He won't take back seat
Hasselbeck has Seahawks in gear
SEATTLE -- It stood to figure that when Matt Hasselbeck managed to get the Seattle Seahawks into the playoffs for the first time in four years, his first opponent would be the Green Bay Packers. No matter how much separation the young quarterback might want to create between him and Brett Favre, there is no escaping the legend's shadow. Hasselbeck might as well be back on the sideline charting plays for Favre again given the disparity in attention the two quarterbacks are going to receive this week.
Shoot, Favre's shadow casts so far and wide that he will determine whether Hasselbeck plays in the Pro Bowl next month.
You can almost hear Favre saying, "Go ahead, kid, take my spot, I don't feel like playing this year." That's all it would take for Favre to allow Hasselbeck, a first alternate in the NFC, to live out a dream.
Favre has never treated Hasselbeck that way and has no control over the media frenzy surrounding his most recent inspirational acts. And Hasselbeck has never retreated from being linked to a future Hall of Famer and isn't trying to do so now.
But heading into the wild-card playoff game between the Packers and Seahawks Sunday at Lambeau Field, one has to wonder if it's time for Hasselbeck to step into the light.
"Being linked with Brett is one of the coolest things I have going for me," the Seahawks' starter said. "I mean, otherwise, I would just be some guy playing quarterback. Just to be mentioned with him is pretty cool because of the amount of respect I have for him and the kind of player I think he is."
One man's anonymity is another man's opportunity, however, and this could be Hasselbeck's chance to develop his own identity. It won't be easy, though. Public support is going to be firmly in Favre's corner as he continues to wrestle with the heartbreak of losing his father Dec. 21.
Hasselbeck remains strongly in Favre's corner emotionally even though he'll be trying to send him home for the season on Sunday. He has watched from afar all that Favre has been through and he has felt nothing but compassion for his former teammate.
The notion that he can become his own man by going into Green Bay and beating the most famous quarterback in the NFL, just the way the upstart Michael Vick did a year ago, isn't even on his radar. But going into Lambeau Field with the Seahawks and beating the Packers, however, is another story.
"I don't think it's [competing] with Brett Favre," quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn said. "I think Matt has a lot of respect for Brett. He would be competitive if he was playing against anybody."
Since he entered the National Football League as a sixth-round draft choice in 1998, Hasselbeck has taken a back seat to Favre both literally and figuratively. He was a practice squad member in '98 and Favre's backup in '99 and 2000.
He threw a total of 29 passes during that span, his only touchdown completion a 27-yard strike that came during a faked field goal attempt.
It wasn't until he was traded to the Seahawks in a one-sided deal that netted the Packers 2001 draft busts Jamal Reynolds and Torrance Marshall that Hasselbeck struck out on his own. He started 13 games in '01, briefly lost his starting job in '02, then put together a six-game winning streak heading into an Oct. 5 meeting with the Packers.
Of late, he has played with far more consistency and discipline. He stopped trying to do the things he saw Favre do in Green Bay and started doing the things coach Mike Holmgren wanted him to do.
Hasselbeck, 28, has been quietly productive, amassing more yards, 300-yard passing games, and touchdowns in his first 38 starts than Favre did in his first 38. His passer rating of 84.3 during that time outshines Favre's 77.2 and his 32 interceptions are 12 fewer than Favre's total.
There is one thing Favre managed to do in his first two years as a starter that Hasselbeck hasn't, and that is to win a playoff game. In 1993, his second year as a starter, Favre pulled out a miracle victory in Detroit with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe with 55 seconds left in the game.
"They have a lot of similarities," Holmgren said, thinking back to the younger Favre he tutored as Green Bay's coach. "Their competitiveness; they were both very excitable guys and really the poise with which they play the game always had a lot to do with our success.
"I would like Matt to win his first playoff game, too."
Hasselbeck had a chance to establish his own legend when the Seahawks marched into Lambeau Field on Oct. 5 with a 3-0 record. But it was Favre's day. Playing the kind of controlled, well-managed game Holmgren always sought from him, Favre led the Packers to touchdowns on five consecutive drives in a 35-13 rout.
Hasselbeck didn't play poorly, but he also didn't do anything to turn the game around. In his own estimation, he played without the passion that Holmgren noted makes him so similar to Favre.
That won't happen again.
"I tried to be serious and do everything by the book," Hasselbeck said. "One of the things I learned during my time in Green Bay was just play, just have fun. I'd see Brett make a throw that he wasn't supposed to make and I'd say to Andy Reid, `What's he doing?' He'd say, `Making a play.'
"There is something to be learned from someone out there having fun and not making it any harder than it already is. Just making a play." 