While many Seahawks fans would let out a collective groan every time Seattle would run on third and long this season (instead of making an earnest attempt at a first down by throwing), it turns out the numbers support those decisions.
Using numbers from NFLStatAnalysis to track passer ratings by down this season, it’s apparent Hasselbeck went from mildly efficient on first down to terribly inefficient on third down.
Hasselbeck’s first down passer rating was 1.05, putting him 16th in the NFL. For reference, David Garrard was right ahead of him Kyle Orton right behind. Notable names below him on first down: Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan.
Hasselbeck’s passer rating on second down dipped to -3.53, 23rd in the NFL. This time it’s Alex Smith ahead and Marc Bulger behind (things are starting to get ugly).
Third down is where things really get bad. Hasselbeck had a rating of -7.87, good for 29th in the NFL.
The only QB worse than Hasselbeck in this situation was Jake Delhomme. But to really put this in perspective, take a gander at the name in the 28th spot: JaMarcus Russell. That’s right. Russell, already making some lists as one of the biggest draft busts ever and guy who was benched in favor of Bruce Gradkowski, was better on third downs than Hasselbeck.
Now Hasselbeck gets the obvious blame since it’s his name next to the numbers. Realistically, this is a collective indictment of Hasselbeck’s ability, the offensive line, the receivers’ routes and offensive play calling.

Clarification: The web site uses a different passer rating system than the traditional passer rating. Basically it equates to the number of points a team would score differently than with an average QB. For example, on second downs Hasselbeck’s team would score 3.53 points less than a team led by an average NFL QB, according to the web site’s calculations.