Backup quarterback prepares as if hell play
[img_r]http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/packer/img/news/sep08/sflynn0930.jpg[/img_r]Green Bay - No matter what happens this week, 23-year-old rookie Matt Flynn must anticipate that he will play Sunday for the Green Bay Packers against Atlanta.
Even if starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers recovers in time to start the game, there is always the risk that his strained throwing shoulder will make him ineffective or unable to go for four quarters.
Cue Flynn. Never mind that nearly everyone has a hand poised over the panic button if No. 10 happens to get into the game.
Maybe because of all those years he was the No. 2 quarterback at Louisiana State, Flynn doesn't seem worked up about his possible role Sunday.
"It's a funny business," Flynn said with a shrug and a detached look, as if he was just asked whether he prefers navy or plaid curtains. "You never know what position you're going to be in or what's going to happen."
On Monday the Packers did their best to convince everyone - maybe including themselves - that they'll be all right with Flynn. Offensive coordinator Joe Philbin clicked off a power point-worthy presentation of Flynn's attributes: He has seized his opportunity. He has shown steady improvement. He has developed a good understanding of the system. He has shown good leadership ability.
Add one more: He's calm, cool and so far unaffected.
"I prepare every week as if I am going to be playing, so there's really not going to be much change," Flynn said.
Flynn partook in about 20% of the practice snaps last week before the Tampa Bay game, Philbin estimated, but the coaches said they planned to prepare Flynn to start Sunday as much as Rodgers, and the practice time will reflect that. Flynn simply must get more work with the starting unit.
"If you're looking to start a rookie quarterback in the National Football League, you'd need a bunch of work," Philbin said. "We have to be prepared. We can't have any excuses when we go out on the field."
It seems the offense wants to rally around Flynn as much as it does Rodgers. Both Philbin and quarterbacks coach Tom Clements said Flynn had built a rapport with the receivers, unusual for a player so new.
"Maybe his leadership, he seems to have a little chemistry with some guys," Philbin said. "Nothing seemed to be too big for him. He didn't seem to be intimidated by anything and obviously he's played in some big games himself and so I think those are some of the traits we observed that impressed us as a staff."
It is well known that Flynn led LSU to a national championship victory last season but in 2005, as a backup, he jumped into the Southeastern Conference championship game when JaMarcus Russell hurt his shoulder and wrist. Flynn threw a touchdown pass in the second half against Georgia in the Tigers' lopsided loss.
Flynn was then named the offensive MVP of the Peach Bowl as the fill-in quarterback by passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns and running 39 yards for another score against Miami.
But for three years he always challenged, and then always backed up, Russell. It might have helped him prepare for his role of backup to Rodgers.
"I've spent a couple years in college being a backup so I understand what the role is and knowing that you have to be prepared at all times," Flynn said. "You have to prepare yourself as best you can if something does happen so that you don't let there be a drop-off at the position."
It probably doesn't hurt that Flynn came from a national champion and college powerhouse. It earned him respect for maybe a week.
"The players are aware of the other players' history in college," Clements said. "But what matters is what you do in practice and in games when you get to the NFL."
Or as Philbin said, "It's the what-have-you-done-lately thing."
First, the coaches noticed that Flynn didn't get rattled easily. For instance, when it looked as if Brett Favre was rejoining the team for the Family Night scrimmage in early August, Flynn looked to be the odd man out behind Rodgers and Brian Brohm.
"I wasn't concerned about that," he insisted. "If I was concerned about getting cut or making the team or who was coming and who was going, how well could I have performed in practice if I'm worried about that? I have been through a lot of trials through my career and I've grown mentally tough over the years and I've turned my back on the things you kind of don't want to hear.
"When I came to camp I just wanted to improve each day and each week. I felt like I picked it up well. I felt like I had a couple of games where I made some decent plays. I felt like I progressed in a short period of time."
Flynn's unflappable style and hard-charging exhibition performances propelled him past the polished and game-ready Brohm. It's not every day you see a seventh-round draft pick bypass a second-round pick in a high profile position in a few short weeks. But the coaches chose Flynn over Brohm, knowing full well that the day might come that they would have to replace an injured Rodgers with one of the rookies.
Now that there's a slight possibility it might actually happen, Flynn has passed the first test. Meaning, he has said all the right things.
"I'm just going to prepare a lot, watch a lot of film, and do whatever the team asks me to do to get ready on Sunday," Flynn said. "I'm just going to (take) the reps they allow me to get and try to get as much out of them as I can. I'm a very confident person. You know I'm always going to have confidence."
If Clements is concerned, he didn't show it or say it.
"By the end of the week, if he has to play, he'll have to know what the game plan is. First and foremost, you have to know what the game plan is," Clements said. "The next part is executing. You have to go out there and make good decisions."