Birds of a father: Hasselbeck brothers at QB

Matt had the height and experience, but Tim wouldn't back down, despite being 2½ years younger and a few inches shorter.

The Hasselbeck brothers were always on the same teams growing up. They were quarterbacks at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Mass. They played for Boston College, where Tim backed up Matt before both moved on to the NFL.

But this was one-on-one basketball. No coaches. No friends. No scouts. Just two competitive brothers going head-to-head in front of the Hasselbeck family home.

"If the score was 10-9 (with Matt leading), I was going to foul him hard before he got an easy bucket," Tim said. "If there was anybody I wanted to beat out, it was Matt, and the same went for him. We were as close as you could get."

Matt and Tim Hasselbeck are still close, but time has gone by and the sibling rivalry has softened. The brothers who thought they would always be on the same side will, for the first time, line up for opposing teams Sunday at Seahawks Stadium — Matt as the starting quarterback for the Seahawks and Tim the backup for the Philadelphia Eagles.

It wasn't exactly the way the Hasselbecks had planned their reunion. Tim and wife Elisabeth Filarski — a former "Survivor" cast member now hosting a cable TV show — were set to spend Thanksgiving with Matt and his wife, Sarah, last week. Those plans were scratched when Tim was signed Nov. 19 by the Eagles, three weeks after being cut by Carolina.

Now, the Hasselbecks will be joined this week by their parents, Don and Betsy, in Seattle, with time for a meal or two and a moment together on the field for Matt and Tim before the game.

Tim Hasselbeck, signed to the Eagles' practice squad but brought up to No. 2 with injuries to Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer, might not even play. A.J. Feeley is the starter for Philadelphia, and unless he goes down, Tim Hasselbeck will remain on the sideline.

If Tim does get into the game, he and Matt would be the first brothers to play quarterback against each other in modern pro football history. Four sets of brothers, including Koy and Ty Detmer and former Huskies Brock and Damon Huard, have never faced each other on the field.

"He may not play, he may play, but either way it's going to be fun in pregame," Matt said of his brother. "It might be a little weird, but I'm excited for him to be on a team like the Eagles. They're a great team ... with Super Bowl chances, so it's a great opportunity for him. But at the same time, we're both real competitive, and he wants to win, I want to win."

What about the rest of their families, including Don, a former NFL tight end?

"They just root for the offense," Matt said.

The brothers have traveled different paths.

Matt, 27, was a sixth-round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers in 1998 but didn't get his first chance to start until arriving in Seattle via trade before last season. Matt struggled with injuries and inconsistency, absorbing a good deal of criticism for the Seahawks' offensive shortcomings after Coach Mike Holmgren had handed him control of the offense.

Matt lost the starting position this season to Trent Dilfer but has started the past four games after Dilfer suffered a season-ending knee injury against Dallas on Oct. 27.

Tim, 24, left Boston College as the Most Valuable Player of the Aloha Bowl his senior season. But he was not drafted, so he signed with the Buffalo Bills before the 2001 season. He was cut during training camp by Buffalo, and then by Baltimore, and didn't play last season.

He started this season on the Eagles' practice squad, was signed by Carolina to its practice squad on Oct. 22, cut a week later, then signed again by the Eagles.

While he was between jobs with the Panthers and Eagles, Tim kept up with his brother's progress in Seattle, searching sports bars in Los Angeles, where he now resides, to find a television with the Seahawks' game. His support for his older brother remains ardent.

"I got more nervous watching him play than watching myself," Tim said. "I just want him to do so well. When he was being beat up (criticized) by everyone, it got me frustrated. He was taking a lot of heat for stuff that wasn't on him."

Matt is one of the NFL's hottest quarterbacks, with 799 passing yards, 55 completions and six touchdowns in the past two games.

Now he will be on the same field as his brother, though Tim won't get a chance to prevent Matt from scoring the way he had growing up.

Notes

• Sunday's game will be blacked out on local television, as the Seahawks failed to come close to a sellout for the second straight home game. About 7,400 tickets remain.

• Philadelphia DE N.D. Kalu is the NFC's Defensive Player of the Week after four sacks against St. Louis last Sunday.

• Seahawks DE Lamar King has an injured left knee and is listed as questionable for Sunday. King did not practice yesterday.

• DE Anton Palepoi was back at practice after an excused absence Wednesday.

• LB Anthony Simmons, whose left ankle was thought to be his most recent source of soreness, is dealing with shin splints, his agent said yesterday. The left ankle is the same one Simmons sprained badly early in the season, forcing him out of nine games. Simmons did not practice yesterday but is expected to play this week.

• The Seahawks are asking fans to bring new, unwrapped toys to Sunday's game to donate to the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Drive.

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com.