Matt Hasselbeck barely practiced last week and is unlikely to start, but he holds out hope that he’ll play Sunday night in the NFC West-deciding St. Louis Rams Vs. Seattle Seahawks game. I might hold out hope, too, if I hadn’t been on in primetime all year. (I’ve got to imagine Elisabeth Hasselbeck has been riding him about it at family gatherings.)
Hasselbeck, who missed most of last week’s game, has been talked around by Seahawks brass, who’ve been preparing Charlie Whitehurst all week; it’s just the latest case of quarterback confusion for a Rams team that’s had to deal with Troy Smith and Alex Smith and Brodie Croyle and Matt Cassel. Hasselbeck seems like a considerably longer shot based on comments from coaches and people who watched him take some ginger snaps on Friday, but with the NFC West on the line the Seahawks will do everything they can to avoid handing a struggling Whitehurst another start.
Hasselbeck has 3001 yards passing with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his tenth season as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback. His 73.2 quarterback rating is his lowest total since beating out Trent Dilfer in 2001.