The trade sending former Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn to the Oakland Raiders finally went through early this week, and with Carson Palmer on his way to Arizona all signs point to Flynn having the starting job in Oakland this season. While he's going to be part of a continuing rebuild by the Bay, Flynn seems excited about that.
Some of the other questions Flynn was asked in his introductory press conference on Tuesday involved Flynn's experiences in Green Bay:
What’s happened to you the past few years in your development behind the scenes?
"I feel like I've developed the skill of getting better and improving while actually not taking that many game reps. I've played in a few games but I've sat back and I've tried to be a sponge behind Aaron Rodgers and just learning from coach (Mike) McCarthy and Tom Clements in Green Bay. I tried to learn as much as I could and spending eight, nine hours a day for four years with Aaron, I picked up a lot of things. I felt like I always tried to make the best of my opportunities whether that came in practice or a game situation and I feel like each year I've improved. What happened this year in Seattle, I feel like it made me a better person, a better player and it’s made me more excited about another opportunity."
I'll say this for Flynn: when he got his chances in relief of Aaron Rodgers, he certainly made the best of them. There's probably something to be said for Flynn's point there - when you're a backup, it's tough to get enough repetitions in practice to really get comfortable with the offense.
Aaron Rodgers was a backup for a couple years. How much does it help you to see what he went through and has he ever talked to you about that?
"Yeah, Aaron and I are close and we have a good relationship. Once I got there we hit it off and he kind of took me under his wing and we’d always talk about, whether it was X’s and O’s or whether it was defenses, whether it was life, whether it was being a backup, whatever it was, we've talked about it. I learned a lot from him about the mental approach to being a backup, learned about the mental approach to stepping in to a starting role, being a starter and being a leader."
That certainly sounds like a player who appreciates his time with his old team, learning the ropes of playing quarterback in the NFL. It's always nice to hear players who have departed Green Bay saying good things about the organization.
I'd like to extend a big thanks to Levi Damien of Silver and Black Pride for bringing this to our attention and sending over the transcription of the interview.
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