SI MMQB comment on Matt Flynn

by Peter King:

My current problem with quarterback-prospecting …

… revolves around Matt Flynn. I look at Oakland, where Flynn was shipped in the offseason, and I see the Raiders floundering at the position after cutting bait with him nearly three months ago. I see the Bills, who did the same after a short trial with Flynn when E.J. Manuel was down. And I say: You’re telling me Matt Flynn couldn’t have helped either team, either playing or by providing depth? I say this after watching the Packers for the past month, because Matt Flynn saved their season. Matt Flynn made the return of Aaron Rodgers Sunday in Chicago relevant. Without Flynn, Scott Tolzien would have given it the ol’ Badger try … and failed.

There isn’t a team right now in the NFL that wants to hand Matt Flynn the reins to run the team for the next five years. Understood. But the cavalier treatment of him, particularly in a quarterback-needy place like Oakland, troubles me. When I was in training camp with the Raiders, I remember GM Reggie McKenzie telling me Flynn wasn’t the most gifted athlete with the biggest cannon, but he was smart, confident and the right guy to lead the Raiders in a time of transition. Boom. Ten weeks later he’s on the street.

Finally back in his comfort zone, Green Bay, Flynn orchestrated a tie and two wins in his five games. He was good, not great. But I would submit that if you watched Flynn in the second half of the Minnesota tie and the two wins (Dallas and Atlanta), you’d see a quarterback who belongs on the roster of a good team, and starting for some teams. After trailing Minnesota (20-7), Atlanta (21-10) and Dallas (26-3) early in the third quarter, Flynn led Green Bay to 65 points in the three second halves and put up these numbers:

Completions/Attempts Completion % Yards Yards per Attempt Touchdowns Interceptions Rating
42-68 67.6 526 7.74 6 0 120.1

Bottom line: If you know what Flynn is as a quarterback—and former Packer exec McKenzie did know what he was—why be impatient with him? Especially when the realistic goal of the Raiders this year should have been to get the quarterback right for the future. Based on the last month, Oakland has zero idea who its quarterback is for 2014.