The Green Bay Packers were supposed to “pack it in” against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, just like they were supposed to mail it in against the New England Patriots last year. Golden Boy Aaron Rodgers was going to play a few series or sit out this game altogether, but just as he did last year, coach Mike McCarthy was emphatic that “We are playing to win.” Nobody believed him; it was just bluster to keep the morale of the troops up. Last season, when the pre-game television analysts made their outcome predictions, they all laughed and said the Packers were going to be blown into the next universe. This weekend, they still didn’t take McCarthy seriously when said the team intended to win; no Rodgers, no chance. Instead, this game was supposed to be Lions’ quarterback Mathew Stafford’s moment to shine—albeit against mainly second-stringers.
Now, I’m probably Packer back-up quarterback Matt Flynn’s biggest booster in town, but I have to admit that heading into last year’s Patriots game, I didn’t really know much about him or what he was capable of. He played one season of college ball, leading LSU to a national title, but he wasn’t highly rated because of LSU’s non-pro-style offence. Flynn was a “project,” but one management saw possibilities in. He went the Packers’ quarterback “academy,” but how much his skills had become NFL ready was a mystery to most virtually everyone outside the organization. Flynn’s first significant playing time came a week before the Patriots game; Rodgers, who was ineffective in the first half, was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Flynn played the entire second half, and although he led the team on only one scoring drive, Flynn at least seemed more effective at moving the ball up and down the field, throwing for 176 yards. But given sufficient preparation, what I saw from Flynn against the Patriots was not some nobody who would be flustered and frustrated playing against what is assumed to be the most dominant franchise in the past decade, coached by a defensive mastermind ready to eat alive a young quarterback with no reputation and even less experience. What no one apparently knew was that this young quarterback was trained and coached to win ball games, not just be a placeholder. McCarthy was confident enough in his quarterback training regimen that he expected Flynn to not just acquit himself respectably, but to give the team a chance to win. And that is exactly what Flynn did against the mighty Patriots, with the outcome of the game still in question until the final moments.
That was last year. The “experts” seemed to forget that Flynn was fearless in the pocket and had the poise of a veteran. Against Detroit on Sunday, I expected a “respectable” 300-yard, 3-TD performance. Instead, Flynn exceeded even my expectations. Flynn didn’t flinch after the opening series sack-and-fumble, and after working out the rust midway in the second quarter, there was no stopping him. Repeatedly down against the Lions, Flynn countered punch for punch. Down 16-10, Flynn threw a dart to Ryan Grant as he was being knocked backwards that ended in an 80-yard touchdown pass. I saw a quarterback with tremendous field vision (for a supposedly “short” quarterback) who caught even the aging Donald Driver in a window where he could have walked into the end zone on crutches. He threw a perfect ball 50-yards in the air late in the game that effortlessly dropped into James Jones hands as if it was parachuted in; this came after another deflating touchdown drive by Stafford with less than three minutes to play that put the Lions ahead again. I saw Stafford on the sidelines, acting the arrogant punk who thought the game was over. Instead, Flynn coolly led the team in a two-minute offense with the confident ease of a Tom Brady—something we still haven’t seen from Rodgers. When all was said and done, Flynn again “surprised” the experts with a franchise record-setting performance, his 480 passing yards drilling Lynn Dickey’s previous team mark, while becoming the first Packer to throw 6 touchdown passes in a game.
Now the question is whether some of his naysayers, like John Clayton—who on one of the late night ESPN radio shows could only say that he was impressed by Stafford’s refusal to quit, when it was Flynn who was supposed to wilt under the pressure—can bring themselves to admit there was something they had missed about Flynn. Some have simply dismissed his performance as a fluke and a product of Detroit's poor secondary, but Flynn's output surpassed by a wide margin the two previous highs allowed by the Lions--Carson Palmer's 367 and Drew Brees' 342 yards passing. Playing with other back-ups against the Lions’ starters, Flynn seemed to verify the observation of Packer insiders that Flynn sometimes ran the offense better than Rodgers in practice and the preseason. I feel completely vindicated in my confidence in Flynn as not just a good starting quarterback, but a Pro Bowl-caliber talent. For teams like Seattle—where Flynn already has a relationship with the GM—who likely won’t be able to draft that “franchise” quarterback this year, Flynn should be more than a serious option. After all, this team has never drafted a quality quarterback—and coming from a quality program like Green Bay, Flynn seems ready to take flight wherever he lands this off-season.
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