Peter King on Matt Flynn

[TeamoftheCentury]

Flynn is not good....most of you wayyyyyyyy overvalue him.

He would be valuable as a necessary backup QB on the Seahawks roster if he cannot be traded. So, do you think that JS and PC overvalued him last year? Remember the importance of the position. There are QB needy teams and this year's draft isn't chalk full of great QB's. Flynn is a veteran with some experience who has sat behind some pretty great QB's. His 2 game body of work wasn't too shabby and he looked fine last year in Pre-Season for the Seahawks. RW simply beat him out.

 

[ImTheScientist]

Flynn is not good....most of you wayyyyyyyy overvalue him.

He would be valuable as a necessary backup QB on the Seahawks roster if he cannot be traded. So, do you think that JS and PC overvalued him last year? Remember the importance of the position. There are QB needy teams and this year's draft isn't chalk full of great QB's. Flynn is a veteran with some experience who has sat behind some pretty great QB's. His 2 game body of work wasn't too shabby and he looked fine last year in Pre-Season for the Seahawks. RW simply beat him out.

They had to pay market value to take a look at him. They took a look and now realize he isn't worth what they are paying.....that is why he will be released. He is a career backup...I think he has 15 starts in the last 10 years college and pros combined.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Flynn is not good....most of you wayyyyyyyy overvalue him.

He would be valuable as a necessary backup QB on the Seahawks roster if he cannot be traded. So, do you think that JS and PC overvalued him last year? Remember the importance of the position. There are QB needy teams and this year's draft isn't chalk full of great QB's. Flynn is a veteran with some experience who has sat behind some pretty great QB's. His 2 game body of work wasn't too shabby and he looked fine last year in Pre-Season for the Seahawks. RW simply beat him out.

They had to pay market value to take a look at him. They took a look and now realize he isn't worth what they are paying.....that is why he will be released. He is a career backup...I think he has 15 starts in the last 10 years college and pros combined.

Yes, they did choose to pay market value. Beyond that... all that you say couldn't have been determined in the time he was given. They didn't even know RW would be as good as he is in that amount of time. Unless you have something more to validate what you're selling... I'm not buying it and I doubt many others are either. Not saying that he won't be released... but, your reasoning wouldn't be it. It would be more money related, if anything. But, I doubt the Hawks are going to put themselves in a position BEFORE the draft to have just one QB on the roster. It's always said that teams need 2 good QB's. This year's crop isn't exactly exciting anyone - so, a team in a position to do some damage next year isn't going to put themselves into a position of no QB depth.

 

[Hawkfan77]

He is a career backup...I think he has 15 starts in the last 10 years college and pros combined.

Huh? What does the number of his starts have to do with anything?

 

[chris98251]

Flynn didn't lose the starter job as much as Wilson flat out took and ran with it, additionally Flynn had tendinitis in his elbow which greatly effected his throwing ability. This is all well documented and supported by the coaches, they never said Flynn was less then they thought he was, more like Wilson was more then they expected.

I will add this as well, Flynns elbow problems came from over working it trying to secure the position off season and in camp. Yes this is my opinion but having had injuries of the same nature I know how they happen. Trying to battle through it just makes it worse no matter what they give you that tendon is still inflammed and swollen for a while.

So all the talk about not good enough with me doesn't hold water, it is more of Wilson being much more then we or the front office thought he could be so quickly.

I remember the first pre season games and stated in the forums, Wilson has the IT factor, you could see it.

 

[scutterhawk]

Who would like they like as much as Wilson? He's a once in a generation QB. I'd love to hear a name instead of fantasy. And the only "legit people" that matter reside in the Seahawks front office. And it's ok to apply a common sense model and not have to be persuaded by the media. I don't need Peter King to dictate my thoughts.

Well, the Seahawks almost certainly didn't see Wilson as a 'once in a generation' type QB last year otherwise they wouldn't have waited until round three to draft him. It's very easy for any of us to sit here and say Schneider and Carroll forecast Wilson to be the sensation he's been. The reality is probably more that they simply liked him a ton and took him in a round where they believed he was good value with a shot to be an eventual starter.

Credit where credit's due for having the foresight to draft him, and even more credit for turning him into what he became... but Schneider admitted this week that while he liked Wilson, he didn't expect what we saw in 2012. It worked out better than I'm sure anyone expected.

There's every chance there's a quarterback out there that they like a lot within this class too. Enough to grade him in a similar, if not exact fashion to Wilson. I could give you names, like Sean Renfree, Colby Cameron and Matt Scott, and you could ask 'who are these guys'? Well they're pretty good, mobile quarterbacks who could run a similar playbook to Wilson. Renfree and Cameron in particular have starter potential. And they might be there in round four or five. There are other QB's who if they fall to a certain level (Manuel, Bray, Wilson) that you'd simply have to consider. The way Tyler Bray threw today, I'd be hard pushed to pass on him in round three the same way New England struggled to pass on Ryan Mallett. Either way, there's a chance that Schneider and Carroll feel that they can get another good young QB on this roster. And they won't necessarily have to like them exactly as much as Wilson, but they could have a grade high enough that they believe it's worth the pick and that they can be a backup early like Kirk Cousins.

So going this route isn't so ridiculous. More and more rookies start these days, and we're just talking about being an early backup.

And nobody is saying you need Peter King to 'dictate your thoughts'. His opinion though, dare I say, is more qualified than yours or mine. He's the one going to U2 gigs with John Schneider after all. I could see a trade, him staying or him being cut. This is an option, though.

Yeah, Quarterbacks like Wilson are all over the Nation :roll: You really, really, REALLY believe that?

 

[drdiags]

Nothing these guys do would surprise me anymore. I could see them selecting a QB in the mid-rounds of the draft, sign a minimum salary vet and cutting Matt loose after the draft. I cannot see them doing anything other than trading him prior to the draft. They don't need to. His guarantees are not activated by some drop dead date so no time pressure on them to do anything besides waiting out the market.

Schefter was echoing the same message a few months ago and got the same reaction from the fans so none of the feedback in this thread is unexpected. It is interesting that Smith may already have a new home but I can understand that, since good or bad, Smith has an extensive track record as a starter. He can serve nicely as a bridge QB. Not sure where Flynn would be headed without his current contract going away.

 

[Scottemojo]

If the cap rollover continues next year, cutting Flynn if there is no trade is a no brainer. Every dollar we don't spend this year is a dollar for extending guys who deserve new deals.

 

[gmor]

Makes no sense to release him. Pete's had one too many lattes.

It does if you don't want your starter earning peanuts for the next few years while the backup earns $7.25m.


That's football economics. It would be a good time to get a good QB prospect in to compete for playing time. Unless there's a great deal out there for Flynn, I would carry him at least one more year.

 

[FlyingGreg]

If the cap rollover continues next year, cutting Flynn if there is no trade is a no brainer. Every dollar we don't spend this year is a dollar for extending guys who deserve new deals.

I wouldn't say it's a no brainer. The most important aspect is still WHO we would plug into the #2 spot, not the salary cap.

You wouldn't want to jeopardize the potential success of the team to save a little cap space. But I guess that goes to the other discussion point - could we still win it all without Wilson?

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

If the cap rollover continues next year, cutting Flynn if there is no trade is a no brainer. Every dollar we don't spend this year is a dollar for extending guys who deserve new deals.

I wouldn't say it's a no brainer. The most important aspect is still WHO we would plug into the #2 spot, not the salary cap.

You wouldn't want to jeopardize the potential success of the team to save a little cap space. But I guess that goes to the other discussion point - could we still win it all without Wilson?

I agree. Backup QB is under-valued... until you need him.

 

[FlyingGreg]

Makes no sense to release him. Pete's had one too many lattes.

It does if you don't want your starter earning peanuts for the next few years while the backup earns $7.25m.

That's football economics. It would be a good time to get a good QB prospect in to compete for playing time. Unless there's a great deal out there for Flynn, I would carry him at least one more year.

You really think this front office truly cares about that? I don't.

Again, it's not about economics - it's about what happens if Wilson gets hurt. Would you rather have Matt Flynn in place or a "good QB prospect", which by the way doesn't describe many players in this draft?

And then you just made my point for me -- "unless there's a great deal out there for Flynn". That's where I am at with this - I'd rather trade him for something if possible and not just outright release him when we don't "have to".

But again, I'd love to know who the #2 is going to be before I even walk down that road.

 

[Scottemojo]

If the cap rollover continues next year, cutting Flynn if there is no trade is a no brainer. Every dollar we don't spend this year is a dollar for extending guys who deserve new deals.

I wouldn't say it's a no brainer. The most important aspect is still WHO we would plug into the #2 spot, not the salary cap.

You wouldn't want to jeopardize the potential success of the team to save a little cap space. But I guess that goes to the other discussion point - could we still win it all without Wilson?

Maybe I should be more clear. If the millions that would go to the backup QB are the difference between extending Kam, Sherm, Tate, and whatever other free agents/guys eligible for extensions after we roll over that money into 2014, what is your decision then?

FWIW, I am not fair to Flynn and will not be fair to him, as I think he is a below average QB and would not have signed him to begin with.

 

[GCrow]

Maybe I should be more clear. If the millions that would go to the backup QB are the difference between extending Kam, Sherm, Tate, and whatever other free agents/guys eligible for extensions after we roll over that money into 2014, what is your decision then?

This is really what it comes down to, IMO. Thats also before the fact that there are plenty of free agent QB's who'll sign for 800K to 1M a year and i'm confident can produce on the same level as Flynn next season.

 

[volsunghawk]

If Alex Smith has proven that he can't get to the SB with the most complete team in the NFL around him why would any other team think Smith can win with them? Flynn has a higher ceiling because he could very well be better than Smith. In other words Flynn hasn't proved that he can't.

Yah, I don't get why Alex Smith is being viewed, if he is, as a better option than Matt Flynn.

I think it's primarily because Smith has proven himself to be a better option than Flynn, HHF's post notwithstanding.

Smith wasn't the reason the 49ers didn't make the SB in 2011 (at least not the biggest reason). And he was playing very good ball for the first half of 2012. Look at the 49ers record when he was in. Look at his performances. In other words, he's proven he can play and win games for a team in the right system - which is more than what Flynn has proven. With Smith, you know you have a game manager who can be super efficient for you. With Flynn, you don't know what you have, frankly. He could be great. He could be average. He could be Alex Smith 2.0. He could be turnover prone. He could even be awful. When I say that Smith has proven himself to be a better option, it's not because Flynn has proven to be worse... it's that Flynn hasn't proven himself to be anything.

In the end, yes, Smith has a lot of negative stuff on his resume, but a lot of teams are going to look at how many OCs he had and how many coaching changes the 49ers went through, and they're going to put a lot of that negativity on the instability of the organization and the growing pains of a young QB. They'll see that when the 49ers became more stable, Smith performed much better. That, plus the fact that he has vastly greater experience than Flynn, is what is going to make him a more attractive target to pretty much every club in the league.

 

[sutz]

Haven't we had this discussion already?

I hate the offseason.

:229031_shrug:

 

[Missing_Clink]

I think one way or another he will be gone. Unfortunately I doubt the market will be there for a trade because of his salary. The Hawks now know that he is not worth that same salary to hold a clipboard for him, so ultimately I think they cut him if they cannot trade him.

I also wouldn't rule out him getting more pissy about being a backup, and I'm sure the team wants to avoid that. I agree with the sentiment that a lot of people really overvalue him. He seems to be a good player who will stay one of the best backups in the league. But right now he is overpaid.

 

[mikeak]

1) You can now rollover dollars that you are under the cap so don't ignore the fact that spending money this year is a bad thing even if we don't need the money this year

2) I don't see any way we cut Flynn. The saving isn't worth the RISK of not knowing who we get in as a backup

3) If we can't trade Flynn the team will likely still draft one or even two qb's in 3rd round and beyond and work them as backups and hope one of them is good enough to be the backup in 2014 and then cut Flynn

4) RW is the future that can't be argued. But the redskins were very smart last year and got two good / great qb's and you need a backup that can play on the bench. There aren't many of them available and it is a big spin the wheel game if you hit with a guy. I know people think I am crazy but I am all for trading Flynn cheap - heck a 7th rounder gets the money off the books, picking up Vince Young for this year (not RW but can play in the same system) and then using a 3rd rounder or somewhere there for a backup.

With all that said -- we have gotten some great players in later rounds. Keeping Flynn on the roster gives JS and PC the opportunity to draft some other future star with the 3rd / 4th round pick. That is why I don't think they cut Flynn. If you think there is a starting WR in the 3rd round isn't it better to pay him peanuts and keep Flynn over the option of picking a qb there saving peanuts (for 2013) and NOT get the WR that could have started?..........

 

[HUGGY]

Maybe he comes to a place of understanding that he really does not have the skills to start with a team that has any chance at a Super Bowl victory with him starting. I mean HELLO???? He isn't stupid. So he resigns himself to be a back up...He knows he is getting paid too much to be the back up at Seattle. BUT...he has seen Wilson up close and personal and maybe...just maybe he believes holding a clipboard for Russell Wilson he just might get himself a ring. I'm guessing he does the SMART thing and re-negotiates his contract to a reasonable level and the problem is solved.

 

[Shadowhawk]

If they do release Flynn I don't see it happening any time soon. Carroll and Schneider aren't going to cut him loose without a capable backup in place. My guess is the Hawks will draft a QB and maybe sign a free agent and if they can bring somebody into camp who looks like they can be a reliable backup, Flynn will be traded for whatever the Hawks can get for him like Tarvaris Jackson was, or simply cut.