5 Bold Predictions for Matt Flynn's 1st Year with Seattle Seahawks

No Peyton Manning, no Andrew Luck, no Robert Griffin III.

The Seattle Seahawks missed out on all the biggest quarterbacks available this offseason, but they still did what they had to do and upgraded the quarterback position.

Former Green Bay Packers QB Matt Flynn was signed to a three-year contract March 19, and the quarterback battle has officially begun between him and last year's starter Tarvaris Jackson.

Flynn is expected to win the job, and although he's unproven, he was one of the most sought after quarterbacks this offseason.

Here are a handful of bold predictions for Flynn's first year in the Pacific Northwest.

Matt Flynn Will Win QB Battle

Tarvaris Jackson statistically had the best season of his career in 2011, with career highs in nearly every offensive category. That being said, he threw just 14 touchdown passes against 13 interceptions with a 79.2 QB rating.

Although Matt Flynn has only thrown 132 NFL passes, he has a quarterback rating of 92.8, and his performance in Week 17 of last season against Detroit (31-44, 480 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT) vastly increased his stock and sparked interest around the league.

Perhaps, one great game is too few to truly judge a quarterback's talent and potential, Flynn's had the privilege of learning from Aaron Rodgers, and at 26, he's ready to hit his prime. 

Matt Hasselbeck Pressure Won't Be a Factor

Like Flynn, former Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was a late-round draft pick and sat behind one of the best in the league at the time (Brett Favre) until he was traded to Seattle with little experience.

The similarities between the two players will give Seattle fans reason to expect Flynn to be as successful as Hasselbeck was eventually.

If that's the case, Seahawks' faithful should be patient. Hasselbeck wasn't very successful until his second year with the team when he became the full-time starter.

Flynn flourishes when given the opportunity and won't let the Hasselbeck comparisons affect his performance.

Flynn Will Surpass Expectations

As aforementioned, Flynn has little NFL experience and will be closely watched this season. What many people tend to forget is that Flynn was the backup for the majority of his first four seasons (including a redshirt year) at LSU.

In limited playing time before he earned the starting job, Flynn performed exceptionally well. In his fifth season when he was the starter, Flynn threw for over 2,400 yards with 21 touchdowns and 11 picks and was eventually the offensive MVP of the BCS National Championship game for the champions LSU.

Not to mention, in his one start for Green Bay in 2011, Flynn set Packers records for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a single game.

The Seahawks Will Make the Playoffs

With Matt Flynn at quarterback in 2012, the Seattle Seahawks are immediate contenders in the NFC West. Barring significant injuries, if the team performs as well as they did last year, the addition of a QB is all the Seahawks need in order to return to the postseason.

The 49ers should be good again, but who knows if Alex Smith can keep up his improved play, and the Cardinals and Rams figure to be out of the playoff picture in the West. 

The Packers will own the North, and the Bears and Lions will make wild-card pushes, while the East should once again be a toss-up.

Seattle has as good a chance as any NFC team to make the playoffs with Flynn and expect them to be playing in January.

Matt Flynn Will Be Most Improved Player of 2012

Matt Flynn will go from backup to franchise QB in 2012 and will be the most improved player in the league.

He won't quite be a Pro Bowler but expect Flynn to put up solid numbers and lead Seattle to a postseason berth at the very least.