Matt Hasselbeck

Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975 ) is a National Football League quarterback who is currently a free agent.He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, and traded to Seattle in 2001. Since becoming the starter in 2003, Hasselbeck has led Seattle to six playoff appearances and a Super Bowl appearance while being selected to three Pro Bowls.

Early life
Hasselbeck is the son of Betsey and Don Hasselbeck (a former New England Patriots tight end). Matt and younger brothers Tim and Nathanael grew up in Norfolk, Massachusetts, U.S., and attended Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood. He was selected as an honorable mention All-American by USA Today as a high school senior.

Hasselbeck spent one semester at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, California before transferring to Boston College near his family's hometown. He played for the Boston College Eagles football team from 1994 through 1997, including two years with his younger brother Tim. Hasselbeck finished his college career as the team's starting quarterback (a position his brother Tim would later hold with the Eagles). He graduated with a degree in marketing and finance.

The surname "Hasselbeck" is of Swedish origin, likely an Anglicized version of "Hasselbäck." Hassel is Swedish for Hazel while bäck means creek.

Personal life
Hasselbeck married his college sweetheart, Sarah Egnaczyk, on June 17, 2000. The two knew one another since age 17 and she was also an athlete at Boston College, playing with the field hockey team. Together they have two daughters, Annabelle (2002) and Mallorie (2003), and a son, Henry (2005).

He has been struck by lightning twice, only suffering minor injuries. His wife Sarah was also struck by lightning once and escaped with minor injuries.

He is the brother-in-law of television personality Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who is married to his brother Tim Hasselbeck.

Green Bay Packers
Hasselbeck was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round (187th overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. He joined the team's practice squad in 1998 and then backed-up starter Brett Favre.

Seattle Seahawks
Hasselbeck joined former head coach Mike Holmgren and the Seattle Seahawks on March 2, 2001. The Packers traded him, along with their first (17th overall) and seventh-round draft picks, to the Seahawks for their first (10th overall) and third-round draft picks.

In his early years in Seattle he battled for playing time with Trent Dilfer.

However, after a strong finish in 2002, Hasselbeck entered 2003 as the unquestioned starter. Hasselbeck started all 16 games, leading Seattle to a 10-6 record for the first time since 1988 and a wildcard berth. He also was selected to the Pro Bowl.

In 2004, Hasselbeck won the 2004 NFL Quarterback Challenge. He also led Seattle to their first NFC West title since realignment in 2002. The 2003 wild card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers went into overtime where, at the overtime coin toss, Hasselbeck infamously said "We want the ball, and we’re gonna score!" During the second overtime possession for the Seahawks, Hasselbeck threw an interception to Packers defensive back Al Harris which was returned 52 yards for a touchdown. It gave Green Bay a 33-27 overtime victory.

In 2005, Hasselbeck had one of his most productive career performances, earning the highest passer rating in the NFC, and leading the Seahawks to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. He led his team to Super Bowl XL, which it lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and was the starting quarterback for the NFC in the 2006 Pro Bowl. During this season linebacker Lofa Tatupu joined the Seahawks. Lofa's father Mosi had been a teammate of Hasselbeck's father Don during his time with the Patriots.

Hasselbeck led the Seahawks to a 4-1 record to start the 2006 season before being seriously injured on Week 7. Minnesota linebacker E.J. Henderson rolled into Hasselbeck's right leg. The result was a second degree MCL sprain, causing Hasselbeck to miss four games. Hasselbeck contended that Henderson could have avoided injuring him. Upon returning he subsequently broke fingers on his non-throwing hand, but continued to lead his team to a 9–7 record and the divisional round of the post-season. The fourth-seeded Seahawks defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-20 in the wild card round in Seattle, then lost to the top-seeded Chicago in overtime, 27–24.

In 2007, Hasselbeck led his team to its fourth consecutive division title and fifth consecutive playoff appearance. He had 3,966 passing yards, 28 touchdowns (both career highs), 62.6% completion percentage, and a 91.4 quarterback rating. He threw for 229 yards in a 35-14 NFC wild card victory over the Washington Redskins. The third-seeded Seahawks lost in the divisional round to the NFC's #2 seed Green Bay, losing 42–20 in the snow at Lambeau Field despite an early 14–0 lead.

Hasselbeck set career highs in yards, attempts, and touchdown passes in the 2007 season and was elected to his third Pro Bowl.

In 2008, Hasselbeck suffered from a back injury that affected a nerve in his lower back, creating a weakness in his leg that brought on a knee injury. Hasselbeck twisted his back awkwardly in the preseason opener on Aug. 8 at Minnesota and missed the rest of the preseason. His bulging disk was diagnosed and treated with injections and he opened the regular season as the starter, but he hurt his knee after a hit early in the Seahawks' loss to the New York Giants on Oct. 5. He also received a helmet-to-helmet hit vs. the Arizona Cardinals. These injuries caused Hasselbeck to miss most of the 2008 NFL season.

In the 2009 season opener, things did not start out well for Hasselbeck, who threw 2 picks in the 1st quarter. After that Hasselbeck dominated the rest of the way, completing 25 of 36 passes for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns in their 28–0 win over the St. Louis Rams. During Week 2 of the 2009 NFL season, Matt fractured his rib against the San Francisco 49ers and missed the next two games againest the Bears (Week 3) and the Colts (Week 4). During week 5, playing the Jaguars, Hasselbeck threw 4 touchdown passes in the Seahawks' 2nd shutout of the season, beating Jacksonville 41-0. In Week 6, Hasselbeck played his career worst, losing to the Arizona Cardinals with 27-3.

During the final week of the season, Hasselbeck won the Seahawks' prestigious "Steve Largent Award."

In 2010, the season started off strong for Hasselbeck, leading his team to a 4-2 record and solid victories over the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers. But the degree of Hasselbeck's health would prove to be inconsistent, with injuries leading him to sit out crucial games later in the season, leading the Seahawks to lose 7 of their last 9. Nevertheless, Seattle would make the playoffs with a divisional win at home against the St. Louis Rams with second string QB Charlie Whitehurst, clinching the division and home field in the Wild Card round. Following some controversy, Hasselbeck was chosen to start in the Wild Card game against the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. Despite being massive 11 point underdogs and the only losing regular season record in playoff history (7-9), Hasselbeck had one of the most memorable and clutch performances of his career. He threw for 272 yards, 4 touchdowns (a franchise and postseason record) with just 1 interception coming from a tipped ball, and a 113.03 quarterback rating, leading the Seahawks to victory over the defending Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints. However, Seattle would go on to lose 35-24, in the divisional playoffs against the Chicago Bears. Hasselbeck still played well, however, with over 250 yards passing and three touchdowns. Both sides have expressed interest in re-signing as he is a free agent coming into next season, with Pete Carroll expressing resigning Hasselbeck as the Seahawks "number one offseason priority."

Seattle Seahawks franchise records
Hasselbeck owns several of the Seahawks' franchise records:

Regular season

 * Games Started at Quarterback - 131
 * Highest Passer Rating, Season (Min. 200 attempts) - 98.2 (2005)
 * Most Pass Attempts, Season - 562 (2007)
 * Most Pass Attempts, Game - 55 (at San Francisco, 12/1/02)
 * Most Pass Attempts, Career - 3,806
 * Most Pass Completions, Season - 352 (2007)
 * Most Pass Completions, Game - 39 (vs Detroit, 11/08/09)
 * Most Pass Completions, Career - 2,572
 * Most Passing Yards, Season - 4,279 (2007)
 * Most Passing Yards, Game - 449 (at San Diego, 12/29/02)
 * Most Passing Yards, Career - 29,579
 * Most 300+ Yard Passing Games, Career - 16
 * Most 300+ Yard Passing Games, Season - 4 (2002 and 2003)
 * Most 3,000 Passing Yard Seasons, Career - 8
 * Most Consecutive Seasons, 3,000 Yards Passing - 4 (2002–05)
 * Highest Completion %, Career (Min. 200 attempts) - 60.2%
 * Most Touchdown Passes, Game - 5 (tie w/5 other players)
 * Most Consecutive Attempts Without an Interception - 159 (2005)
 * Lowest Interception %, Career (Min. 200 attempts) - 2.7%
 * Only Seahawks QB with 13 wins in a season (13-3 in 2005)

Playoffs

 * Most Playoff Starts: 11
 * Most Touchdown Passes: 18
 * Most Interceptions: 9
 * Most Pass Attempts - 325
 * Most Pass Completions - 189
 * Most Pass Completions, Game - 27 (1/8/05 vs. Rams)
 * Most Passing Yards - 2487
 * Most Passing Yards, Game - 341 (1/8/05 vs. Rams)
 * Most 300+ Yard Passing Games - 2
 * Highest Passer Rating - 118.0 (1/22/06 vs. Panthers)
 * Highest Completion % - 59.7%
 * Highest YPA - 6.80
 * Most Consecutive Games w/TD Pass - 10 (current)
 * Most Consecutive Passes Without Interception - 109 (2004–05)
 * Most Touchdown passes in a single game - 4 (1/8/11 vs. Saints)