Is Matt Flynn's long and winding road to a starting job near its final destination?

I don’t think much about the quality of play in women’s basketball, but hang me if those morons in stripes called a foul on Baylor’s Brittney Griner—the most dominant player in the women’s college basketball game and should in the pro game, provided the WNBA doesn’t suffer a probably deserved mercy killing—with 2 seconds remaining after leading her team back from a double-digit deficit against Louisville, allowing some nobody to make two free throws and score the upset. In the men’s game, the officials never would have called such a pissy-ant foul to decide a game--especially for a team that had wasted such a big lead. 

But that’s not the sports topic for today. It seems that Matt Flynn’s long and winding road is heading toward Oakland. Of course, since Flynn is not a “proven” commodity (neither was Russell Wilson, but he passed over Flynn because he was so “exciting” to watch for the little kid in Pete Carroll), there are still some variables to work out.  These include what to do with Carson Palmer—who put-up big numbers but was largely ineffective in making them translate into victory on the field—and whether Flynn will accept a contract restructuring. The fascinating aspect about all of this is that the teams that have a expressed interest in acquiring Flynn (including Jacksonville) all have ties to Green Bay when Flynn was drafted. Oakland GM Reggie McKenzie—like Seattle’s John Schneider—all believe that Flynn is a potential diamond-in-the-rough who only needs a deserved opportunity; Schneider knows that he let Flynn down by giving him the impression that Carroll was “onboard” with his acquisition, when in fact this was not the case at all. 

While some sports commentators in Seattle grudgingly assumed Flynn would start, there was little in the way of enthusiasm for this prospect. Even Flynn’s huge day that previous New Year’s Day did not compute in the minds of most. The assumptions remained such until Wilson was drafted, and suddenly people remembered how impressed they were at Wilson’s performance at the NFL combine, as well as  with his “winning” personality. It was all over for Flynn after that; the tepid “enthusiasm” became a “why him when we got this other guy we just love to pieces”? Yes, Wilson was exciting to watch as a rookie who took unprepared defenses by “storm.” But I still believe that Wilson is one hit to the knee away from being at best a hit-or-miss proposition like Michael Vick, or a liability on the field like Robert Griffin III was in that playoff game against Seattle last season. 

This lack of enthusiasm for Flynn apparently travels well. AFC West blogger Bill Williamson told John Clayton that it would be a “mistake” for the Raiders to trade draft picks for Flynn, because Flynn is still an “unknown” commodity. That’s what they said before that New England game, and they were still saying it months after Flynn tossed for nearly 500 yards and six touchdown passes against a Detroit team that was playing right to the very end for playoff position. I’m tired of hearing this garbage; Flynn may not turn out to be what some of us are  convinced he can become, but we won’t know for “certain” unless he is given a fair chance. No one knew who Kurt Warner was until he literally came out of nowhere at the age of 28, years after no team drafted him, and led St. Louis to a Super Bowl victory; the level of “shock” by Warner’s unexpected success was illustrated by the Sports Illustrated cover story “Who is this Guy”? All he needed was a chance. The only difference between the two cases is that Warner had the benefit of an outstanding receiving corps coming in, and Flynn in Oakland may not have the benefit of such. 

The reaction locally to a likely trade of Flynn seems to be mostly one of relief. Most commentators are comforting themselves with the notion that all they need is a retread veteran who can win the team a couple of games if necessary, or draft one; all they ask otherwise is that they not threaten Wilson’s position. Admittedly there are one or two people have a somewhat belated understanding of Flynn’s talents, enunciating concern of why trade Flynn when the possibility of Wilson going down is perhaps greater than most due to his “style” of play. On the other hand, one has the suspicion that others simply don’t want Flynn around because he might repeat the kind of performances he had against Detroit and on the road against New England, and fans might feel more comfortable with someone who plays more like Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers than Wilson. 

In the final analysis, this is a town where politics is important, so Flynn had to go. Here is one Green Bay Packer fan who hopes that Flynn will finally get his chance, if not in Oakland then elsewhere; as for Seattle, I think I’ve made my views sufficiently transparent.