Seahawks Blog

Danny O'Neil covers the Seahawks for The Seattle Times.

Blog Home | E-mail Danny | Subscribe | Twitter feed| Seahawks forum

December 28, 2009 at 3:03 AM

Why was Matt Hasselbeck still in the game?

It's a question that has been asked repeatedly by readers both in the comments section and in my e-mail box. And it was a question that was asked of Jim Mora after the game, and I think his answer shows the true depth of the challenge he feels his team is facing right now.

"I'd be lying to you if I didn't say it crossed my mind," Mora said. "But once again, I think that it's really important at this point in our development, where we are as we're trying to fix this thing, is that we always put the guys out there that give us the best chance to win and to have a successful down. And Matt is our quarterback, and we're going to keep him in there, keep trying to have successful snaps.

"Even when we're not having a successful game, we've got to continue to try to have successful snaps so we can learn. So we can grow. So we can build on that. That's what we're trying to do."

It's the same reason Seattle is going for it on fourth down late in games. It's not some foolhardy proposition in hopes of a comeback. It's an attempt to generate some semblance of progress.

That fact -- in and of itself -- shows how far the Seahawks have fallen. Because this season that started has devolved from hoping to bounce back into the playoffs to hoping to win some games toward the end of the season to show improvement to hoping for a few positive plays in the midst of shockingly lopsided losses.

"What we try to do -- and you guys have seen this -- the way we play out the end of games here even when we're way behind is we're going to try to keep running good plays," Mora said. "Because it's a chance for us to improve. It's a chance for us to work through some of the things that are issues for us. Every snap we get is a chance to get better, to learn.

"So while you look at the scoreboard, and you say, 'You've got really no chance to win.' What I just implored the guys to do is just play the next play. Have a good snap here and learn from it and get better. And somewhere down the line that is going to help us. That snap that we took when it was pretty futile is going to help us somewhere down the line. At least that's my experience."

E-mail article Print Share

Comments

No comments have been posted to this article.

Read all comments / Share your thoughts

Seahawks Blog

Why was Matt Hasselbeck still in the game?

The Seattle Times Company

Services

News

Marketplace

Subscriber Services

Other editions