There is a quarterback controversy in Green Bay all of a sudden. Backup QB Matt Flynn had the game of his life on Sunday against Detroit and now Mike McCarthy has 2 weeks to figure out who to start in the playoffs.
Sort of.
Quick, when was the last time you saw someone make somewhere between $25 – 50 million dollars in one game? If you tuned in to watch Green Bay’s Matt Flynn against the Detroit Lions in the NFL regular season finale then you can say that you saw it. Flynn’s transcendent performance in the walk year of his contract has set his stock at an all-time high as he passed for and set Packer team records in the process an incredible 480 yards and 6 TD’s. No one – not Starr, not Dickey, not Favre, not even Aaron Rodgers – can lay claim to that.
With nothing left to play for except the best regular season ever posted by a Packers team Rodgers sat this one out, his MVP securely in his pocket, and Flynn started and tore the Lions up, apart and in every direction and every sense of the word. In a game the Lions played with their playoff roster intact how disheartening was it to lose to Flynn and the rest of the Packers knowing that a huge number of key players didn’t even dress? Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews, Greg Jennings, James Starks, Randall Cobb were among those who got paid to watch in awe as Flynn had a career day.
As Flynn heads to an off season in search of a new contract the long list of potential suitors just became longer, and the price has gone through the roof for his services. It can be safely said that Flynn is now the hottest ticket not currently starting in the NFL, and that includes Andrew Luck and Robert Griffiths. Drafted in the 7th round as an afterthought after leading LSU to a national championship Flynn was supposed to compete for the 4th spot on the depth chart as ‘can’t miss’ QB Brian Brohm was taken in the 2nd. But Brohm burned out quickly while Flynn’s flame grew every year. Flynn got his first step in the spotlight last season against New England when Rodgers was out with a concussion, and now he has emerged as the next backup big deal in the QB driven NFL. Matt Cassell turned his role as Tom Brady’s second banana into a full time gig in Kansas City and now Flynn will demand a king’s ransom.
In this meaningless to Green Bay play it out game Head Coach Mike McCarthy wisely decided to not tempt fate and planked Rodgers along with many other stalwarts upon whom he will depend to defend the Pack’s title. LT Chad Clifton made and early appearance and exit getting roughly 25 snaps in before heading off to the showers. Cliffy was very rusty as to be expected on the opening drive but showed the quick improvement of a vet who simply needs the work. His return will be huge in keeping Rodgers’ jersey clean.
The same can be said for rookie Randall Cobb. With him the Packers have an explosive return game. Without him the kick returners had the air of a ‘Perils of Pauline’ Saturday afternoon cliffhanger thriller that all end badly. Pat Lee played himself onto the team with a monster preseason game against KC and may well have played himself off the team by butchering the opening kick about as badly as it could be done. Jordy Nelson had his own “Oooops!” moment on a punt when he played hot potato on a fair catch, and the special teams were able to file for federal disaster relief after this game.
But on the upside 2nd year man DE Mike Neal looked much better against the Lions. He maintained a push and was able to collapse the Lions line several times, and the Pack was able to come away with 2 sacks against the Lions #1 unit. LB’s D.J. Smith and Vic So’Oto also looked promising, and Smith continues to resemble a young Sam Mills. His high motor offsets his overall lack of height and size and he could push a few regulars come next season.
The overall pass defense was underwhelming as QB Matthew Stafford threw for 502 yards and 5 TD’s of his own. If your scoring at home that’s almost 1,000 yards and 11 TD’s thru the air for both teams – in one game. No wonder it didn’t end until close to 5pm EST. Any longer and the CBA would have been invoking its curfew clause on the game. Jarrett Bush still makes both the spectacular play and makes the easy play look hard. After being beaten badly on both inside and outside moves Bush still managed to pick off Stafford as well as Charlie Peprah.
One of the most satisfying and refreshing elements to this game was to see the return of the screen pass and Ryan Grant’s brilliant snag of a 6 yard Flynn toss that ended 80 yards later in a TD complete with a 15 yard snow angel penalty. Flynn has obviously benefitted from spending so much time with Rodgers. Jordy Nelson had another monster game and has ably manned the shop in Jennings absence posting 9 grabs, 162 yards and 3 TD’s. Even Mr. Packer Donald Driver got into the act when he yanked down a trademark slant that Flynn audibled into when he picked up a weak side blitz package. Driver’s Lambeau Leap was concluded with a salute to the fans. Was Donald actually bidding adieu? Now that he owns most Packers receiving records and a Super Bowl ring, as he approaches 37 years young if Driver is choosing this moment to say ‘thank you’ to the fans, he will be going out on top, as he should be.
If this game was meaningless to GB imagine Lions Coach Jim Schwartz, whose head looked ready to explode off his shoulders when an apparent TD to Titus Young was ruled incomplete and under the rules Schwartz had already used his challenges and was unable to challenge what appeared to be a Lion score. Things got worse when LB Eric Walden caused a fumble – maybe – on a downed Lion but there was no conclusive video evidence to overturn the call. Those sticklers at the NFL office have turned the rule book into semantics and legalese that are causing poor Jim Schwartz many grey hairs and sleepless nights, and leaving NFL refs’ ears lacerated with his constant screaming.
More disturbing to Schwartz and the Detroit brass has to be the fact that the Lions lost this game to the Green Bay (Almost) Packers. This wasn’t the first squad. Yeah, some of the All-Pros were out there… but not all the big dogs. The fact is the Lions have to be shaking their heads as they limp in Na’wlins for their first playoff game of the new millennium against the equally high octane Saints and Drew Brees. While the Lions can toast their success this year it is certain to be a short lived party.
But Matt Flynn was the story of this game. He sprayed the ball all over the field, used his back and WR’s and TE’s much like Rodgers. The most telling of all was after Flynn hit TE Jermichael Finley on a Rodgers-esque tight jump slant in the end zone to cap off a game winning drive the happiest man for Flynn on the bench was none other than Aaron Rodgers, whose look of “Are you kidding me????” was all the validation Flynn needed for him to know he is a huge part of the Packer machine that is geared up and steaming towards another playoff.
So what will the Packers do? Allow Flynn to leave for nothing in free agency? Can they afford two NFL starters? Slap the franchise tag on him and make a deal for him with a team desperate for a starter? No doubt these days it is good to be Matt Flynn, and next year, after he inks his huge long term deal, he’ll be smiling all the way to the bank. If Flynn leaves Green Bay he will leave with a heavy heart as he loves the Packers and has been quite vocal in his desire to not leave. But the business side of the NFL harkens and Flynn will not be able to ignore the windfall. Until he leaves, he will cause a quarterback controversy in Green Bay.
Sort of.
NEXT EDITION:The Predictions
No comments:
Post a Comment