Hasselbeck's knee adds to Seahawks' worry list

By Frank Hughes | The News Tribune • Published October 06, 2008

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Seattle Seahawks should have known how their day was going to play out when quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was injured on the very first series of their 44-6 trouncing by the New York Giants on Sunday.

On third-and-5 at midfield, Hasselbeck dropped back to pass. When he released the ball, he was hit by Fred Robbins - on what could have been construed as a late hit - and pushed into Justin Tuck on the ground.

Hasselbeck fell to the turf grasping his knee and lay there for several minutes while team doctors tended to what was diagnosed as a hyperextended knee.

"I was in a lot of pain," Hasselbeck said. "The doctors came out and I wanted to get up and they said stay on the field and let us evaluate you. They said if your knee is stable the pain should subside, and by the time we got to the sideline it had subsided a little bit. After that, it really wasn't that bad."

Hasselbeck walked with a noticeable limp after the game and will be reevaluated today, when he will get X-rays and a magnetic resonance imaging scan.

Though his stats were pedestrian - 11-for-21, 105 yards and an interception - Hasselbeck said the knee injury did not affect his performance.

"We had other problems," he said, referring to the team's inability to convert third downs; they were 1-for-11.

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren pulled Hasselbeck late in the third quarter and allowed Seneca Wallace to finish the game.

Hasselbeck has been vocal in the past about the need to protect quarterbacks from unnecessary injuries. But he said he did not think Robbins' hit was dirty or late.

"It was a bang-bang play," Hasselbeck said. "I think it was that I let the ball go kind of early and it's just a football thing. Stuff like that happens. I feel kind of fortunate that I was able to walk off the field and play a little bit after that."

Giants pick on Wilson: Starting cornerback Kelly Jennings suffered a concussion in the first half that kept him out the remainder of the game. Nickel back Josh Wilson stepped in for Jennings across from Marcus Trufant.

"You got to always be ready," Wilson said. "The backups don't get the reps to practice with so you got to take mental reps and be ready to play at any time. That's what happened today."

However, Wilson did not fare very well. Giants quarterback Eli Manning seemed to target his side and kept throwing to various receivers. On one play, Domenik Hixon split Wilson and safety Deon Grant for a 41-yard gain. Wilson ended up leading the Seahawks with 11 tackles.

"They had a couple successful passes," Wilson said, "and until you put the fire out they are going to keep throwing wood on the fire."

Sack party one-sided: The Seahawks and the Giants were among the league leaders in sacks this season.

However, while the Giants recorded two sacks and four quarterback hurries on Sunday, the Seahawks got very little pressure on Manning, Patrick Kerney recording the only sack of the day. He forced Manning to fumble on the play but the Giants recovered.

"It was obviously a poor performance today," Kerney said. "We can't look to anyone else. It is up to us individually. We have to do the fundamentals of football better. That is all that was missing today. Poor tackling. Poor coverage. Poor rush. It's poor everything when you get 44 put up on you."

Coughlin finally beats Holmgren: Giants coach Tom Coughlin won for the first time in six games against Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren.