Hasselbeck stats half the equation

If somebody had told Seahawks fans on Sunday morning that Seneca Wallace would enter the day’s game against Jacksonville to replace starter Matt Hasselbeck, they would have groaned – certain that Hasselbeck had been injured again.

Not even the most optimistic would have suggested it was because Hasselbeck had been so effective in his return to action that the Hawks were ahead by 41 points at the time.

Hasselbeck combined one of his most effective games with one of his most inspirational ones, throwing four touchdown passes and registering a 125.1 passer rating in a 41-0 win over the Jaguars.

The calculus of the rating is purely numerical, including completions and yards, etc. But it fails to factor in leadership, guts, pain tolerance or recognition of competitive urgency. Toss those into the equation, and Hasselbeck’s marks would have been off the charts.

Hasselbeck, who had missed two games with a fractured rib, didn’t wait for the game to start imposing his will. Normally one of those throwback guys who are businesslike and reserved when he runs on the field during introductions, Hasselbeck went all-out-Tatupu when he burst from the tunnel.

He played to the crowd, waving his hands, pumping his fists, calling on the fans to get into this game, a must-win to stop a three-game losing streak that was threatening to doom the season.

“I was probably a little too excited,” Hasselbeck said. “Emotions were running high; I tried to do my best to stay calm, but it really mattered to me.”

The losing that has gone on for more than a year, he said, has been tough on the fans as well as the players. “We haven’t played our best football for them … for us,” he said. “Our crowd was there today, and I feel like we matched their intensity today, and I feel like that is something that we have to do.”

Hasselbeck’s emotional return, though, had its roots in the long plane ride home after the Hawks’ lopsided loss in Indianapolis the previous Sunday. Hasselbeck didn’t have to make that trip, as injured players often stay home and use the time to rehab, but he wanted to be a part of it. And he shared the team’s frustrations.

“I made the trip, and it’s a tough loss … just flying back with the guys and everyone talking,” he said. “Guys said that it’s sort of an all-hands-on-deck situation. Whatever you have to give, we all have to give it. Mentally, I wanted to. Physically, I didn’t know if I was able to help.”

Hasselbeck had missed nine games last year with a back injury and had played only a game and a half this year as the Seahawks struggled to a 1-3 record.

This week, he was determined to return.

“I have high regard for the guy,” coach Jim Mora said of his quarterback. “That was tremendous courage. I’ve never had a broken rib, but I don’t know that I’d like to put myself out there with 300-pounders bearing down on me.”

But that’s what team leaders do. Hasselbeck has proven himself many times before, racing downfield 20 yards to dive into a pile and recover the fumble of a receiver, or laying out to chop two defenders when a running back came his way. It’s was one of those kinds of plays when he suffered his broken rib, trying to dive into the end zone when the team was behind at San Francisco in September.

To get the win and move to 2-3 sustains some hope for the Seahawks, and maybe showed some promising resilience.

“We haven’t played our best football,” Hasselbeck said. “But I really feel like we’re a physical, tough team. I think we have that kind of mentality now. We still have to find our identity, to find out who we are.”

They could do worse than look to their quarterback for a defining identity. He proved that again Sunday.

dave.boling@thenewstribune.com