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Charlie Whitehurst -- so renowned as "Clipboard Jesus" that even Pro Football Reference uses the nickname on his player page, though the man apparently hates the name -- appeared for the second week in a row during the Colts' disastrous 51-16 beating at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Whitehurst has been in the league for 9 years, playing games in 6 separate seasons for 4 teams (San Diego, Seattle, Tennessee, and now Indy). He's essentially a 50% completion, 4-to-5 yards per attempt kind of guy who's thrown at least one interception in each season he's put the ball in the air, no matter how few attempts he's gotten.
In other words, he's not good on the field. Sorry Charlie, but you bounce around the league for a reason. On the other hand, we can only assume he finds regular work for a reason as well, so who am I to judge?
In Week 14 against Pittsburgh, though, Whitehurst and Hasselbeck accomplished something that no quarterback duo I can find has done in the modern era: they both played in the same game two separate times for two separate teams. And with the Jacksonville double-up, I'd wager a wicket they cleared the history-making bar by playing in the same 2 games for each of those 2 teams.
Don't mistake that for a good thing. Hasselbeck is now a worked-over 40-year old veteran who's in for a kidney-lacerated Andrew Luck and apparently held together by the very pads meant to protect him; his best days are clearly behind him. Indeed, his best days were behind him when last he and Whitehurst wore Seahawks unis back in 2010, which is part of the reason the two made it into the same game a couple times that year.
That season, Whitehurst appeared 6 times, only some of which were competitive, as Seattle tried to find its identity as well as its starting quarterback.
A week later, with confidence in Hasselbeck restored, the Super Bowl veteran was back in at Arizona. Up 17-10 and facing 4th-and-1 from the 15 with 1:10 left in the first half, Hasselbeck broke two bones in his left (non-throwing) wrist trying to dive for a first down. Charlie entered to start the 2nd half, and after a pair of huge gains, on his 4th play from scrimmage, he threw an easy interception into triple coverage on a short out. Whitehurst came in for one more possession before Hasselbeck -- broken wrist and all -- re-entered the game and sealed up the 36-18 win. Whitehurst tallied 4-for-6 for 53 yards and a pick on the day, but he looked just as skittish dropping back to pass as the previous week.
By Week 15 it looked like Hasselbeck might make it to playoff time, but alas, it was not to be. The starter was reasonable for a half when the Atlanta Falcons rolled into town, but he fell apart at the start of the 3rd quarter, leaving a fumble-6 on the turf, then throwing interceptions on the next two possessions. Whitehurst came in with the game essentially out of reach at 34-10, near the end of the 3rd, partly to spare the world Matt's ongoing badness, partly to save him from getting further injured. Early in the final frame, Chargin' Charlie scrambled in for a 1-yard touchdown, then completed a 2-point conversion to make the score a more respectable 34-18. The backup finished 8-for-16 for 83 yards, which was arguably better than his predecessor's 10-for-17 for 71 yards and 2 picks.
Hasselbeck started the next week at Tampa Bay as well, handing off backhanded out of his right mitt, but he lasted only through the team's second drive before suffering back spasms while scrambling (untouched) for a TD. His clippy companion engineered 5 consecutive punting drives before putting together a 31-yard dink-and-dunk effort that was capped by a 16-yard Leon Washington rushing touchdown. Whitehurst threw one pass longer than 15 yards all game and finished 11-for-18 for just 66 yards. For those of you keeping score, that's 3.7 yards per attempt, rounded up. This was the last time both players were in the same game for the same team prior to the Indianapolis-Pittsburgh tilt.
In Week 17, there was no question who the starter was: Charlie Whitehurst, as Matt Hasselbeck was resting his plentiful pains for the possibility of playoffs. Seattle hosted the St. Louis Rams in the battle for the NFC West crown; the Seahawks were 6-9, the Rams 7-8, and we were all wondering if a sub-.500 team would make the post season. It was Whitehurst's best showing in Seahawk blue. Chuckin' Charlie marched the team to an opening drive touchdown, finding Mike Williams from 4 yards out. He then kept drives alive long enough to eat clock while the defense did its work. The payoff was a 16-6 victory in which Whitehurst went 22-for-36 for 192 yards -- 8 more yards than St. Louis managed total on the night. Charlie Whitehurst, Ram-slayer. Or something.
And so the Seahawks went to the playoffs, and Marshawn Lynch did crush the spirits of the New Orleans Saints before the end days of Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle: a 34-24 defeat at the hands of the mighty Bears that included a trio of 4th quarter touchdown passes by The Bald One to make the score a little respectable.
The following year, Whitehurst was backing up Tarvaris Jackson. Charlie started two forgettable games for the Seahawks that season, then moved on to San Diego -- his second stint there -- before landing in Tennessee in 2014, where he played a surprisingly large amount.