Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hit rookie receiver Golden Tate on a pass during today’s practice on a play that looked great -- except that Tate didn’t run the play that was called.
That mental error aside, Hasselbeck likes what he’s seeing of Tate.
“He ran the absolute wrong route,” Hasselbeck said. “But he was open, and I threw it to him and he made a great play. So in a lot of ways, you can just tell his head is swimming.”
Tate was one of the best receivers in college football at Notre Dame, and as the Seahawks’ second-round draft pick, he’s being counted on not only to make plays, but to run the right play. Tate knows that OTAs are more about getting up to speed mentally than showing off his physical skills.
“I’m just trying to learn,” Tate said. “I know that I can play ball, I’m just trying to learn it and play fast. Once I learn it, I can play faster and understand what’s going on a little better. The thing is, when you don’t know what you’re doing you play unsure.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll says it’s understandable that Tate is playing unsure right now.
“He made a couple of bonehead blunders today where he just went the wrong way on routes,” Carroll said. “At this time, I think that’s totally understandable.”
