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As in, Matt, being a seventh-round pick, are you surprised that you beat out second-round pick Brian Brohm for the backup job? ''I don't know ... I'm not sure if I'm surprised or not. I never once looked at it as a competition. I just looked at it as, me going out there and trying to be the best quarterback I can. I feel good about what I've done up to this point, but I've still got a lot of developing to do.''
So when the question was posed - Matt, are you familiar with the term moxie? - his answer couldn't really have been his answer, could it?
''Moxie?'' Flynn said. ''I don't know ... I've got to look up the definition.''
When he does, he'll - wait for it - yes, that's right, see his picture. (Actually, in older dictionaries, he won't find the word at all, since it's a slang term meaning ''the ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage.'')
But while Flynn might not know the word, two people who watched him closely this preseason - coach Mike McCarthy and starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers - independently chose it to describe how the rookie from LSU consistently made something out of nothing while Brohm struggled.
First, McCarthy: ''He plays the game with an edge. He's aggressive. Some people refer to it as moxie. I like the way he makes plays with his feet. He can get you out of a bad play. Instinctive, very calm; his disposition is excellent. I think he's a young quarterback that has a very bright future.''
Then, Rodgers: ''Both Matt and Brian did a great job mentally. Matt just showed that moxie, that ability once he got into a game to make plays. Knowing how it goes sometimes with those second(-string) guys - the protection is not always perfect, the mental mistakes are going to be more because you're playing with guys that haven't had a lot of experience in games - I was really impressed with the way he handled everything.
''Obviously I want to play every snap. Lord willing, I'll stay healthy this year. But if not, Matt's got enough confidence in himself that he can go out and make some plays.''
Getting his shot
That's just what Flynn has done since finally getting his chance to play at LSU last season as a fifth-year senior and leading the Tigers to the national title.
Heavily recruited coming out of Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas - he had 25 Division I scholarship offers - Flynn opted for LSU but had the misfortune of being in the same recruiting class as NFL 2007 No. 1 overall draft pick JaMarcus Russell.
The two redshirted in 2003 together as well, and as a result, Flynn spent three years as a backup for the Tigers before ascending to the starting job last year.
''Every day, Matt came out every day and competed with JaMarcus. His attitude was never, 'I'm the backup, I probably won't play.' It was always, 'I want to be the starter, so I'm going to fight for the job,' '' LSU coach Les Miles said. ''He is a winner. That's not a clich0x233. That's a real, tangible characteristic.''
All the while, Flynn never complained and never threatened to transfer, although he admits he might have if Russell hadn't declared for the draft after his junior year. When Russell left, Flynn took over amid doubts from fans and alumni that he could handle the job.
''I have no doubt he could've transferred and had a pretty good career someplace else,'' said Flynn's father, Alvin, who played quarterback at Baylor from 1967 through '69. ''But he stayed. And his patience paid off.''
Although he missed two games with injuries - a Sept. 17 game against Middle Tennessee State because of a high ankle sprain and the SEC Championship Game because of a separated shoulder - Flynn proved his doubters wrong. In the BCS Championship Game against Ohio State, he was 19-for-27 for 174 yards and four touchdowns, earning the offensive MVP award.
Alvin, along with Matt's mom, Ruth, were there, just as they'd been for all but one of the Tigers' games during their son's five years in Baton Rouge. (When Hurricane Rita postponed a home game against Tennessee from Saturday until Monday, they didn't make the trip.)
Yes, that means they attended every game LSU played during his redshirt freshman year and were there for his three years as a backup, when his action was limited to holding on placekicks and mop-up duty.
''That might sound a little goofy, but Matt's the fifth of five (children), and we've always supported our kids, no matter what,'' Alvin Flynn said from his law office Wednesday.
Matt Flynn's only other start before last season was as a sophomore in the 2005 Peach Bowl, when he was the offensive MVP of a 40-3 rout of Miami.
''The way we looked at it was, 'Hey, we support you when it's good, and we'll support you when it's bad. We're all in it together.' We always wanted to be there just in case it happened,'' Alvin Flynn said.
Best football ahead
Since arriving in Green Bay for the post-draft minicamp in May, Matt Flynn has quietly gone about his business - while Brohm was given the locker adjacent to Rodgers, Flynn was banished to the auxiliary locker room, known as ''The Green Mile'' - but clearly outplayed Brohm in preseason.
While Brohm completed just 19 of 42 passes (45.2 percent) for 155 yards, with no touchdowns, one interception and four sacks for a 45.2 rating, Flynn went 27 of 42 (64.3 percent) for 209 yards, with three touchdowns, no interceptions and five sacks for a rating of 100.2 and nearly rallied the Packers to comeback victories over Cincinnati in the opener and Tennessee in the finale.
Although he's far from a finished product, McCarthy has been particularly impressed with Flynn's mechanics and likened his attitude to that of Carolina starter Jake Delhomme, whom McCarthy coached in New Orleans, where Delhomme entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Whether Flynn could lead the Packers to victory on Monday night against Minnesota, if Vikings defensive linemen Pat Williams and Jared Allen accomplish their publicly-stated goal of knocking Rodgers out of the game, is hard to say.
''If he had to play Monday night, who knows? We may all be saying, 'Oooh, we wish we hadn't talked about that.' But I think he'd do fine,'' Alvin Flynn said. ''My dad's been dead almost 14 years now, but his nickname for Matt was 'Ironhead.' He always used to say, 'Don't tell him he can't do something.' ''
Because if you do, Matt Flynn is going to show you his moxie and do it.
''I don't think I've ever once listened to what people say around me - what the media says, what fans say - good or bad,'' Flynn said. ''I've always been confident in myself. My ultimate career plan is to work my way up the hierarchy of quarterbacks and eventually be a starter in the NFL.
''I understand that it's a great opportunity. I understand that it's a good position to be in. But I also understand that I'm a rookie - and nothing's going to be given to me. I always knew my best football was in front of me. I felt I made some strides toward being a better quarterback this preseason, but I still have a lot of work to do, a lot of progressing to do.
''I'm going to give it my best, and we'll see.''
