Hasselbeck shows flashes of Brady with late-game poise

ST. LOUIS -- Deion Branch knows a thing or two about playing with a clutch quarterback, his time with Tom Brady in New England a course on what to do with the game on the line.

After an ineffective first half, Matt Hasselbeck clicks in the second. (AP)

So when Branch said Sunday that Matt Hasselbeck, his new quarterback this season, has many of the same qualities, it was high praise, far more than just a receiver pumping up his quarterback. Branch was traded by the Patriots to the Seattle Seahawks for a first-round pick four weeks ago and is now teamed with Hasselbeck.

Against the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, Branch saw for the first time what his new quarterback could do with the game on the line. Trailing 28-27 with 1:44 and no timeouts, Hasselbeck drove the Seahawks 47 yards in eight plays to a 54-yard, game-winning field goal by Josh Brown with no time left, capping a wild game that saw the Seahawks come from 21-7 down at the half to take the lead, then almost blow it at the end.

All that drama did was set the table for Hasselbeck's cool, calm, game-winning drive, something certainly Brady-esque.

"Even when we had negative plays, he still stayed cool," Branch said. "He's not going to get rattled."

So does he remind you of Brady?

Branch smiled and said, "Yeah, he does."

That's why Hasselbeck is the Seahawks MVP. Shaun Alexander might be the reigning NFL MVP, but he isn't even that on his own team. Alexander has missed the past two games with a broken bone in his foot, and he'll probably miss two more, which is all the time Hasselbeck needs to prove this is really his team.

Doubt it? If you were the Seahawks, who would you rather play without: the quarterback who plays clutch or the running back who was replaced Sunday by a 73-yard rushing game from Maurice Morris?

Pretty easy, don't you think?

Yet for some reason, Hasselbeck doesn't get his due. As he dressed at his locker next to where fullback Mack Strong was sitting, I asked Strong why it's that way. Strong looked up and with a serious face offered this assessment in clear earshot of his quarterback.

"Maybe it's because he's folliclely challenged," Strong said.

"You talking about me?" Hasselbeck said.