00:00And, obviously, a lot of news with Michael Penix now cleared.
00:04It would be fascinating to see if he is immediately –
00:07they're not just going to take away reps from Tua that quickly.
00:12And I don't – listen, I'd be very happy to see Tua just –
00:16they move on from Tua and give most of the reps to Penix
00:19and then let Strand and Rush figure that out or move things from there.
00:24It doesn't feel like a lot of upside, but maybe not a lot of downside
00:26for paying a guy a million dollars.
00:27And he has started many games in the NFL.
00:30So, as much as I think it would be kind of an interesting message
00:33to tell Jack Strand at Cooper Rush, you guys are now our backups and Tua's gone,
00:38I don't think that is going to happen.
00:39You agree with me?
00:40That probably will not happen?
00:41I would definitely agree.
00:45And what has to happen with Michael Penix over the next three weeks
00:50in order to them to feel secure putting him out there against Aaron Rodgers
00:56and the Steelers on opening day?
00:57First and foremost, get under center.
01:00Get under center and operate the offense as Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Reese
01:06have it intended to be.
01:08Clearly, that's going to be Bijan 1 being a massive, overwhelming feature.
01:13Drake London is your security blanket.
01:15Kyle Pitts just got paid.
01:17He's going to have to have a big piece of this offense as well.
01:21Zachariah Branch, it looks like he has been making a lot of headlines
01:24throughout training camp as well.
01:25You saw a couple of really good clips from him in those inter-squad practices
01:29against the Indianapolis Colts.
01:30You have weapons to be able to distribute the ball.
01:33But again, with Bijan being the featured piece of the offense,
01:38you've got to really implement and sell play action that works best
01:43when the quarterback is under center.
01:45Can Michael Penix do it?
01:46We haven't seen it yet.
01:47I hope he can, given that that knee's healthy enough.
01:50And for folks just tuning in to hear us all morning,
01:56and somewhere between Jack Strand is going to be the greatest NFL rags-to-riches
02:03story since Kurt Warner, and Jack Strand should be playing,
02:06not even in the UFL or whatever that league is.
02:09You know, is Canada still playing?
02:11Yeah.
02:12Where do you really fall on watching two-and-a-half quarters of Jack Strand
02:16the other day?
02:17He does throw for over 200 yards.
02:18He does rush for a touchdown.
02:20He did look poised.
02:21It was funny.
02:22Matt Ryan was on the call on the TV side of it as well.
02:25If you heard Matt when he had the rushing touchdown, he says,
02:27spike it, Jack.
02:28But how do you unravel what you can believe by watching him the other night?
02:34Well, what you can unravel and what you are absolutely able to believe
02:39is that Jack Strand is a competent quarterback.
02:42He's got the size.
02:44He's got the mobility.
02:45He showed you his arm strength.
02:47I don't care who it was against.
02:49I know it wasn't against the 2001 Baltimore Ravens defense, right?
02:55Like, I know that.
02:56I'm watching him play, and I'm seeing his teammates rally around him.
03:00I'm seeing him command the offense up and down the field and score points.
03:04That's what you want to see.
03:06You cannot just dismiss that type of performance.
03:09And I guess part of what irritates me, because you and I were on the same page
03:13all weekend, you know, I know people look at me and say,
03:18there's a young man who looks like he played in the National Football League
03:20and has gone a few rounds, but I really haven't.
03:22I know that's shocking.
03:24Actually, they're more like, I think he's gone a few rounds at the Golden Corral
03:28more so than the NFL.
03:30But you did play in the league.
03:31You did play in the SEC.
03:33You have watched quarterbacks up close.
03:36You work for ESPN and call football for him on Sundays in terms of the games.
03:40So I look at you as a way more credible source of saying, hey, man, do you take anything away?
03:47And you're saying what I thought.
03:50Guy moves like he is comfortable in the pocket, commands a huddle,
03:54never played at a high level of college, and still was out there slinging it around.
03:59And then with his size, certainly could cause problems, you know, as a 6'4", 230, 240.
04:05I mean, he's not Lamar Jackson, he's not even Justin Fields, but he looks like he could pick up
04:09first downs, running the football straight ahead, or getting third and fourth in short plays.
04:14And you're saying, absolutely, you've been around backup quarterbacks.
04:17That guy can be a legit backup in the NFL.
04:19Without question.
04:20I mean, look no further than what happened towards the later parts of the last NFL season.
04:25Some guy named Chris Ulatikon was starting for the Kansas City Chiefs when Patrick Mahomes went down.
04:31I mean, who is to tell me that Jack Strand can't perform to a level that Chris Ulatikon did for
04:40the Kansas City Chiefs?
04:41All I'm saying is this, right?
04:42I feel like I've got pretty good football knowledge.
04:44I'll defer the quarterback expertise to a guy like Matt Ryan.
04:48You think Matt Ryan, in his first year as the president of football for the Atlanta Falcons,
04:53is just bringing in total scrubs who have no opportunity to do anything at the NFL level,
04:58even when rosters are at a 90-player size?
05:02No.
05:02He saw something in Jack Strand that was like, let's get this guy a shot, get him in here.
05:06We're not sure what our quarterback situation is going to be.
05:08And then, most importantly, to Jack Strand's credit,
05:11he has risen to take advantage of the opportunities that have been presented to him.
05:17He was the only quarterback playing in the first couple days of training camp.
05:20He's shown what he can do when he gets the opportunity.
05:23In these preseason games, and again, you cannot dismiss good performances in the preseason.
05:28He gave him two and a half quarters.
05:30Matt Ryan's like, okay, this guy's going to play a bunch.
05:32Threw for 212 yards, 12-17.
05:35Had some great throws and looked good running the ball.
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