SEATTLE -- Less than a month ago, Seahawks fans were chanting the name of Matt Hasselbeck's backup, celebrating a meaningless scoring drive led by Charlie Whitehurst in another blowout loss.
Chants of "Char-lee! Char-lee! Char-lee!" echoed through a half-empty Qwest Field as Hasselbeck, who had been benched earlier in the game after throwing two more interceptions, watched from the sideline.
The image of Hasselbeck walking out of Qwest Field with son Henry on his shoulders could be the last image of him in Seattle. (US Presswire) Fast forward three weeks, and the Seahawks faithful were again loudly voicing their opinion of their quarterback, but this time Hasselbeck was being showered with love as he walked off the field after throwing four touchdowns to lead Seattle to a shocking 41-36 playoff victory over New Orleans.
After a decade with the Seahawks that has included three Pro Bowls, five NFC West championships and one Super Bowl appearance, Saturday's game, as well as Hasselbeck's touching walk off the field with his son Henry on his shoulders and daughters Mallory and Annabelle at his side, just might be the signature moment of his career.
Yes, it's safe to say that Hasselbeck's 10th season in Seattle has also been one of his strangest, which is only fitting considering what an odd year it has also been for the Seahawks in their first under coach Pete Carroll.
Seattle started the season with a surprising -- at the time, anyway -- victory over San Francisco, and ran its record to 4-2 to become the early-season favorite in the NFC West. But in November and December, the Seahawks went into full tailspin mode, losing seven of nine before a season-ending win over St. Louis allowed them to stumble into the playoffs at 7-9.
The latter part of the season was equally frustrating for Hasselbeck, who at one point threw 10 interceptions and fumbled three times in a four-game span, leading to Carroll benching the 35-year-old veteran in a loss to Atlanta. At that point there was some doubt if Hasselbeck would ever get his job back, but Carroll stuck with his starter, only to have Hasselbeck leave in the first quarter a week later with a hip/buttock injury that also kept him out of the Week 17 win over St. Louis.
After Whitehurst played a turnover-free game against the Rams, the Seahawks' quarterback debate resumed even as they prepared for a playoff game, but after Hasselbeck's performance over the Saints, there is no doubting who will lead the team for as long as they stay alive this postseason.
The question now is whether that emotional walk out of Qwest Field with his three children will go down as Hasselbeck's last as a Seahawk. Hasselbeck is in the final year of his contract, and the Seahawks are in a complicated place, playing into the second week of the playoffs while at the same time rebuilding under a new regime.
Carroll said Wednesday that the Seahawks will "do everything we can to keep him here, of course." And while Hasselbeck has bigger things to worry about this week -- much bigger, meaner things like Brian Urlacher , Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers -- he has never made a secret of the fact that he would prefer to end his career in the city he has called home since Mike Holmgren traded for him in 2001.
"I would love to be back, absolutely, no doubt about that," Hasselbeck said. "But my focus isn't really there, my focus is definitely on trying to get this team winning games, trying to play well, and if you do that -- just like in a football game -- if you focus on just doing things right the score takes care of itself. That's my mindset with what happens beyond this year. Obviously I love it here, but right now is not really the time to talk about that. Right now is just the time to focus on football and try to beat the Bears."
Even if Hasselbeck is re-signed, it's likely that the Seahawks will try to find their quarterback of the future in April's draft. But if the Seahawks hope to defend their division title, there is little doubt that Hasselbeck gives them the best chance to do so, especially if he can play like the quarterback who torched the Saints, and not the one who spent the better part of a month as one of the league's most turnover-prone passers.
"I know that about myself in general," he said. "I can get really hot or really cold at times, I get that. It drives me crazy when it's other athletes that I follow, like Ray Allen or somebody. He's a good example. He can be on fire, and then sometimes he's not on fire. It's frustrating as you watch him and it's even more frustrating when it's you. But that's just it; the only thing you can do about it is just keep working hard, keep practicing and hopefully get hot."
Like Hasselbeck, the Seahawks seem to be turning things around at the right time, somehow winning two straight elimination games on the heels of being blown out seven times in nine weeks. And just as Hasselbeck can't always explain his streaky play, the players, and even their coach, are at a loss for words when it comes to explaining their turnaround.
"When it finally came down to the last game against St. Louis we played our best football," Carroll said. "I'm not real proud of that, I would have rather seen that for all the right reasons earlier on, but I'm having fun with it, enjoying it, and we're going to see how far we can ride it."
Hasselbeck's improved play was a huge part of Seattle's last win, but their late-season renaissance goes beyond one position. In their win over the Saints, the Seahawks overcame two 10-point deficits, a stunning development for a team that, for the entire regular season, mastered the art of taking a bad situation and making it worse. Much worse.
The defense that was bullied throughout November and December was downright stingy against the Rams, and despite giving up a ton of yards, came up with big stops against New Orleans. And on offense, a team that ranked dead last in the league in rushing through 15 games has ran the ball surprisingly well over the last six quarters.
"I don't know," Hasselbeck said when asked to explain Seattle's turnaround. "I really don't know ... You get hot sometimes. You get on a roll sometimes. Play-callers get on a roll, players get on a roll. Sometimes you get all three parts working together in the same way. But I don't have a great answer. I don't know. We're gonna just keep doing what we're doing though."
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