Tim Hasselbeck believes the Hawks lack mental toughness

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Tim Hasselbeck

ESPN's Tim Hasselbeck came on the show today to discuss the current state of the Seahawks. During the interview, Tim dropped a bombshell when he questioned the team's toughness by saying:

"When there's some adversity, I don't know how mentally tough that football team is. They got off to a rough start, it's 17-0, a turnover on their own end, Lofa tears his pec, Kerney comes out of the game. I don't know that the guys look at that and say, 'Okay Lofa's out, everyone else needs to step up and play a little bit better. Okay, Patrick's out, everyone else needs to step up and play a little bit better.' It's more like 'Aw man. We just lost two of our best defensive players, what are we gonna do?' I just wasn't impressed with the effort I saw in a big game for that football team."

Listen to the full interview:

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EC Henry wrote...

Coaching Staff Responsible for a Team's Mental Toughness

Heard Brock and Salk discussing this while driving around Sumner/McMillin this afternoon, and the thought occured to me: a team's mental toughness is a reflection of its coaching staff. NOT so much head coach Jim Mora Jr., and offensive cordinator Greg Knapp. But more in the court of its supporting coaches: Mike Solori (offensive line) and his assistant coach, Mike Deboard, Dan Quinn (deffensive line), Bruce DeHaven (special teams) and his assistant John Jamison. THOSE three guys are where your mental toughness SHOULD come from. They are working with specific units, specific players. Their job is to get those units to perform, maximize their talent, and get players ready to play IN GAMES. I say it's not the players job to make the team mentally tough, it's the coaching staff; how they MANAGE A GAME IN PROCESS and come up with solutions to in-game problems, and prepare players to complete and suceed against in-game competition. Anyway, this MIGHT be a good subject for Brock and Salk to go though: assistant coaches role in the success of NFL team, especially as pertains to in-game player management. Seams aweful crucial to me, YET easy to overlook. - E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

October 21, 2009 3:44 pm

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rajuseattle wrote...

Jim is preaching about mental Toughness....

I guess this should come from Jim Mora too, afterall he is the Head Coach. If he is not getting the required help from his assistant coaches, then their is some serious issue of Coaching Personnel too. Good coaching help boost the overall performance of the average TALENT Team....but if you have BAD coaching then their is every chance that even SUPER talent team will fail. Its unfortunate we are stuck in this O-line Injury situation, but they must find some innovative ways to come out of this adversity....try practicing some wild cat formations, use Seneca's athletic abilities for some creative plays. I am sorry to say but knowing how important the O-line is for your Team's overall success and its been a KEY issue for past 3 seasons, if you do nothing to address those concerns during off season and Training camp and simply pray for your Super Star or future Hall of Fame player to get Healthy and single handedly help you WIn the games, then Hawk's front office didnt do their Job in preparing the Team for 2009 season. Addressing the O-line concerns with the help from on the street 4th stringer players is simply a BAD Management. Coaching Mental TOUGHNESS will help to some extent, but it will not help you to overcome the shortage of skills in the O-line where you need players with unique blocking skills....Teams who realised the importance of building the NFL caliber O-line are Champions....Mike Holmgren realised that and he build one to get us to Super Bowl, but since then our O-line got dismantled due to various reasons and noone in this organization really treated it as a SEV-1 issue...results of ignoring the O-line issue for a long time is visible to all of us. I hope Jim and his staff try to address it during 2010 draft and free agency. I can only wish all Young Talent in this team remains Healthy during this Season and non-performers should get out of Seattle...Jim please send this message to your stars that if they dont perform their Job they will see the Door.

October 21, 2009 5:53 pm

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ShwaggyD wrote...

I agree

At least to a certain extent. There has appeared to be a lack of something from the players whenever faced with adversity, and part of it very well could be mental toughness. What really seems to be lacking, at least to me, is the ability to handle adversity by the coaching staff. Mora and his coordinators seem to have one gameplan that they stick to, no matter what happens. They can't seem to adapt that gameplan to compensate for injuries or the failure of their initial plan during a game. If the coaches appear lost in adversity, how are the players supposed to overcome?

October 21, 2009 9:17 pm

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SeattleNative wrote...

Sure...

...that's a real easy criticism to make when those left on the field are 3rd & 4th string players.
It takes more than mental toughness to play against a full compliment of 1st string NFL players. It takes a full compliment of 1st string NFL players.

October 21, 2009 9:26 pm

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seahawksblue wrote...

Uh, what team does Tim Hasselbeck play for again?

Maybe Tim should spend a little less time being jealous of his brother Matt, the 11th best quarterback in the NFL. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of listening to him pitch on his own brother, and he's done it repeatedly. One can only imagine what a joy the holidays must be at the Hasselbeck household, for instance. Hey, Tim, why don't you mosey on over to the VMAC and tell guys like our injury-decimated OL and secondary they lack "mental toughness"? Then again, that would take mental toughness on your part, and I don't think you have any. I thought I was listening to ESPN Seattle. If I want this kind of crap, I can tune in ESPN and listen to the East Coast Sportscasting Cabal.

October 21, 2009 11:28 pm

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rajuseattle wrote...

Info on Tim Hasselbeck...

Tim Hasselback was a 3rd string QB for AZ cardinals as far as I now his NFL credentials...I dont know if he ever played as starting QB for any NFL team. For now he is ESPN expert on football. What he is suggesting during this interview seems to be correct and Hawks did concede the game after trailing 0-17, but in a similar Situation for Ravens when they trailed Vikings by 0-14, they came from behind and gave TOUGH fight to Vikings at thier own backyard....I was expecting Seahawks will give that kind of fight, but they just came out of that game as BIG loosers...12th Man came out of stadium booing ...bcos they are MAD at the front office for O-line CIRCUS.

October 21, 2009 11:58 pm

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Raven wrote...

Nothing new

Really, this is nothing new. It was true with Holmgren as well. Remember under Holmgren how they came out flat in big games on the east coast, or after bye weeks. Not being able to play on the road is a feature of mental toughness. There is nothing physical that is extra demanding. We have drafted high-character guys to try and address that issue, but it hasn't helped really. Sometimes I wonder if you are really smart if it is more difficult to take the game seriously when you hit your mid to late 20's and the testosterone starts to decline. All I know is this team is sure looking like the teams of the mid to late 90's that just can't seem to play solid football for any length of time. Also, Jim Mora is already starting to have that lost puppy look on the sideline that Dennis Erickson always sported. It would be interesting to see if someone like Cowher could change the culture of the Seahawks.

October 22, 2009 6:25 am

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liame wrote...

Truth hurts...

Why do people get so mad at someone who states their opinion. Especially when it is right? Whether it is the coaches fault or the (grown men) players fault, they lack mental toughness. As much as I despise Ray Lewis of the Ravens, he does bring an energy to the team even when they are down. That takes mental toughness to buck up even when things don't look up. All I see on the sidelines when the Hawks are down is sullen conquered faces! No one taking the lead to lift them up. Mental toughness.... lacking. As far as Tim (not Jim) Hasselbecks illustrious NFL career: I don't recall his Cardinal years. Not saying he didn't play there, I just don't have any recollection. But I do remember him starting for the Redskins a couple of games, and took a few snaps for the Giants, and backed up a few others. Didn't turn out so well though. Heck, the way things are going here, maybe the Hawks can sign him to replace his brother. Maybe he can prove his mental toughness when being chased by the entire opposing team on every play! Just saying!!

October 22, 2009 10:35 am

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pumpkinhead wrote...

Character Shmaracter

Football, impose your will on the other guy.We want domination and victory,these are the modern day gladiators we spend money and time on and all we want is an honest effort.Ray Lewis,Hines Ward,Rodney Harrison,want to beat you down,except for Matt Hasselbeck throwing a fit about resetting the play clock last week I can think of no other example of a SeaHack showing any competitive urgency.When was the last time a SeaSmuck LB hit a QB so hard from the blindside that it snapped his head back and blew the ball up in the air like it was shot out of a cannon and the defense gives the rest of the team momentum? Watch highlights of 80's hawks on special teams to see ferocity and passion that is sorely lacking.By the way Warren Moon is the absolute worst.

October 23, 2009 2:50 pm

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