Matt Hasselbeck Still the Starter

Every year we go through this.  I think most teams in the NFL go through the same process with the exception of the Colts and the Patriots.  In most cities (especially ones who didn’t make the playoffs last year) the back up QB is the most popular guy on the team.

Hasselbeck’s popularity in Seattle has always been a sensitive subject.  From the time they brought him in, and he was the cocky unproven kid from Green Bay to his Pro Bowl caliber Super Bowl season.  His 17 interception season under dufus coach Jim Mora has not helped his cause going into this season, and his up and down performance concerning weeks 1 and 2 have left many fans frustrated to say the least.

Fact:  Matt Hasselbeck is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the NFL.  He learns from failure by turning it into experience.  He shoulders the blame of every loss because he is the leader of his team.  He has run 3 different offenses in 3 consecutive years, but has never used that as an excuse.  He had one of the biggest cry baby receivers in the NFL to deal with last year.  A receiver who consistently threw his teammates and quarterback under the bus.  Yet Matt never mirrored the same behavior.  He exemplifies the character Seattle fans have grown to expect out of our players.

I know Matt threw 3 picks last week in a disaster of a game in Denver, but he wasn’t the only guy who had a bad game.  Was it Matt’s fault that we were called for 2 penalties in the Red Zone on the first drive of the game which cost us a touchdown?  Was it Matt’s fault that the Walter Thurmond fumbled the punt?  Matt came into the game trying to compensate for the mistakes of his teammates.  In this game he failed, however, he looked like the only one who wasn’t willing to give up… ever.

I will take my chances with Hasselbeck this year.  Whitehurst has yet to throw a single pass in the regular season.  If the Hawks reach a point in the season when they are eliminated from the playoffs then I would throw Whitehurst in.  To be honest, I was a little surprised he didn’t see some time last week in the waning minutes of a game that seemed to be over long before it actually was.  But anytime there is something to play for, I would rather take my chances with Hasselbeck.  Nobody is more committed to this team right now than the aging quarterback in the last year of his contract trying to win the affection of a city that has never truly appreciated him.  For his sake and ours (the fans) I hope he can pull it together for one more year.