Is Michael Penix Really 'Ferdinand The Bull' At QB?
Remember the story of Ferdinand the Bull? He was a big burly bull who , against all expectations, had absolutely no interest in fighting. His lack of intensity and his puny competitive spirit were downright puzzling to all those who saw the situation unfold.
Ring any bells, Falcons fans? The local team has several qb's on the payroll. They fall into one of two distinct categories– those that CAN play and those that WILL play. At least that's how it looks from here.
Of course, only the Falcons could take a QB quandary that they created and somehow amplifiy it and complicate it even further. This week's episode concerns a quarterback who doesn't want to.play football just yet.
Start with this– the Atlanta Falcons paying big money to three quarterbacks. None of those three will be playing for Atlanta (again) this weekend– we think. One, of course is playing for another team. The other two are still here in town , but unavailable for duty this week.
To add to the craziness, this team also has a smoldering controversy between the only two remaining functional quarterbacks available at the moment. One– Cooper Rush--has played poorly, but he has game "experience ". The other – Jack Strand--is a rookie from the world of D ll football, a man who showed out well in preseason but has yet to take a snap in a real game, crowd preference notwithstanding.
How the Falcons got here almost defies belief. They have taken the challenging task of finding a capable quarterback and made it look almost comically difficult over the past few years.
Currently they have four qb's on the roster. One is Tua, who came here with the widely- held notion that he would be the likely starter until the presumed long-term starter, Michael Penix, had fully rehabbed his ACL tear from last year( the third such injury of his career). But Tua developed an oblique injury a few days prior to game one and was ruled out. Meanwhile, Penix was said to be cleared to play by the medical staff. The fan base took that news to mean that he would play, especially given Tua's unavailability.
Penix, however, stated that he wasn't ready to play, and that given his lack of readiness, it would be improper treatment of his team for him to play. He did not say specifically what his self-assessment is based on, only that he's not there yet.
Thus the quarterback job for game one fell to Cooper Rush, who developed his own issue– back spasms- two days prior to the game. He started anyway, and played ineffectively in the loss to Pittsburgh. The fourth quarterback, Strand, was available but for reasons known only to coach Kevin Stefanski did not play.
Over the past few days, frustration amongst the fan base has bubbled up on social media and local sports talk shows. People are confused and annoyed that Penix won't play until he is fully ready, and that the designation of being " ready" will be his own call, made on his criteria, which remain vague.
Heretofore we believed that being medically cleared was the same as being available. Apparently it is not.
The decisive win by Kansas City over Denver on Monday night, featuring a still- rehabbing Patrick Mahomes ( ACL) playing well in a knee brace, only fanned the frustrations of Falcons' fans. Why can't our guy push the agenda, like Mahomes did, went the reasoning.
Where will it all end? Tune in this Sunday to see the next installment of SNAFU– Situation Normal, All Falconed Up– It might not be good football, but it won't be boring.
And to think that if the Falcons' Plan A had gone forward, Deshaun Watson would be the quarterback (!).
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com