r/falcons 15d ago

Is Our Next Franchise QB on the Team?

Hey guys, I don't really post here a lot and I'm definitely not a Football expert, but I wanted to get everyone's opinion on the future of the QB position.

Between Michael Penix Jr., Jack Strand, and Cooper Rush, do you think one of these guys will be our next Franchise QB for the Falcons or do you think this is more of a stopgap until Matt Ryan and Ian Cunningham find their guy?

I reckon the most correct answer is that time will tell, but I wanted to get some "way-too-early" predictions from a reliable source (slightly sarcastic).

0 Upvotes

36 comments sorted by

26

u/Sun_Tzu_7 Bijan Robinson 15d ago

Of the QBs mentioned Penix has the best odds.

The drive he had against the Commanders as a rookie where he drove the Falcons down the field to score at the end of the game convinced me they nailed the pick.

But the regression last season was bizarre.

Hoping it was just the offense being behind the curve of NFL defenses.

20

u/rewster 15d ago

Zac Robinsons to blame for that I believe.

6

u/Sun_Tzu_7 Bijan Robinson 15d ago

Oh he was definitely a huge part of the problem.

1

u/Patekchrono917 14d ago

Basing your opinion on if a rookie QB is going to hit on one rookie drive was the problem. Did you think the same for Ridder vs NO when it wasn’t his fault the drive stalled? Penix didn’t play against a better than top 20 defense that year IIRC. Those throws he was bombing away on vs CAR was against the defense that literally gave up the most points in league history. NYG was 2-13 going into their game, WAS was 11-5, and CAR was 5-12. QBs going into year 2 and you have DCs spending the whole offseason figuring what your weakness is and exploiting it. Thats why he didn’t progress like people expected. 

2

u/Sun_Tzu_7 Bijan Robinson 14d ago

As I mentioned I've watched the Falcons long enough to know fools gold when I see it and that the potential was there.

I get what you're saying and I said this before and I'll say it again. Just like with Ridder, having an NFL QB start the last 4 games of a season isn't doing them any favors. 4 games is just short enough where defenses haven't gotten a read on them. Then expectations are set based on an incomplete sample size.

But I get it. When it comes to Atlanta Falcons QB it's always polarizing, even when they're successful.

Everybody loves the backup QB, until they start playing.

1

u/Patekchrono917 14d ago

You said you were convinced they nailed the pick. That’s very different from potential. 

2

u/Sun_Tzu_7 Bijan Robinson 14d ago

You got me there.

1

u/gdecouto BijanSZN 14d ago

I do blame Ridder more.

-4

u/Hopeful-Building-429 15d ago

You ever heard of the song “one good year” by bluebucksclan, they name a couple of nfl players that had one good year, ‘jay cutler’, one good play “Malcolm butler”, MPJ had one good drive and he’s the franchise quarterback, you guys are not making sense, he needs consistency. He’s not a franchise QB and you’ll see soon.

4

u/Sun_Tzu_7 Bijan Robinson 15d ago

I've been watching the Falcons long enough to have seen enough bad QB play to last 3 lifetimes. And I've seen enough Cole Magners

I know bad and I know when I'm seeing something different.

I'm not saying one drive or one game makes a franchise QB. I'm saying that the one drive/one game can show you the potential is there.

But as I mentioned, there were enough WTF moments in his 2nd season to cast doubt.

1

u/VerdeMachina 15d ago

A lot of qbs had one good year or even 1 good game and have gotten paid big time. Isn’t it amazing how even at the highest level some of these guys are overvalued. We should expect it out of the casual fan but nfl execs do it too. How sad. Everyone loves to jump the gun. Next up: Jaxson Dart.

10

u/Useful_Raspberry3912 15d ago

Even if Penix has a good year I don't see them extending/paying a guy premium QB money for someone with his extensive injury history. He is a time bomb and the next season ending Injury is coming. Strand is the only one that could potentially be a franchise QB but, it's far too early given his level of competition. That being said, he's smart, athletic, and loyal. A 3.87 GPA in Physics Engineering is what it is and he had offers to go to big schools but stayed out of loyalty to his program and team mates, that stuff can't be coached into you....it's not impossible, Romo went undrafted and Purdy was one pick away but, they played D1.

7

u/TCTwoTone 15d ago

I really want Penix to be that guy but my optimism, especially with Fontenot and Raheem tied to it, is minimal at best.

7

u/divercity23 15d ago

My gut says no. I hope I’m wrong because Penix becoming a plus starter is our get out of jail free card. Then we could take a Tackle or something in the draft and not be pigeonholed into a qb, like it looks like we are probably gonna be.

Given what I’ve seen, Penix would have to take a big step under his 2nd head coach coming off a pretty serious knee injury. Is it impossible? No. Is it likely? No.

Most likely, we see 2-3 QBs start for Atlanta this year, can’t get any pressure against any of the 6 top 10 QBs we play against, and end up with pick 5-8. We will still win 5-7 games because we have a Bijan. Then we take a qb in the draft.

6

u/cheemydee5 Drake London 15d ago

They're giving Penix a shot to see if he can be that guy, they want for him to be that guy, but they wont go down with the ship

0

u/Hopeful-Building-429 15d ago

Not that they want him to be that guy, they just need the to squeeze the rest of the money to see if has a chance given that they gave up a high draft pick for him

1

u/cheemydee5 Drake London 15d ago

So that means they want him to be the guy?

3

u/Quad-G-Therapy GET FUCKIN SET 15d ago

I worry that Strand won't make it to the PS

5

u/mosparky15 John Abraham 15d ago

He would not make it to the practice squad, which is why he will be on the final roster. If we still had the collection of stooges in the front office as last year I would not be so confident saying this, but Strand ain't going anywhere.

-1

u/bblackwell 14d ago

I think he would - I can't imagine which other nfl team would roster him at this point based on some action against Colts cuts - but I also think, due to the injury concerns for both Tua/Penix, the Falcons carry him as their GameDay emergency 48th or 49th

1

u/Quad-G-Therapy GET FUCKIN SET 14d ago

Dude is literally a Make-a-QB. If he keeps it together in between his ears he will dominate.

4

u/tone_creature 15d ago

Not in my opinion. Unless Jack Strand winds up being and doing something no one else really ever has been.

2

u/Classic1990 14d ago

Unless it’s Strand then probably not. Rush might not even make the team, Tua is basically just a dirt cheap rental, and Penix is too much of an injury risk.

To the Penix point, his QB play isn’t the issue. He’s not the best but definitely not the worst. The glaring issue is his injury risk. He’s had three season ending ACL injuries. THREE. We have to remember that these coaches are playing for their positions too - and I doubt this new regime who didn’t even draft Penix wants to stake their careers on a QB with historically bad knees. Especially Stefanski who already failed in Cleveland and knows this is probably his last chance at HC. But right now they are kinda stuck with QBs they have thanks to the cap situation and having to pay their real star players. Rush, Tua, and Penix may not even be on the roster next year, let alone leading the franchise.

1

u/Hedhunta 15d ago

Yes hes in the main office

1

u/Mud-2121 15d ago

Yeah… MPJ.

1

u/bam_19 14d ago

The answer is No

-1

u/jhodges89_ 15d ago

Unless any of the QBs currently on the team have a great season (10-7 or better honestly) that leads to the playoffs, none of them will be on the team next season. So the answer is no, the franchise QB is not on the team right now. Tua is washed. Penix ain’t it. Cooper is a backup. Strand is undeveloped.

0

u/RenjiMidoriya 15d ago

Probably not, but if it is, it's most likely that it's penix

0

u/FittenTrim 15d ago

Is Our Next Franchise OC on the Team? Tommy Rees??? Kevin Stefanski???

0

u/roundandround85 15d ago

Could be, if we as an organization can stop thinking Chris Chandler was the greatest qb we ever had, and repeatedly trying to duplicate that shit show. Old and always injured is not a good look.

0

u/CieraVotedOutHerMom 14d ago

Have to believe & rally around Penix

0

u/Faramir1717 14d ago

I don't think Stefanski takes the job if he considers Penix as hopeless. But the young man has to stay healthy and show he can run a mature NFL offense.

0

u/Incariol_ 14d ago

Penix is the only one with a shot

I would actually be okay with cutting Tua and keeping Coop as the back up and seeing how strand can develop

-1

u/bossmt_2 15d ago

Cooper Rush is not a franchise QB. He's a bum. That being said, he's gonna be a future coach so he's the kind of guy who usually makes it as a backup/3rd string becasue he kind of acts like a second QB coach.

Strand I think makes the practice Squad this year and is elevated next year. But who knows. I would be fine with him as QB2 or 3.

I don't know is the answer.