Upside by Cathy Fazio
In his first year as full-time starter for the Seattle Seahawks, Matt Hasselbeck proved that he is a quality NFL quarterback. It was the first year that he started all 16 games for the Seahawks and he finished with 313 completions for 3841 yards and 26 touchdowns. Pretty impressive, but what can be prognosticated for him for the 2004 season? Is it going to be an even bigger and better season for Hasselbeck?

Last year it is of note that Hasselbeck accomplished what he did with a wide receiver combo notorious for dropping balls. Koren Robinson and Darrell Jackson have been busy this offseason working on improving in this area that has plagued the both of them. Can Hasselbeck improve on last year's performance? Hasselbeck is a very accurate passer so if the work that these two have done improves their ability to catch the ball, the answer has to be a resounding yes.

Hasselbeck has many offensive weapons to work with. And it is an offensive unit that will be facing its second year working together as a complete unit. Along with Darrell Jackson and Koren Robinson, the Seahawks boast of talented Bobby Engram as their third wide receiver. Engram finished last year with 52 receptions for 637 yards and 6 touchdowns. Tight End Itula Mili made 46 receptions for 492 yards and 4 touchdowns. And Shawn Alexander who rushed for 1435 yards last year and made 42 receptions for 295 yards provides a rushing attack that will keep the defenses the Seahawks face at bay.
Not many NFL quarterbacks have such an arsenal at their disposal.

So to echo the question posed at the beginning of this face off, can Hasselbeck improve on his performance from last year? My answer to you is yes. Yes he can.

Downside by Will Grant
Just because Hasselbeck set career highs in every major passing category last year, don't believe that he's going to shoot the lights out this year. People drafting Hasselbeck thinking that his 313-513, 3800-yard performance of 2003 is an upward trend are in for a rude awakening this year.

Hasselbeck's 2003 passing numbers are actually a drop from the Seahawks team passing numbers as a whole in 2002. That year, Seattle ranked dead last in rushing yards allowed and defensive rushing yards per attempt. Their defense was 27th overall, and they played from behind almost ever week. Hasselbeck and Trent Dilfer were a combined 361-587 4257 yards that year. The Seattle rushing offense was 20th in rushing yards and 22nd in rushing TDs.

In 2003, Seattle ranked 14th in rushing yards allowed, and 8th in yards per attempt. Their offensive rushing stats jumped to 10th in rushing yards and yards per attempt. As they were able to stay in games, or take the lead and grind it out, Hasselbeck was not expected to throw as much, and the passing stats declined over 70 attempts and over 400 yards. The Seattle passing TDs saw a big jump from 20 in 2002 to 26 in 2003, possibly resulting from a more controlled passing attack instead of desperation passing on every down to try and catch up.

As the Seattle defensive unit continues to improve (three of their first four draft picks were spent on defense this year, and they added DE Grant Wistrom and CB Bobby Taylor via Free Agency), expect this trend to continue. I'm not suggesting that Hasselbeck is in for a down year, or that he isn't going to finish in the top 5-6 QBs in the league fantasy wise. But his 3800-yard, 26 TD performance should be looked at as a 'best case' scenario rather than a worst case scenario with 4200 yards being the projected high end.