- 4 days ago
Steak and Sandra explain why Atlanta QB Michael Penix Jr. has ZERO chance to be the Falcons Week 1 starting QB if he’s not fully cleared from his torn ACL on Day 1 of Training Camp.
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00:00Yeah, it's great to hear that folks are excited for the NFL.
00:03I mean, I don't, you know, to a tongue of a low, it doesn't necessarily move the meter.
00:08And neither does Michael Penix Jr.
00:11Or really need, and Bichon does, I guess, to a degree.
00:13But the Falcons have eight figures.
00:15Bichon definitely does.
00:16Yes.
00:16Bichon is the buzz.
00:18He's one of the biggest stars in the NFL.
00:19But my point is, even with eight years out of the playoffs, people are big Falcon fans.
00:25It's the NFL team.
00:26We talked yesterday after being in that building for World Cup.
00:29I think it's, we under, we underappreciate how incredible that place is to go to games.
00:35But you've got to win football games and be a good team.
00:37And I think everybody has their fingers crossed, as we do every year.
00:41Before you get into Stefanski's stake, I was at home on Friday.
00:45And the announcement came down as the Chiefs opened up camp that Patrick Mahomes is cleared to play.
00:50Cleared to everything.
00:52Okay, well, he was injured on December the 14th.
00:55Okay, it was an ACL injury.
00:56He was cleared July the 24th.
00:58Yesterday, the announcement.
01:01So that is eight months.
01:02Okay.
01:02Right.
01:03Daniel Jones tore his Achilles on December 7th.
01:10Yesterday, he was cleared for full activity.
01:15After an Achilles.
01:16Michael Penix.
01:18Yeah.
01:19ACL, left knee, November the 16th, 2025.
01:23And he has yet to be cleared.
01:25All right.
01:27So what are you, are you asking a question?
01:29I'm putting it out there in the world.
01:31Are anybody curious as to why these other two quarterbacks who got hurt later, and one could argue that the
01:40Achilles is worse than all of it.
01:41Oh, yeah.
01:41And they've both been cleared.
01:43Yeah.
01:43So what, why hasn't he been cleared?
01:47And maybe it's as simple as we haven't announced it yet.
01:49I don't know what it is, but I want everybody to think about that.
01:52Well, Michael Penix Jr. said he expects to be 100% ready to go for the start of training camp,
01:58right?
01:58And he's been saying that essentially since he got injured.
02:00Now, again, manifest it and it may come true.
02:02And get yourself in a mindset that I will be ready to go.
02:06I think that the Falcons obviously, you know, their medical staff wants to say that we have a quarterback and
02:13we are not going to rush.
02:14No team is going to rush a quarterback back.
02:16I mean, that would be, you know, that would be just ignorant on every level.
02:20But it's a really good question.
02:22Maybe the difference is there's an actual quarterback controversy here or there's, we don't have a starter.
02:29Maybe it puts too much pressure or I don't know.
02:32Or everybody's body recovers differently.
02:36Or they just haven't announced it.
02:37Maybe that's just as simple as we'll get in front of them tomorrow.
02:40What do you think, Dylan?
02:41I do think it's as simple as, and I'm hoping, obviously, it's as simple as they haven't announced it because,
02:46you know, Mahomes and Jones, I think they both have, I think they both have already reported.
02:51And so the fact that they've been able to, I think, speak to the media and the fact they've reported,
02:55I think that is why it has gone ahead and been announced.
02:58I just think it's the simple fact, like you said, Sandra, that he hasn't reported yet.
03:02Okay, so let me ask you.
03:03It could come out today.
03:05It could come out tomorrow.
03:06So you have to go in to your bank account.
03:09You and your girlfriend is very aware of it.
03:13And you have to take out $300.
03:17Yes.
03:17And if you walk to the right, you're betting that they will announce that Michael Penix is full schedule, you
03:27know, everything at camp.
03:29He is 100% participating.
03:31To the left, that announcement does not come down in the next seven days.
03:35You know, doesn't mean that.
03:37But what they're not saying is he's 100% good to go and he'll be participating in every drill.
03:42Are you walking to the right or are you walking to the left to put your money down?
03:45I'm walking to the right all day, every day.
03:47Full confidence.
03:48No, no, I mean, you believe that Kevin Stefanski, within the next five days, is going to announce that Michael
03:55Penix Jr. is 100% ready to go.
03:58Cleared for full activity.
03:59Cleared, thank you.
04:00Yes.
04:01Yes.
04:01You think that's going to happen?
04:02Yes.
04:03Okay.
04:03Because he's going to be asked about it.
04:05No, he's going to be asked.
04:06I mean, it's the only story.
04:08Right, for sure.
04:09And then I think once he's asked about it, I think he'll go ahead and get out of the way,
04:11say, yes, he's good to go, and then there won't be any more questions.
04:14So, to Sandra's point, you literally believe that Michael Penix right now is 100% cleared to do everything.
04:24You believe right now that's happened?
04:26100%.
04:26Okay.
04:27I always believed that he'd be ready for the start of training camp based on the timeline that Sandra just
04:32backed into.
04:33And I said it's an ACL, and in this modern-day medicine, it's months ahead of what it was years
04:36ago.
04:3712 months.
04:37It's literally he's eight and a half months from his injury, which was before those other two quarterbacks I just
04:42told you about.
04:43I have friends.
04:43My nephew had an ACL his senior year of college.
04:47I remember being at graduation, he was limping around one of those big knee braces.
04:51But I think he was a year, 11 months.
04:56That is a normal person, right?
04:59That is a young person having an injury without, you know, the finest athletic trainers in the world that can
05:06focus on that for four or five hours a day.
05:09So it would make sense, and that's about the timeline that you laid out for us.
05:13Because I hadn't heard you say that, and I hadn't heard a lot on the air, Michael Panis is good
05:18to go.
05:19You totally believe that.
05:21I haven't heard anybody say that, that he's 100% going to start.
05:26But I'm hoping you are right.
05:27Not start.
05:28No, to be ready to go tomorrow.
05:30Participate, like you said, in everything.
05:32I just don't, especially, and again, everybody's, Sandy, you touched on it, everybody's body responds to things differently.
05:39But with the timeline, knowing that he's been through this before, he knows how to rehab, and he knows how
05:46to, he knows how he's supposed to feel once he's, you know, back and ready to go.
05:50I just don't expect there to be any, any setbacks or any delays.
05:54And the OTAs, the folks that were allowed to be and watching, they came away saying, he's good to go.
05:59Like, he's going to be fine.
06:00He's running everything.
06:01So, now, the difference will be with you and Drew Butler on Monday.
06:05It's interesting to me, who's going to take the first rep?
06:09Yeah, I think it's our, I think Tua 100% is taking the first reps.
06:13Do you agree, Dylan?
06:13It's Tua?
06:14I do agree with that.
06:15He's already ahead of him.
06:16Yeah.
06:16He's already ahead of him.
06:17He got to do 11 on 11 in a mandatory minicamp.
06:20Michael Penix did not.
06:21So, I definitely think it's Tua.
06:22Yeah, Michael Penix never said he was healthy and cleared.
06:24He said, I feel like I could do everything.
06:26But they didn't let him.
06:28Tua did everything.
06:29He didn't.
06:29He's already behind him.
06:31Listen, if he, if they want to hold him out for two weeks, that job's already done.
06:37I don't even know that it's a competition.
06:39But he has no chance of starting if he isn't going from minute one.
06:43Like, as soon as Tua is, he's 100%, if it looks like he did at OTAs, then this thing is
06:50already done.
06:50That Tua tongue-of-a-low is our starting quarterback.
06:52If Michael Penix is cleared, it will be a good old-fashioned quarterback competition.
07:00And if it's a horse race, I would say that Tua's got two lengths ahead of him as you're going
07:04down the stretch.
07:05And maybe Penix can have a big finish in horse racing terms and pass him.
07:12But I think already he's a little behind him.
07:15I think you also have a new coach who thinks veteran quarterback may be a better bet for me right
07:19now.
07:20One guy's played 11 games.
07:21One guy's had how many years in League 7 or something, right?
07:24So I think he's already behind the eight ball, Michael Penix.
07:27But again, Kevin Stefanski and a full arsenal of new offensive coaches.
07:34Michael Penix's job is to be out there making it clear.
07:39I got a better arm than Tua in terms of strength down the field.
07:42I'm more athletic right now than Tua.
07:44And I give us the best chance to win.
07:46And that's a huge goal for Michael Penix Jr.
07:49I believe that he won't get there.
07:52I think that Tua Tungvaloa has a head start and will be the starter.
07:56But I think it would be awesome.
07:59And I don't know, man.
08:01Like, Dylan, there's something about it that says we're not going to hear it.
08:05And it's pretty great because we're there tomorrow.
08:07That's what I said.
08:07It's going to be the number one question.
08:08That is exactly right.
08:10When is the medical clearance, Clarence?
08:12Yeah.
08:12And then Sandra's question really becomes interesting.
08:18Why isn't he cleared?
08:20Yeah, because physically he's not because he didn't recover as quickly or his knee was worse.
08:23The other thing past that that I'll be looking out for, too, is how much these guys play in the
08:29preseason.
08:30Because let's say this.
08:31Let's say they announced Penix is fully clear.
08:35They're both starting at the same length.
08:37You talked about maybe Tua's two lengths ahead of Penix because he got to start early in mandatory OTAs.
08:44So how much do they play in the preseason?
08:48Because if it's an old-fashioned quarterback competition like we're talking about, they're going to have to play.
08:53So I would be curious to see how much they end up playing in the preseason.
08:55That's a really good question.
08:56Are you playing Michael Penix in the second half, starting him in a second half?
09:00Is he coming in mid-second quarter and then starting the second half?
09:05I would say the answer is yes.
09:06Except he's playing with backup offensive linemen and he's not playing with number one receivers.
09:11So that's really going to be interesting.
09:13All right, how many Falcon coaches in the history of the franchise do you think had winning records of all
09:22the Atlanta Falcons head coaches?
09:25So I think there's been something like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, something like 12 or 13 head coaches.
09:31What would be your guess, Dylan or Sandra?
09:33That had winning records?
09:34Yeah, two in their career.
09:36Sandra, what's your number?
09:39None?
09:41No.
09:41Mike Smith was 17 games over .500, 66-49, and then overall he was 1-1 in the playoffs.
09:55So Mike Smith, by far, 57% winning percentage, seven years.
10:01Jim Morrow was 27-23, four games over .500.
10:06Lehman Bennett, 47-
10:08I think you should, that should.
10:10What?
10:11You think there should be a minimum amount of games coached?
10:14I mean, that's three full seasons.
10:16And to go only four games over .500?
10:19Well, I mean, it's not like, what was so great about their team?
10:21That was the Mike Vick era, right?
10:23Go ahead, go ahead.
10:24Lehman Bennett was three games over .500.
10:26That was the Steve Bartkowski, Lynn Cain, William Andrews, Gritz Blitz era.
10:31And Dan Quinn, which I'm surprised that you didn't think Dan Quinn was over .500 because he went to a
10:35Super Bowl and then he went to the playoffs.
10:37That's true the year after.
10:38Now, the back end, unfortunately for Dan Quinn, his percentage just cratered once they got bad and then he got
10:44fired mid-season.
10:46But there have been four hits.
10:47What was his overall, Dan Quinn?
10:4843-42.
10:50Oh, my goodness.
10:51And then he just got it.
10:52And he was three and two in the playoffs.
10:55We all know he should have been four and one in the playoffs, but he was three and two in
10:59the playoffs as well.
11:01So, Dan Reeves was nine games under .500.
11:04He was 52-61.
11:06In terms of tenure, who coached the longest, Mike Smith got seven years, Dan Reeves got seven years, Lehman Bennett
11:15got six years, and Dan Quinn was into a sixth year.
11:18Also, Norm Van Brocklin, late 60s into the 70s, had seven years as well.
11:24So, a new era is beginning, Mike Smith era, not even close, by far the best winning percentage.
11:32It was an era that all landed at the same time.
11:35It was the Matt Ryan era, day one.
11:38It was the Thomas Dimitrov era, day one.
11:41It was the Michael Turner era.
11:43It was the most exciting time to be an Atlanta Falcon fan.
11:47And I wouldn't say it's the same as the Braves, that every year you thought you could win it all,
11:52but every year you expected.
11:53We were relevant.
11:54We made the playoffs.
11:56Julio Jones, Roddy White, Michael Turner, Devontae Freeman, Wark.
11:59No, Wark, Dan was with Michael Vick.
12:01Yeah, I mean, you know, it was, I think, a back end of Algie Crumpler's deal also.
12:08So, you know, listen, the three-year hits are not eras, which is why maybe, Sandra, it's fair to say
12:15there was not a Jim Moore era.
12:17He was over .500, but I don't know if it was an era, because I think he's got to be
12:20here more than three years.
12:21Yeah, that's not an era.
12:23Do we agree?
12:25That's not an era.
12:25That was three years.
12:26Yeah, I don't know if that's an era.
12:27And then he went on a radio show, and oh my goodness.
12:30Lehman Bennett had six years.
12:32Quinn had six.
12:33We went through that.
12:36Stefanski, in his head coaching career, is 45-56.
12:41Yeah.
12:41A postseason record of 1-2 with Cleveland.
12:44Yeah, got to the playoffs with Cleveland a few years ago, which was spectacular.
12:48I think he's going to be here a while.
12:50I think that, I don't know if he's going to have success, but I think.
12:54Why do you say that, he'll be here a while?
12:56What is a while?
12:56Because I feel like there is a structure within the organization now.
13:01Okay.
13:01That is much more.
13:03Stable.
13:04Stable.
13:05That's a good way to put it, too.
13:06There's Matt Ryan, and then there, obviously, is Ian Cunningham.
13:11There's the assistant GM that we got from Philly, who is also very well received in terms of the way
13:20that we're going to go about our business.
13:22I think the last thing, Arthur Blank put Matt Ryan in place so he could stop firing coaches after two
13:29and three years.
13:31I mean, he fired Moore after three.
13:33Fired Arthur Smith after three.
13:34He fired Raheem after two.
13:35They literally hired an outside, what was it, sports sizzle, sports science, whatever.
13:39Yeah, and they said that you guys are not aligned.
13:41I think we're aligned.
13:42Right.
13:43Yeah.
13:43And I think if we don't have good quarterback play, then Kevin Stefanski will have a hard time, just like
13:49he did in Cleveland.
13:50But I think there's a seriousness about the way they're going about their business.
13:55I don't think Raheem and that group were quite as serious.
13:59And yesterday, Drew and I explained why.
14:02Too much nonsense.
14:03Horrible special teams.
14:04Ridiculous wide receiver room.
14:06A lot of talking without any substance behind it.
14:09I think Matt Ryan is the king.
14:10He is the king, and he knows what he wants, and he does not play.
14:17Do things the effing right way.
14:20Great conversation, Lucini.
14:21Thanks for bringing some of that stuff up when we come back.
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