Green Bay The anticipation for the upcoming season is already building. Fans sense great potential in Green Bay. The Packers have the talent to go far.
That is until quarterback Aaron Rodgers goes down with an injury. The season and all the high expectations will go right down the tubes.
Right?
That's a common feeling among Packers fans after watching Rodgers lead the offense last season with 4,434 passing yards, 30 touchdowns and just seven interceptions.
But that conclusion makes backup Matt Flynn smile.
Or, is that a bit of a smirk? Is that . . . any reaction really?
"Oh, no," said Flynn. "Sometimes people get frustrated with me because I am so laid back, and I don't really get affected by things."
He shrugged. "I'm OK with it because I know, and hopefully my teammates know, that if I had to go in, we'd be all right."
All right? Flynn has completed 9 of 17 pass attempts for 64 yards in two years. How can he be so confident, filling in for Rodgers for a game, or more?
"Aw, I've kind of been through that already," said Flynn. "When I was at LSU, I kind of heard things from a lot of people, and I just never really listened to it. I know myself and I know my confidence."
Flynn played college football at Louisiana State and had to wait behind not one, but two eventual NFL draft picks before he could get his turn at starting quarterback: Matt Mauck, who was taken in the seventh round of the 2004 draft by Denver, and JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1-overall pick by Oakland in the 2007 NFL draft.
Flynn waited three seasons in all, and when he finally got his shot, he helped lead the Tigers to the 2007 BCS National Championship with a 38-24 victory against No. 1 Ohio State.
He was the offensive most valuable player after completing 19 of 27 passes for 174 yards, including four touchdown passes.
Flynn was 12-2 as a starter. With just that one year as starter, he still put up 3,096 passing yards with 31 touchdowns.
That was enough for Packers general manager Ted Thompson to take Flynn in the seventh round in 2008, the same draft Thompson took Brian Brohm in the second round.
But when Flynn got here, he looked more like a seventh-round chance than a national champ.
"I will never forget when he first came here," said offensive coordinator Joe Philbin. "I'm usually watching the offense as they're coming at me. And I'm watching him throw and thinking, 'Holy smokes, there's some ducks coming out there.' "
But Flynn benefited from Green Bay's off-season work so much that he surpassed Brohm and became the No. 2 quarterback behind Rodgers last season.
"Fundamentally, there's a lot of growth," said Philbin. "The guy is throwing the ball pretty well. He's doing some good things. I'm excited about the way he's developed."
But so far, Flynn's role in Green Bay on game day has been reduced to just holding on field goals - something he also did at LSU. He played a quarter against Seattle last season and completed 4 of 6 passes for 36 yards.
Remember when Matt Hasselbeck couldn't get much time, not even in practice, behind Brett Favre in Green Bay?
Flynn might be facing a similar issue. Rodgers, who enters his sixth season, only has two seasons of actual game experience.
But Flynn has been at all the off-season workouts. Philbin said the coaches are adding new wrinkles to the offense this summer, and Rodgers is the first priority to master those before Flynn can get in his work.
Flynn will have to work with whatever he can get. This off-season, he threw to other pros and college players back at LSU.
"Just trying to get my arm strength up," said Flynn. "I wasn't trying to fine-tune anything because that's what quarterbacks school is for.
Despite his lack of game experience, the coaches feel more confident in Flynn after watching him improve.
"Our comfort level is a little better than it was 12 month ago," said Philbin. "We still feel better even though there's not a lot of evidence on tape."