As I go about writing profiles for the possible FA/Trade targets at QB for the Seahawks, the natural question that comes to mind is this: What about Matt Hasselbeck?
I have been writing these profiles based upon the assumption that Matt doesn't come back. Now, is that likely? I really don't know. Based upon how he played in the playoffs and what Pete Carroll has said regarding the issue, it seems likely that they come to a deal. However, not everything that Pete says, Pete does. We all saw what happened in the offseason last year with the impressive overhaul of the roster, and learned that you can't particularly expect Carroll and Schneider to do the expected; read Lendale White.
I personally think that the Hawks should re-sign Matt Hasselbeck. Unless they have plans to bring in a guy like Kevin Kolb, Vince Young or Carson Palmer (all long-shots in my mind) to start on day one, there doesn't seem to be many options out there. I've profiled a few potential QB's the Hawks could target apart from those three mentioned, but they are all big gambles and/or developmental projects. With Hass you have a proven veteran leader that commands the huddle and garners respect from opposing defenses and coordinators. I like his fire and competitiveness, he's as confident a QB you will find out there, and the QB's disposition is extremely important to the offense.
What I don't like is that he's not getting any younger and history tells us he's not going to improve significantly this next year. Without getting into a complicated statistical analysis to try and guess how he'll play (which I try to avoid because each player is different and trying to project what a player will do in the future is impossible) I'd say that generally once player gets past 35, the more likely his performance will go down. There are certainly outliers of course, like Kurt Warner's 2008 season and Favre's 2009 season, but I'd say the norm is a gradual if not precipitous decline in efficiency and production. When that happens for Matt is anybody's guess, whether it will be at 36 or 40.
Though he has played extremely erratically in 2010, I've got to believe that his ballsy performance during the playoffs can translate into more success next year. To me, it just seemed like something finally clicked and he started putting everything together. You have to keep in mind that the Hawks roster had gone through a complete overhaul, he was playing with new or green receivers most of the year, the line had about 200 different combinations throughout, and he was learning his 3rd playbook in as many years. Not a shock he struggled early and again late in the season when several offensive starters (i.e. Mike Williams) went down.
I never underestimate the power of momentum and confidence. It seems like Hass got his swagger back in the final two games of the season and I really see him carrying that on into next season. He'll be learning Darrell Bevell's new(?) offense this offseason and that is something that you want to put into the hands of a seasoned veteran like Matt.
Will the Hawks get it done and re-sign him? Mike Sando provides a good summary of an interview of Hasselbeck's agent David Dunn by Dave Mahler of Sports Radio 950KJR, and it sounds like if they don't get something agreed upon by the time the new CBA is approved, Hass will be exploring the open market to see what he can fetch. I hope it doesn't get to that point.
Whether Matt is back or not, the next question I've got to ask is where do Charlie Whitehurst and JP Losman fit into this this picture? I'll try and explore that in the following days.
Oh and I really loved this Super Bowl ad featuring Matt from a few years back:
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