This blog is getting a lot of attention among general NFL fans right now so I was curious what folks on here think:

http://www.hawkblogger.com/2013/04/the- ... nn-in.html

Just being honest here, that article is way too long and Flynn is no longer a Seahawk, never really had any effect on the Seahawks, so I dont care nearly enough to read it.

Flynn came to Seattle and got beat out by a great QB. End of discussion, in my opinion.

Hawkblogger has an opinion and seems as though he had some off-channel communication access probably through Flynn's sister or maybe Flynn himself. He is strongly opinionated about how to make decisions regarding personnel, strategy etc. He has no problem voicing his opinion, though sometimes it comes across as if his opinion is fact. We have guys that do the same, so I chalk it up to writing style.

I have seen him play both sides of the Wilson starting issue, while his pal Softy could barely mask his Flynn preference, even after Wilson turned things around in the second half.

He is passionate about his writing and his beliefs. Doesn't hurt to have another point of view and a blogger who tries to use his metrics consistently.

As far as the article itself in relationship to Flynn, I don't agree with his statement that the Seahawks dealt with Flynn in a unfair/dishonest way.

The simple story that will be told is that a high-priced free agent was beaten out by an upstart rookie. There is certainly some truth to that simplicity. I see a hard luck player that partially misread the situation he was entering, and was partially misled about what he was being brought in to do. He was the guy the front office expected to win the starting job, but was never the guy they wanted to win it. He was a player that handled devastating professional news privately, and without incident.

Nice article though. He did his best to capture the tale but a lot of personal feelings got into the article since he obviously likes Flynn and feels he didn't get a fair shake.

Eh, I skimmed it, but there seems to quite a bit of pure speculation, hearsay and over-dramatization of the early season "QB controversy." For example, he says that Tate had "thrown in his lot with Wilson" because his girlfriend had become friends with Ashton. OK, really? Later he mentions the locker room being "unsettled." Says who?

And then there's five paragraphs on how one Terrell Owens drop somehow sabotaged a "near perfect game" from Matt Flynn and cost him everything.

The whole article feels like it has an agenda behind it.

Hawkblogger?

No thanks.

Hawk blogger was on Flynns jock last year. Huge wilson hater (until he started kicking ass). Really turned me off from his stuff the way he wrote pieces about Flynn then, this is really no different. Dislike.

Agree with Jseahawks overall. Hawkblogger could have just tweeted: Flynn was and is irrelevant #seahawks. Done.

What? Dennis Ericksen was cheated by God? me drastic too

Spell checker has misquoted me.

DavidSeven wrote:Eh, I skimmed it, but there seems to quite a bit of pure speculation, hearsay and over-dramatization of the early season "QB controversy." For example, he says that Tate had "thrown in his lot with Wilson" because his girlfriend had become friends with Ashton. OK, really? Later he mentions the locker room being "unsettled." Says who?

And then there's five paragraphs on how one Terrell Owens drop somehow sabotaged a "near perfect game" from Matt Flynn and cost him everything.

The whole article feels like it has an agenda behind it.

To be fair, that TO TD drop was pretty huge. Flynn had played well and been on the mark, but without that TD it was easier to see the guy as a game manager while seeing RW as someone who could threaten downfield.

Although I remember Pete saying at the time that he scored that as a TD for Flynn anyhow.

As to whether Pete and Schneid misled Flynn, that's bull doodoo. I'm sure they did tell Flynn they wanted him to be their guy, but on the other hand there is no way Carroll did not say (probably several times and in rapid-fire ADD style) that it's all about competition. I think Flynn understood that.

And hey, the idea that Pete and Schneid were always pulling for RW because he was "their guy"...yeah okay sure, he was "their guy" like Portis and Whitehurst were "their guys". And Pete had no issues consigning Whitehurst to the dumpster almost from the very start when he saw the cat could not play. Whether it was Wilson or Flynn, finding the guy to take them furthest was going to reflect well on them either way. I think Pete did what Pete has always done here, stared at what he saw in practice and went with the guy he thought had "it".

HB saying it was the wrong decision...well I can't agree with that. There were many who thought it was a gamble, heck, put me in that category, and I remember saying to myself gee whiz starting Flynn is a win-win situation. RW gets a year on the bench, and if Flynn doesn't light it up then everyone will be on board with starting RW next year.

Well after the way it turned out I pretty much kneel before Pete's omniscience, and HB should be doing the same, rather than saying it's still a bad decision even if it turns out right. If Pete made a good decision that turned out like a disaster he'd own that mess, so he gets the credit if he bets it all on red and hits.

Wilson flashed his potential at the front office like a flirtatious woman flips her hair.

Really??? First Hugh Millen calls Wilson a "teacher's pet" for working so hard, and now this chump calls him a "flirt" for having a good first preseason game? I have never seen two people treat a player who is doing his job with such spite before.

The whole article falls apart around the third preseason game. All we hear about it is how the decision to start Wilson would affect Flynn, how the writer "knew the message this would send to Flynn," etc. You know what we don't hear about at all in this blog post? FLYNN'S ELBOW INJURY. As in, the reason why he didn't play in the third preseason game? It's not mentioned once. Even if Hawkblogger doesn't believe that Flynn was injured, why not mention it? He clearly had no evidence that Carroll faked or at least exaggerated the problem with Flynn's elbow or he would have said so. The only logical conclusion is that he knew the fact that Flynn was injured would damage the narrative he was trying to create that the front office never wanted Flynn to start in the first place, and so he left it out entirely.

Once again, Hawkblogger is trying to present the truth as he sees it about what happened to Matt Flynn last preseason, yet he ignores one of the most crucial facts concerning the decision to start Wilson against Kansas City, a fact that happens to cast doubt on what he was trying to prove. As far as I'm concerned that destroys his credibility.

"The Unauthorized Story Of Matt Flynn In Seattle" is nothing more than the pedantic ramblings of a self-important blogger who doesn't have the sack to man up and admit that he was wrong.

I love how he leaves out the whole swollen elbow or injured elbow with Flynn, it definately played a role.

Wilson -->EARNED<-- the starting job in a FAIR COMPETITION.
Now I like the hell out of Flynn, but Wilsons' numbers for the Season are astounding, and in fact, he's arguably one of the best Quarterbacks in the League, giving credence to Petes decision to making him the starter last Year.
I'm happy for Flynn, and that he's back in the mix to be a starter for another team, and I do wish him success in Oakland.
It's time for HB to be honest about his problem with accepting the TRUTH about the whole Wilson/Flynn matter.
I was one of those that thought that Wilson would have benefited from studying from the sidelines, but I was guilty of selling him short(no pun intended) and it's further proof that Pete and his Coaching staff are in the position to see things with a whole lot more clarity and insight, than any of us dreamer fans are.
LET'S ROCK!, GO SEAHAWKS!

Excellent article. Thanks for posting that up.

SalishHawkFan wrote:Excellent article. Thanks for posting that up.

Yeah I thought it a pretty excellent read too. Even if the source is not 100% trustworthy the pieces do fit extremely well.

He is entitled to his opinion. Like it or not, it's as good as anyone else's.
It's just an opinion, One I don't happen to share and from the sound of
most posts, neither does the majority.

Shoot, the guy is just doing what any of you would demand. The right to
make his view heard. If he sounds biased (and he does), all editorial
views are usually slanted to try to persuade the reader.

His problem is that most of his readers, at least the Seahawk fans, know
as much about the quarterback selection process as he does. This despite
his claim to insider knowledge. I mean, for cryin' out loud, we watch the
games too.

What also works against him is that this management's style is to be pretty
candid. Pete and Jon don't indulge too much in fooling the fan base.

can't believe I read Flynn's life story and his elbow injury isn't even mentioned. If I remember right, the league even looked into the situation because they require coaches to list injuries weekly, and Flynn's injury was not.

as others have said, biased, irrelevant, and full of underlying bitterness towards Wilson. When Wilson wins a Superbowl, I suspect the author will have wrote himself out of Seahawk relevance.

Hawkblogger was enough of a Flynn apologist last year that he predicted on July 31st that Flynn would win, then said "Know better" to anyone else who was tempted to think otherwise. It was a safe prediction and followed the expected narrative, but he was remarkably John Morgan-like in his self-assuredness, and in the waffling and equivocations that ensued when the expected narrative bit him in the butt.

Two things that turn me off to a sportswriter, especially an amateur: smarminess and the inability to admit you're wrong.

I don't read Hawkblogger anymore, though I generally support him. I always thought he was a little nuts on the whole Flynn/Wilson topic though. From the very start. He acted (and still acts) like Flynn's status as having the starter reps was some kind of deal breaker. If that was the case, why even hold a QB competition in the first place? Why not just name Flynn the starter in March? The very fact that Carroll was holding an earnest QB competition at all should have tipped Hawkblogger off to the idea that starter reps are not as big a deal as he made them out to be.

Even if it was a big deal, which it wasn't (obviously), it's kind of a moot point anyway since Wilson had essentially as many practice reps with the starters anyway. That he played 3 games with backups isn't the big deal he made it out to be.

We are all wrong about things from time to time. I wouldn't compare Hawkblogger to John Morgan in anyway except one: both proved to be sore losers. Hawkblogger seems like a completely decent person and a solid writer with a lot of in-person charisma. He handled the Flynn/Wilson situation basically as bad as he could have, and didn't take the chance for a gracefully exit from the issue.

Omitting Flynn's injury makes this piece worthless. There is plenty of room for different opinions, but when you fail to include a critical part of the story because it does not fit with your opinion that should trigger alarm bells for readers.

What a waste of everyone's time. Might as well have Matt Flynn's grandmother write such a piece.

Does anyone remember when "Hawkblogger" lost his mind on twitter when he found out prior to the public, that Russell Wilson was going to start the 3rd preseason game in Kansas City? I don't remember exactly what it was that he said. But his vague freak out caused a ridiculously long thread where people speculated that Doug Baldwin had been traded. Speculation that made it back to Baldwin, himself. All because an arrogant internet blogger who hitched his wagon so hard to Flynn, couldn't believe the other guy was allowed to start a preseason game.

And yes, I called him arrogant. Because he is. Total know-it-all. A blogger who's contacts and friends allowed him to get way more attention than he deserves. If he wasn't pals with Softy, not nearly as many people would know who he was. I met him in Toronto at our meet up before the Bills game. Even though I was never a fan of his writing and stopped paying attention to him online, I figured he might be a cool dude. Sat and talked Hawks with him and 2 other Hawks fans. The guy acted as if it was our honor to be able to discuss the team with him. Whenever someone would say something he disagreed with, he was very dismissive. And just like his writing, when he spoke, it was definitive. I could tell right away. Like I said, I hadn't read the guy in ages. Figured like anyone, he had to by that point in the season be a Wilson fan. When introducing myself, I jokingly said, "Glad you finally came around on Wilson." Figured it would get a chuckle. That like most people, he'd find his preseason stance humorous in retrospect. NOPE. Dude didn't even pretend to laugh. Just sat there annoyed.

Speaking of annoyed. I'm annoyed I just wrote all of that about someone who's articles I won't bother reading. Sorry. But that dude is a joke. There's such better "Hawkbloggers" out there, as well as on this very site. Really can't stand cronyism.

I was surprised he went down memory lane with that subject. I think he must have gotten a sea cock stuck in his ear last week, or maybe his son hacked his blog.

Can't wait for the thesis on Charly Martin's rise and fall.

Matt Flynn is a complete irrelevance. A guy who got paid millions to do absolutely nothing. I wouldn't read a short blurb on his time in Seattle, let alone a complete run down from someone who spent weeks last year castigating the decision to start Russell Wilson.

I read it. I even promised myself to be fair.

HB loves to drop credentials. He wants you to know how close he is to the team. It's a way of making his opinion more important than yours. the post is filled with unnamed sources.

listing WAGS being a reason Wilson got the job and completely ignoring the elbow injury is hilariously bad and self protective journ crap.. HB has always thought the elbow was bullshit and Pete was using it conveniently to get his way. At the same time, calling the coach a liar in your expose could affect what little access to the team you currently have.

Funny, he says Lockette got exposed as a pretender by Terrell Owens, but can't see that when Flynn declined to match Wilson's work ethic, the same happened to him.

This was an awful piece of journo crap where HB gets to say he was still right, vaguely alluding that we would have won another game (and been division champ) if Flynn had started the season. Revisionist crap.

Scottemojo wrote:I read it. I even promised myself to be fair.

HB loves to drop credentials. He wants you to know how close he is to the team. It's a way of making his opinion more important than yours. the post is filled with unnamed sources.

listing WAGS being a reason Wilson got the job and completely ignoring the elbow injury is hilariously bad and self protective journ crap.. HB has always thought the elbow was bullshit and Pete was using it conveniently to get his way. At the same time, calling the coach a liar in your expose could affect what little access to the team you currently have.

Funny, he says Lockette got exposed as a pretender by Terrell Owens, but can't see that when Flynn declined to match Wilson's work ethic, the same happened to him.

This was an awful piece of journo crap where HB gets to say he was still right, vaguely alluding that we would have won another game (and been division champ) if Flynn had started the season. Revisionist crap.

Exactly my sentiment. There were people giving him mad props on twitter for that piece, but they really don't have a critical enough eye. I hit him with quite a few counterpoints which fell on deaf ears. The dude is thin-skinned and obsessed with being 'right'

Well that was an interesting read. Of course the subplot of machismo and stubbornness was the best part. It'll be very interesting to see how well Flynn does in Oakland. If he shines at all, HB will crow he's validated. If he doesn't, HB's already set himself up with the "Flynn didn't have any great weapons in Oakland" excuse. Of course, everybody thought our receivers were the weak point going into last year, for what it's worth.

Tate's gf is friends with Wilson's wife. Wow. That must of been the true gamechanger because it's the only fact in the article I didn't know before.

Scottemojo wrote:I read it. I even promised myself to be fair.

HB loves to drop credentials. He wants you to know how close he is to the team. It's a way of making his opinion more important than yours. the post is filled with unnamed sources.

listing WAGS being a reason Wilson got the job and completely ignoring the elbow injury is hilariously bad and self protective journ crap.. HB has always thought the elbow was bullshit and Pete was using it conveniently to get his way. At the same time, calling the coach a liar in your expose could affect what little access to the team you currently have.

Funny, he says Lockette got exposed as a pretender by Terrell Owens, but can't see that when Flynn declined to match Wilson's work ethic, the same happened to him.

This was an awful piece of journo crap where HB gets to say he was still right, vaguely alluding that we would have won another game (and been division champ) if Flynn had started the season. Revisionist crap.

Yep. For a piece that is supposedly the story of Matt Flynn there's an awful lot of "I, I, I" in there. "I heard this." "I react vociferously," etc. He might as well have called it The Unauthorized Story of How I Was Really Right All Along.

As for Flynn, he really doesn't do him any favors when he says things like this:

Wilson was showing up first to the VMAC and leaving last. His now famous work ethic was in full effect. Flynn was a veteran that did not need the same level of study time that Wilson did, but the juxtaposition over the course of training camp was making an impression, and not a good one for Flynn. There was almost a sense that Flynn felt matching Wilson's hours would reduce his standing as a veteran.

Really? Let's put aside the author's assumption that Flynn "didn't need" to put in the same amount of work that Wilson did. If he really thought that working as hard as a rookie would "reduce his standing" with the team, then that's not a guy that deserves to win a starting job in the first place. If I were a coach I would want somebody like Wilson who busts his butt every day to earn a job, not somebody who feels that kind of effort is somehow beneath him. For Flynn's sake, I hope that was nothing more than conjecture on Hawkblogger's part.

I skimmed over it. A little too Cloak and Dagger. It is self serving article. Even if it is true, they gambled on the right horse and won. The how and why are irrelevant to me at this point.

Shadowhawk wrote:

Scottemojo wrote:I read it. I even promised myself to be fair.

HB loves to drop credentials. He wants you to know how close he is to the team. It's a way of making his opinion more important than yours. the post is filled with unnamed sources.

listing WAGS being a reason Wilson got the job and completely ignoring the elbow injury is hilariously bad and self protective journ crap.. HB has always thought the elbow was bullshit and Pete was using it conveniently to get his way. At the same time, calling the coach a liar in your expose could affect what little access to the team you currently have.

Funny, he says Lockette got exposed as a pretender by Terrell Owens, but can't see that when Flynn declined to match Wilson's work ethic, the same happened to him.

This was an awful piece of journo crap where HB gets to say he was still right, vaguely alluding that we would have won another game (and been division champ) if Flynn had started the season. Revisionist crap.

Yep. For a piece that is supposedly the story of Matt Flynn there's an awful lot of "I, I, I" in there. "I heard this." "I react vociferously," etc. He might as well have called it The Unauthorized Story of How I Was Really Right All Along.

As for Flynn, he really doesn't do him any favors when he says things like this:

Wilson was showing up first to the VMAC and leaving last. His now famous work ethic was in full effect. Flynn was a veteran that did not need the same level of study time that Wilson did, but the juxtaposition over the course of training camp was making an impression, and not a good one for Flynn. There was almost a sense that Flynn felt matching Wilson's hours would reduce his standing as a veteran.

Really? Let's put aside the author's assumption that Flynn "didn't need" to put in the same amount of work that Wilson did. If he really thought that working as hard as a rookie would "reduce his standing" with the team, then that's not a guy that deserves to win a starting job in the first place. If I were a coach I would want somebody like Wilson who busts his butt every day to earn a job, not somebody who feels that kind of effort is somehow beneath him. For Flynn's sake, I hope that was nothing more than conjecture on Hawkblogger's part.

Wow...never read HB too much but do follow him on Twitter. That quote is ridiculous. The best players in any sport, no matter how long they've been playing, put in the most time in the gym, on the field, in the video room, etc. You don't ever just come to a point where you don't have to really work anymore, because as has been shown by all the freak athletes, it takes a lot of preparation to be elite. And for someone fighting for a starting job to feel he doesn't have to work as hard as the rook, according to HB, that vet deserves to ride the pine if any of that is true.

That blog is nothing but a one-sided version of what I read here for the past year....

Flynn didn't come in and work hard because it would have undermined him as a veteran...

1) He was a veteran backup
2) He should have been working hard BEFORE RW entered the building.....

Flynn could maybe have win more games

Yes but if RW doesn't get the beginning if the season he isn't as good in the end

Special players make their coach look good.

Yes BUT good / great coaches recognize who those players will be and let them become allstars....

Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken. Didn't Pete say after signing Flynn that Matt understood he was coming into Seattle to compete for the starting job? And that was before the draft, when John and Pete didn't know for certain whether they'd be successful acquiring Wilson. I believe Matt even said that he was there to compete. It was only ever a foregone conclusion to the media and some fans that Flynn would start.

Always compete.

sc85sis wrote:Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken. Didn't Pete say after signing Flynn that Matt understood he was coming into Seattle to compete for the starting job? And that was before the draft, when John and Pete didn't know for certain whether they'd be successful acquiring Wilson. I believe Matt even said that he was there to compete. It was only ever a foregone conclusion to the media and some fans that Flynn would start.

Always compete.

You're right. It was said multiple times. Flynn also said it multiple times. I remember because I was pulling for Flynn as much as any Seahawk because we really, really needed a starting QB. The whole 'maybe he didn't understand truly what that meant' is kind of an insult to Flynn. If he didn't grasp something that was heavily emphasized around the program and to him than that's his own fault.

The post was full of a lot of wandering words and veiled excuses as to what happened. The funniest part to me is that it can be explained with the simplest answer. Flynn got beat out. Period. End of story. It wasn't unfair. There were no favorites. And when you look at it that way there is absolutely no reason to knock Flynn. I like Flynn, I hope he's successful for the Raiders. I think he gave us a years good service and is mutually being moved on to help both the team and him.

Shadowhawk wrote:pedantic

I love that word. So descriptive, so concise. So appropriate.

Based on the title and the build up I was expecting to see new, inside information. Instead, it was a regurgitation of randoms musings that have been floating around forever.

Author eludes to inside knowledge but his points seem based on speculation that any one of us could have surmised based on publicly available info.

I suppose its a decent timeline of events for someone who isn't familiar with the situation, but thats about it.

I remember seahawks.com filmed almost every single training camp session and put it online... I watched everyone single one and always thought wilson looked the best when they showed qb drills. I was also a huge kjr listener at this time and they never mentioned wilson at all and just said that he was no good. Also another thing at this time was that there was a rep count for the qbs and Flynn almost always had the most reps. Saying Flynn didn't have a fair chance is a bunch of BS.

Complicating matters was the emergence of the Owens story. Seattle brought in Owens to challenge for the split end position opposite Sidney Rice. He had shown glimpses of his past talents in practice and had proved his purpose by exposing Ricardo Lockette as a pretender. Lockette had flashed early in training camp, but faded immediately upon arrival of Owens. This was not a player who would rise to a challenge, but a man who would acquiesce when confronted. Golden Tate had thrown his lot in with Wilson at this point. His girlfriend had made fast friends with Ashton Wilson, and Tate's ability to high point a ball had made him a trusted target of Wilson.

T.O.'s purpose was to expose Ricardo Lockette as a pretender? What the hell? T.O.'s purpose was to see if T.O. could play football. Lockette got hurt part way through camp and didn't seem to progress after that. And then the part about Golden throwing in his lot with Wilson partially because their significant others were friends? Way to go twitter sleuth.

And he goes and blames T.O. for sabotaging Flynn? Does he think that Carroll couldn't see he threw a TD and T.O. dropped it? Does he still think Carroll picks his starters based on preseason stats alone or something?

A coaching staff and front office that knew their legacy would be defined by the decision they made at quarterback chose to put their weight behind the player they had targeted for more than a year.

Here's the fixed version.
A coaching staff and front office that knew their legacy would be defined by the decision they made at quarterback chose to put their weight behind the player they thought would be best for winning a superbowl.

Pure Bile!

Hey All,

Just wanted to thank you for reading, even if you disagree. To be honest, this was the reaction I expected to see when writing the article. Most people on the web have come to believe I am a Flynn apologist, and some even believe I am a converted Russell Wilson hater. I am neither, but can understand where the casual reader of my blog or twitter account would have come to those conclusions. In any event, I appreciate your opinions, even where I strongly disagree with them.

My beliefs and predictions are out there for the world (albeit a small world) to see, so I am very accustomed to being wrong in public. I was 100% wrong on the Flynn prediction, but the story for me will always be the aspects and people surrounding that decision.

Take care, and Go Hawks!
Brian

MontanaHawk05 wrote:Hawkblogger was enough of a Flynn apologist last year that he predicted on July 31st that Flynn would win, then said "Know better" to anyone else who was tempted to think otherwise. It was a safe prediction and followed the expected narrative, but he was remarkably John Morgan-like in his self-assuredness, and in the waffling and equivocations that ensued when the expected narrative bit him in the butt.

Two things that turn me off to a sportswriter, especially an amateur: smarminess and the inability to admit you're wrong.

Montana wins.
There were plenty who verbalised they thought flynn would win. Heck plenty of us on here thought and said the same stuff.
Albeit he lost. Say "i was wrong" and move on.

It's just an opinion but with Flynn's elbow injury and how terrible our offensive line was in the first half of the season, especially on the right side, I doubt Flynn would have been better that Wilson last season, I don't think there is any way you could convince me otherwise. You play to win the game and they chose the best guy last season and for the future.

I don't really know much about 'hawk blogger', is there some reason there is so much venom towards him/her? Maybe I'm naive I just don't know.

I read the article and I don't really have an opinion one way or the other on it. It's another story from someone with above average yet still limited access, which isn't uncommon in the age of blogs. And considering the quality level and motivation of even 'legitimate' credentialed journalists these days I don't really find any grievous offenses. Just another blog?

It is an excellent read because it is well-written and gives a unique perspective that does not pretend to be proven facts. Most Internet news stories these days churn out facts in quick time, often with poor grammar and no creativity. When opinion creeps into those pieces it is more insidious. This blog is written in an older style that is more full-bodied in thought, taking tenuous connections and facts to try to point to something that cannot be proven. Compare it to opinion pieces in printed newspapers a couple decades ago, and it would be similar. You just need to keep perspective when you read pieces like this, and take them how they are meant.