By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The trips west forged some of the most vivid and endearing memories of his youth.

Pete Rose and the Reds at Riverfront Stadium. Dad coming home to play the Bengals. Late-night cheese coneys at Skyline.

And Graeter's ice cream. Matt Hasselbeck could never forget the Graeter's.

"Chocolate chip. I don't need any other flavor," he said by phone earlier this week from Seattle. "Some people are all hot on black raspberry chip. I just need chocolate chip. I get it shipped out here."

As tempting as it might be to kick back with a spoon, a pint and all the relatives this weekend, Hasselbeck has a prior commitment in Cincinnati. Hasselbeck, 28, whose parents, Don and Betsy, were raised here and married in the chapel at St. Xavier High, will quarterback the Seahawks against the Bengals Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.

"It could be kind of a sentimental game for me, but the thing I need to realize is this is a business trip," said Hasselbeck, who was raised in Massachusetts but has several relatives still living in the Cincinnati area.

The 5-1 Seahawks are off to their best start ever, and Hasselbeck's steady play is a key reason why.

Having completed 58 percent of his passes for 1,215 yards and eight touchdowns, Hasselbeck is the NFC's sixth-rated passer and has led Seattle on three game-winning drives this season.

"This team is his football team," Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren said. "He's playing on a very consistent level."

A sixth-round pick by Green Bay in 1998, Hasselbeck is in his third season with the Seahawks since the 2001 trade that reunited him with Holmgren.

"He's endured," said Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna, who played for Seattle from 1996-2000. "He went through some mess, too, those first two years."

Injuries and lackluster performances in 2001 did little to endear Hasselbeck to Seattle fans, which led to Trent Dilfer stepping in as the starter last season. But when Dilfer suffered an Achilles injury in late October, Hasselbeck came in and wowed fans and coaches.

He passed for 300 or more yards in four of the Seahawks' final six games, including a pair of club-record 400-plus yard passing performances.

"For me, there's no pressure when you're just doing what the coach asks you to do," said Hasselbeck, who threw for 3,075 yards and was second in the NFC with an 87.8 passer rating last season.

That sentiment stems from a revelation last October.

Rather than force improvisation and try to be the kind of quarterback he wasn't, Hasselbeck gave himself over to Holmgren's plan.

"The light kind of clicked on for him," Holmgren said. "He thought he had some of the answers. He allowed me to help him more instead of just kind of questioning things."

Said Hasselbeck: "Mike Holmgren has been there and done it. He's got the experience. He's coached a lot of players, a lot of quarterbacks. He's coached great teams."

Throughout the twisty journey, Hasselbeck has leaned on a strong Christian faith, friends and family.

"There are times when not everything is always going to be great," said Don Hasselbeck, who graduated from La Salle High in 1972 and played nine NFL seasons, primarily with the Patriots. "I think it's through the tough times that close friendships and family help."

Among those Matt Hasselbeck has confided in are three quarterbacks.

"Whether it be (Packers quarterback) Brett Favre struggling early on, Jeff George and the fans getting on him, or Trent Dilfer kind of being blamed for a lot of stuff that wasn't his fault," he said. "Those three guys, no question, have meant a great deal to my career.

"It hasn't been all good for all those guys. I learn more from what they've gone through than the success."

One of the lessons the Hasselbecks tried to instill in their sons - Matt is the oldest of three - was perspective.

"Football is just a real small portion of your life," Don Hasselbeck said. "It's not bigger or greater than everything. You look at your life and it's just a small segment right now.

"But one of the things I'm a big believer in is that if you have this God-given ability, then you should use it, whether it's football or baseball or a music."

It's advice Matt Hasselbeck has heeded and continues to apply as he tries to help the Seahawks to the playoffs for the first time since the 1999 season.

"We have high expectations here in Seattle," he said. "We know what our goal is, and the bar is set high."

Surprise guys

1. Kansas City Chiefs (7-0, 1st in AFC West) - Dick Vermeil hopes K.C. is the third different team he'll take to the playoffs in his third season in town.

2. Minnesota Vikings (6-0, 1st in NFC North) - The Vikings have started 6-0 three times since 1998. The 1998 and 2000 teams both lost in the NFC Championship games.

3. Dallas Cowboys (5-1, 1st NFC East) - Another example why coach Bill Parcells is the master of the team turnaround. The Cowboys have the No. 1 defense in the NFL and fourth-ranked offense.

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