Atlanta Falcons rookie Michael Penix has all the makings of a great quarterback

The Atlanta Falcons might have found themselves a legit quarterback of the future in Michael Penix. Host Aaron Freeman and guest Roman Tomashoff (@LockedonHuskies) discuss Penix's time at the University of Washington, including his exceeding expectations, high character, and why he uplifted that program to new heights as a preview of what he can do in Atlanta.
Later, Aaron discusses the latest on Kirk Cousins being upset by the team's decision to draft Penix and how the team can solve that problem with success. He discusses the potential of a slow start to the 2024 season impacting the brewing "quarterback controversy" in Atlanta.
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[@nebtalks]

Trust me… the Fans are over it.. It’s the Media Dragging this Penix Subject.

[@bainbridgejim]

If I could add more thumbs up I would!!!

[@lennoxmcafee]

As far as I’m concerned, Kirk has treated every team he has been with like a business, which I don’t have a problem with. I don’t think there is room for him to look at the other side of the aisle sideways because a team is doing the same. Hopefully the Falcons bringing in Penix breeds competition and we get a high level Kirk.

[@JcP3737]

My thoughts exactly. When you move to a new company every few years... How can you expect that stand by you no matter what treatment

[@judahmourns2995]

But we see all those teams treat it the same way🤷🏾‍♂️, all three he has been on… eventually if they see a new direction that is best for the team… we see him having to go.. he got paid great for being a great sport about It too… Father Time and a QB’s limitations will always dictate. Team’s future plans… go falcons 🔥

[@antonioayala7453]

There’s business and there’s straight up being snakes which is what the falcons did by hiding the fact they were all in on drafting a QB at 8 from square one. Lame ass move my them fr and not an intelligent move roster building wise

[@antoniostanley8684]

Let's consider the choices... a QB controversy between a solid veteran and a potentially solid rookie, as opposed to a garbage veteran and a potentially garbage rookie. This is really hard to call. Let me think about it for a while.

[@DayzedGamingDG]

Well, at least u can't say Falcons content is boring right now

[@WahooYess]

Usually a new regime that has an actually developmental game plan for a QB has at least some control over their coaching destiny. They get some time to stick around being new. It means they can develop a guy in their system without him having to change coordinators all the time. Why would they put all their chips in a top-15 36 year old QB coming off an Achilles injury who hasn’t won a playoff game? Penix has something Cousins doesn’t…he doesn’t blink when it goes wrong. They say he can’t handle pressure. He didn’t do well against Michigan, but look at his tape and you’ll see tons of highly accurate big boy throws not just getting rushed but taking hits.

[@petevancleave]

I’m in business. I have an experienced guy handling service right now while I look for a young guy who is outstanding! If I found him, I’d jump on that opportunity too, because when it’s right, it’s right, and you can’t predict the future.

[@jeffreyadams5833]

I thank both of them will be a good team

[@bainbridgejim]

My brother from Seattle along with his kids who are at UDub are crazy about Penix. They may even root for the Falcons (as long as they're not playing Seahawks).

[@news_sportshbcuedu]

Atlanta Top Brass has learned from their past lessons and made a quantitative decision. The NFL is a Trillion Dollar Business and the lesson is NEVER UNDERESTIMATE PURPOSE EXPECTATION . WELCOME TO ATLANTA (MPJ) and all the new draft picks in the 2024 NFL draft for the Atlanta Falcons .CHESS NOT CHECKERS 🏆🇺🇸

[@eddiewilliams3497]

I think they will add more in free agency.

[@ajevans1422]

Kirk is basically the Daniel Bryan of QBs, A B+ guy. It is what it is since people look for younger and cheaper alternatives, Kirk Cousins went from “the guy who will be the franchise QB till he retires.” To basically older Matt Ryan without the goodwill.

[@jamesmiller7457]

Ouch.

[@Srfalcon69]

I like what the falcons have said. We were trying to solidify the QB spot for the next 5 years. Plus, no one knows if Kurt is fully healthy. He’s the real gamble here

[@OffMetaSpeed91]

Aaron why are you not on twitter anymore?

[@marcuscamp2829]

Packers drafted Jordan love while they still had Aaron Rodgers under a large contract. The Baltimore Ravens traded up into the first round to draft LamarJackson when they had super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco already on the roster. Yet none of these teams received the scrutiny and ridicule that the Falcons have. Why??? San Francisco 49ers had Joe Montana when they acquired Steve Young. The Green Bay Packers had Brett favre when they acquired Arron Rogers. These teams weren't laughing stocks for these moves, but the Falcons do the same thing and we question everything about him. Mr. AKA, perhaps you should consider finding a new team, The change might be good for you.

[@bunk1997]

WTF

[@MrDrsogood]

Those teams weren’t on a 7 year playoff drought

[@marcuscamp2829]

@@MrDrsogood are you of the impression that a Kurt Cousins led Falcons team can't win the NFC South? And the past seasons have nothing to do with this current and future seasons.

[@MrDrsogood]

@@marcuscamp2829 we all know in the NFL anything can happen and a bad injury here and there or bad luck in a couple games a 10-7 can easily be 7-10. If everything goes right we should win the south but the penix pick does lower your margin of error

[@JN-ye8qo]

At least he admits he's emotional about it. 😂🤷🏾‍♂️

[@petevancleave]

Quarterback, younger, faster receivers, they don’t need a lot of picks in 2025. Cousins goes down, they have Penix. Smith didn’t use his running backs well. We are going to setup the run with the pass this year!

[@jeffreyadams5833]

I have been a falcon fan since 1970's

[@Slimdulla87]

Aaron is trying to sound extreme to prove his weak point(s). When Kirk was with the Vikings he was looking for a 2 year 90 million contract so it's safe to say Kirk was expecting to play for the falcons for only 2 years not 4. The only reason why the Falcons added those two dummy years on the end was because if they falcons can't find a QB to replace Kirk they would still have 2 years left. That's why the contact is extremely front loaded. See Aaron have to make up these outlandish scenarios because if he use common sense and facts then you will see the stuff he say makes no sense

[@jamesmiller7457]

Naw, Kirk was expecting to go against the usual Falcon level of competition, so he thought he was safe. Now, he is not.

[@Slimdulla87]

@@jamesmiller7457 that's not how you run a successful football team. Kirk is on his last leg in the NFL. It will be extremely foolish for them to ride Kirk contract the whole 4 years when the last two years will hurt the falcons more than help them.

[@jamesmiller7457]

@@Slimdulla87 I wasn't arguing for the move. U said that Aaron had to be all dramatic to get his point across. I was just saying that his point was accurate. Now, whether the move was good or not... we will see.

[@Slimdulla87]

@@jamesmiller7457 His point can't be accurate because he's making up the scenarios as he go. Then in order for his scenarios to make sense you have to first threw all logic of football out the window and look at the Falcons not like a business but like Basketball Ball wives or some ghetto stuff. But I understand what you were getting at doh

[@jamesmiller7457]

@Slimdulla87 I am sure u know he does that as a joke. I don't find it that funny either though.

[@ronniewilliams9169]

Kirk has to play atleast 2 years, idc if he goes 7-10 both years.

[@LJG29]

If Kirk Cousins leads the Falcons to a Super Bowl victory in year one or two of his contract, will Micheal Penix Jr. take his job in year three?

[@jamesmiller7457]

Depends on our financial situation... So, probably.

[@antoniostanley8684]

Yep

[@petevancleave]

Of course! Look at Peyton Manning!

[@jamesmiller7457]

@@petevancleave Wait! Peyton Manning is gone?

[@nicholasmallard2926]

Kirk will probably retire if he wins a Superbowl with us! Penix is the future Franchise QB!

[@tyroneb4987]

What about the rest of the draft? This Penix topic is getting old AF...

[@nicholasmallard2926]

Then don't watch! We wanna know about our Franchise QB!

[@tyroneb4987]

​@@nicholasmallard2926What else do you need to know? Everybody is covering Penix, the main sports media, all the channels that are covering the Falcons, even channels that cover other NFL teams. Believe it or not, our draft didn't end after the first round. I know Penix is a great player. I want to know about the other players. It's been 2 fucking weeks and we know nothing about the other players that we drafted. You can come back to Penix and talk about him all summer. Where do we go to hear about the rest of our draft if we can't depend on the channels that cover the Falcons? Ain't nobody else talking about them.

[@nicholasmallard2926]

@@tyroneb4987 Like I said you don't have to watch but some of us are actually excited about our new franchise QB! Sorry everybody don't share your negative attitude about the direction the team is going!

[@user-mp6dl7wc9z]

then do NOT sign Kirk and give him 100 milllion sign a cheap bridge QB for a few million you're hurting Penix

[@antoniostanley8684]

Because you prepare for the worst and hope for the best. There was no guarantee that Pennix would be there when their number came up. This is just "my opinion" I'd much rather have quality QB locked up and have a QB I really like fall to me and draft him, than to go into the draft without a quality QB and then miss out on the QB I really want for my program. And I'm starting my regime off with a question mark at the most important position on the field. The same situation that got my predecessor fired.

[@user-mp6dl7wc9z]

@@antoniostanley8684 NO TEAMS BUILDS THIS WAY you have limited resources you do NOT sign Kirk for 100 million it undermines Penix future Likewise if you draft Penix you undermines Kirk's present WHAT YOU HAVE ENSURED IS THIS TEAM will not win AS MUCH AS IT WOULD HAVE NOW AND IN THE FUTURE the exact opposite of what they said. They said we want to win now and win later by doing this they achieve the opposite. If someone

[@user-mp6dl7wc9z]

@@antoniostanley8684 If you ask someone how do you ensure you will lose MORE games then you would have and lose MORE games in the future then you would have ie lose more now and lose more later I would say draft a QB in top 10 then sign QB FA to 100 million you sabotaged both dudes. This is outsmarting yourself.

[@antoniostanley8684]

@user-mp6dl7wc9z If you say so, I can't say you're wrong. It sounds like you made this mistake before as a GM, therefore you know what you're talking about.

[@waynehaines5884]

100 million dollars, play football.

[@falconfermdirtybird3712]

Over confident ??

[@Michael-mv3kc]

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