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Flynn Closing The Gap For No. 2 Quarterback Job
by Tom Fanning, Packers.com
posted 08/14/2008
Brian Brohm will once again be the second quarterback to enter the game again this week when the Packers travel to San Francisco, but fellow rookie Matt Flynn's strong play of late has put him in position to compete for the backup quarterback job behind Aaron Rodgers.
Even though Brohm was a second-round pick and Flynn was selected in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft, Head Coach Mike McCarthy said Flynn is in the mix for the No. 2 job.
"I think Matt's definitely closing the gap, there's no doubt about it," McCarthy said. "I think he's really been pushing Brian here probably about the last eight to 10 days.
"I think Matt is getting more comfortable. Brian was more comfortable quicker in the earlier part as far as the OTAs, understanding what we're doing. I think they're both good young prospects."
Neither player put up numbers that jumped off the stat sheet on Monday night, but McCarthy said both Brohm and Flynn showed some signs of progress.
"Just looking at their grades, they did a number of positive things in the game," McCarthy said. "They did not have winning performances is the way we look at it, and it's just a number of things we need to clean up.
"I've said it time and time again; (those) guys need to play. We knew this was going to take probably the full preseason to get those two guys ready, and we feel like we're on course to get that done."
Flynn entered Monday night's game with a 5:27 to go in the third quarter and played five series, and finished the night 12-of-21 for 97 yards and a touchdown.
With the Packers trailing 20-10 with a little over six minutes remaining in the game, Flynn led the offense on a 12-play, 62-yard drive that was capped off with an 11-yard touchdown pass to running back Kregg Lumpkin.
Flynn's debut included some rough moments, beginning with a sack on his very first play, which he said could have been avoided.
"The things that always stick out in my mind are mistakes," Flynn said. "I could have made a couple of adjustments on protections. That would have helped out and not got me sacked on the first play. Just the little things, reads, being quicker with decisions and things like that."
Despite entering camp as the third quarterback as a late-round pick, Flynn said his focus has remained on getting better each practice and learning the offense.
"I really don't assume anything," Flynn said. "I came in here and I didn't really know what the situation was going to be or what it's going to be like at the end of camp. It's one of those things that I am going to go out and play as hard as I can and just let the coaches do their job.
"I look at it like I have an opportunity to come in here and learn how to play the game, learn from some great coaches, learn from Aaron, and do the best I can and take advantage of the opportunity."
McCarthy said earlier during camp that Brohm has picked up the mental aspect of the game better than any other young quarterback that he has worked with, but against the Bengals, Brohm wasn't able to put any points on the board Monday night in his five series directing the offense.
Brohm's evening got off to an inauspicious start as well, as he threw an interception on his very first play on as pass intended for wide receiver James Jones. He finished the night 8-of-17 for 70 yards, but did make a nice throw at the end of the first half when he hooked up with fellow rookie Jordy Nelson for a 22-yard gain.
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"Overall I felt like I did a pretty good job of just the mechanics of the offense, getting in and out of the huddle," Brohm said after the game on Monday night. "Most of the time I felt like I went to the right place with the ball. Obviously there were a few times where I made mistakes and went to the wrong place, forced one in there on the first play."
McCarthy said the quarterback rotation will remain the same at San Francisco on Saturday night, and that as of now the number of repetitions that Brohm and Flynn will each receive will stay the same as well.
"We've kept them the same, as far as going through the installation phase," McCarthy said. "Brian took the reps of the No. 2 and Matt took the reps of the No. 3. Based on the period, 3-2-1 is the ratio, sometimes it was 4-2-1 as far as the starter. Now, once we got into this in-season schedule, they split the opponent reps, and Brian is still getting a little more work than Matt."
On Wednesday, General Manager Ted Thompson said even though it is unusual to have two rookies backing up the starter at quarterback, the team is pleased with the tandem's development up to this point.
"I don't know if you drew it up like this is the way you would do it, but this is the way it is," Thompson said. "We like our two young guys, and we think they are on a steady path here. Quite frankly, our coaching staff likes working with them, so we feel pretty good."
Despite the inexperience at the position, Thompson added that the team won't close the door on the possibility of bringing in a veteran at the position, but that it isn't more of a priority than any other spot on the roster.
"We're always looking at every position because things happen in football," Thompson said. "So we're not not looking at them, but it's no more specific than at any other position that we have." |
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