Matt Flynn Talks About The Road To Being A Starter And What It Was Like To Back Up Aaron Rodgers.

After former Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn torched the Lions late last season, it seemed inevitable that Aaron Rodgers’ backup was in line for a big pay day in free agency somewhere other than in Green Bay.  The big payday came from the Seahawks, who signed Flynn to compete with Tavaris Jackson and rookie Russell Wilson for the starting duties in Seattle.  Now Flynn must live up to the expectations. Flynn joined KJR in Seattle to talk about the differences between being in a quarterback competition in the NFL compares to being in one in college, how his Green Bay experience will help him as he prepares for a potential starting role in Seattle, if he ever thought about what he might do for a living if football didn’t work out for him, if he feels he was ever given a legitimate shot to compete for the starting role in Green Bay, not losing confidence in himself despite being relegated to the sidelines, his historic start against the Lions late last season, and how that performance earned him his hefty new contract in Seattle.

When asked about how competing for starting quarterback is different in the NFL compared to in college:

“The mind set is different bu in Green Bay I was fighting for a roster spot. The mind set tere was to compete for a spot on the roster and the back up job, to back up Aaron (Rodgers). Now I’m competing to be the starter here. Obviously being a starter is completely different than being a back up. If you win the job then you are the guy, the quarterback for the team, and hopefully the leader of the team.”

When asked about what in Green Bay will help him in Seattle:

“When I look back at my years in Green Bay I feel very blessed to have had the opportunity to go there. I was a 7th round pick, I only started one year in college. My first year in the NFL I probably wasn’t as prepared as I should’ve been to be an NFL quarterback if I had to step in. I was fortunate enough to be behind a great quarterback that was consistent each and every week and I got to sit and watch him and learn instead of being thrown in the fire right off the bat. He was a mentor to me, he took me under his wing, we became very close. I’ve taken a lot from him.”

When asked about what he thought, after being drafted very late, was next for his life if it turned out he wasn’t going to be an NFL quarterback:

“First things firat. As an athlete you can’t ever listen to what people say, you have to stick to your guns. You have to believe what you believe about yourself. I’ve always been a confident person, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I always thought I could get the job done i even if people thought I couldn’t. That’s something that always stuck with me since I was a kid.”

You never thought, maybe football isn’t in the cards for me?

“No. Never thought about it.”

When asked when he was really seen as having potential in the eyes of Green Bay during his first year:

“I was told that I was going to be the back up after the last preseason game. When we first started I wasn’t really sure if I was going to have a shot at it. Before training camp I didn’t know if i was going to have a spot on the roster because that was when Favre was contemplating coming back. through training camp I was getting half the reps (competing back up) Brom was getting. I studied a lot and I was getting a lot of confidence from receivers. Once games came, I was playing well and towards the end of camp they started splitting reps between me and Brom. I had some good games toward the end and they made the move.”

Was there a point when your confidence was vaulted?

“It happened, my rookie year during the season, Aaron hurt his shoulder. We were playing the Falcons the next week and it didn’t look like he was going to play. I was taking all the 1st team reps that week. Just taking reps with the 1st team all week, my game just completely got a lot better. Just getting in there with them and work it, I played like I never played before and the coaches starting talking to me and telling me to keep it up.”

When asked about his historic Detroit game:

“My family was there, my girlfriend was there. My dad was more wrapped up in the records than I was, I was just smiling.”

You knew you made a lot of money in that game right?

“I guess you let your mind drift after the game but before people were asking me the same question and I just said to them, ‘don’t talk to me about that’. It was a good game and it came at a good time.”