Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, who looked for a moment on Sunday like Fred Sanford upon the arrival of “the big one,” might be able to play on Sunday despite having a broken rib.
“I’ll defer to the doctors and Matt,” coach Jim Mora said Wednesday. “If the doctors look at me and say ‘Jim, Matt’s good to go,’ and Matt looks me in the eye and says ‘I’m going,’ then you know what? Matt Hasselbeck is going. Because we’re trying to win.”
Though much of the question of whether a guy will play with a broken rib depends on his ability to tolerate the pain, there’s point where safety is involved. For Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, for example, his displaced rib fracture put him at risk of a punctured lung if he had played last week.
But even if Hasselbeck won’t be playing, it makes sense for Mora to hint that he might. Otherwise, the Bears won’t be spending time preparing to face Hasselbeck, and in turn diluting the amont of time they devote to game-planning for backup Seneca Wallace.
Beyond the Hasselbeck situation, Mora said that the total injuries the Seahawks are experiencing represents the worst situation he has seen in 26 years of football.
So, basically, Mora already has his “why I shouldn’t be fired” presentation prepared for the meeting with owner Paul Allen that possibly would follow another season of failed expectations in Seattle.