"With some help from his kid brother, Matt Hasselbeck has learned a heck of lot in a short amount of time with the Titans.

Three weeks into the season, Hasselbeck is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the NFL, ranked third in completion percentage, seventh in total yardage and eighth in passer rating.

At his current pace, the 13th-year pro will shatter all of his single-season passing marks. Not bad considering he was supposed to need more time to adjust to a new team, new staff and new offense.

So how did Hasselbeck get up to speed so quickly? He credits his coaches, who point back at him. The longtime Seahawk also said he's leaned on his younger brother, Tim, who spent some time under new Titans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer with the Giants.

The breakthrough didn't come until Tim set big brother straight.

"Early on I called Tim and I was like, 'Dude, this stuff doesn't make much sense to me. Why do we call it this, and why do we call it that? We should change it to this and call it that.' " Matt recalled Thursday. "And he was like, 'Listen, it is not going to change. You are wasting your time hoping it changes, so deal with it.'

"He is good for me that way. He set me in my place and I was able to focus in."

Because of the lockout, Matt was unable to sign with the Titans until July 29. But on Sunday, on his 36th birthday, he threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-14 win over the Broncos. It was his third straight game with a passer rating of 90-plus.

Perhaps it's no surprise then that Palmer has encouraged the brothers to talk as often as possible."