The day vs Detroit Flynn was great, I said on this board that he just got PAID! Glad it won't be by us.
As free agency loomed, I was uber confident Flynn would not be a Hawk. He did not fit the Pete profile, very mobile, strong arm. Of course, neither did Manning, and Pete and John were willing to entertain that idea. Still, I was confident that the two games Flynn had on record, which I pored over play by play, showed a QB with an extremely limited arm, OK speed, and the most damning thing, a QB who struggled from under center in play action. Seeing as play action was a vital part of our identity, I was sure they would not sign him.
So they signed him. I was crestfallen. Not about being wrong, that happens to me all the time, but I felt the gun would have to be a big part of our game now, which would rob our tough run identity.
But they didn't change the offense. Which even with TJ was run first, take big shots. Flynn could not do it. Flynn could distribute the ball short just fine. Gaudy completion percentages for not much yards and field goals in pre-season. All the electricity of a dead battery, both on and off the field.
Off the field, a reporter from Milwaukee claimed that the gulf between Pete and Flynn began when he celebrated his signing with the Hawks by taking a vacation. It was immediate, Pete has one eyebrow up on Flynn from day one because a competitor would have been in his new offense, just learning as much as he can, contacting his new teammates, arranging a throw session, going where they were if he had to just to get to know them a bit. Unfortunately for Flynn, by May a competitor was in his new offense. Making him look terrible, not because he is, but because Wilson is Pete's soul mate. Positive energy, cliched single game,single play, single moment focus is shared by these two. Flynn is self described as not a rah rah guy. Even in saying that, he was saying he didn't buy into Pete's schtick. Pete NEEDS a guy who buys into his schtick.
Competition broke Flynn. Here, and in Oakland. He may have never been a fit, but it was competition that broke Flynn.