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Over the past two-plus seasons, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has put up Brett Favre-type passing numbers.
And in some cases, Hasselbeck's numbers are even better than Favre's.
Through his first 38 starts in Seattle, Hasselbeck has a 20-18 record compared to Favre's 22-16 mark through his first 38 starts. Both completed 60 percent of their passes. Both threw 48 touchdown passes.
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Hasselbeck, a fifth-year pro, has 8,785 yards passing over his first 38 starts
compared to Favre's 8,168. Hasselbeck also has eight 300-yard games (Favre had
three), 32 interceptions (Favre had 44) and a passer rating of 84.3 (Favre had
a rating of 77.2).
Yet Hasselbeck knows he won't get top billing over Favre when the Seahawks visit Green Bay on Sunday.
``That's one of the things you get when you play against a future Hall of Famer,'' Hasselbeck said.
Favre has a solid advantage in one important area. The 13-year veteran will be making his 18th postseason start and Hasselbeck his first. The understudy doesn't sound too concerned about the disparity.
``I'm not real anxious,'' said Hasselbeck, who backed up Favre with the Packers in 1999 and 2000. ``It's fun. It's exciting. I'm excited to prepare for these guys.''
Hasselbeck is one of 11 quarterbacks who have became starters elsewhere after leaving the Packers since Favre took over in 1992.
It's been 10 years since Favre played his first playoff game, leading Green Bay to a 28-24 win at Detroit on Jan. 8, 1994.
``I would like Matt to win his first playoff game, too,'' said Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who was Favre's coach back in Green Bay.
The differences in experience won't ruffle the easygoing Hasselbeck, who threw for a team-record 3,841 yards this season. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate after throwing 26 TD passes and completing 61 percent of his throws.
``Hasselbeck is playing lights out,'' Packers coach Mike Sherman said.
Hasselbeck was drafted by the Packers in the sixth round in 1998, Holmgren's last season coaching in Green Bay. Hasselbeck spent a year on the practice squad, then mopped up for Favre before Holmgren brought him to Seattle in a trade.
``I always liked Matt when he was here,'' Sherman said. ``He was in a different role, but we hated to lose him. We knew we weren't going to be able to keep him because of his talent and what he wanted to achieve in this league.
``He's going to end up at some point being one of the great quarterbacks in the league,'' Sherman added.
The first day Hasselbeck arrived in Green Bay, former quarterbacks coach Andy Reid sat him down and told him to pay close attention to Favre. But Reid also warned Hasselbeck to be selective.
``Don't watch his decision-making,'' Hasselbeck recalled. ``Don't watch his fundamentals. Watch the other stuff, the things people call intangibles. Watch him in the huddle. Watch how he is with other guys in the locker room.''
The student was cautious about incorporating too much Favre into his system, saying he didn't want to try ``to be something I'm not.
``On the other hand, it's easy to do some of the things,'' Hasselbeck said. ``The simple points would be have fun at work. Enjoy what you do. Have a lot of intensity when you come to the field.''
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