- 2 days ago
After what Kevin Stefanski had to say about Tua Tagovailoa's impressive accuracy and the team's quarterback situation during this week's OTAs, Dukes is convinced it's his job to lose. Do you agree?
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00:00It is his job to lose.
00:03I'm stating it to you right now.
00:06And I'm stating this, Mike, because the coach yesterday, I think, gave him an edge.
00:12We're talking about Kevin Stefanski saying that Tua, his accuracy is God-given.
00:18When the coach starts to say these kinds of things, Mike,
00:21tell me whatever you want about Michael Phoenix Jr.,
00:24which I hope he comes back and is able to compete.
00:27But right now, Tua, it's his job to lose.
00:31Yeah, I mean, like, he's got the leg up on a competition.
00:34He's got two legs at work.
00:35Pennix is getting the leg that's not working back to 100%.
00:37That's the fact.
00:38So, you know, and by the way, I'm just going to say this now and get this out of the
00:41way.
00:41What are you going to say?
00:42F your feelings with Pennix.
00:45F your feelings.
00:46I'm sorry.
00:47I'm sick of this crap.
00:48If we can't have a legitimate conversation without you guys getting all triggered like little fanboys,
00:53he hasn't done anything yet.
00:55He may be a great quarterback.
00:57He may turn into a franchise quarterback.
00:59But right now, he's got a disadvantage.
01:01And hopefully that will change if you are a Pennix fan, and I want to see the guy succeed too.
01:05But I'm sick and tired of every time we go down this road, you guys are doing it.
01:08No, we're just hitting you with reality checks, okay?
01:11Here's where we are right now, getting into, like, the first day of June.
01:14Things will probably change by the first day of August, and we will report what we know then, right?
01:19Right now, we're going, as Carl just said, with the coach saying, hey, give us some glowing
01:22reviews for a guy who's getting paid a million bucks who has a chance to earn a starting job
01:25here.
01:26Does accuracy matter to you?
01:29Because the way I look at this is I need a guy to be able to put the ball where
01:33I want
01:34it.
01:35And for everybody that wants to talk about, you know, I prefer to have a guy that can throw
01:38the ball deep.
01:39Because I think Michael Pennix probably throws a better deep ball, be honest with you.
01:42Yeah.
01:42But we haven't been able to do that.
01:45We haven't had explosive plays down the field.
01:48Name them.
01:49It starts with B. John Robinson running the football.
01:51We didn't have big explosive plays 50, 60, 70 yards down the field last year.
01:56So when we talk about do you like accuracy and does it matter?
02:00Yeah, it matters.
02:01Because that turns a 10-yard gain, Mike, into a 20-yard gain.
02:03It turns a 20-yard gain into a 30-yard gain.
02:06And so for Tua, I just want to say this.
02:09This is who he's been in his career, guys.
02:11When he was at Alabama, you know what his percentage was?
02:16Completion rate?
02:1869%.
02:18Right.
02:19Then he gets to the NFL, Mike, and, you know, the worst year is 64%.
02:25This guy's been a 68% guy since he got into the league.
02:28So our coach is not lying.
02:30He's not pumping this up.
02:32He's not making it more than what it is.
02:33What he is seeing is what Tua has been in his career since he got into the league.
02:38And so I only bring this up to say, that's a big deal.
02:40When you tell me my quarterback is accurate, how many times have you watched quarterbacks
02:44in the NFL?
02:44Mike and I come back in here off of a Sunday and we're like, whoa, he was terrible.
02:47He couldn't deliver the football.
02:50So this is important.
02:52And if he's getting in more work right now, which he is, coach said he's been impressive,
02:57not my words, his, in the meeting room and as far as the practice field, he's got the
03:02leg up.
03:03Right.
03:04Now, again, when Michael Penix Jr. can do all those things, do the 11-on-11 drills, and then
03:09show that he can now adapt and he has sponged up everything that Stefanski wants him to learn
03:13with the nuances of his offense.
03:15And again, both guys do have to learn more about backing up from under center.
03:19That wasn't something that Tua did a lot of either.
03:21So there are things that both guys have to learn.
03:24It is kind of funny.
03:25You know, Tua is saying all the right things.
03:27Penix is saying all the right things.
03:28Mutual appreciation is still a competition.
03:30We'll play some audio later for you.
03:31There's a competition up in Minnesota where they ask Kyler Murray, because, yeah, man,
03:35you know, I'm a seven-year veteran, and I'm here to give him assistance, and he asks questions.
03:39And it's great.
03:40And meanwhile, they ask J.J. McCarthy.
03:42No.
03:42No.
03:43We're at the blackboard.
03:43No.
03:44I don't know what it is.
03:45Basically, he's like, no, I'm just here to compete.
03:46I don't know anything about being mentored by Kyler Murray.
03:49Now, that, see, is something you can have some fun with and run with it.
03:53We haven't gotten there yet because one guy is still not on the level playing field with Tua.
03:57No doubt.
03:58And, by the way, I don't think Kyler Murray is trying to help him at all.
04:01No.
04:02At all.
04:02And J.J. needs it.
04:03And I do think, and that's why I was joking with you.
04:05I mean, like, I'm looking forward to talking to Tua face-to-face.
04:07I think Tua is a really good politician.
04:09He tells you what you want to hear.
04:11Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
04:13You meant person.
04:15Politician.
04:15Person is the P word.
04:16Much like Russell Wilson.
04:18Much like Kyler Murray.
04:18Kyler Murray was lying to the media up in Minnesota because he's trying to create a great impression.
04:25And, again, he's trying to battle the impression that he was kind of a selfish guy that wasn't dedicated when
04:29he was there as hell.
04:29I like the other P word, Mike.
04:31Person.
04:32He's a politician.
04:33Tua knows what to say.
04:34He knows how to play the game.
04:36No, this is ridiculous.
04:37He has sucked you in.
04:38This is ridiculous.
04:38With his eyes and his wonderful fortune cookie-like sayings.
04:43He has sucked you in.
04:44You will get the best version of Tua Tungvalo.
04:46I know you will.
04:47I know I will.
04:47I know we will.
04:49You think I've been sucked in.
04:50And I want you to hear Louis Riddick on ESPN talking about the same situation that I'm laying out for
04:56you guys.
04:57Listen to this.
04:58Laura, I think we know that the kind of things that held Tua back were not because he didn't have
05:03the requisite skill or, like, mental horsepower to get the job done.
05:07One, he couldn't stay healthy on the football field.
05:09And, too, the things around him, whether it be true complimentary play calling when he was down there in Miami,
05:16or there was a deficiency on the offensive line, or the wide receivers down in Miami were hurt and they
05:21weren't all on the field at the same time.
05:23You know, those were the kind of things that really held him back.
05:25It wasn't because you looked at Tua and you thought, man, this guy doesn't process well enough.
05:28He doesn't move in the pocket well enough.
05:30He doesn't have enough arm strength or accuracy.
05:32He has all that.
05:33It's just that it didn't come together for him.
05:35So I can see why Kevin Stefanski sounds like he's sitting there going, hey, if this guy's healthy, we got
05:42an offensive line in a running game, and we can throw the football, you know, in the play-action pass
05:46game, I may have something here.
05:48That's not shocking.
05:50That's not shocking considering that Bijan is a great run threat, obviously, a great receiver, obviously.
05:56Drake London is a great outside line receiver, obviously.
06:00Zachariah Branch could wind up being one of those revelations of the draft out of Georgia who you know well.
06:05As a home run hitter in the slot position with home run speed, yeah, look, I personally think Tua should
06:11win this job.
06:12All things being equal, no disrespect to Michael Penix, Tua is a fantastic passer.
06:17If he can stay on the football field and they can play complimentary football, I think he wins this job
06:22going away.
06:23Going away.
06:24It's not just me!
06:26That's Louis Riddick, and he laid out all the things I've been telling Mike about Miami.
06:30It was a blank show down there.
06:33Well, again, he was the quarterback, he was the guy delivering the football, he was the guy that, you know,
06:38before all those things happened, you know, a guy who was able to put some good seasons together.
06:41I guess I'll take Louis at face value on that.
06:44The thing that, and the stat that points out where we may be going with this argument, and maybe Bowie's,
06:49Louis' argument, completion percentage last year in the NFL.
06:53With all the things in the benching, Tua was still eighth in the league.
06:57It's a big deal.
06:5767.7%, eighth in the league.
07:00Where was Michael Penix Jr.?
07:01Fifties.
07:0232nd.
07:03Fifties.
07:04Yeah.
07:04He was 32nd in the league rankings.
07:06If you think of all the guys that played quarterback last year.
07:08So, that's where the accuracy, he's got to get better.
07:10That goes back to the scouting report you and I were talking about yesterday.
07:13He's got to be more accurate, as a friend Tariq used to say.
07:16He's got to be more accurate.
07:16Yes.
07:17And Tua's already there.
07:18Now, the question is, who wins the race to pick up the things that Stefanski asks of you in his
07:22office?
07:23But this is why, guys, right now I can see the text coming.
07:27You're crapping.
07:27I see that none of that was crapping on Penix.
07:29We're just talking about the positives of where Tua is and things that Penix has to get to.
07:33Penix hasn't gotten to where Tua's baseline is yet.
07:37It's not hating.
07:37That's facting.
07:38How does that evolve in the next, you know, months or so?
07:42And when camp is really cooking?
07:43That's going to be the question.
07:44We'll all be watching.
07:45But that's the disadvantage he's at.
07:47That you cannot deny.
07:48Right?
07:49No.
07:49The team winning Super Bowl.
07:51I think that'd be amazing.
07:52Team player.
07:53Whether I'm the guy or whether I'm not the guy, I think that'd be unbelievable.
07:56And any way I can help make that happen, I'm excited to be here for that.
08:01Team player.
08:02Just puts aside all his differences.
08:04I mean, that's Norman Vincent Peale, the power of positive thinking.
08:07Winning over friends and influencing others right there.
08:09You know what?
08:10It doesn't even matter if I'm doing it.
08:11That's Dale Carnegie 101, Carl.
08:13I'm just going to be a part of it, and that's special.
08:16404-726-0929.
08:17Can I just tell you one thing before you finish giving the number up?
08:19Yeah, man.
08:19I just want to be the best Mike Bell I can be today.
08:21I know you do.
08:22And you know what?
08:23I need you to be the best Mike Bell you can be today.
08:26Just like the Falcons need Tua to be the best he can be.
08:29And when it's bad, you continue to be grateful.
08:33Right on.
08:34Stay the course.
08:36404-726-0929.
08:38That is the number.
08:39It's his job to lose.
08:41You don't want to believe it, but everybody's talking about it.
08:45Now, let's hear from Tua himself yesterday because he spoke.
08:48And Mike and I have a bunch of audio to play for you coming back from yesterday.
08:51We got coach's audio from Jeff Ulbrich.
08:54We got Bill Callahan, the new offensive line coach.
08:57We got a lot of stuff to get to.
08:58But Tua said, look, accuracy is just a part of being a quarterback.
09:03I would say it's one of them.
09:05It's definitely one of them.
09:07Being able to distribute the ball to your playmakers.
09:10Being a leader is another aspect of that.
09:14Regardless of what that looks like, whether you're a rah-rah guy or you're a lead by example guy.
09:20I think there's many attributes and many traits that you can sort of put on that outside of just, you
09:31know, being accurate is what makes a good quarterback.
09:34Yeah, look, we know this, right?
09:37You've watched football long enough.
09:38We've been around it long enough.
09:40As a fan, you're a lifelong fan.
09:42You know a good quarterback when you see one.
09:44But there are things behind the scenes.
09:46Like, everybody thought Matt Ryan was too quiet.
09:49Talk to people who play with Matt Ryan.
09:51He wasn't.
09:52Matter of fact, Kyle Pitts today said he's still the same Matt.
09:54And guess what?
09:55He still comes at you and tells you exactly what he thinks.
09:58Kyle Pitts played with him his first year.
10:00So there are things behind the scenes that quarterbacks have to do.
10:03Mike, we think Michael Penix is well-liked and received by his team.
10:07Matter of fact, we know.
10:08We saw it.
10:09We were on the field seeing those guys.
10:11I mean, like, everybody loves them.
10:12Jesse Bates.
10:12Remember, he said, that's my war dog.
10:13We were talking about him.
10:15The guys like Michael because he's a likable guy.
10:17We don't dislike Michael.
10:19We just give you the reality of the situation, the quarterback battle.
10:22You know, which, again, for some reason, it doesn't penetrate the craniums of some of our audience.
10:27I just want to let you guys know, and Carl's doing a pretty good job of having fun with it.
10:31And some of you guys have no sense of humor.
10:33So when we joke around about T-U-A, guys, just lose it.
10:36Guys, Penix has got a long road and an uphill battle to win this quarterback job.
10:41That doesn't mean he can't.
10:42That doesn't mean I just said he won't or I'm not wishing for him to not make it.
10:46But that's what we've been throwing at you.
10:47And, Carl, when you hear guys around the league and hear the way Stefanski was talking about him yesterday,
10:51it does kind of – you've got to be really thick to not pick up the vibe they're putting down.
10:55He's ahead of the game.
10:56One last thing as we get into what you think about this.
11:00And, look, I'm not the only one, but you may be like, you know what, Dukes, you're completely wrong.
11:05They're doing all this, and at the end of the day, Penix is going to start week one.
11:08And if he does, let me tell you something.
11:10He has had a hell of a camp.
11:12And he's earned it.
11:12And he's earned it.
11:14And you know what?
11:14I will respect him more for it, Mike, than the way the last regime just handed him the job,
11:20even though they said that wasn't the plan.
11:23Here's Drake London talking about Tua fitting in.
11:26He's a great dude.
11:27Always got a smile on his face.
11:28Very, very chill.
11:29Throw up the shotgun a little bit.
11:30And we get rolling.
11:32So, now he's a great dude.
11:33And him and NPR are getting along very, very well.
11:35And both of them are just competing and working really hard together.
11:38And I love it.
11:39That's great.
11:40Drake's like, as long as y'all can deliver me the ball, I don't give a damn who it is
11:43back there.
11:43Where's my contract?
11:44Exactly.
11:45I don't care.
11:46You know I'm looking at $35 million, right?
11:47Well, that's you and I said.
11:48That's the right number.
11:49But yeah, him and NPR are working out.
11:51It's good.
11:52Guys, it's going to work itself out.
11:54And some of you guys are going to be laughing at some of the stuff you were freaking out over.
11:57Certainly, if Penix wins this job.
11:58And we've never said he can't win this job.
12:00That's another thing.
12:01You and I have never, ever on this show once said he can't win this job.
12:04No, I'm just giving Tua an opportunity.
12:06And the more that door opens, the more you see and hear that he's capable.
12:12That this might really happen.
12:14And that's the illusion, Mike, that I think people don't want to face is,
12:18well, we got him in $4 million.
12:19He's going to be a backup.
12:20He'll come in here.
12:20He won't do crap.
12:21And it's Penix's team.
12:22No.
12:24He's 27, 28 years old.
12:26He wants another bag.
12:27Yeah, and he's, look, you can look at the completion percentage with the exception of last year,
12:30how it wound down, and the year that he missed time with a concussion.
12:33This guy throws a lot of touchdowns.
12:34He throws two to one touchdowns, two interceptions.
12:37The completion percentage we already talked about.
12:38Mike, he can play.
12:39The ball comes out on schedule, on target.
12:43And something that Penix struggled with last year was the reliability of accuracy.
12:48So that's something he's going to have.
12:49There's a lot of things that's why we keep talking about.
12:51He's going to have to work on.
12:51The other thing is, this organization, now this is just me, okay?
12:55This is my spidey sense.
12:56They're never going to go out and say anything negative.
12:59Why would they about Michael Penix?
13:00There's no reason to.
13:01They might not believe in Penix.
13:03They think they've got a really inexpensive stopgap in Tua.
13:07And as you said, if we luck out and Tua just finds and regains his, you know,
13:11take two or three years back, that kind of game,
13:13then we've got a really good problem to have.
13:15And then we'll talk about what his new contract looks like here.
13:17And Penix Jr. stays here as a backup for two more years.
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