Seattle Seahawks: Matt Flynn to Start First Preseason Game

As of today, Pro Football Talk is reporting that Matt Flynn will be the starter for the Seattle Seahawks for their first preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. He will play the entire first half and rookie Russell Wilson is expected to play the second half.

Coach Pete Carroll is rationalizing this decision by claiming that Tarvaris Jackson, the incumbent starter, has already shown the team what he can do and that it is important to see how the two challengers perform in a game scenario.

While this doesn't quite mean that Flynn has won the QB competition, it is a clear indicator that he is in front. Flynn has earned starter reps for the rest of the week—these reps previously were dished out to a different quarterback each day.

By giving Flynn starting reps for multiple days in a row, Carroll is indicating that he wants Flynn to develop a rapport with his receivers—a rapport only necessary for a starting quarterback.

This is a very reassuring sign to those who were earlier predicting that Jackson's reps with the starters in the team's Sunday scrimmage meant that Jackson was leading the competition. It is evident that Flynn developing chemistry with the starters is priority No. 1.

Flynn has without a doubt earned this position, as I reported a few days ago. Since the position was not handed to him, but won, expect the Seahawks to rally around a new leader.