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
It was a chance I shouldn't have taken. They had a good plan and executed it well. They blitzed early on, but we did a pretty good job of picking it up. After that, they kept seven and eight back in coverage a lot of the time.
We're a focused team right now. For the first time, you can say, hey, I know I can count on the guy next to me. That's definitely a good feeling.
When I said that, whenever it was, two years ago, that's how it was, having fun with some good friends. It's just a sign of the friendship. There's a core group of guys when I played here. There was something special about that team.
Last year, the first two games we didn't play well offensively. For whatever reason we just hadn't clicked. It will come around. I still feel good about what we have done and where we are at.
More than anything, you're just trying to execute each play as it's called and have good tempo, have good rhythm, have good enthusiasm.
My dad has been a huge influence on my life. He's been injured, drafted into the NFL. He's started, been benched, cut and traded. I've watched how he's gone through those good times and bad times.
We weren't a very good team and I wasn't a very good quarterback. I thought I knew all the plays inside and out. But Trent knew the plays better than anybody, and in meetings I'd watch him sit and take notes like he'd never seen them before. It rubbed off.
We climbed to just about the top of the mountain. We were like 10 feet away and had to turn around and go back. It was a great journey and a lot of good came from it, but at the same time, we didn't finish what we set out to do.
For Darrell, the next step will be taking on a real leadership role with the younger guys, ... He's playing about as good as anyone can play.
They are very skilled players. They can dunk a basketball. They can pass a football. They're very good athletes who just happen to be very big.
That is probably not going to happen against these guys. These guys are very good defensively. I think we need to be ready to weather the storm a little bit in terms of not being as successful as we're used to being.
It's a great feeling in our locker room right now, because we did come together. There is something a little bit more special about fighting through adversity and hanging in there in a tough game against a really good defense. Guys get hurt. Pork Chop Womack filled in at left tackle for Walter Jones for a couple of plays. He said something like, 'Did I make you nervous in there when Walt was out?' I told him no.
We actually felt we had the momentum after that. It was good for our offense.
To beat them the way we did, I don't want to say it's surprising, but it's quite an accomplishment because they're a very good team. I'm a little bit in shock right now. I hope people took pictures out there so I can look back at them later.