Stick a Fork in Hasselbeck

I am here to tell you it is time to stick a fork in Seahawk QB Matt Hasselbeck. He is done.

Some will argue that Hasselbeck is in the prime of his career at the relatively young age of 33. I am not one of those people.

Hasselbeck has been sacked and beaten more than almost any other QB in the NFL the past five seasons. His 2008 numbers are atrocious. In seven games, Hasselbeck threw only 5 TD’s and was picked off 10 times posting a Trent Dilfer like QB rating of 57.8. Although only two years removed from a productive campaign of 28 TD’s in 2007, Hasselbeck’s best years are clearly behind him. 

He looked unable to walk during certain games last season and may never be fully recovered from his ambiguous “back injury.” Inside sources have told Wetland Sports that Hasselbeck has even had trouble getting up at times from a lawn chair in Hawaii playing with his kids.

Sure, the receiving crew will undoubtedly be better with the signing of TJ but who will block for Matthew? With an aging offensive line and running backs who don't block, Hasselbeck’s prognosis in 2009 does not look any better. How many more hits to his ribcage, back, knees and shoulder can he take? Not too many. If the Hawks had young bruisers up front it may be a different story—they don’t. It might even be different if they had a young running back to carry the workload—they don’t.

With the #4 pick on Saturday, the Hawks should take Hasselbeck’s younger clone, Mark Sanchez. The time is now for the Hawks to build for the future. Even in Hasselbeck’s best years, he has never led the Seahawks in the playoffs the way Brady or Manning has. In big games, Matthew seems to disappear more often than not. Can anyone remember a game where Matt put the team on his back and carried us to victory?

Sanchez represents a new face for the franchise. Sanchez is young, mobile and his upside is limitless. He also comes with one of the most politically incorrect and hilarious nicknames in the history of QBs -- ‘Dirty Sanchez’ -- whether he succeeds or fails. Another big plus in my eyes.

I would rather take a chance on a rising star than a star who is clearly fading.

Monday Morning Musings, April 20

This is the newest feature from Wetland Sports: a bunch of random thoughts that you may or may not find interesting, entertaining or just plain absurd. Let's get Muse-ical. Ok, that was cheesy. We'll work on the intro.

-Welcome to the NBA playoffs Blazers. There's a deer on I-5 that says it wants its look back.

-I miss Raul Ibanez. He might have been the consistent run producer the M's are increasingly lacking.

-Erik Bedard looks like he hates his $8 million job. Judging by his disposition on the mound, you'd think he'd rather be doing anything else, like mowing his lawn or getting a colostomy.

-I'm wondering if those "people in and around the league" who are telling Todd McShay that the Hawks will draft USC QB Mark Sanchez are actually dudes in his fantasy league.

-If top OTs Eugene Monroe and Jason Smith are off the board, I'd love to see Ruskell give us the nastiest receiving corps in the league by drafting superstar-in-the-making Michael Crabtree. The Texas Tech WR, as a redshirt sophomore, was physically dominant last year -- while playing with a stress fracture in his foot! With TJ, Crabby, Branch, Burleson and Carlson, and a healthy Hasselbeck, watch out.

-Love Chris Jakaubuskas' story. Damn it, I knew I wouldn't spell it right on the first try. Sorry Chris. All together now: it is J-a-k-u-b-a-u-s-k-as. The next John Lackey. He's the kind of tough, hungry player that will the help M's stay in contention -- for at least the next two months. Great story by Seattle guy Jim Caple.

-Hear that thud. It's the sound of Seattle fans falling back to earth following the Sounders shutout loss and the M's losing two straight games that made their offense look exactly like it does on paper.

-Couldn't stop laughing when reading about Griffey, wearing black robe, thick 24 medallion and swinging a gavel, holding kangaroo court in the M's clubhouse yesterday. Hilarious. Another reason the M's will win at least 78 games. (As you can see I'm wildly adjusting my expectations after getting entirely too excited on Wednesday night. Get used to it. This will happen at least once a week, especially if I've been drinking.)

-When do you pull the plug on Carlos Silva? On the plus side, I see a promising post-baseball future for Carlos -- as the fattest yoga instructor in the world.

Should the Hawks take Mark Sanchez in the NFL draft?

Assuming Matthew Stafford is off the board, should the Seattle Seahawks select Mark Sanchez with the #4 pick in the 2009 NFL draft? The answer is, absolutely not.

At some point in the near future the Hawks need to think about finding the successor to Matt Hasselback. He is 33 and coming off a season where he missed 9 games due to a back injury. Matt’s health issues indicate his most productive years are behind him. Still, Sanchez is not the solution.

Last year the Raiders selected Darren McFadden with the #4 pick. They signed him to a six-year contract worth 60 million, 26 million guaranteed. I’m not ready to commit this kind of money to a player who has had one full season as a starter under his belt. He’s started 16 games his entire collegiate career. Selecting Sanchez is far too risky. Hawks GM Tim Ruskell tends to favor four-year starters. Hopefully Sanchez’s slim body of work is enough to get his name thrown out of the war room.

The Hawks have had zero success drafting quarterbacks in the first round. Two names come to mind, Rick Mirer and Dan McGwire. In 1991 the Hawks drafted McGwire with the 16th pick in the first round. He played 12 games in a Hawks uniform over a four year period. He completed a combined 74 passes for 745 yards. Two years later, desperate to erase the McGwire debacle, Seattle drafted Mirer #2 overall. He threw 41 TD’s and 56 INT’s in four seasons with Seattle. His highest QB rating in a season was a paltry 70.2. Not exactly the production the Hawks expected out of either player.

On draft day, I’ll be praying for one of three players, OT Eugene Monroe, OT Jason Smith or LB Aaron Curry.