Coach Holmgren brought Hasselbeck over from Green Bay. He had a wobbly start, but soon fended off the challenge of Trent Dilfer, won over the fans and proved the perfect fit for Holmgren's version of the West Coast Offense. Hasselbeck is a good athlete and a precise passer, and he's all heart.
There are too many great Hasselbeck memories to recount, but leading the team to the 2005 NFC Championship is right up there.
2005 was part of run of four consecutive division championships (2004-2007) under Holmgren, and Hasselbeck won a fifth in 2010--his last year with the team--under Pete Carroll.
My all-time favorite Hasselbeck memory came in the Wild Card game against New Orleans. It does not involve Hasselbeck throwing or running the football. It was his role in the Beast Quake run.
After Lynch broke through the line and flung a cornerback to the turf with a stiffarm for the ages, several Saints defenders were gaining on him.
"However, by this time, several Seahawks had hustled downfield to help block. This convoy included Hasselbeck. Quarterbacks--especially fragile, aged, injured ones--rarely risk their bodies trying to block, and rarely do so effectively. But Matt is a consummate competitor, so he was in the mix.
"Saint defensive end Alex Brown was gaining fast on Lynch. He had a good angle.
"Seahawk lineman Sean Locklear tried to intervene, but Brown simply outran him.
"Only Hasselbeck had a chance to stop the fleet 260-pound lineman. Running alongside the defender, the quarterback reached out with his fractured left wrist and shoved Brown's shoulder. Losing his balance, the defender desperately lunged at Lynch's feet, to no effect."
(The complete Diehard breakdown of the Beast Quake is here.)
That's right, kids: Without Hasselbeck's gutsy block, Lynch might not have scored, and the Beast Quake might never have happened.
Despite the division title and the victory over New Orleans, Hasselbeck did not fit into Coach Carroll's quarterback concept.
But Hasselbeck showed he even knew how to leave a team in style. Faced with the choice between competing for a starting role in Arizona and mentoring Jake Locker in Tennessee. Hasselbeck opted for the latter. That was the right choice for him philosophically, physically and fiscally.
Philosophically: The 12th Man will love him forever, but if Hasselbeck had played for Arizona, we would have had to root against him and hate him at least during game weeks.
Physically: If Hasselbeck had gone to Arizona, the tough defenses of the NFC West would have pulverized him. Look at the horrifying stats and injury histories of the unfortunates who did play quarterback for Arizona from 2011-12 (Kevin Kolb, John Skelton, Ryan Lindley, Bryan Hoyer). In Tennessee, by contrast, Hasselbeck got in 21 starts behind a solid O-Line including Steve Hutchinson.
Fiscally: By staying healthy, Hasselbeck has prolonged his career and maximized his earnings. Dude moved on to Indianapolis in 2013 to mentor Andrew Luck. That's light duty (zero starts over three seasons), and he's still there.
Check out this article from Indianapolis about Hasselbeck turning 40 and raising funds for clean drinking water in Africa.
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