Seahawks head coach Jim Mora was short and to the point when asked about the status of starting quarterback Matt Hasselbeck for Sunday’s game against Jacksonville.
“Matt’s probable,” he said.
When asked to expand on the health of his quarterback, after describing the pain he was in on Monday, Mora had this to say.
“I think Matt is a very tough man, physically and mentally,” Mora said. “So I’m not surprised that he was able to have a good week of practice and get stronger every day.”
Mora said he was pleased with the way Hasselbeck managed himself through practice.
“Every day he looked more comfortable, more confident,” Mora said.
Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said he knows what Hasselbeck is going through because he’s had to play with rib injuries throughout his career. Houshmandzadeh said it’s important that the team’s offensive line keeps Seattle’s starting quarterback clean on Sunday.
“He’s healthy enough to play, but if you get hit in the right spot you kind of go back to square one again,” Houshmandzadeh said. “Hopefully that doesn’t happen, but it will help us because he was our starting quarterback for a reason.
“He looked good. But, you know, everybody looks good when you know you ain’t go nobody that’s going to hit you.”
And Houshmandzadeh had a simple solution for keeping Hasselbeck healthy.
“Three-step drop and throw it to me,” Houshmandzadeh said.
