Backup quarterbacks come in many varieties, just ask Matt Hasselbeck
He waits in the wings, often perceived as the guy who can enable a struggling team to take flight or perhaps save a season in a pinch. Maybe he's a 20-year-old hotshot, perhaps a 40-year-old has-been — most likely something in between — but often one of the most popular guys on an NFL roster.
He is the backup quarterback, one of the most fascinating roles in sports because of its many facets and demands, which can differ drastically from city to city.
Veteran Matt Hasselbeck's focus is never solely devoted to potentially stepping in for Indianapolis Colts starter Andrew Luck, who rarely misses a snap (or a detail).
"The major role I have is running the scout team, being Peyton Manning one week and Nick Foles the next," Hasselbeck, 39, told USA TODAY Sports, adding he spends a lot of time conferring with defensive coordinator Greg Manusky and coaching Colts defensive backs.
"I'm trying to give them a good look and telling them what they're tipping off, or if they're doing phenomenal work — more so than anything I do for Andrew.
"But at the end of the day, you still have to ready to go in and win a game for your team if called upon."
Hasselbeck derives the most reward in yet another capacity.
"What's given me the most satisfaction is working with a young guy that is not really getting coached," says Hasselbeck, who began his career on the Green Bay Packers practice squad in 1998, well below Brett Favre on the depth chart and often feeling like little more than a fly on the wall in meetings.
"Coaches coach guys on the field. I get to spend time with practice squad receivers and tight ends or a young center who's always inactive on Sundays. ... I feel really good about having an impact on those guys and their careers."
But his situation, a former Super Bowl starter now serving as the understudy to an unquestioned franchise quarterback, is hardly typical.
Derek Anderson (Panthers), Drew Stanton (Cardinals) and Charlie Whitehurst (Titans) are longtime NFL reserves who have stepped in and won this season for an injured starter. Hasselbeck, Matt Flynn (Packers), and T.J. Yates (Falcons) are among those who realize they'll never be long-term replacements for the face of a franchise. Mark Sanchez (Eagles) and Christian Ponder (Vikings) are ex-first rounders still young enough to hope for an opportunity to start again, almost certainly for another organization. Johnny Manziel (Browns) and Ryan Mallett (Texans) are unproven players waiting for a chance to shine. Maybe the toughest scenario is that faced by Brock Osweiler (Broncos), Ryan Nassib (Giants) and Jimmy Garoppolo (Patriots) — youngsters riding the pine behind established champions who show little signs of slowing down.
And then there's Colt McCoy of the Washington Redskins. He's a backup in the unusual situation of replacing a fellow backup after coach Jay Gruden promoted him ahead of struggling Kirk Cousins to start next Monday night in Dallas. Assuming, of course, that No. 1 quarterback Robert Griffin III's injured ankle is not yet back to 100%.
McCoy, who's with his third team in three years, doesn't bring superlative physical attributes to the table. But he may have just the right qualities to stick around the league for a while as an emergency option.
"He does have great intangibles in my mind. He is very poised. He is a great competitor," said Gruden. "I feel like he is going to get us in the right play and make the right throw. You know, he has had some opportunities to succeed in the past as a starter and had some rough patches, but he is here for a reason and I've always liked his demeanor."
Like any backup, McCoy has bided his time. And those hours of preparation, which so often go unused on game day, helped him complete 11 of 12 passes for 128 yards and touchdown in relief of Cousins on Sunday as Washington came from behind to beat the Titans.
"This league is very unforgiving," said McCoy. "I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to still be able to play."
And he was happy to do so in Washington, where he says sharing the quarterback room with RG3 and Cousins has been a delight. And that is a major, if underrated, key to success.
"It's all about trust and loyalty. Those things come easily when you respect the guy you're sitting behind," said Hasselbeck. "It's definitely hard when you're putting in the work and the guy who's starting isn't, especially if he's overhyped or you're not winning. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be that guy's backup."
Tense relations are an obvious byproduct if the backup is undermining the starter in a bid to take the job. When Hasselbeck was trying to establish himself as the long-term answer under center for the Seattle Seahawks in 2001, he wasn't sure what to make of veteran Trent Dilfer, who'd just won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens the previous year.
"I didn't really get along with Trent when he first got to Seattle. I didn't really know what his angle was, I didn't know if I really trusted him," recalls Hasselbeck. "And yet my wife and his wife became friends. That put my guard down a little bit. Then they became really, really good friends. Then I had no choice. And then I did become friends with him, and then I did realize this guy's so competitive that it's a good thing.
"He made me better and made our team better."
Hasselbeck has become tight with Dilfer, Luck, Whitehurst and Jake Locker, whom he helped groom in Tennessee, over the years in his various quarterbacking duties. Now he's gladly embraced his mindset as the No. 2 guy and enjoys his new vantage point within the quarterback fraternity.
"It turns into a small world if you play long enough," he says. "You always wonder, 'Oh, I really like this guy, and I really like that guy — are they gonna get along?' That's sort of a funny thing."
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