- 53 minutes ago
The Falcons loss to the Ravens has people blaming Michael Penix for missing two throws, and that’s a misguided feeling. Zinno discusses that if you have criticism of Michael Penix at this point you’re never going to be satisfied.
Zinno also discusses Michael Penix’s injury and his appearance on the sideline during Sunday Night Football. Zinno also talks about Penix’s toughness and why it shouldn’t be called into question.
Finally, he reminds everybody that Michael Penix is still growing, and now on his second set of coaches and offensive system. There should be some room for growth in there.
Zinno also discusses Michael Penix’s injury and his appearance on the sideline during Sunday Night Football. Zinno also talks about Penix’s toughness and why it shouldn’t be called into question.
Finally, he reminds everybody that Michael Penix is still growing, and now on his second set of coaches and offensive system. There should be some room for growth in there.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:01Good morning. Welcome to A to Z here on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game, where today I tell you,
00:06some people are just never going to be satisfied. Welcome in once again to another installment of
00:11A to Z here on 92.9thegame.com and the 92.9 The Game YouTube page. If you're watching on
00:15YouTube,
00:16please make sure you hit that subscribe button so you're alerted every single week when A to Z
00:21pops up, as well as all the other great content here that's available from all the shows on
00:2592.9 The Game. Make sure you guys hit the like button as well. Drop a comment down below. Let
00:30me know your thoughts on everything that we have here to say on A to Z. We got a lot
00:34of reaction to
00:35the Falcons' loss to the Ravens on Sunday night, Michael Penix in particular, and just a whole
00:40subset of fans and media who will never, ever be satisfied, plus some reasons to believe that the
00:47future is still bright. We're going to get to all that coming up here on A to Z, plus shovels
00:51of
00:51wisdom, and a whole lot more. Keep it locked in right here. Back to you in 40 seconds. My calculations
00:57are correct. When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious shit.
01:05It's time for A to Z with Mark Zeno. It's elite sports knowledge. I am the smartest man alive.
01:13I am. It's in your face opinions. In the face. In the face. No. We got some good times. We
01:22hate to. I am. And some good information. Get f***ed in. When Atlanta talks sports, there's
01:30only one place to turn. You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. A to Z
01:38starts now.
01:44So, manifestly, the Falcons lose to the Ravens on Sunday night at home. A really tough, tough
01:55game. And not one that made anybody feel any better when it was all said and done. And
02:00I certainly understand that. But there was a faction of people, media and fans alike, who
02:11instead of looking at the game objectively and seeing you play a team that is a step up
02:16in class from you, seeing you play a team that has a lot more playoff pedigree than you do
02:23and already has two championships under their belt. Granted, they were years ago, but still
02:28has a championship to their credit. Instead of seeing it as, hey, this is a step in the right
02:34direction, there's a large portion of people who chose to try to tear things down. Guys,
02:40look, if you follow me at all in the last dozen years that I've been here in Atlanta,
02:45you know I'm not a homer. You know I don't kiss anybody's ass. And you certainly know that
02:50I don't ever tell you things that I don't truly believe. But the angst and the pushback
02:58towards this team, this coach, and this quarterback, to me, it's just mind-blowing at this point in
03:04time. If you are the type of person who has to give a criticism of Michael Penix along with a
03:13compliment, if you are the type of person who can't just turn around and say, Michael Penix is
03:18growing, these things are expected, he's going to get better, and he's likely going to be our
03:23franchise quarterback and end the sentence without some level of criticism, then you need to grow up.
03:28Then you need to understand what you're watching. Then you need to figure out what you really expect.
03:35Because if you can only do that, if all you could do is say, well, Penix played well, and we
03:40can praise
03:40him for this, but we got to give him criticism for this. If that's all you can do, then guess
03:44what?
03:45The only thing you will ever be satisfied with is a Super Bowl. And at that, you will complain.
03:51You absolutely will complain. Don't kid yourself with these people. Don't kid yourself with these
03:56type of folks, the media, the people online, who have something nice to say, and then have to follow
04:02it with an insult or follow it with a criticism. They will never be happy. Ever. There's always
04:08something wrong. And that's just not how this thing needs to be measured. Michael Penix played well.
04:14He played really well. Are there things he can improve on? Sure. Remember,
04:2115 NFL starts. 1-5. Not even a full season. Not a full season from 10 years ago when there
04:29were
04:29only 16 games, let alone 17. We all understand. It's inherent. It should be understood that he has
04:40to get better at certain things. I said this before the game last week. Allow Michael Penix time to grow.
04:47Allow Michael Penix time to make sure that he can do everything on the field that you need him to
04:55do.
04:56If you'd like me to give a criticism on Sunday, the two biggest plays everybody's talking about,
05:04the throw to Jake Matthews in the end zone and the throw to Bajon Robinson on the third and five.
05:08Hey, you know what I would tell you? Okay. I would tell you instead of blaming Michael Penix for those,
05:15blame the damn coaching staff. And I'll tell you what, here's why.
05:20You're a young team. You are trying to get your footing. You are trying to establish yourself
05:27as a team that's on the rise, on the come, right? Ask yourself a simple question. With the game on
05:37the line when I need points, why in the hell am I throwing to my tackle when I've got Drake
05:42London,
05:43who I just paid a bundle of money to? When I got Bajon Robinson, I just paid a bundle of
05:47money to.
05:47I got Kyle Pitts, who has been a ghost. I paid a whole bunch of money to. Why the hell
05:53am I throwing
05:53it to my damn tackle? What am I getting cute for? Why are those dudes not even on the field
06:00in those moments? That's a coaching issue. That's not a Michael Penix issue.
06:05Oh, he should have made the throw. He was standing right there. He missed it. He needs more touch on
06:09him.
06:10Dang it. Don't put the quarterback in that situation.
06:15You got Bajon Robinson, run the damn ball. You got Drake London, who's one of the best
06:20high point catchers of anybody in the league. Throw him up, throw him up a jump ball.
06:25You got Kyle Pitts, the unicorn, who's unguardable. Run around for him. Don't put your quarterback,
06:34who's making his third start of the year, coming back from injury, in that situation when you've got
06:39all this other talent around him. Third and five, Kevin Stefanski, run the damn ball.
06:46That's what you need to do in that spot. Force them to use a timeout or let the clock run
06:51down
06:51to the two-minute warning and let them manage it from there. You don't take the chance on an
06:57incomplete pass. It was stupid. I tweeted it at the time. It was a bad coaching decision.
07:06No one wants to do that. We're just going to throw the quarterback under the bus.
07:11I mean, I don't get it. Like, I have to sit here and stand for Michael Penick's week in
07:15and week out because of the just obnoxious and ridiculous points of view that are out there
07:22about the guy. And I'll say it again. I've said it a million times. I was not a fan of
07:26the plan to draft him. It's not that I wasn't a fan of the player. I thought what the Falcons
07:30did was just, you know, historically stupid in the Cousins' Penick's thing. But now that's
07:37all in the past, well, objectively, look at what it is. Objectively, as I've said many times,
07:43this is the guy that should lead your team going forward. It's in the best interest if
07:49he is the guy that is your franchise quarterback. Now, let's address the overtime thing real
07:59quick because that has a lot of people bothered. Michael Penick's got hit in the ribs, tried
08:06to go out for overtime, couldn't do it, hurt too much, got tight was the word that he got
08:11very tight while waiting for the Ravens took the ball first or waiting to get on the field
08:16to get you got very tight. And he couldn't go back out there. And then he was seen on
08:23the sidelines, towel over the head, head down. I'm not going to say he was sulking. I don't
08:30know if he was sulking, couldn't see his face, don't remember seeing his face. But nonetheless,
08:37people thought it wasn't a good look.
08:42Do we have to define every player and everything in one moment? Is that what we have to do?
08:49Because you're going to end up looking really foolish, okay, down the road. When Michael
08:56Penick comes back and plays really well and shows you that he can last the rest of the season,
09:05right? You're going to look really foolish for doing the, you know, he's patting on the
09:11sidelines. Oh, he's not tough. Oh, he quit on the team. Oh. Somebody sent me a video of Matthew
09:18Stafford coming back in the game after dislocating his shoulder. I'm like, what the hell are we
09:22talking about here? Nothing to do with anything. But beyond that, you're going to look really foolish.
09:28And guess what? If Michael Penick ends up not being durable and can't play and everything else,
09:34do you feel better about being right? Does that make you feel better that the organization is a flat
09:39out mess? That makes you feel better. You'd rather be right about your assessment of Michael Penick's
09:44than have him be good and have the organization trending in the right direction. That's called
09:49really smart fandom by you guys. I mean, how stupid can you be, honestly? I mean, I'm just asking.
09:56You'd rather be right and tell everybody, I told you he wasn't doable. I told you so. And have the
10:02organization be in a complete state of disarray now on their seventh quarterback in seven years? That's
10:08what you'd rather have. So you could be right. How stupid is that? Makes absolutely no sense.
10:17Look, I can agree to a certain extent that Michael Penick's with the towel over his head on the
10:24sideline by himself. Feels like it's like, come on, man, at least you could do is cheer everybody on.
10:31However, if he's jumping up and down and cheering on the sidelines, it's also like,
10:34why aren't you in there? Again, same group of people just never going to be satisfied ever.
10:41Never going to be satisfied. You'll find something to complain about regardless, no matter what.
10:46And you're led by a charge of, of, of useful idiots in the media who are doing the same thing.
10:52It's the reality of it.
10:56I blame the coaches more than anything else. You have a young team, young players,
11:01young everywhere. Coaches are supposed to eliminate variance. They're supposed to eliminate
11:07opportunities for failure and increase opportunities for success.
11:13Throw the ball to damn Drake London, throw the ball to Kyle Pitts, hand the ball off to Bajon Robinson,
11:18and then run the ball on third and five with two minutes and 38 seconds left.
11:23And force them to use a timeout.
11:26That's what coaching is.
11:29Oh, by the way, that Bajon Robinson guy, pretty good.
11:32Should be able to trust him to get third and five.
11:35At a minimum, maybe even get you to fourth and one.
11:40Right?
11:41Where you can even contemplate going for it and trying to end the game.
11:47Incomplete pass, stops the clock, gives the ball back.
11:52What do you need to do?
11:54Just, it's bad coaching.
11:56I'll say it again repeatedly.
11:58In those situations,
11:59Every time you drop back to pass,
12:01only four things can happen and three of them are bad.
12:06Four outcomes of dropping back to pass.
12:09Completion, good.
12:10Incompletion, bad.
12:11Interception, bad.
12:12Sack, bad.
12:14Why put yourself in that position as a coach?
12:17Run the ball.
12:19Run the ball.
12:20That's it.
12:22Clock keeps running.
12:23You get stuff, so what?
12:25Clock keeps running.
12:26Or they use a timeout.
12:28You get three and a half yards.
12:30Now we've got something to think about.
12:32Do we want to go for this here?
12:33Do we want to try to end the game?
12:36Could have.
12:38But you took that decision out of the way when you decided to pass.
12:41Blame Michael Penix.
12:42Was it a good throw?
12:43No.
12:44It wasn't.
12:45Should have never put him in that position.
12:47Period.
12:48I never would have.
12:50Not for one second would I have ever done that.
12:54So, this is what you get.
12:57But yet, continue to blame Michael Penix.
13:00Continue to praise him in one sentence and then cut him down in another.
13:03You'll never be satisfied.
13:05You're a group of people who are never satisfied.
13:08You'll be pissed off on your own wedding day.
13:13You'll be bitching from the grave.
13:14It's who you are.
13:16Deal with it.
13:17Okay?
13:18That's not the crowd of people that you want to follow as fans.
13:21That's for darn sure.
13:22One more point I want to make on Michael Penix.
13:24And I'll do that after we pass out of Shovel of Wisdom.
13:27Brace yourselves, because it's time for the Shovel of Wisdom.
13:40And today, my shovel goes to our old buddy, Dan Quinn.
13:45Oh, boy, DQ.
13:48What a mess that was from Sunday and the debacle and everything else that they botched at the end of
13:55the game against the Giants.
13:59Typical Dan Quinn.
14:01Loved the guy.
14:02Wonderful human being.
14:03Great defensive coordinator.
14:04Just don't think he's a very good head coach.
14:07And the reality is, is that those kind of decisions are fireable.
14:12They are.
14:13You can't botch the ending of games like that.
14:15You can't mismanage the clock like that.
14:17And as Falcons fans, we know, that's just the tip of the iceberg.
14:21Oh, boy.
14:23Oh, boy.
14:25Not going to be good.
14:27Not going to be good for DQ.
14:28His own former linebacker, Micah Parsons, said in his podcast,
14:32it's going to cost my, Jaden Daniels is going to cost my boy DQ his job.
14:35No, Micah, you got that wrong.
14:37DQ is going to cost himself the job.
14:38Again, the coach, don't put your team in that situation.
14:43Period.
14:44Don't do it.
14:47I mean, you just don't have to do that kind of stuff.
14:52Kick the field goal from there.
14:54I mean, you know, you guys know I hate kickers and I hate kicking field goals.
14:57I hate leaving any field goal kickers in that spot.
14:59But you weren't scoring a touchdown with six seconds left from the 30.
15:02Weren't doing it.
15:05It's just, you know, it's just so bad.
15:08So bad, the coaching.
15:09So bad, the mismanagement.
15:11And that's part of the reason why he's not going to last that long.
15:16He really isn't.
15:18All right.
15:19I want to make one more point here on Michael Penix before I let you guys enjoy the rest of
15:25your week.
15:27You know, my good buddy, Mark Ramondi, who writes for ESPN.com, he and I are colleagues over at the
15:33Four Letter Network, put something up this morning.
15:40And I'm going to read it to you.
15:41It says, Michael Penix has a line under center on a league-high 56.3% of snaps this season.
15:46That's according to NextGenStats.
15:48Last season, Penix was in the pistol formation, a league-high 52.3% of his snaps.
15:53Second-highest rate by a qualified quarterback since NextGenStats era began in 2016.
16:00Remember all the criticisms about Michael Penix that he couldn't play under center, couldn't do it, his knees were bad,
16:06was scared to, can't turn his back to the defense, blah, blah, blah, blah, yadda, yadda, yadda?
16:12Clearly he can.
16:14He's done it for three straight weeks now, and the offenses look fine.
16:19Right?
16:21So he answered those criticisms and has answered them well.
16:25Well, the other big thing to remember here is that he's now on already his second offensive system, in which
16:35he's played a total of three games in.
16:40But yet, him missing a throw here and there that he should make, and again, I agree, throws should have
16:46been made.
16:46Not saying they should have.
16:49But him missing a throw is the bigger problem.
16:56The guy's fighting health.
16:57The guy's fighting a new system.
16:59He's fighting different players, different schemes, different everything, and he seems to be doing pretty well, and yet we still
17:04want to bitch and complain.
17:06I shouldn't say we.
17:07Some of you want to bitch and complain.
17:12Don't do it.
17:13It's a foolish stance to take at this point in time.
17:18Let this thing play out.
17:20Look, and I will even concede.
17:22I get the frustration because the team has missed the playoffs for so long.
17:26And I get and I understand the idea that you don't have the patience anymore.
17:31I get and I understand that you guys feel like you shouldn't have to go through this again.
17:36I understand all those things.
17:41It's like recovering from surgery, man.
17:43You can't rush the rehab.
17:47As frustrating as it is, as much as you want to be back to 100%, as much as you want
17:52to feel as good as you felt before the surgery, guess what?
17:55You can't rush it.
17:57It's going to take time.
17:59But if you do it right, everything theoretically is better.
18:03And that's what you have to hope for here, that everything theoretically is better because ultimately that's what is in
18:11the best interest of the franchise and everybody else.
18:15So, I mean, I don't know what to tell you guys.
18:18I really wish there was a magic elixir that could make some of you happy.
18:23But it's just, it's who you are.
18:26Don't be the guy who's got to compliment Pennickson and insult him in the next breath and take a shot
18:30at him.
18:32Criticisms are fair.
18:35But, let's keep the criticisms in context.
18:38He missed a couple of throws.
18:39Would you like me next show to detail all the big throws that other quarterbacks, bigger, better quarterbacks have missed
18:46in crucial parts of games?
18:48Throwing the baby out in the bathwater with them too?
18:52I've seen Josh Allen miss throws.
18:54I've seen Lamar Jackson miss throws.
18:57Those guys are still fighting for a Super Bowl just like the Falcons are.
19:02Anybody want them run out of town for it?
19:04No, because they have teams that have made the playoffs.
19:07Okay.
19:08Well, if that's the level of validation or clout that you need for Pennickson, you just got to wait.
19:14Hasn't had an opportunity to do it yet.
19:18Got hurt last year, starting this year.
19:20Still got plenty of football left.
19:24Bitch, if you want, but that's all it's going to do.
19:27And you're only going to live in your own echo chamber thinking you're right when in reality you're wrong.
19:35You don't have to be that crowd.
19:37Let Michael Pennick's grow.
19:38Let him develop.
19:39Things are going to get better.
19:40They're going to win more than they're going to lose.
19:43And let's hope it results in a playoff berth.
19:47And we may look back on this and say, hey, the first two weeks were the difference.
19:51Had Michael Pennick's been healthy the first two weeks, guess what?
19:54You might have made the playoffs.
19:55We might.
19:56We might end up saying that.
19:58That's okay.
19:59Okay.
20:03But don't need to be part of the useful idiot crowd.
20:06And I'm not going to be.
20:08I look at this stuff objectively and what it is, not what I want it to be.
20:11Because I really don't care what it is.
20:14That has no effect on me personally.
20:15I'm not a fan.
20:18But objectively, I know what is in the best interest of the organization, best interest long term,
20:24and what we're watching here with Pennick's as he continues to develop.
20:29All right.
20:29That'll do it here for this edition of A to Z.
20:32Make sure you guys drop a comment down below.
20:34Hit me up on social at Mark Zinno.
20:36And no second show this week because I got military obligations.
20:38So we'll be back next week after the Falcons-Bears game to react to all that.
20:43Appreciate you guys tuning in.
20:44You guys have a great day.
20:44Don't take any crap from anybody.
20:45See you.