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Bright future Signs points to talented Hasselbeck emerging as a star
Part 4 of a four-part series By Jon A. Dolezar, CNNSI.com The retirement of Jim Kelly, John Elway and Steve Young in the past five years has left an unfilled void at the quarterback position in recent seasons. The Seahawks haven't exactly had a stellar reputation in developing young quarterbacks, with Dan McGwire, Rick Mirer and Jon Kitna among the failed experiments in the Emerald City. But Holmgren's legacy of tutoring quarterbacks such as Joe Montana, Young, Brett Favre, Ty Detmer, Mark Brunell and Aaron Brooks has fans and the coaching staff in Seattle excited about what he may be able to do with Matt Hasselbeck. "His chances are good because of Mike Holmgren, because of this offense and because we will get people to help him," Seahawks offensive coordinator Gil Haskell said. "[It's good] for any quarterback on any team to have a head coach that is a quarterback guy who is going to make sure the offense has the right players." As a practice squad player in 1998, Hasselbeck was able to sit back and learn from Favre, Doug Pederson and Rick Mirer. But Holmgren didn't interact much with the rookie fourth-stringer, leaving Hasselbeck to learn from watching Favre's communication with the head coach.
"I'd say it was a decent relationship," Hasselbeck said. "We didn't talk too much because he was the head coach and I was a rookie on the practice squad. We talked a little bit, but it was more of me observing his relationship with Brett Favre and seeing the way that those two interacted, more so than me interacting with Mike Holmgren." Despite the lack of playing time behind Favre, Hasselbeck said he absorbed information and learned a great deal from his teammate during their three years together. "One of the key things is I learned how Brett Favre used Mike's coaching style to rally the troops," Hasselbeck said. "Mike would get on Brett and he would yell at Brett a lot because he knew Brett could take it. And Brett is the kind of guy that would take something like that and just run with it, and just use it to fire up the team or to increase the tempo in practice. He wouldn't let that kind of stuff bother him." Hasselbeck also said he expects to hear from his old buddy in Green Bay on more than a few occasions this season. "I think he'll call me probably several times to make fun of something that I do that he sees on film, or to make a joke or tell a good story," Hasselbeck said. "I'm looking forward to those. I'll definitely call and wish him a happy birthday when he's 32 and I'll remind him how old he is, and remind him that I beat him in a 100-yard dash and he still owes me $100." Hasselbeck spent two weeks in Seattle, working with quarterbacks coach Jim Zorn and going through the team's four-day passing camp last week. The team had only three wide receivers under contract and stuck to the basic installation of the core parts of the West Coast offense. Hasselbeck's knowledge of the offense from Green Bay made him a quick study, with his only problem being his unfamiliarity with the Seahawks' personnel.
"The most difficult thing for me is trying to adjust to the snap count that these guys are used to and trying to get a feel for who plays what position," Hasselbeck said. "I look out there and say to myself, 'Is that guy a fullback or a tight end? Is this guy a tailback or a halfback?' I'm just trying to make sure that I line up underneath the center and not the guard." "He's a good athlete, he makes great decisions, he's accurate, he doesn't throw interceptions and he's got a strong enough arm," an NFL scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after looking at Hasselbeck in the past month. "I think he's a hell of a player but you're basing it on preseason games. That's the biggest, biggest concern." The Seahawks saw enough on film to give up their third-round pick and drop down seven spots in the first round with the second of their two first-round picks to take a chance on a young quarterback with lots of potential. "He's performed remarkably well in preseason games," Holmgren said. "But because of the person he played behind in Green Bay, none of those guys -- from Mark Brunell all the way through Matt -- never got a chance to play in regular-season games. It is my opinion, however, that he has everything it takes to become a fine quarterback in this league."
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