The Atlanta Falcons still have not named their starting quarterback. Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa will split first team reps as the club continues preparations for its Week 1 matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. "Tua Tagovailoa had a big-time lead in this race," Ian Rapoport reported during his appearance on NFL GameDay on Thursday.
That he would come in, play well, take the starting job and kind of move forward that way. Meanwhile, Michael Penix Jr. could just rehab, recover from that torn ACL, get back whenever healthy, then they would reassess at some point in the season if a change needed to be made. "Tua has been inconsistent in practice, was inconsistent in the game," he added.
"Seems like he has been practicing better the last couple of days, but the door is open for Michael Penix." It’s a tossup as to who will be the guy, which isn’t totally unfamiliar to the new head coach: Age: 442020-2025: Cleveland Browns (Head Coach)2006-2019: Minnesota Vikings (Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Assistant) Stefanski has never quite been set at quarterback. Baker Mayfield, Case Keenum, Nick Mullens, Jacoby Brissett, Deshaun Watson, Joe Flacco, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker, Jeff Driskel, Jameis Winston, Bailey Zappe, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel all made starts during his tenure with the Cleveland Browns.
Mayfield was the incumbent, but didn’t even make it two seasons before being given up on and bouncing around before becoming the guy we know today with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Watson was brought aboard to be the long-term answer, but as we all know, absolutely was not and still isn’t. It’s safe to say none of the other options were, either.
Stefanski obviously has history making something out of nothing, though, which bodes well for his new gig. The Falcons haven’t yet figured out who will start in Week 1, but there’s confidence that he can get at least halfway decent football out of either Penix or Tagovailoa. If he can, it will be the start of a successful partnership.
If he can’t, it’s only fair to let him pick the next guy.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
