Was it really worth it to let Matt Flynn go?

[Forget Favre]

Put this one in the "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" files.

Things aren't going the way it should have for Matt Flynn. From here he goes on to Seattle only to get the shaft there.
If we had kept him then perhaps he would have done better than Graham Harrell at the goal line and we would have had more breathing space against the Taints.
But a lot of fans on here were ready and OK with letting Flynn go. (I wasn't.)
What did we get in return?
Was it worth it?

 

[ivo610]

We never had the option to keep him

 

[weeds]

This is very true. It wasn't the Packers' decision. It was Matt Flynn's decision. The guy wanted the opportunity to start AND/OR turn some coin ... it would be a ridiculous effort in futility to frame it up any other way. He didn't get screwed in Seattle, in my opinion only ... he got out-played. Truthfully, as I watched Russell Wilson last year, not just on the field, but off the field as well, I felt that young man had the intelligence to actually carve a long career out in the NFL despite his perceived "short comings".

Believe me though....Flynn immediately popped into my mind when I saw Harrell step into the huddle ... well, equal parts Flynn and TJ Rubley popped into my mind when I saw Harrell step up into the huddle and up to the line...

 

[FrankRizzo]

We never had the option to keep him

correct. /thread

 

[SpartaChris]

We never had the option to keep him

Yup. No further discussion on this topic is required.

 

[HardRightEdge]

We did have an option, just not a practical option.

SEA is paying him $6.5 mil per year over 3 years, which could go to $8.2 mil with escalators. That's far too much for a backup to a relatively young franchise QB. And we would have had to pay more than SEA, maybe much more, to have Flynn forgo a chance to start.

I would not write him off in SEA quite yet. Wilson is hardly burning up the track...dead last in passing yards, second to last in yards per attempt, 4 TD / 4 INT...or should we say 3 and 5.

 

[FrankRizzo]

I would not write him off in SEA quite yet. Wilson is hardly burning up the track...dead last in passing yards, second to last in yards per attempt, 4 TD / 4 INT...or should we say 3 and 5.

Yes we sure should, and we do.

 

[LAG]

So, we should have paid him more than Rodgers to stay as a back-up?

Ah, no.

 

[SpartaChris]

We did have an option, just not a practical option.

Which means we had no option.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Which means we had no option.

Just maybe, there might be a difference.

 

[jaybadger82]

Things aren't going the way it should have for Matt Flynn. From here he goes on to Seattle only to get the shaft there.

Signing a big contract and receiving a good opportunity to start is not getting "the shaft." -Matt only has himself to blame for getting beat out. He might get another look in Seattle, though.

 

[longtimefan]

Signing a big contract and receiving a good opportunity to start is not getting "the shaft." -Matt only has himself to blame for getting beat out. He might get another look in Seattle, though.

Exactly...

To not get the shaft he should been able to beat out a ROOKIE

 

[ivo610]

Exactly...

To not get the shaft he should been able to beat out a ROOKIE

Matt doesn't get beat. He decides the finish.

 

[El Guapo]

Put this one in the "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda" files.

Things aren't going the way it should have for Matt Flynn. From here he goes on to Seattle only to get the shaft there.
If we had kept him then perhaps he would have done better than Graham Harrell at the goal line and we would have had more breathing space against the Taints.
But a lot of fans on here were ready and OK with letting Flynn go. (I wasn't.)
What did we get in return?
Was it worth it?

Where do I start.

First - Harrel did not trip at the goal line. Saturday got walked backwards by his opponent and tripped Harrel. Watch the replay. Flynn, Rodgers, and The Green Lantern all would have tripped. Credit Harrel for almost making the play. The one point you could make is that he should have recognized the trip and tucked the ball in for a sack.

Second - as pointed out Flynn was not let go. He left in free agency. For the money he was projected to get, whom should we forgone? Like him or not, I'd rather have Jermichael Finley instead of paying that money to the backup QB. I'm pretty sure that TT was also looking ahead to needing to sign Greg Jennings, Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, and a few others this coming off-season.

Third - was what worth it? Letting a backup the rarely saw the field leave in free agency for big money. Uhhhh, yeah. Since 1992 and through the MM era, the Packers have an incredible history of developing backup QBs. Why in the world would you pay big money for a backup?

 

[Shawnsta3]

Matt Flynn does not "lose" the competition for the starting job as you mortals seem to think. Matt only puts himself in a better position to claim the starting job halfway through the year and play hero.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Looks like Flynn will be starting this week.

 

[El Guapo]

I watched Pryor play and was sad to see him get injured. However, I was more excited that Flynn was going to get a chance to prove his worth. The Raiders have some talented players so this should be a fair opportunity to prove that he can be a starter

 

[PackFanNChiTown]

Hope things go well for him but doubt they will. Hard to prove one's self as a QB when you're stuck playing for the Raiders.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I watched Pryor play and was sad to see him get injured. However, I was more excited that Flynn was going to get a chance to prove his worth. The Raiders have some talented players so this should be a fair opportunity to prove that he can be a starter

The habit of losing is a very strong undertow. I'd like to see Flynn do well, but it's a big mountain to climb. In any case, he's a gamer with some field presence which would seem to be right kind of guy for a very tough job...we'll see if he's up up to it.

 

[JBlood]

I remember a story in Seattle that Flynn wasn't as "dedicated" as Wilson. Now he again gets beat out in Oakland. And why wasn't Philbin interested in him in Miami? I wonder if there's off-field issues here?

 

[Vltrophy]

Hope things go well for him but doubt they will. Hard to prove one's self as a QB when you're stuck playing for the Raiders.

Flynn doesn't have the rec core in Oakland that he had here

 

[HardRightEdge]

The habit of losing is a very strong undertow. I'd like to see Flynn do well, but it's a big mountain to climb. In any case, he's a gamer with some field presence which would seem to be right kind of guy for a very tough job...we'll see if he's up up to it.

The story I heard was Flynn showed up to OTAs without having studied the playbook and immediately went to the dog house. Who knows why he didn't study up? He could have been enjoying his signing bonus. He could be one of those guys who learn by doing...that's likely more the rule than the exception in the NFL...translating practice work to the X's and O's rather than the other way around. Wilson, on the other hand, is highly fluent at the grease board from all accounts which gave him the edge on a "win now" team.

I haven't heard the story from Oakland. Perhaps they figured they needed a guy who could run for his life. Reggie McKenzie had plenty of direct experience with him in GB before bringing him to Oakland, so it's difficult to figure.

In any event, his Oakland debut should be interesting.

 

[jaybadger82]

Building on HRE's comments, few players are as "dedicated" as Wilson going back to his time at Wisconsin. Not sure in what context the observation about Wilson's dedication was made but I'm inclined to take that more as a comment on Wilson's extraordinary work ethic than a suggestion that Flynn has some sort of serious off-field issues. He probably just fell behind Wilson in terms of knowing the playbook and the terminology.

IMO, Flynn may just not be as talented as many here would like to think. Seems like many have evaluated his talent on the basis of a single game (v. Lions), where he played with a strong supporting cast against a rather porous defense.

Oakland is a pretty busted franchise right (lots of dead cap space/little talent) and that makes it a tough place for Flynn to show his quality. Nonetheless, what I saw in the preseason looked really bad. The fact that it took a Pryor injury for Flynn to get another shot as a starter is telling. I just think he's probably an NFL backup.

I hope he flashes something, though. He gets a nice match up in Washington.

 

[HardRightEdge]

My view even before the Detroit game was that Flynn's maximum upside was as a Matt Hasselbeck-type player. Similar arms, similar styles. He'd need a better supporting cast to even begin to make that case; their dead cap money is huge and it will take some time to get out from under Al Davis' legacy.

In any event, he'll have to play well to keep the job.

 

[PackFanNChiTown]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/30/dennis-allen-matt-flynn-didnt-play-well/