Breaking Down What to Expect from Michael Penix

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Dan Patrick Show – "Breaking Down What to Expect from Michael Penix"

Release Date: December 18, 2024

Introduction

In this episode of The Dan Patrick Show hosted by Bobby Skinner and Justin Pennington from the iHeartPodcasts and Dan Patrick Podcast Network, the hosts delve deep into the Atlanta Falcons' recent quarterback decisions, particularly focusing on the benching of Kirk Cousins and the introduction of rookie quarterback Michael Penix. The discussion provides a comprehensive analysis of the Falcons' strategy, the implications of these changes, and what fans can expect moving forward.

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1. Kirk Cousins’ Performance and Benching

The episode begins with Bobby Skinner addressing the Falcons' pivotal decision to bench veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins. Justin Pennington emphasizes that this move was inevitable due to Cousins' declining performance:

Justin Pennington [03:17]: “I don't think this was like Matt Ryan level of bad… but Kirk Cousins forced their hand.”

Bobby elaborates on Cousins' statistics, highlighting his struggles this season:

Bobby Skinner [03:23]: “One touchdown, nine interceptions in the last five games and one in four with…”

The hosts discuss Cousins' inability to effectively maneuver the offense, particularly his limited mobility and predictability in play-calling. They compare Cousins' situation to other quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and Peyton Manning, noting that while Cousins may not have reached the lows of these legends, his performance necessitated a change.

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2. Decision to Draft Michael Penix

Transitioning to the Falcons' strategic moves, the hosts critique the team's decision to sign Cousins while also drafting Michael Penix:

Bobby Skinner [10:23]: “I think no matter what way you paint this, the Falcons messed up somewhere along the line…”

Justin criticizes the Falcons for what he perceives as a misstep in their quarterback strategy:

Justin Pennington [12:23]: “Kirk Cousins is going to go down in NFL history as the most expensive bridge quarterback ever.”

Bobby agrees, pointing out the financial implications and the lack of foresight in the Falcons' approach:

Bobby Skinner [12:51]: “They should have just signed some, used that money elsewhere, signed a bridge quarterback and drafted Michael Penix.”

The discussion underscores the tension between investing heavily in a veteran versus building for the future with a rookie like Penix.

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3. Analysis of Michael Penix’s Potential

The core of the episode revolves around Michael Penix's prospects as the Falcons' new quarterback. Bobby and Justin analyze Penix's strengths and weaknesses, drawing from his college performance and potential fit within the Falcons' offensive scheme.

Bobby Skinner [15:44] outlines Penix's abilities:

“He can read defenses. He sees the rotations that defenses use and has good recall to come back to a play.”

However, concerns are raised about Penix's decision-making under pressure:

Bobby Skinner [24:44]: “He throws the ball in harm's way… when he's under pressure, the accuracy suffers.”

Justin adds that while Penix may not mirror the playstyle of mobile quarterbacks like Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, he offers stability and a clean pocket presence:

Justin Pennington [21:29]: “He is a capable moving quarterback. That I think some of the core identity things that that Atlanta Falcons offense wants to do they're going to be able to do it a lot more now.”

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4. Falcons’ Offensive Strategy and Future Expectations

The hosts discuss how Penix's introduction is expected to revitalize the Falcons' offense, which was previously hampered by Cousins' limitations. They highlight the improved offensive line and the potential for a more dynamic play-calling approach.

Justin Pennington [19:16] notes:

“The offensive line is still holding up pretty well… Drake London is up there in terms of contested catch guys…”

Bobby expresses optimism about the offensive strategy, likening it to successful systems like Sean McVay’s tree, which has produced offensive powerhouses through strategic quarterback utilization:

Bobby Skinner [15:44]: “This is why we love the Falcons, you know, this year with the quarterback and having to play.”

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5. Expectations for Upcoming Games

Looking ahead, Bobby and Justin discuss what fans can expect in the Falcons' upcoming games, particularly the matchup against the New York Giants. They anticipate that Penix will avoid over-reliance on the pass, instead leveraging the Falcons' strong running game and proven receivers like Darnell Mooney and Drake London.

Bobby Skinner [27:18]: “I think Penix should be averaging 8 to 10 yards per attempt and hitting passes over the middle.”

Justin concurs, suggesting that the Falcons will likely focus on a balanced offensive attack to maximize Penix's strengths while minimizing his vulnerabilities under pressure.

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6. Conclusion

Bobby and Justin wrap up the episode by reiterating their cautious optimism regarding Michael Penix's role with the Falcons. While acknowledging the missteps in the team's quarterback strategy, they emphasize the potential for Penix to thrive within the Falcons' offensive framework, provided he can maintain accuracy under pressure and capitalize on the team's offensive weapons.

Bobby Skinner [29:18]: “I'm excited for the Falcons offense to be able to run without just extreme limitations at the quarterback.”

The hosts encourage listeners to stay tuned for how Penix’s integration unfolds in the coming weeks, leaving fans eager for the Falcons' next moves.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Justin Pennington [03:17]: “I don't think this was like Matt Ryan level of bad… but Kirk Cousins forced their hand.”

• Bobby Skinner [03:23]: “One touchdown, nine interceptions in the last five games and one in four with…”

• Justin Pennington [12:23]: “Kirk Cousins is going to go down in NFL history as the most expensive bridge quarterback ever.”

• Justin Pennington [21:29]: “He is a capable moving quarterback. That I think some of the core identity things that that Atlanta Falcons offense wants to do they're going to be able to do it a lot more now.”

• Bobby Skinner [27:18]: “I think Penix should be averaging 8 to 10 yards per attempt and hitting passes over the middle.”

• Bobby Skinner [29:18]: “I'm excited for the Falcons offense to be able to run without just extreme limitations at the quarterback.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode offers a thorough examination of the Atlanta Falcons' quarterback situation, providing listeners with insightful analysis and expert opinions on the implications of signing Kirk Cousins and drafting Michael Penix. Bobby Skinner and Justin Pennington deliver a nuanced discussion that balances criticism with optimism, making it a valuable listen for Falcons fans and NFL enthusiasts alike.

Transcript

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[Bobby Skinner]

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[Justin Pennington]

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[Bobby Skinner]

Say something, Bobby. Welcome to football today. I am your host, Bobby Skinner, here with my co host Justin Penicillin. And guess what? The Atlanta Falcons cousins out Pennix in. Justin, we want to hit this from a lot of angles. How we doing?

[Justin Pennington]

I'm good. Bobby Skinner to get all the questions out of the way. Michael Penix and I, we're not related. I asked him down at the Senior bowl down in Mobile interview interviewed him a couple months ago. We may talk about that a little bit down at the Senior Bowl I asked him do you think we're related? He said I don't know, maybe, but I'm ruling it out. We're not related. How are you?

[Bobby Skinner]

Have you done the 23 in me?

[Justin Pennington]

I have didn't came back negative.

[Bobby Skinner]

Yeah. So the Falcons have benched Kirk Cousins. They absolutely had to do this, right Justin. I mean Cousins is just done. You know, maybe after another extra year rehab, you can get back to being better than what he is right now. I don't think this was like Matt Ryan level of bad with the Colts or even at the end with the Falcons or like Peyton at the end with the Broncos. But Peyton obviously has a superior mind where he was able to get by in those playoffs. I don't think it's that level Justin. But it was just like he, he can't push off, right. He can't throw the ball, you know the way that he wants to. Right. Not attacking down the field. They can only run play action out of pistol. Like just couldn't do all the things that Kirk Cousins had done well in his career. Like if this was, this isn't just like oh Kirk Cousins, this is who he is. Like this is not who Kirk Cousins has been. You know if they got Minnesota version of him last year, you know like health wise then they're definitely not making this move. But Kirk Cousins forced their hand. One touchdown, nine interceptions in the last five games and one in four with you know and the one win was an escaping win against the Raiders. They basically probably threw away the division already. You know they're, they're one game back of the Bucks now they have the tiebreaker for the Bucks but they had the Falcons have the Giants commanders Panthers and the Bucks have Cowboys, Panthers, Saint. So the Bucks do have an easier schedule going ahead. Now all they need is the Bucks to lose one game and the Falcons to win three winnable games. But it may be too little too late. But this just had to happen for the Falcons at this point.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, yeah, I guess we'll touch on first why the Falcons needed to make this change and then I even want to ask you then we'll move to full on Michael Penck does this Change the, you know, how you feel about the draft pick, et cetera, et cetera. But why the Falcons needed to make this change, man. You know, you talked about them operating out of the pistol 36 and a half percent of their snaps this year. That's the fourth highest in the NFL that they've been operating out of the pistol. And we're going to talk maybe a good amount, a good amount about the McVeigh branch of offense. That's what Zach Robinson is kind of off that Sean McVeigh branch. I am sure that this offense wants to operate under center and utilize play action. And we see what they're doing with these outside zone runs with Bijan Robinson. You can't do that with Kirk Cousins's inability to move this year. And I think that's probably something that I don't know when Cousins kind of fully came back and started to practice, but I'm sure that's something that maybe the team was shocked by that. Oh, we're not going to be able to run the offense that maybe we fully want this year because we have a quarterback that legitimately can't move because it's not being able to move and take play action rollouts. It's taken play action rollouts completely out of the offense. Forget even the outside zone stuff. Only 11 outs like play action rollouts this year for Kirk Cousins. That's the lowest the team has had since 2017. Big Ben, who also couldn't move. You know, Kirk Cousins has also been like the man in play action, but it's just been totally taken away from this offense because he can't move. And you even saw against the Raider game and our producer Connor was talking to him on the way in today. You know, he's a Raider fan, was watching that game. And Kirk Cousins on these outside zones can't even get the ball out there to these running backs when they're operating out of pistol. So it's even tough for him to get the ball out there. So there's a lot of other reasons why, you know, Kirk Cousins not being able to use his legs of driving the ball in. He has the fourth highest tight window throw rate this year. I think a lot of that has to do with the, the lack of quote unquote arm strength because he can't put his legs into a lot of these throws and because the offense can be so predictable. Predictable. So yeah, that's. They. They needed to make this move and a lot of it is just because Kirk Cousins literally, literally cannot move.

[Bobby Skinner]

Yes. And again it's not because of who Kirk Cousins was in Washington or Minnesota. It's coming off of the Achilles injury. He's just, he's not the same. It showed up early in the year and they found. And again they still like have yard, you know, they still have a lot of yards. Even, you know, not the Falcons game, we're only at 100 or so yards. But like even in these higher interception games, Kirk is thrown for yards. His mind is still there. And they have the weapon yards per game and I think they have offensive, the offensive play calling is, is better but it just hasn't gotten the shine because of Kirk Cousins limitations. Like all that stuff is there. It's just, I just worry that it is too. I mean they went one in four and I understand making this decision is not easy because the investment they made into him, which we're going to talk about that when we talk about the decisions with, you know, bringing in Kirk and Penix and all this. But you know, one in one touchdown, nine interceptions and you go and watch the interceptions because interceptions can be a lying stat at times. You know, remember like the year Dak led the league in interceptions a couple years ago, it's like, okay, but he's never, he's never done that before. And like five of these were tipped up and it was a low year for interceptions total in the NFL with this. Every, almost every single interception was just God awful ugly. Right where it's just, he's popping a football up, he's, he's throwing into triple coverage. It was just really bad stuff. And you didn't have the touchdowns to go with it. With the only one. I think he limited the run game, obviously limited the passing. You just had to do this, Justin.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, yeah. Like guys like Drake London are coming out of their breaks before Kirk is even set in his fully dropped before he's done with his drop back, you know, so again, I, I don't, I, I want to kind of get to the Michael Penix part of this. Let's do it now.

[Bobby Skinner]

Now the, let's talk about the draft decision. How about that? Yeah.

[Justin Pennington]

And it's not necessarily that Michael Penix, I feel like is gonna add this huge dynamic as a quarterback, but what he's simply going to do is he's going to open up the playbook more because he, he, he is a capable moving quarterback. And even though he's not a mobile quarterback, he's a capable moving quarterback. That I think some of the core identity things that that Atlanta Falcons offense wants to do they're going to be able to do it a lot more now and I think they're going to maybe be able to do it better because it's not Kirk Cousins.

[Bobby Skinner]

Yeah, we're not going into now. Now we, you know, now we're not, you know, running and gunning and we're making throws on the run and scrant. Like that's not going to be added with Michael Panick's game, which we'll talk about. But what you is just like there were so many limitations because of the Kirk, the Kirk injury. And then we know Penix can make, you know, you know, basically almost, almost all the throws. You know, he's got the strong arm. So. Do you want to talk about Michael Penix in general as a player before we talk about the, the decision to sign Kirk and, and then draft Michael Penns for the Falcons?

[Justin Pennington]

No, let's. I want to, I want to, let's start at the beginning. Let's not Quentin Tarantino this and work our way backwards. Let's. I, I want to hear your thoughts because it was on this show and you had a, you had a clip that did well after the draft about the decision to draft Michael Penix. Now obviously not. None of us really knew and obviously the Falcons didn't freaking know just how physically limited Kirk Cousins would be this year. So now that we know and now that we agree with this decision, with three games left for them to bring Michael Penix into the mix, does that change the way that you view the draft pick?

[Bobby Skinner]

Bobby? No, because we, we, we talked about it in that draft pot, even talked about a good amount in the offseason, especially with some guests is that I think no matter what way you paint this, the Falcons messed up somewhere along the line and not just a little mess up, but had a major mess up because Kirk Cousins wasn't on their team. They signed Kirk Cousins, they invested in this. There's been this like media spin won by the, you know, the bot four, you know, insiders, like man, they're prepared. And then you also have the people who are just so over infatuated like oh, just quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, quarterback. You know, just take, take shots, just draft a quarterback every year type of people. Those people like it. You gave Kirk cousins a four year, $180 million contract. You weren't forced to do that. You also weren't forced to pay. You didn't have to do that to have Michael Pennock sit for a little bit if that was your plan. Right, right. Like you could have Signed a different quarterback and also let Michael Pennock sit for a little bit. You know, Russell Wilson was out there. You could have made the trade for Justin. Again, not guys that are, that you know have, you know, that are going to be killing, you know, changing the world. But the same time neither is Kirk Cousins. You're benching him, you know, but the difference is those guys are going to cost you 404 years, $180 million. Now obviously it's not all guaranteed, but it's basically a two year deal. They have a 65 if they cut him, which I don't know if anyone's going to trade for him. They have a $65 million dead cap next year. $65 million dead cap like that. That to me is they screwed up terribly on this quarterback contract. Terribly. Okay, so that's why the whole Michael Penix like oh well it may work out in the end. Like yeah, Michael Pennix ends up good. It may work out in the end. Guess what would have worked out in the end regardless? Michael Penix. Then you didn't again. You were not sitting on a team that Kirk Cousins been their QB for a long time and they went out and signed him as a win now move and, and he can't win now for them.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, I think the decision to draft Michael Penix looks better. But what looks exponentially worse is signing Kirk Cousins where now Kirk Cousins is going to go down in NFL history as the most expensive bridge quarterback ever. Like that. That's what this is. I don't net now seeing what Kirk Cousins is and this doesn't. I still think this is very bad process by the Atlanta Falcons. It is.

[Bobby Skinner]

They should have just signed some, used that money elsewhere, signed a bri, signed an actual bridge quarterback and drafted Michael Penix. Right. So again you have everyone spinning and like oh, Falcons don't look so crazy after all. It's like yes they do. They just spent, they're gonna, they're gonna spend $90 million on a guy who started 14 games for them.

[Justin Pennington]

And now my opinions flipped. Whereas the draft day I'm like well why are you drafting Michael Penix when you sign Kirk Cousins? Now my opinion's flipped where it's like well why did you sign, why did you sign Kirk Cousins? And you know what makes it even worse Bobby? Is that this costed them a fifth round pick because they tampered with Kirk Cousins and over a quarter million dollars in fines, which I guarantee you they don't fucking care about the fines. But you know, this costed Them a fifth round draft pick as well because they tampered with Kirk Cousins. Because they really. Because that's how bad they wanted to sign him.

[Bobby Skinner]

Yeah, that's how bad they want to sign him. That he signed the minute free agency started. Justin. And they didn't bring him in for a workout to see how he was doing physically.

[Justin Pennington]

I don't even know if he was cleared.

[Bobby Skinner]

That's. No, he wasn't. But still, like you could have gotten somewhat of an idea. Like they didn't. They, they couldn't have given him a physical or anything like that. Like, I don't know, maybe that's a reach on my point. But just like again, like if you listen to our draft day, you know, our first round recap pod, it's like it is, it's very stupid. It's very stupid for the Falcons to sign Kirk Cousins and then draft Michael Penix. Okay. You do one or the other. That was always the argument against the Falcons do one or the other. And you're putting yourself like. And it missed Kirk Cousins. You didn't tell Kirk that you were going to even think about doing this. You know, he was bothered after the draft on like you just created a mess. And you know what? If they drafted a bridge quarterback or signed a actual bridge quarterback, they would have, they could have went to Michael Penix a little earlier and maybe even gotten into the playoffs because they basically had a walk in when the Falcon, when the Bucs got all injured and then Kirk Cousins has this stretch and they lose four straight games.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, and we knew that schedule, I mean, coming into the year, we knew that, you know, we knew this Falcons schedule was just an absolute cakewalk this year. Number one, because you're playing in the NFC South. And number two, they did just have a cakewalk.

[Bobby Skinner]

You know how the Falcons know they screwed up is because they played them this long into it. Right? Yeah, because like, oh, we can't, we can't just bench this investment. Like this was tough for them because they, this was not their plan at all. So again, Michael Penix maybe ended up looking great and we look back at it and it's like, I will. Yeah, we wasted a ton of money and could have brought in this free agent, but in the day we got our franchise quarterback so we're happy. That's all fine and dandy, but that's never the argument against the Falcons. Like, right. Get it. I feel like a lot of times whenever a team does get the. And again, I don't think Penix is going to be this, I think he can look good in this offense at times but I just, I don't look at the Falcons. I'm like man look at these geniuses thinking ten steps. No, this is not Jordan Love on the Packers. This isn't, this is not the same situation at all.

[Justin Pennington]

No, they, they, they cost themselves a lot, a lot of money and now they are in a situation where they are praying, they are praying that a team will take on Kirk Cousins is 27 and a half million dollar base salary next year. And then I think the Falcons would only need to eat would only would only need to eat like 30, 30 some million 37 and a half million next year and then have and then luck then if they're lucky they have no 2026 dead cap and they just have to eat almost 40 million the next year. So I mean they better hope that a team wants to take that on and then you're only going to get a six round draft pick back. You're getting a day three draft pick back for Kirk Cousins. So Bobby, before we talk about what Michael Penix can bring to the table, since I think that's the really beef of this conversation, can I talk to you about something?

[Bobby Skinner]

Talk to me about something.

[Justin Pennington]

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[Bobby Skinner]

I had a I, I Had a thought that I want to talk about. So Dan Patrick. People are listening to the Dan Patrick on the feed. Wait till the end of the show because I want to get something national, Justin, that has to do with us. All right, but let's talk about the, the Michael Penix of. Of it all because at the end of the day, they're, they're just making a change of quarterback. So I'll be honest as a. So we are New York Giants fans and so we have the pulse of the team. From the Giants fan point of view, it's like, let's see who they passed on with Michael Penix. From my point of view, I'm like, let's see Zach Robinson without the most limited quarterback of all time. But let's talk about Michael Penix as a player. Justin. You know, we did a lot of work on him. You know, we did our full quarterback draft previews last year. There's a lot. We interviewed him in Mobile, Alabama. He was the. He looked like the best quarterback down there with Bo Nix. He can read defenses. He sees the rotations that like defenses use and has good recall to come back to a play. When, you know, he sees something, a defense that like got him on something, you know, he's got a strong arm, right? It's not this crazy, you know, Josh Allen type arm, but he has a strong arm. He's fairly accurate with a clean pocket and he's aggressive. You know, he throw the ball deep 21% of the time. And another thing that can be his, a good thing and a bad thing for him is he's not going to take sacks. He will get rid of the ball if he. Whether it's just, hey, my internal clock is up. Let's throw this ball with whatever I got the best option or throw the ball away. But that can also harm him, right? He throws especially when there is real pressure and not just like a play is kind of, you know, falling apart. He'll throw the ball in harm's way. You know, he had 11 interceptions in 15 games last year, nine of 15 games with an interception. And when pressured, he will panic. And the act. It's not just like decision making. The accuracy suffers greatly when he's pressured because he doesn't have the creation part to his game. There's just no creation outside the pocket with his legs. That being said, though, I think this is a great fit for somebody from the Sean McVay tree and Zach Robinson with this running game with these weapons. Because despite the fact that Kirk has been limited you know, Kirk has thrown for 3,500 yards this year. You know, they're six in passing yards, they're 12th in rushing yards, they're ninth in yards per play, they're seventh in yards per drive. You know, at one point this year, Darnell Mooney was fourth and receiving in the NFL. Like at like week nine, he was fourth in the NFL and receiving yards. Whenever we did our midseason all probably I was like, oh my God, Darnell Mooney is up here and Drake London was right behind him. This is a good spot. It kind of reminds me of like maybe we could see what happened with Jared Goff early with the Rams where it's a little bit telling him where it is running play action. They'll be able to do that more if they face a team that's going to pressure them like crazy and get after them and disguise coverages the same the way the Michigan did last year in the national championship. Yeah, it'll be a mess, but I think he's getting into a pretty nice situation. This is why we love the Falcons, you know, this year with the quarterback and having to play. The Giants, who have almost every starting DB is injured except for like they're probably one of their worst starters. And Jason Pinnock, the commanders who despite their success this year lack a lot of talent on defense. And then the Carolina Panthers, the worst passing defense in the NFL. Like this is a nice landing spot for Michael Pennix to start his career.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, absolutely. That offensive line is still holding up pretty well and you know, true pass set grades and stuff like that. We know that. We know the talent that they have there. I love Drake London for this, this offense and this quarterback in particular. Drake London I think is up there in terms of contested catch guys that can go up and get it like with, with a George Pickens, um, Darnell Mooney Somehow has like 4 yards per reception more than Drake London. I hope that changes. I hope Drake, I kind of like.

[Bobby Skinner]

That dynamic where London's their main guy and Mooney is, look, he's going to get those big plays. Like you see that with a lot of teams where they have their number one, who's their go to guy and then their number two is the guy who's going to average 15 yards per catch.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, yeah. You know, and you, you talked about Pennix limiting sacks in college, which. That was very true. I have, I have that same note what I think Penix is going to bring. This is again what Cousins did not bring. And this is what makes Pennix different of, you know, you're not going to see the plays like Lamar and Josh Allen and Mahomes where we're running around and extending plays like that. But I would say, you know, the ceiling and what you want to strive for is Michael Penix can be a guy like, maybe like a Joe Burrow where you can extend plays within inside the pocket. I don't think he's going to be doing that outside the pocket and making guys miss and extending plays that way. But that is a guy that can extend plays inside the pocket and that's going to have to be a key for him in the NFL. Can he stay calm? Can he stay cool? Can he stay collected in the NFL? In the NFL doing that. And even on plays where he's holding the ball for longer than two and a half seconds, his pressure to sack rate was still impressively low. Whereas, like, hey, you look like a guy like Caleb Williams where you hold onto the ball for longer than 2 1/2 seconds. What in the world is going to happen? What are you going to do with the ball? That's been a little bit of an issue this year, right? Where Michael Penix in college was not an issue for him. Yeah, he is going to sling it.

[Bobby Skinner]

The issue is like, there's a guy like Josh Allen who like, oh, his pressure of the sack rate is great, 2% and he's creating big plays out of it. With Penix, it's more of like, all right, we're just going to throw it or try or try and throw it away to avoid that sack, which is good. You don't want to avoid those sacks, but that's where it gets in harm's way. So listen, I think this is a good spot for any young quarterback or, you know, I guess Michael Pannix isn't the youngest guy, but any rookie quarterback. The Falcons, I think, are a very nice offensive structure. I'm really, I, I think Zach Robinson can get a head coaching gig off these next three games. You know, I'm someone who loves the Sean McVeigh tree. You saw hires like Matt LaFleur and Kevin O'Connell get mocked in the moment. And guess where they're at right now. You know, on the top a combined five losses on the year or whatever. Maybe, you know. Yeah, combined five losses on the year. So I think he can get. I think this is a really good offense. That was just like, man, Kirk Cousins can't do anything. Now Penix, long term, I still, you know, I didn't view him as someone that was worthy of the 8th overall pick. I view him as someone like, when shit breaks down, it's. It'd be one thing if, like, hey, you had some turnovers in those moments, but the accuracy suffers when he's under pressure. You know, go back and watch that mission game. You don't want to judge a guy off one game. But when that. When the. When there's pressure and the picture on defense is not, the accuracy suffers. Like, even the preseason game you played was pretty good. You saw some good moments in there. But you, like, see if I can even find my notes. I went and watched every throw from that one game when we did on it, and it was like, man, the accuracy, like, he's. He's missed on, like, half of these. These throws. See if I could find my notes, because I actually charted it from that preseason game. But yeah, Justin, go ahead, say something while I find these notes.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, yeah. And confident that my in Michael panics is armed. But the one thing that I wanted to add that I'm a little hesitant on is. Is the quick game. You know, I. I think we're gonna see him sling it. We're gonna see him sling it to Mooney. We're gonna see him, hey, even get Kyle Pitts involved. We're gonna see him sling it to Drake London. But the one thing that I have a little bit of a question on is a lot of the quick game at Washington was short passes and screens to the outside, but utilizing the middle of the field and attacking all three levels of the field, that's something that you kind of need to do with the NFL. And it's not really what he did at Washington. I feel like a lot of it was towards the sideline when it's short. And then if it's long again, you're attacking the sideline, you're going deep, you're going vertical in that grub offense. Just think of how many big plays was like, you know, Michael Pennix, and this is good on him. You're showing the arm talent, you're showing the accuracy, but it was kind of just giving his top three wide receivers, you know, particularly Polk and, you know, Romo Dunesay, just giving them almost contested catch opportunities, which the Falcons have watched was right. And they can replicate that for sure. And they could replicate these quick little passes, too. You have these weapons. You have guys that are good with yards after the catch, so that is something that you can replicate. And in terms of Bobby's point about pressure, I think if there's ever a situation or if There's a game or a scheme that the Falcons feel like there's going to be a team that's going to bring pressure, you know, maybe even the Giants, like the Giants have a decent pass rush still. You know, heading into this Sunday, I could very much see play action rollouts and getting him away from the pressure. And that's an answer to how can we get this guy throwing from a clean space, right? Play action rollouts is the way to go. And again they could not do that with Kirk Cousins.

[Bobby Skinner]

Again, it's very similar to what the Rams did with Jared Goff who had similar issues where it's like when it's clean and the reads there he's got it when their pressure, it breaks down. But like, you know my preseason like that 9 for 16, 104 yard game. Like here's my note. Missed deep shot on third down, but good read of safety rotation corner a little too wide. Deep ball versus cover three. Guy gets beat. Nice ball. Ball sailed on an out route. Move linebacker with a pump to hit, dig over the middle. Miss deep on an alert. Good stick flat to get third and goal at the one, then missed the fade, missed the check down flat behind the guy, third down, almost intercept. So like we didn't see him light the world up on fire in those most. Even though you do see good stuff. So three years from now, am I going to be like, man, look at this. I don't think so with Michael penix to be 100% real. But I think this is a great opportunity for him in these last three games. And I think the Falcons are a pretty good offensive situation that's been held back significantly by Kirk Cousins.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, I mean if anything we can maybe we can even wrap this up by giving a little bit of a preview. What, what, what, what do we expect this Sunday, Bobby, going up against our New York Football Giants and what is a completely decimated defense. And if the Falcons are smart, Michael Penix isn't throwing the ball more than 16, 17 times this game because they should just run the damn ball.

[Bobby Skinner]

Well, here's the issue. The Giants have started playing run defense very heavily since they lost Dexter Lawrence and their DBs are terrible. Like a lot of their touchdowns that the Ravens had were like their corners just playing the run way too heavy and guys getting behind them. So I think they can they. I think Pennocks have a big. They. Their starting corners were in this most recent game were two guys who weren't on the roster last week. And then Isaiah Simmons, who's a linebacker that's, that's what they're starting corner group was and then a bad, a bad safety duo and Dane Belton and Jason Pinnock or some people call him Justin Pinnock, by the way. Go. If you're listening to this from the go check out the first 12 minutes of our podcast, Talking Giants. It's a little more Nationals. That's shocking. Shocking. It's going to be our most listened to episode ever because of how shocking the Giants are, how dumb they are. But let me say this. If he struggles against this Giants team like you, you don't want to judge a guy off his first game, good or bad. Right. We've seen the good where you have the will levises, Daniel Jones, Marcus Mariota's who light it up in their first game and then look at them now. But I'll be disappointed if Michael Pennock doesn't light up this Giants offense again. I don't need him to throw the ball 30 times, but he should be averaging 8 to 10 yards per attempt. Yeah. You know, hitting passes over the middle and have a touchdown or two.

[Justin Pennington]

Yeah, I agree with that.

[Bobby Skinner]

But I'm excited for. I'm just excited for the Falcons offense to be able to run without just extreme limitations at the quarterback, which is what they were dealing with. Like it hurt every aspect of that offense having Kirk Cousins at quarterback, you know?

[Justin Pennington]

Yes.

[Bobby Skinner]

And it's not because of who Kirk Cousins has been in his career. Right. If Kirk Cousins is not injured. Yeah. Is there limitations? Kurt Cousin's not a great quarterback, sure. But he's a pretty damn good quarterback. But when you have those physical limitations, it's just hard to do it. And I still think they did pretty damn well considering all of that. Justin, do you have anything else on this before we we head out?

[Justin Pennington]

No, nothing else.

[Bobby Skinner]

This is a fun episode. Get to dive deep on a 30 minutes on just one subject. How about that? We appreciate you guys. We will see you on Friday. Until then, that is football today.

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