A week ago I pointed out that the local sports commentators who cover the Kansas City Chiefs were less overwhelmed with shock and awe over Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s “flash” than underwhelmed how badly their supposedly talented defense played—and not just against the Seahawks, but the previous game against the Rams, supposedly the third or fourth team in the NFC West behind the 49ers and the Seahawks. Of course, it is not precisely known why some people believe that the Seahawks are the second team in the division as it currently stands, although locally this seems to be a function of the world of imagination some people exist in. Mr. Flash has “wowed” the provincials into bug-eyed frenzy, while Mr. Steady (Matt Flynn) has been merely dull and monotoned. The last preseason game against the Oakland Raiders was deemed “meaningless” by the locals, which was convenient attitude to take for them because it was quite possible closer to reality that the previous games. Mr. Flash was 5 of 11 passing for 72 yards, and 3 points scored in his one quarter of play. Not much “flash” or “wow” this time. Flynn, on the other hand, led the team on two long, time-consuming touchdown drives—you know, dull and boring. Not the 222 yards on 14 plays in the Chiefs game, or the runs for 30 yards at a time we saw in the first two games. People around here talk as if they expect to be fed this steady diet of “flash” and “wow” in the regular season, that it is actually the genuine article. They actually believe that opposing teams don’t actually want to play to win the game against the Seahawks. On the other hand, Flynn’s play against the Raiders actually shows the likeliest route of how the Seahawks can actually win 10 games this year: Not by a “flash” the quickly burns out, but the drawn-out drives that wear down the opponent’s defense, and keeps the team’s own defense fresh.
However, Pete Carroll appears to be caught-up with the “flash” as well, going against the grain of his game plan. How did we reach this point? How did Matt Flynn go from the number one free agent quarterback after Peyton Manning, to back-up to a rookie quarterback? I recall John Clayton insisting that Flynn was a back-up “for a reason” before the Detroit Lions game last season. Then Flynn threw for Green Bay single-game records in passing yards and TD passes; he threw for more TD passes and nearly as many yards in one game than Wilson did in the equivalent of two games in the preseason—in a “real” game that actually counts. Supposedly every team in need of a quarterback would be looking at the tape of this game. “He is a fundamentally-sound player who has a quick release. Flynn shows poise, patience and good decision-making that NFL teams look for, and combined with his intermediate accuracy, he has many of the tools to be a productive starting QB in the NFL,” said Russ Lande of the Sporting News—the previous May. Into March of this year, analysts still regarded him as the second quarterback in free agency, but he was overshadowed by the circus surrounding Manning, and upcoming draft. Suddenly people began talking about not about how outstanding he was in the opportunities he had, but more how they indicated his lack of “experience.” 731 yards and 9 touchdowns in the two games he was given the opportunity to start suddenly reduced to “we don’t know who this guy is”—as if people were trying to convince themselves that he really wasn’t any good, the insinuation that he was another version of Kevin Kolb. Locally, this was manifest by people in la-la land who were pining after Manning or Robert Griffin III, or deliberately talking to “experts” who were simply repeating the negativity they wanted to hear.
While the assumption remained for a time that Flynn would be the day-one starter, Carroll deliberately undercut Flynn by playing the “competition” game, since a quarterback whose game is pin-point accuracy needed more than one-third of the reps with a new team and a new set of receivers who were not of the best quality to begin with. Reps were wasted on Tarvaris Jackson, and with Wilson in the mix, those people who dislike Flynn (for seemingly petty reasons), readily found rationales to grovel in a most unseemly way over Wilson. We can speculate upon the reasons, but I have little doubt that while fans are mesmerized by the “flash,” and his initial numbers, local commentators seem to be smitten with his personality and his big hands. But one cannot escape the aroma of politics in all of this; Alex Marvez of Fox Sports called Russell a “feel good story” about a short man who can, although there were probably other variables in play as well. Flynn, who was the only white quarterback in camp on a team that is 80 percent black, only had one or two people in the local sports media who were unequivocal in their belief that Flynn had paid his dues and should have the opportunity to start (none on the ESPN affiliate). As I mentioned before, the Seahawk players who were interviewed on the radio were much less effusive in their praise of Flynn than they were of Wilson; this may have played a role in the how the whole saga played-out on the field and in the minds of the coaches. Maybe Carroll chose the guy who simply “fits in” best given the present state of the team.
The fact is few people here really wanted to see Flynn succeed; many who expected that he would be the day one starter were tepid in their support, and quickly threw off their clothes when Wilson was announced as starter (Warren Moon was the only commentator who seemed to go completely off popular sentiment by backing T-Jack). The way Carroll played the game, it was obvious who would benefit from a three-way splitting of the reps: The guy who took more chances against preseason defensive play and had a habit of running when there no was game-planning for it. One can only conjecture that Carroll knows that the skill positions (on least on the receiving end) on this team are so woeful that he needs a quarterback with “flash” to make-up for its deficiencies. He doesn’t want to trust a quarterback who is just “steady.” At least these are reasons one can “understand,” if not fully comprehend. Only time will tell if acting on ecstasy and emotion was the right call.
Oh, and by the way, Danny O’Brien Of Wisconsin put-up Russell Wilson-like numbers, 19-23 for 219 yards and 2 TDs over the weekend. Déjà vu for Badger fans?
No comments:
Post a Comment