At the top, the quarterback position is being played at a ridiculously high level this 2024 season.

Josh Allen has viewers on the edge of their seat. Lamar Jackson, too.

Patrick Mahomes is gunning for a three-peat.

Jordan Love’s ascent continues.

Elsewhere, a handful of organizations continue to meander through the quarterback wilderness without a coherent map and without much hope for the future.

Absolutely nothing matters more in the NFL than this position. So here at Go Long, we’re constantly trying to figure out how a team can reach such bliss.

For this episode of “How the NFL Works,” I chat at length with three-time Pro Bowler and 2005 NFC Champion Matt Hasselbeck to get answers. He saw the position played at a high level as Brett Favre’s backup under Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid early in his career. Then, of course, he took over as the Seattle Seahawks starter for a decade. Hasselbeck threw for more than 36,000 yards with 212 touchdowns… and he probably should have a ring, too. (We previously chatted with Hasselbeck all about his own NFL life last season — here’s that pod.)

This time, we connect some of his best stories as a player with the quarterbacks of today.

On this episode…

* Why Hasselbeck loves coaching high school football today. It’s more rewarding than yapping on ESPN.

* The power of youth. Ignorance is bliss for these 2024 Packers, the youngest team in the NFL. He sees Love playing freely, a dangerous thing this time of year.

* How has Josh Allen has balanced “Clark Kent” with “Superman?” Few understood the value of a quarterback playing free like Mike Holmgren, from Montana to Young to Favre. In the Bills quarterback, Hasselbeck sees someone who knows exactly when to take over a game. And it helps when the head coach allows that to happen.

* Holmgren could be ruthless, of course. He recalls the times the coach ripped into both Favre and Reid.

* Who’s the MVP of the league? Hasselbeck tells us to hold our horses. There’s a path for Baltimore’s Jackson. He loves the part of his game that nobody talks about. He’s athletic, yes. But Jackson is also making full-field reads.

* What are the conversations like between KC’s Reid and Mahomes as the back-to-back champ nurses a high-ankle sprain? Hasselbeck knows Reid well and takes us right into what those 1-on-1 chats sound like.

* You’ll love his analysis on the rookie quarterbacks, too. Hasselbeck is (very) high on New England’s Drake Maye. As for No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams? Not so much. He says Williams needs to look himself in the mirror and ask hard questions this offseason.

Thank you for listening and sharing, everyone.

The written Q&A transcript is here if that’s preferred:

Go Long is your home for longform.

Our goal — always — is to lift up the curtain on this sport.

Past episodes of “How the NFL Works:”

* S1, E7: BLITZBURGH with Levon Kirkland

* S1 E6: The Domination of Chris Lindstrom

* S1 E5: Inside Kenny Clark's Lair

* S1 E4: 'Get a Quarterback' with Super Bowl champ and ex-NFL exec Jim Monos

* S1 E3: Resurrecting a Franchise with Ron Wolf

* S1 E2: Life After Football with Ryan Leaf

* S1 E1: Building the 2024 Quarterback with Quincy Avery

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