Two competitive and well-run organizations with two very different trends in their starting quarterback profiles… they’ll line it up and play it out on Sunday at Seattle.
Analyzing the Seahawks current trend at QB, here’s a direct feed from Louis Bacigalupi, who posts comments on Seahawk Addicts under the name LouieLouie. He’s an accountant by trade and worked in a USFL front office.
“The Hawks went in to the 2011 season committed to making major changes at quarterback. We all know what a giant figure Matt Hasselbeck will be in Seahawks history. He was Holmgren’s guy, the team’s franchise quarterback for the better part of a decade. He took the Hawks places they hadn’t been before. Along with Holmgren, he was the dominant personality of the Seattle Seahawks. Football fans all over the country knew Hasselbeck. He was the guy who uttered those immortal words, “We want the ball and we’re going to score.”
“However, his reign in Seattle was at an end and Pete Carroll and John Schneider knew it. In fact, they did Hasselbeck a favor by allowing him to move on. How long would he have been able to stand the pounding that Tarvaris Jackson has already taken behind this young O-line? Not very long — he’d probably already be in traction by now. The move gave Hasselbeck an opportunity to enjoy success in Tennessee, along with a better chance of retiring as a functioning quarterback rather than as a surgery patient. Also, he will be a mentor to a kid from Seattle, Jake Locker. Hasselbeck is appreciated in Tennessee, but would have been booed in Seattle.
“Matt’s departure does leave one unanswered question: what the bleep do they do now at quarterback?”
Carroll and Schneider began addressing that issue last year when the Hawks traded a third round draft pick for Charlie Whitehurst. They probably figured at least he may turn into a decent backup, which is not a terrible use for a third round pick. Who knows, maybe the guy could develop into a solid quarterback? When Hasselbeck went down in 2010, Whitehurst did an adequate job of filling in for him, especially in the final game of the season against the Rams.
Also during this past offseason, the Hawks picked up a diamond in the rough: undrafted free agent rookie Josh Portis. When given the opportunity during the preseason, Portis knocked everyone’s socks off. He showed arm strength, athleticism, mobility, coolness under pressure, and an ability to read defenses and make the right throws. With a little polish, he could be the future.
Contrast the “search and replace” trend in Seattle with the Joe Flacco maturing process in Baltimore. It looks like the Ravens’ QB future for the next 7-10 years is already here.
Here’s Antonio Barbera’s take on that trend. (Barbera is a journalism major at Maryland and submitted this snapshot glimpse of the current progression of Flacco….
“Last Sunday night at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, the Steelers and the Ravens were once again matched up in a classic clash of two rivals. Both teams were laying hard hits, fighting for extra yards, and struggling to put any significant distance between one another. Baltimore struck first, and held a 16-6 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. Pittsburgh returned the favor, and scored 14 straight points to take a 20-16 lead with five minutes remaining in the game. After alternating possessions, Baltimore once again had the ball, this time at their own 8-yard line with 2:17 remaining on the clock and one timeout in hand.
“When NFL training camps finally opened this past summer, few players took more criticism than Ravens’ quarterback Joe Flacco. His last game had been a loss at Pittsburgh in the divisional round of the postseason, where he threw for only 125 yards and turned the football over twice. NFL analysts were questioning whether he really was the answer for Baltimore at quarterback, and he was even receiving criticism from players, such as Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who said, “Joe Flacco will never win a Super Bowl in this lifetime.”
“This season, the criticism for Flacco hasn’t wavered, and some of it for good reason. He has been consistently inconsistent thus far, seemingly alternating between strong games and poor games. At St. Louis in September, Flacco threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns. The next week, playing the Jets at home, he threw for only 163 yards and an interception, all while completing a miserable 32% of his passes. Questions about his ability to be an “elite” quarterback flew from all directions, and although he had already beaten Pittsburgh soundly in week one, it seemed this rematch would be a perfect chance to test his will and ability against one of the league’s best defenses.
Down by four points on Sunday, Flacco was given an opportunity to control his own destiny, silence critics (at least temporarily), and most importantly, win the game. And he seized it. Leading his team down the field on a 12-play, 92-yard drive, Flacco never lost his composure and capped the drive off with a 26-yard touchdown pass to receiver Torrey Smith with eight seconds remaining in the game. Even after Smith and fellow receiver Anquan Boldin each dropped a pass earlier in the drive, Flacco kept his cool and in total completed seven of 13 pass attempts for all of the 92 yards the offense needed. The Ravens eventually won 23-20, and on a different level, Flacco won. On possibly the best drive of his career, Flacco gave everyone a glimpse of what he can do with the ball in his hands late in a close game. Heinz Field is arguably one of the toughest places to win a game on the road, and Flacco did just that, silencing the Pittsburgh crowd as well as his critics. Now with more eyes on him than ever, Flacco will have to prove he can be not only effective, but that he can be consistently effective, as he leads the Ravens to the ultimate prize, whether LaMarr Woodley thinks he can or not.”
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