What Can We Expect from Matt Flynn as the Raiders' Starting QB?

The calendar still says May, and the regular season remains nearly 100 days away, but the Oakland Raiders are clearly straying away from a truly open competition at quarterback. 

Matt Flynn, who the Raiders dealt for this offseason, has taken the majority of first-team snaps at organized team activities and is being considered the current starter by head coach Dennis Allen, according to Steve Corkran of the Contra Coast Times. 

“Matt’s our starting quarterback as we go forward right now,” Allen said, via Corkran. “And until the competition dictates otherwise, that’s where we’re going.” 

While obviously not guaranteed of a starting spot come Week 1 of next season, Flynn would likely need to struggle mightily in training camp and the preseason to lose his hold atop a depth chart that also includes 2013 fourth-rounder Tyler Wilson and Terrelle Pryor. 

Flynn is certainly no stranger to losing a job thought to be his; just last summer, a rookie named Russell Wilson took the Pacific Northwest by storm and relegated Flynn—then a high-priced free-agent signing for the Seahawks—to the bench. 

The situation in Oakland feels different, however.

The Raiders gave up assets to acquire Flynn, and then traded away 2012 starter Carson Palmer to clear his path to start. Pryor has shown flashes of greatness—namely Week 17 of last season—and Wilson is an intriguing young arm talent, but Flynn has a clear edge to being the starter in Week 1. 

Now a veteran of five NFL seasons, Flynn should be expected to hold down the starting job for the reloading Raiders. 

While Oakland does not currently possess the embarrassment of offensive talent that Flynn once had while a replacement starter with the Green Bay Packers, the Raiders do have more than enough on that side of the ball for Flynn to keep the Raiders offensively competitive. 

Talent such as Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, Rod Streater and a young but rapidly improving offensive line should allow Flynn to operate as an effective game manager within the Raiders offense.

Or maybe more.

In two starts with the Packers from 2010-2011, Flynn threw for over 700 yards and nine touchdowns, including a record-breaking Week 17 performance in 2011 that saw Flynn throw for 480 yards and six scores. Green Bay went 1-1 in Flynn's starts, while nearly upsetting the New England Patriots in Foxborough when Aaron Rodgers was forced out due to a concussion. 

The Raiders won't expect such explosive results over a 16-game season, but Flynn has embraced his few chances to be an NFL starter (save for last August, when a clearly special quarterback stole away his best opportunity). 

If Flynn is indeed the starter in Oakland, improvements on the stat sheet should also be expected.

Keep in mind, an offense led by the erratic and turnover-prone Palmer—plus a non-existent running game—finished the 2012 season as the 18th-best offense in terms of total yards. That ranking might have been much higher had Oakland avoided 26 giveaways or averaged more than 88 yards rushing a contest.

If McFadden can stay healthy and produce a bounce-back year, Flynn can certainly help the Raiders improve on a points per game average of just 18.1 from a year ago.

At the very least, Flynn will be a safe-guarding distributor of the football for a potentially explosive set of skill players. 

However, the bottom line in Oakland—regardless of who the starting quarterback is—should be tangible improvement.

A team still in the infancy stages of an overhaul by general manager Reggie McKenzie needs to take steps forward at all positions. Quarterback is no different. 

Clearly, Allen and the Raiders are counting on Flynn to orchestrate that improvement at the game's most important position for the 2013 season.

And while Flynn may not lead the Raiders to the postseason in his first year as a true starter, Oakland can feel comfortable that its quarterback will both distribute and safe guard the football better than his predecessor.  

Wins will eventually come, but improvement at the quarterback position remains the expectation for Flynn and the Raiders next season.