Falcons Penix/Cousins Debacle. What say you?

[ajcardfan]

If you really are sure about a QB, then it is a great pick IF he winds up top tier. I liked Penix more than Maye or McCarthy although he is higher risk healthwise. Personally, I think he dumber thing was the Cousins contract. So, I do not think the guys running the team handled the situation well at all.

 

[Stout]

Atlanta can move on from Cousins easily in two seasons.

QB is far more valuable than any other position and it's not particularly close. I think the front office people who have been around Atlanta and have braved the post-Ryan wilderness want to set the team up to be stocked at QB for a long time.

Initially I thought it was a terrible idea, but Penix can sit and learn and be the successor to Cousins. It's a long term projection and could be a next level thinking move.

If Pennix is the starting QB and is a good player in 2026, this will be an outstanding move.

Then he can retire in 2028, right? I'm just being silly, but if you're going for a successor plan long-term, you don't do it with an older oft-injured QB. It just doesn't make any sense.

 

[Stout]

Packers did it to Favre with Rodgers.

That worked out so horribly I cannot understand what the falcons could be thinking……

Right, Pennix is a really young and healthy QB like Rodgers was...

 

[Stout]

The flip side argument is that as much as there were a lot of very good offensive players in this class, the defensive players were really bleh.

Atlanta was close enough last year that good QB play would have been the difference for them. And the NFC South is also pretty darn weak, so they can gamble on a potential future starting QB.

...who has to retire the year after he earns the starting gig lol

 

[Krangodnzr]

Then he can retire in 2028, right? I'm just being silly, but if you're going for a successor plan long-term, you don't do it with an older oft-injured QB. It just doesn't make any sense.

Penix isn't THAT old though, it's not like he's 28 like a Brandon Weeden.

 

[Krangodnzr]

...who has to retire the year after he earns the starting gig lol

He's 23.

If he gets the starting job two years from now, he'll be 25.

 

[ajcardfan]

He's 23.

If he gets the starting job two years from now, he'll be 25.

Not old for a QB.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Not old for a QB.

Yeah it's a ridiculous argument when we see QBs playing past 40.

If we were talking RBs and WRs there would be a point, but it's silly one when talking about QBs.

I'm less bullish on Penix as a player than most. I saw a lot of horrible throws when I was watching Odunze tape. I definitely believe that throwing to three NFL receivers, with one being an elite receiver, was a big part of Penix's success.

 

[ajcardfan]

Yeah it's a ridiculous argument when we see QBs playing past 40.

If we were talking RBs and WRs there would be a point, but it's silly one when talking about QBs.

I'm less bullish on Penix as a player than most. I saw a lot of horrible throws when I was watching Odunze tape. I definitely believe that throwing to three NFL receivers, with one being an elite receiver, was a big part of Penix's success.

He is not perfect or he would be Caleb Williams. My favorite thing about him are his intangibles. That, and he has a very strong arm.

 

[Krangodnzr]

He is not perfect or he would be Caleb Williams. My favorite thing about him are his intangibles. That, and he has a very strong arm.

His arm is top 1%, and he has a great story. I'm rooting for him for sure.

 

[Krangodnzr]

He is not perfect or he would be Caleb Williams. My favorite thing about him are his intangibles. That, and he has a very strong arm.

Also, Caleb is far from perfect. His ability to play off script is insane, but he often plays off script when he doesn't have to.

Caleb is falling into an amazing situation though. The Bears are doing what Keim should have done for a young Kyler.

 

[ajcardfan]

Also, Caleb is far from perfect. His ability to play off script is insane, but he often plays off script when he doesn't have to.

Caleb is falling into an amazing situation though. The Bears are doing what Keim should have done for a young Kyler.

I meant #1 instead of Caleb.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Yeah it's a ridiculous argument when we see QBs playing past 40.

If we were talking RBs and WRs there would be a point, but it's silly one when talking about QBs.

I'm less bullish on Penix as a player than most. I saw a lot of horrible throws when I was watching Odunze tape. I definitely believe that throwing to three NFL receivers, with one being an elite receiver, was a big part of Penix's success.

Older QBs, playing past late 30s and into early 40s is still the exception and will always probably be that way.

I think sometimes we look at guys and think they are older than they are (Matthew Stafford as an example...he's 36, but already in the league for 15 years) because they started in the NFL at an earlier age and carve out 15+ year careers well before 40.

It takes great genes and insane dedication to diet and lifestyle to do what TB12 did. Heck, even Double A Ron Rodgers is breaking down at 40 and has dealt with more and more nagging type injuries as he's gotten older...and he sat for 3 years and has lived a fairly holistic lifestyle. He was also a year or 2 younger than Penix when drafted.

To expect Penix or any other QB to automatically be able to sit for several years and make up that time on the back end of their careers is not a smart business decision.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Older QBs, playing past late 30s and into early 40s is still the exception and will always probably be that way.

I think sometimes we look at guys and think they are older than they are (Matthew Stafford as an example...he's 36, but already in the league for 15 years) because they started in the NFL at an earlier age and carve out 15+ year careers well before 40.

It takes great genes and insane dedication to diet and lifestyle to do what TB12 did. Heck, even Double A Ron Rodgers is breaking down at 40 and has dealt with more and more nagging type injuries as he's gotten older...and he sat for 3 years and has lived a fairly holistic lifestyle. He was also a year or 2 younger than Penix when drafted.

To expect Penix or any other QB to automatically be able to sit for several years and make up that time on the back end of their careers is not a smart business decision.

Playing to around 36 is fairly normal though. If Pennix sits two years, he's 25. If you get a good decade from a QB, spending only one first round pick, and not even a top five pick, is worth it.

I initially panned the pick but then when I read the deeper analysis, it makes a lot more sense. After being in the QB wilderness for awhile now, Atlanta has a top ten QB and a backup with starter upside.

Penix is only slightly expensive as a back up, but I think if you feel that you can make the playoffs, you'll gladly pay more for a guy who you think could step in if the starter is injured and you wouldn't be stuck with a Ryan Lindley caliber guy.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Playing to around 36 is fairly normal though. If Pennix sits two years, he's 25. If you get a good decade from a QB, spending only one first round pick, and not even a top five pick, is worth it.

I initially panned the pick but then when I read the deeper analysis, it makes a lot more sense. After being in the QB wilderness for awhile now, Atlanta has a top ten QB and a backup with starter upside.

Penix is only slightly expensive as a back up, but I think if you feel that you can make the playoffs, you'll gladly pay more for a guy who you think could step in if the starter is injured and you wouldn't be stuck with a Ryan Lindley caliber guy.

He will be 26, if he sits 2 years. He turns 24 in May.

 

[RON_IN_OC]

Also, if he sits for 3 years, ATL has to pull trigger on his 5th year option without ever seeing him play a regular season. That's just dumb economics at that point.

 

[Krangodnzr]

He will be 26, if he sits 2 years. He turns 24 in May.

LOL it's May right now, but yes he will be a sliver older. That doesn't even remotely change my point.

 

[602 Native]

Don't wait till you need a QB to draft one.
Cousins has a couple years left drafting Penix doesn't help now but doesn't hurt either.

 

[Goldfield]

First Take with Stephen A, Shannon, and Dan discuss the Penix pick:

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The most cringe-worthy part is the press conference with General Manager Terry Fontenot and Head Coach Raheem Morris. R Morris sees himself as Taylor Swift and GM Fontenot as Kelce. Say what? They provide the Falcon rationale.

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You lost me at Steven A Smith

 

[Goldfield]

With the cost of QBs now it would be wise to always draft one you like to develop and have as backup. But using the 8th pick the same year you signed the starting QB for 4 years seems kinda crazy. Maybe they have an out in Cousins contract after 2 years?

 

[GimmedaBall]

You lost me at Steven A Smith

LOL. If you are having trouble waking up in the morning, just tune in to 'First Take' and SAS will rattle your brain. Love it when he gets on the Cowpies. I'll even tolerate him wearing a Stenson---he looks like a squawking Daffy Duck with the huge hat on his little-bitty head.

 

[GimmedaBall]

You take Penix now when:

(1) Your evaluation of him is high and you see him as a value pick at #8. That means you rate him over the rest of the draft class.

(2) You are going QB1 and QB2 as protection for your $100 million dollar QB1. That's contrary to the old adage of 'If you have two QBs, you have none.' That's old-school logic---with the expanded schedule, teams need two starters both capable of stepping in and winning games. (Some rumbling that Penix might be the starter early on if Cousins has not fully recovered from the Achilles.)

(3) You are looking at the QBs coming out in both 2025 and 2026 and see Penix as better than anything soon. You don't want to be in QB-hell (Falcons ever since Matt Ryan and his 59,000 yards and 367 TDs left town).

(4) You are anticipating finishing high in the W-L department and not being in a position to draft a top-tier QB. That's not so far-fetched. Consider the Cards---for their long miserable history, they have been in the Top 5 for a QB only a few times.

List of Arizona Cardinals first-round draft picks - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(Cards drafted Joe Namath in 1965 and he signed with the Jets in the AFL instead. Now that is embarrassing. It was also a wake-up call to the OG NFL owners that the AFL was for real and ready to steal away players.)

Joe Namath and others that got away in STL sports

The Rams left us, true. But through the years a number of significant teams and individuals have slipped through the cracks, some that might have changed our sports history.

www.stltoday.com

(5) You don't know what the hell you are doing and the owner is calling the shots and trying to outsmart the entire league with the cute and clever selection. You have a compliant GM and HC (who likens himself to Taylor Swift and the GM to Kelce.)

(6) You know way more than the rest of the league and snatched up a future QB for a #8 pick with plenty of developmental time before he's expected to start. When Patrick Mahomes was selected #10 in the 2017 draft, Cards had Carson Palmer as their veteran starter. BA brought in PM for a visit prior to the draft. Got to believe that BA saw what PM had to offer. BA stated that he wanted to leave the Cards with a future QB before he retired. Cards stuck at #13 (and took Reddick) while KC/Andy Reid traded up for Mahomes ahead of the Cards at #10. MB was hot to get a SB win for his aging Father and probably took the D-player over the developmental QB. It would be priceless to count the F-bombs from BA when the Cards didn't make the effort for PM. There just may be more similarities to that situation with Penix/Cousins. How many here would have been mad in the 2017 draft if we traded up for PM when we already had a vet Palmer on the roster? That might be what is going on here the the Penix/Cousins dealio. If so, ABlank goes down as a genius (and not the idiot some want to assign to him).

 

[GimmedaBall]

PS. In 2016, KC had vet QB Alex Smith. He had a Pro-bowl year and went 11-4. The Chiefs took PM in the 2017 draft even as they were on the verge of bigger things with the vet QB Smith. PM SAT for a year behind Smith. The Smith-PM situation looks even more extreme than the Penix-Cousins situation. At least KC was close to an extended run while the current Falcons are still looking. and not even sure if Cousins is going to match his 2023 play before he went down.

 

[Stout]

He's 23.

If he gets the starting job two years from now, he'll be 25.

Huh, I thought he was older than that. You're quite right, then. I still don't think it's a good draft pick, but the age angle is allayed.

 

[Goldfield]

Huh, I thought he was older than that. You're quite right, then. I still don't think it's a good draft pick, but the age angle is allayed.

Yea the age thing is nothing imo