Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck
Matthew Michael Hasselbeck is a former American football quarterback and current analyst for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers. After a season on the practice squad and two seasons backing up Brett Favre, he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in 2001. Hasselbeck led Seattle to six playoff appearances and a Super Bowl. He was selected to three Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro in...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionFootball Player
Date of Birth25 September 1975
CityBoulder, CO
CountryUnited States of America
That was fun n a little sloppy at times, but some of the most exciting plays I've seen all year. Coach Fox promised, by the end of the week, 'We'll put a smile on your face.' All the Seattle guys were smiling.
It's not something we're hung up on. I'm sure some of the coaches are aware of it. But a lot of our guys are young. They don't remember, and they don't really care.
It makes it easier for everybody. Coach Holmgren can just look at his call sheet and call plays he likes, get guys going, spread the ball around.
Coaches coach guys on the field. I get to spend time with practice squad receivers and tight ends or a young center who's always inactive on Sundays... I feel really good about having an impact on those guys and their careers.
He was going through a really, really tough thing. I saw him right before he approached coach Holmgren, and he was real shook up.
Some of those people are former players here. Some are coaches that have been around or people in the building. Or maybe it's just some of the people from Seattle who have followed the team since 1976. It would mean a great deal to them.
It was great. It worked out exactly like the coaches hoped.
I don't know how to explain it other than we feel really good about what we are doing. We believe in the program. We believe in what the coaches are asking us to do and we believe in each other.
The coaches we have don't blink when they see it. They understand it. We have rules about how we like to play against the 3-4. We know it.
I'm sure some of the coaches are aware of it, or the people who have been in the building for a long time are aware of it. But a lot of our guys are young. They don't remember, and they don't really care. What we do care about is this team, this year and what we can do.
We just had opportunities to score touchdowns, but we didn't score touchdowns. We were moving the ball fine, rhythm, time of possession, first downs, yards...we just couldn't score touchdowns.
We were really focused on the task at hand rather than, 'Oh, my gosh, we're in this big game.
We went 8-0. We were the team that never punted. You can go back and see the trophy. It's printed on there.
It was tough. There was a lot of stuff I'd never been through. I'd never really been the guy. I'd never had to play through injury. I really had never played in the NFL.