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  • 1 week ago
Is the Falcons quarterback competition officially over?

Mike Conti thinks so. Conti joins The Midday Show and says Michael Penix Jr. could be set to be the Falcons' starting quarterback, barring an unforeseen setback.

The conversation also covers Penix's return to 11-on-11 action, the preseason game in Miami, Tua, Cooper Rush, Jack Strand, Atlanta's quarterback depth, and whether the Falcons should trade for another QB.
Transcript
00:00Michael Penix did come back yesterday for his first session of 11-on-11s, fully cleared.
00:04Where are you currently with your thought process on the Falcons quarterback situation?
00:10I think he's going to be the starter in Pittsburgh.
00:12As I've been telling you guys the last couple weeks, I don't think he was out of time
00:19as far as getting any meaningful reps in was concerned to be the starter in Pittsburgh.
00:25I think everything seems to point to him being the starter in Pittsburgh,
00:28barring some kind of unforeseen catastrophe Friday night in Miami,
00:32because it sounds like he is going to play there.
00:35Now, if it were me, and it's not, and I've never proclaimed to be a head coach
00:40or an offensive coordinator, I'd have him go in there and hand the ball off three times
00:44and call it a night.
00:46That's what I would do.
00:47We kind of said something similar yesterday.
00:49Yeah.
00:50Hand the ball off three times, okay, hit the showers.
00:53That's what I would do, but I'm not them.
00:56So we'll see.
00:58I don't think you have a ton to gain by having Penix go out there
01:04and throw the ball all over the place and play a quarter and a half.
01:07I think, again, you know, look, he got 11 on 11 yesterday.
01:11He had been doing plenty in training camp from what we could see in seven on seven.
01:18I think he's fine.
01:19Like, if he's clear to play and he's mentally in a good place,
01:23I don't think there's anything that needs to be accomplished either this week
01:27or in the preseason game Friday night to further solidify him as the starter of this team.
01:33It sounds like Tua didn't really go and do anything to take it from him.
01:36That was one of my questions to you.
01:38Dex Fran's done a great job.
01:39Cooper Rush has done a great job in preseason games or a game singular.
01:44They didn't do a very good job against Denver, but I don't think it was their fault necessarily.
01:47Um, Penix has the job competition over and let's go.
01:52That's how I see it.
01:53That was really my question to you.
01:54Do you think it's more or less, was that always the plan that you're saying,
01:58or was it Tua just not just, I think that's a really good question.
02:02I don't know if we'll ever really know the answer to that, to be totally honest.
02:05I don't know if we'll ever know the answer if they evaluated things in the spring and said,
02:10yeah, boy, we need to have a competition between Tua and Penix.
02:14And we want to give Tua an honest opportunity to win the starting quarterback job.
02:18I don't know if we're ever going to know officially if that was the plan or not,
02:22but I think things have evolved to the point where now it's pretty clear that it's going to be Penix.
02:30Whether or not that was the plan, I'm not even sure it's relevant at this point.
02:33But again, I would be super careful in what they have them do Friday night.
02:38Super careful, you know, because this still is wobbly.
02:43And, you know, if someone steps on his foot, God forbid, or, you know,
02:48if there's an aborted snap and, you know, he reaches in to get the ball
02:52and someone hits him across the wrist, like a lot of different things can happen.
02:55Put him in the shotgun and have him run three draw plays and hand the ball off three times.
03:00And he's not running the draw plays, the running back.
03:03Yeah, you're right.
03:05And probably, you know, another example of why I'd be terrible at like anything else in sports other than this.
03:10Because we've been over why I'd be a terrible general manager for a million years with the Braves.
03:15If I was the OC, I'd have him play action first play and just air it out to Zachariah Branch.
03:21Throw it as far as you can.
03:22I've seen that.
03:23Try to recreate the Michael Vick, Deshaun Jackson touchdown from the Eagles all those years ago.
03:27I've seen that in college football where first play of the season, they let it rip.
03:32But I have seen that in college football.
03:35Nine, nine, nine.
03:35Throw it as far as you can.
03:37Go get it, Zachariah.
03:37I just, I don't know.
03:39In a third preseason game, I just don't know.
03:42But Penix, to me, I think it's competition over.
03:46And by the way, no, with all due respect to others on this radio station,
03:51no, there is no need to go out and trade for another quarterback and spend any kind of capital to
03:57do that.
03:57In fact, Abe, you, Andy, and me were having a little conversation before we went on the air.
04:02I think you've got plenty of depth in your quarterback room to the point where you even have a little
04:08bit of a luxury
04:09where if a team got desperate, you might be able to trade away one of your quarterbacks
04:14and maybe get something in return.
04:15But you don't need to bring in Stetson Bennett or anyone else.
04:19In my opinion, it's fun to talk about.
04:20It doesn't mean we shouldn't have the conversation.
04:22But I just, I don't see what you gain by doing that.
04:25The Falcons, not our radio station.
04:27Right, right.
04:27Right.
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