange for the young Hasselbeck as well as the Packers 17th overall pick and a seventh round pick in the 2001 NFL draft.

What came of that trade?

The Seahawks landed their franchise quarterback in Matt Hasselbeck as well as a future cornerstone of their offensive line, Steve Hutchinson with the 17th overall pick.

The Packers selected Florida State defensive end Jamal Reynolds who totaled 18 tackles and three sacks from 2001-2004 before his NFL career was over. Reynolds was plagued by injuries that ultimately ended his NFL career when he failed his physical with the Indianapolis Colts which voided a potential trade. He was released and signed by the Cleveland Browns but failed to make the teams regular season roster in 2004 and has not played in the NFL since.

In his first two seasons with the Seahawks Matt Hasselbeck battled with veteran quarterback Trent Dilfer for the starting quarterback job. However with an excellent finish to the 2002 season Hasselbeck became the teams’ full-time starter in 2003.

Hasselbeck did not disappoint in his first full season as a starting quarterback in the NFL. He compiled 3,841 yards passing and 26 touchdowns while only throwing fifteen interceptions. Hasselbeck also led the Seahawks to a 10-6 regular season record and a wildcard berth for the first time since 1998.

He continued his success in 2004 by leading the Seahawks to their first division title since the team joined the NFC in the alignment in 2002. Hasselbeck missed two games during the regular season and his touchdown total dropped from 26 to 22.

However Hasselbeck’s mouth got caught in the divisional round of the 04 playoffs against the Green Bay Packers. Hasselbeck went out in overtime to call the coin toss and once the referee announced Seattle had won the toss the question came “do you want the ball?”

Hasselbeck’s famous response was “We want the ball, and we’re gonna score!” Shortly thereafter Hasselbeck threw a pick-six to Packers corner back Al Harris which sealed the Seahawks playoff fiat.

In 2005 Matt Hasselbeck made up for his prediction in the 2004 playoffs by leading the Seahawks to a 13-3 regular season record, the most wins in franchise history as well as the franchises’ first trip to the Super Bowl. Hasselbeck received his first all-pro award in 2005 and led what was arguably the best single season Seahawks team in franchise history.

2006 Hasselbeck took a step back after starting the season 4-1 he went down in week seven with a sprained right MCL, caused by Minnesota linebacker E.J Henderson. He came back to lead the Seahawks to a 9-7 record and made it back to the playoffs after losing the Super Bowl the previous year.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo stole the show in the closing seconds in what fans will remember the most about the wildcard game between the Seahawks and Cowboys. Romo botched a 19-yard field goal snap with 1:19 left in the game.

The Seahawks lost in overtime to the Chicago Bears in the divisional round of the playoffs after Robbie Gold kicked the game winning field goal.

2007 became Matt Hasselbeck’s “comeback” year when the Seahawks, led by Mike Holmgren’s decision to become a pass first and pass only offense with the absence of a starting running back. Hasselbeck had his best statistical season in 2007 when he put up 28 touchdowns while only throwing twelve interceptions. He also posted a career best 91.4 quarterback rating.

However since his great season in 2007, Matt Hasselbeck’s career has continued to degrade with each snap that he takes, which hasn’t been that often.

In 2008 Hasselbeck played only seven games due to several injuries that would devastate any quarterback. He suffered a severe back injury that effected nerves in his lower back, which causes him to lose power in his legs and ultimately led to a knee injury.

Hasselbeck suffered a bulging disk in the pre-season, a knee injury against the Giants on October 5th and a helmet-to-helmet hit against the Arizona Cardinals.

The loss of Hasselbeck, along with several other key players on the Seahawks led to the Seahawks finishing with a 4-12 record and the fourth overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft.

2009 started out questionable under new head coach Jim Mora Jr. Hasselbeck threw two interceptions in the first quarter against the St. Louis Rams in week one before bouncing back to finish with three touchdowns and 276 yards passing and a 28-0 win over the St. Louis Rams at home.

However in week two he suffered two broken ribs when he attempted to dive into the end zone with under two minutes left in the half. Patrick Willis went helmet first into the back of Hasselbeck and he went downhill from there. He missed the next three games before coming back in week five against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Hasselbeck threw four touchdowns in a 42-0 win which seemed to be a good sign for Hasselbeck and the Seahawks coming off three straight loses.

However in week six at home against the Arizona Cardinals the Seahawks had the franchises worst game flat out. Hasselbeck finished the game completing only ten passes and a completion percentage of only 34.

Hasselbeck would go on to finish the 2009 season with seventeen touchdowns and seventeen interceptions while crossing the 3000 yard mark for the sixth time in his NFL career.

So going through Matt Hasselbeck’s career what you find is one of toughest, grinding and competitive quarterbacks in NFL history. Hasselbeck has been the face of the Seattle Seahawks franchise for nine seasons out of the ten that he’s been with the organization.

He’s gone to three Pro Bowls in his 12 years in the NFL (03,05,07) and also led the Seahawks to five straight playoff appearances from 2003-2008. He led the Seahawks to their only Super Bowl appearance in franchise history in 2005 and emerged as one of the league’s top quarterbacks from 2004-2007 before injuries took away his playing time.

Hasselbeck is arguably the best quarterback in Seahawks history alongside Dave Krieg who finished his Seahawks career with a record of 70-49 while Hasselbeck sits at 58-45.

So In my opinion Matt Hasselbeck is the best quarterback in Seattle Seahawks history for many reasons and even though he does not have hall-of-fame numbers Matt Hasselbeck’s career is not over just yet. If Hasselbeck has three great seasons left in the tank and if he can still get the Seahawks to win their first Lombardi trophy then Hasselbeck could be mentioned in the hall-of-fame but not until then.

However in my opinion if Hasselbeck had not suffered the amount of injuries he has gone through in his career I think his success rate might be just a little bit higher over the past two seasons. Now it’s up to the new era of Seahawks football, John Schneider and Pete Carroll to revive Matt Hasselbeck’s career.

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