NOW WILSON....
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Fool’s Gold: How Matt Flynn Became the NFL’s Highest Paid Backup
August 27, 2012 · 2 Comments
By Mike Kerns
Just for the record, there were a handful of us who knew exactly what Matt Flynn was in his couple of starts in Green Bay; Fool’s Gold.
Now, I’m really not one to gloat, but to think that so many people are shocked that Matt Flynn was outplayed in Seattle training camp for his starting job by a rookie is surprising to me. I mean, what had the guy really done?
Over two starts in two seasons, Flynn accumulated 731 yards passing with 9 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. That means over the course of a full season, he’d project for 5,848 yards passing and 72 touchdown passes, right? Yeah, this isn’t a video game and he wouldn’t always be playing in garbage time against backups like he did in his 6 touchdown game against Detroit in last season’s finale.
After that performance last year, we all knew that Flynn had just gotten paid. With teams beyond desperate for a starting quarterback, some team was going to give him a good deal. All bets were on Miami after former Packers coordinator Joe Philbin took the head coaching gig there, but they let him leave town after a visit without a contract and he ultimately signed in Seattle where he would assuredly be the starter from day one.
However, there is something different about the way that Pete Carroll coaches. He doesn’t care about your past, what school you went to or how much money you’re making. You have to fight for your job and whoever plays the best is going to see the field. Still, with only having to go up against Tarvaris Jackson, Flynn probably liked his chances after inking a three-year, $26-million contract this past offseason that has him guaranteed to make $8 million in 2012.
After a slow start in camp, but an even worse one from Jackson, it appeared that his gamble would pay off. However, neither Flynn or even the biggest Wisconsin Badgers honk out there could have foreseen a 5’11″ third round rookie beating out Flynn in camp. But that is exactly what has happened.
Flynn hasn’t been Kevin Kolb bad during the preseason or anything. He has thrown for 102 yards and an interception through two starts, but Wilson has been spectacular in camp and the preseason with 464 yards passing, 5 touchdowns and an interception. Coaches have raved about his ability to correct his mistakes and instantly improve upon them. No one can blame Wilson here. He entered into a quarterback competition and he won. Good on him.
But Matt Flynn now becomes the highest paid backup quarterback in the league, at least until Skelton wins the job from Kolb in Arizona. The next step is to see how he handles that. Will he be one of those guys like Vince Young who pouted that he deserves to start and can’t even stick around as a backup anywhere? Or will he be the guy that stays prepared and ready to capitalize on his opportunity when it arises.
We all know that Wilson is going to have times where he struggles. Let’s be fair, this is a team still will a major uphill climb to competitiveness ahead of them. So Flynn is going to get another shot. Unless he is the David Carr type that is perfectly content holding a clipboard and getting paid, this won’t be the last we hear of him. At least for this season.
I may still be in the minority, but I know fool’s gold when I see it and Flynn appears to be the epitome of it.
