Century Link Field, Seattle WA

Century Link Field, Seattle WA

Friday, April 5, 2013

End Of An Era. Matt Flynn traded. Now what?

(Disclaimer:  I haven't written since.... well you can see the date of my last post.  THAT long.  I will not be held responsible for any rustiness, poor pacing, or just plain crappy writing that is about to follow.  Read at your own risk)

So we traded our backup quarterback.

The one who had one great game and made everyone in Seattle believe he was the next Tom Brady, or Earl Morrall or Kurt Warner... or whatever.

Seahawk fans every are freaking out.

We need to find some sort of All-Pro backup. 

If we don't,  disaster is certain to strike.

Everyone.... just..... chill.

At the time Flynn was signed I was like everyone else; hopeful that he could be the kind of solid, young-ish starting QB we needed to solidify the position for at least a few years.

(In fact, I called it well in advance. 

Matt Flynn, we hardly knew ya.
Best-case scenario was that he would end up being a Pro Bowler. He looked good enough in the preseason; efficient, technically sound, good decision maker.  But once it became obvious that Russell Wilson was a breakout star-in-the-making, Flynn's fate was sealed.  He was never going to be anything more than a backup with us. 

This is where it gets murky.  So much of how we perceive professional athletes is wrapped up in their compensation.  A backup point guard who wasn't drafted, gets a chance to play when the starter gets hurt, and averages 15 pts and 6 assists a game is valuable.  Solid.  A steal even.  But if that same player was a lottery pick and put up 15 & 6 he would invariably be labled a bust. And it wouldn't take long.

If Matt Flynn had come to us on a 2 year deal for 5 or 6 million bucks (backup money), this would have all been very neat and clean, and most fans would have seen it for what it really was.  But because he was paid starter money (or at least potential starter money), everyone's view of him changed.  And oh that one game!  Nevermind that it was against a Lions secondary that was donkey crap, when you throw for 6 TD's and 480 yard you raise a lot of eyebrows. 

And expectations.

And that's where it all went wrong, at least in the eyes of a great deal of less-than informed, simple-minded "fans."  Oh, if I had a dollar for every time I saw in my Twitter timeline: "How can we trade Flynn?  He's going to be elite.  He PROVED it in that ONE game!"
So....... I'd have some dollars.  But that's not really where it all went awry.  After all, Russell Wilson was so good that most fans see now it was the right move handing over the reigns to him as a rookie.  The ones that don't... well, they probably can't read this anyway.  But the real disconnect has shown itself in two ways since Flynn was dealt to the Raiders for two late-round draft picks last week.

  1. How could we give him away for so little?  He's worth SO much more! I mean, Alex Smith got a SECOND ROUNDER!!!!!
  2. What are we going to do now for a backup QB?  All the good ones are signed.  We're doomed!

Allow me to take these one by one..... slowly.

  1. Matt Flynn only fetched a 6th round pick because that's what he was worth.  How is worth determined?  By the buying public.  YOU might think Matt Flynn was worth a 2nd round pick because had had that AWESOME game, but the rest of the league was either not interested in him, or only interested in him at that price.  What should that tell you?
  2. Great QB's don't grow on trees.  We know that here as well as any other NFL city right?  But solid backup QB's do.  The reports of the Seahawks liking Tyler Thigpen as RW's understudy are out there, and so is the fan reaction.  Most of you seem to think it's a horrible idea, seemingly because Thigpen "sucks."  Go watch some tape on him, look at his numbers, spend 5 minutes doing some actual research (I hear this thing called Google is a good place to look).   He's got some skills, has proven he can make plays, and has a skill set that matches what the Hawks are looking for in our offense.  And then there's the draft.  I think John Schneider and Pete Carroll have shown us they have great eyes for talent yes?  We go into this draft armed with a bunch of extra mid/late round picks.  We can find another solid QB talent.
Tyler Thigpen
And stop with the Josh Portis love.  Please.  He's not the answer, not even if the question is "Can he be passable as a backup?"

I know we live in a society now that's ruled by social media and a thirst for instant answers/analysis/solutions, but the overreaction to each and every move, or even rumor, is beyond annoying.  I want to offer you my final thoughts as a favor to you, to ease your mind.  Call it free therapy, if you will.


Matt Scott please
Look for the Hawks to sign a veteran AND draft a QB AND sign at least one other (vet or UDFA)before camp. If news breaks tomorrow that we've signed Thigpen, or Matt Leinhart, or Vince Young, take a deep breath.  It doesn't mean they believe he is THE guy to lead us in the event Wilson should get hurt.  It means they like his skill set and want to give him a chance to compete for that right.  Nothing more.

Besides... Wilson isn't going to get hurt. He's other-wordly.  An android possibly.

And if that isn't enough to appease you, maybe this well help.  Remember how freaked out we all were about our starting QB situation from 2010-2012?  All that panic and debate is now raging around who our BACKUP is. 

Think about that for a minute.

Go Hawks.



2 comments:

  1. Flynn was an insurance policy for a championship contending team. Insurance that if our starter was out for an extended time that just maybe we would be alright. Having complete faith in our FA I'm sure they did the right thing. But personally having risked everything most of my life, at 54 I'm starting to really like insurance.My hope now is that instead of giving the job to a proven loser, they draft a kid like Matt Flynn.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am more worried about Lynch getting hurt this year than Wilson. Lynch plays hurt al the time. He eventually will get hurt and have to miss some time. There is a 3rd RB spot open now with the departure of Washington. I see Seattle drafting a QB and a RB

    ReplyDelete