Green Bay Packers Quarterback Prediction: Matt Flynn

Third-year quarterback Matt Flynn is all-but guaranteed the second-string quarterback position for the Green Bay Packers. Unfortunately, it is not because of his qualifications, but the lack of competition.

This is the same reason he has held the position since his rookie season, when he won the job over immense second-round bust Brian Brohm. No one else besides starter Aaron Rodgers on the roster has even one NFL snap at the position, nor was even drafted as a rookie.

That does not mean he is not getting better. In his rookie season, he showed very little in the preseason. When Rodgers was hurt in a regular season game in Tampa Bay, Flynn looked so bad the team put Rodgers back in despite his separated shoulder.

Last season, he looked good in one preseason game and one of two games in which he got ample playing time in the regular season. Still, his career numbers are 9-of-17 (.529) for a paltry 64 yards (3.8/attempt) with no touchdowns and one pick. He has been sacked once for six yards and has nine carries for a loss of a yard (this is largely from late-game kneel-downs, however).

Plain and simple, Flynn lacks the arm strength to be an effective NFL quarterback, and having no one better on the roster is a gamble. Since about half of the NFL's starting quarterbacks have missed at least one game with an injury in the past two seasons, it is likely he will be pressed into action; in a tough NFC North, that could be costly.

Here are the predictions for Flynn in 2010 (see the following links to my predictions on Aaron Rodgers and Graham Harrell elsewhere):

17-of-35 (.486), 156 yards, one touchdown, one interception, sacked three times for 23 yards, six carries for one yard.