Matt Flynn - "best backup in the league"

[Patler]

Not my comment, or even the Packers, but a scout from another team!

Interesting perspective on Flynn:

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/100407939.html

[Scott Campbell]

I was just reading that article. Amazing. Especially the part about what he'd fetch in trade compensation.

[Fred's Slacks]

I was very suprised when reading this. Didn't think other teams looked so fondly at Flynn. Hope he has a good showing this weekend. He should get lots of reps.

[RashanGary]

I'm not surprised the Packers are excited about Flynn. I've known that for a while. I've even made comments that if the Packers are right about Flynn, we'll be OK for a 4 or 6 game span without Rodgers. Flynn could win half or more of those games.

I listen to every press conference and although my mind isn't completely open (sometimes I miss things I should have picked up on due to not having an open enough mind), there are a lot of subtle things I pick up on that maybe the average fanatic even doesn't really have a feel for .

The stuff from other teams is shocking. Everyone let him go, almost undrafted, now he's barely played and he's supposed to be the, "best backup in the league". That's weird. Only thing I can think of is the area scout is out there talking to his friends saying, hey, Flynn's really turning into something special and other scouts that liked him happen to be the guys McGinn is talking too. . . Strange that they'd feel that good about him with little to no NFL information.

[get louder at lambeau]

The stuff from other teams is shocking. Everyone let him go, almost undrafted, now he's barely played and he's supposed to be the, "best backup in the league". That's weird. Only thing I can think of is the area scout is out there talking to his friends saying, hey, Flynn's really turning into something special and other scouts that liked him happen to be the guys McGinn is talking too. . . Strange that they'd feel that good about him with little to no NFL information.

From what the one scout said, it sounds like the main question with Flynn at draft time was arm strength. If he has improved significantly in that area, that may have erased the only major flaw in his game from a scouting perspective. That's all I can think.

That and he has shown a lot of leadership skills for a backup since he's been here. That goes a long way towards success.

[Smidgeon]

It also didn't sound as if the scouts weren't high on him before. One said he just couldn't convince the GM to draft the guy.

[ThunderDan]

I think I am going to bring up the anti-Partial here. Partial use to bring up links and articles saying that ARod was the 12th best QB in the league by unknown scouts.

I say the same thing here. Who are these people? Who do they work for? I'll let Flynn's play on the field speak for itself. That being said, I sure hope that these unknown experts are correct.

[mraynrand]

If your starter goes out and you desperately need to lose a game, Sage Rosenfels is the man for you.

[Lurker64]

I think I am going to bring up the anti-Partial here. Partial use to bring up links and articles saying that ARod was the 12th best QB in the league by unknown scouts.

I say the same thing here. Who are these people? Who do they work for? I'll let Flynn's play on the field speak for itself. That being said, I sure hope that these unknown experts are correct.

Probably just a regional scout or a former one. Every NFL team (except the Bengals) employs a gaggle of regional scouts whose job it is to keep tabs on all of the prospects in their region. When it comes time to prepare for the draft, each regional scout will have their own favorite players and the players they like much less than the consensus on them is. They'll work out these arguments over the course of a month or two around the time of the combine, and the regional scouts are at the very bottom of the totem poll when it comes to player evaluation. They're really just there to provide raw data to the real decision makers.

So it's really only a little more than "a guy has an opinion". These people are considered good enough judges of talent to have a job evaluating players, but they're not the best of the best or they'd have jobs higher up the ladder; some of these guys will work their way up the ladder but it's impossible to tell who's a future GM and who's doing to be replaced soon.

[SkinBasket]

Basically two unnamed sources claimed to have liked the guy in the last couple years. Not too much to get excited about.

[Patler]

I think I am going to bring up the anti-Partial here. Partial use to bring up links and articles saying that ARod was the 12th best QB in the league by unknown scouts.

I say the same thing here. Who are these people? Who do they work for? I'll let Flynn's play on the field speak for itself. That being said, I sure hope that these unknown experts are correct.

Probably just a regional scout or a former one. Every NFL team (except the Bengals) employs a gaggle of regional scouts whose job it is to keep tabs on all of the prospects in their region. When it comes time to prepare for the draft, each regional scout will have their own favorite players and the players they like much less than the consensus on them is. They'll work out these arguments over the course of a month or two around the time of the combine, and the regional scouts are at the very bottom of the totem poll when it comes to player evaluation. They're really just there to provide raw data to the real decision makers.

So it's really only a little more than "a guy has an opinion". These people are considered good enough judges of talent to have a job evaluating players, but they're not the best of the best or they'd have jobs higher up the ladder; some of these guys will work their way up the ladder but it's impossible to tell who's a future GM and who's doing to be replaced soon.

I'm not so sure that one of the lower level regional scouts would be identified by McGinn as "an executive in personnel for an NFL club". Seems more likely to be an individual a little higher up the food chain.

Not that it means much. Last year there were still guys on Brian Brohm's bandwagon!

[Patler]

Basically two unnamed sources claimed to have liked the guy in the last couple years. Not too much to get excited about.

I'm certainly not excited about it, but I did think it was both surprising and interesting that they would speak as highly about him as they did when he hasn't played enough even in preseason games to get much of a feel for what he can do.

[Lurker64]

I'm not so sure that one of the lower level regional scouts would be identified by McGinn as "an executive in personnel for an NFL club". Seems more likely to be an individual a little higher up the food chain.

Not that it means much. Last year there were still guys on Brian Brohm's bandwagon!

Well, regardless of who you're talking about in the player evaluation biz, it's important to observe that even the very best are wrong quite frequently. So even if you have Ozzie Newsome, Scott Pioli, and Bill Polian telling you that a guy is great, when you haven't seen that guy actually play much in the NFL you can't be sure.

[Brandon494]

I don't know who those two scouts were but they better start looking for a new line of work if they think Fylnn is the best backup QB in the league.

So let me get this straight, even though he is average to below average in practice and hasnt even throw a TD or for 100 yards for his career they think he is the best backup?

Is he a good athlete? yes

but just because he won a national championship behind a powerful running game and the #1 defense in the country at LSU doesn't make him a future starter in this league. Next Mark Brunell? Sorry I just don't see it.

[Scott Campbell]

Next Mark Brunell? Sorry I just don't see it.

You're right - you just don't see it. Just like we didn't see much of Rodgers before he became the starter.