Flynning High

Flynn will now be able to spread his
wings in Seattle.

Strike two for the Miami Dolphins.

Already having been turned down by Peyton Manning, Miami lost out on the Matt Flynn sweepstakes Sunday, watching him sign a three-year, $26 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

It has been reported the deal is made up of $10 million guaranteed.

Flynn's decision to sign with Seattle does come as a surprise considering his connection to the Dolphins newly hired head coach. In January, Joe Philbin was named the tenth head coach in franchise history after nearly a decade long stay at Lambeau Field, including the last five as the team's offensive coordinator.

The 26-year-old quarterback was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2008, serving as Aaron Rodgers' backup and studying under Philbin since.

However, it appears his tie to Seattle's general manager John Schneider goes deeper than his relationship with Philbin. Schneider was a member of the Green Bay front office when Flynn was drafted out of Louisiana State University.

Schneider left the Packers to become the Seahawks GM prior to the start of the 2010 season and now taking Flynn with him. It just took him two years.

Flynn caught the eyes of many on two different occasions.

With Rodgers recovering from a concussion, Flynn nearly lead Green Bay to an improbable victory over the New England Patriots on Dec. 19, 2010. Flynn completed 24-of-37 passes, throwing for 251, three touchdowns and an interception. He came within five points of ending the Patriots', at the time, impressive 15-game regular season home winning streak -- a streak that was snapped at 20 this past season by the New York Giants on Nov. 6.

In Week 17 this year, with the No. 1 seed in the NFC all wrapped up, head coach Mike McCarthy decided to rest Rodgers for the postseason and give Flynn only his second career NFL start and last as a Packer.

Facing the Detroit Lions, Flynn battled Matthew Stafford in a high-scoring affair that each of them throw five touchdowns. In fact, Flynn threw a career-high six, broke Lynn Dickey's single-game franchise record with 480 passing yards and more importantly won the game, 45-41.

Stafford's 520 yards made him only the fourth quarterback in history to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a single season, finishing with 5,038.

Flynn will now battle six-year veteran Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job.

Jackson spent his first five seasons as a Minnesota Viking, constantly fighting for playing time before signing a two-year deal with Seattle prior to the start of last season.

Since it was Jackson's first year as a full-time starter, he set career highs in numerous offensive categories, including interceptions (13), touchdowns (14), games (15), yards per game (206.1), completions (271), attempts (450) and yards (3,091).

He also looked to shed his label as a runner and make himself a passer.

In 2007, at the time, Jackson played in a career-high 12 games and carried the ball 54 times for 260 yards and three scores compared to this season when he ran the ball just 40 times.

These two guys are ready to compete.

Hasselbeck led Seattle to some-
where they had never been.

If Flynn becomes the franchise's next successful quarterback, he won't be the first coming from Green Bay as a backup.

Matt Hasselbeck, who spent this past season as manning the huddle for the Tennessee Titans, was Brett Favre's backup for the first two years of his career before being traded to the Seahawks in 2001. Hasselbeck spent a decade in Seattle, including leading the franchise to their first Super Bowl appearance in which they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-10.

The Seahawks are hoping for more of the same and now Flynning high.

All Packed Up

He may not be playing for his second straight Super Bowl title, but Aaron Rodgers has added some more hardware to his trophy case.

The Green Bay Packer quarterback was named the 2011 AP NFL Most Valuable Player Saturday, receiving 48 of the possibly 50 votes, and continuing to carve his legacy. Fellow NFL quarterback, Drew Brees, claimed the remaining two, in large part to his record-breaking campaign.

Brees shattered Dan Marino's 27-year-old mark for the most passing yards in a single-season with 5,476 -- a record he flirted with in 2008.

Rodgers, 28, is the first Packers quarterback to be name the league's MVP since the recently retired Brett Favre won his final of three consecutive MVP awards in 1997. He shared that honor with Detriot's Barry Sanders. That season, Favre and Co. played in their second straight Super Bowl, but lost to the John Elway-led Denver Broncos.

This season, Rodgers threw for 4,643 yards, averaged 9.5 yards per completion, found the end zone 45 times, completed 68.3 percent of his passes and posted a 122.5 passer rating -- all career-highs. His 122.5 passer rating also led the NFL.

After narrowly missing perfection, leading Green Bay to a 15-1 regular season record and an NFC North Division title, Rodgers' dream of winning his second career Super Bowl were crashed.

He would be let down by his usually sure-handed receivers as six different players combined for eight drop passes in their Divisional Round game against the New York Giants, where they upended, 37-20. A bitter end to a once promising season.

Now, Rodgers joins Paul Hornung (1961), Jim Taylor (1962), Bart Starr (1966) and Favre (1995-97) as the only other player to capture an MVP while playing their home games at Lambeau Field. It's the fifth consecutive season the MVP has be given to a quarterback, but he is only the third player to win the award during that time before. New England's Tom Brady (2007, 2010) and Indianapolis' Peyton Manning (2008, 2009) had combined to win the previous four.

While many believed Brees, who has yet to win a MVP, would have got more consideration, he was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year

As for the MVP, Rodgers was drafted in the first-round of the 2005 NFL Draft out of California, but sat and lived in the shadow of Favre for the first three years of his career.

But now with just as many rings as Favre, excelling every season and rapidly ascending to the top of his position, Rodgers no longer lives in anyone's shadow, but his own.

Laying An Egg

History tends to repeat itself.

And that's exactly what happened Sunday night in Green Bay.

It's A Perfect Ending

Monday Night Lights