The 410 area code of Mike Flynn's cellphone number is a hint as to why his opinion on football matters is such a coveted one this week.
Those three digits represent the metropolitan Baltimore area, where Flynn, the cohost of the weekend "Johnston and Flynn'' program on 98.5 The Sports Hub, spent 11 seasons (1997-2007) as a Ravens offensive lineman.
"I've really got to get a new phone,'' said Flynn in mock exasperation, "but you know how it is. All those old contacts are in there.''
He certainly has plenty of connections to Baltimore. The Agawam native and University of Maine graduate was the starting center on the Ravens' 2000 Super Bowl championship team. He was Ray Lewis's teammate for 11 years, Ed Reed's for six, and his career ended in 2008 when he was cut by the Patriots in training camp.
Flynn has proven an incisive observer in his time at The Sports Hub, engaging, insightful, and self-deprecating. He does not have that habit that plagues many ex-athletes in the media of reminding the listener that he played the game, even though he did at the highest level and for a long stretch at an extraordinarily demanding position.
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