Matt Flynn To Start In Denver: QB Competition Essentially Over

Pete Carroll just announced that QB rotation for the 2nd preseason game will look exactly like it did in the first preseason game. Matt Flynn will start and play the first half, Russell Wilson will play the 2nd half. Tarvaris Jackson and Josh Portis will be available, but are not expected to play unless one of the others gets hurt.

Pete Carroll also said that the 3-way QB competition is still on, but what he didn’t say, but is now plainly obvious, is that the results of the competition has been decided.

Carroll is hedging his bets by claiming that the competition is still on, and keeping Jackson around. If one of the other QBs suffers a major injury, then Carroll will need Jackson on the roster as the backup. That is why Jackson wont be cut until after the 4th preseason game. Jackson’s fate now rests on the health of the other QBs.

I also don’t think that Wilson still has a chance to be the week 1 starter at this point. For the 2nd straight week, Wilson isn’t going to get any playing time with the first team offense, or against players who will get any sort of significant playing time in the regular season. While these snaps are very useful in helping Wilson develop into an eventual starter, they aren’t particularly useful in helping determining if Wilson is ready to be the week 1 starter. The fact that Wilson isn’t a chance to run with the first team offense this week says that Carroll believe Wilson wont be the starter in week 1.

You can disagree with Carroll’s decision about who the #1 QB will be week 1 all you want. I know there are a ton of fans who want Wilson to start week 1, but the fact is that Flynn will be starting the season at the #1 QB barring injury.