- 32 minutes ago
Zinno discusses why Jack Strand is not really an option for the Falcons at QB at this point in time…
The Falcons continue to play silly games with when they will name a starting QB and who it will be…
And why Falcons fans need to take a deep breath and relax after the first game of the season.
The Falcons continue to play silly games with when they will name a starting QB and who it will be…
And why Falcons fans need to take a deep breath and relax after the first game of the season.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:01Good morning. Welcome to A to Z here on Sports Radio 929 The Game, where today I tell you the
00:06Falcons may have Jack Strand, but in reality, they got Jack Squat. Welcome in here to another
00:12edition of A to Z as we continue along here on 929thegame.com and 929thegame's YouTube channel.
00:18Appreciate you guys joining me twice a week here as we get things started in football season. Make
00:23sure you guys hit that subscribe button so you're alerted every single time A to Z pops up along
00:28with all the other great content we have right here at 929thegame.com and 929thegame YouTube.
00:33Make sure you give that thumbs up as well. Drop a comment below. Want your reactions, your thoughts
00:38to this video and the three things that we're going to talk about today with the Atlanta Falcons. We're
00:43going to pass out a shovel of wisdom and when we're done with this show today, I'm sure you're going
00:47to
00:47look at the Falcons quarterback situation a lot differently than you did when you came in. With
00:52all that said, let's get A to Z underway and it starts now. My calculations are correct.
00:58When this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious shit.
01:05It's time for A to Z with Mark Zeno. It's elite sports knowledge.
01:11I am the smartest man alive!
01:14It's in your face opinions.
01:17In the face! In the face!
01:19No!
01:20We got some good times.
01:21We hate to?
01:22I am!
01:24And some good information.
01:26Get f***ed in!
01:27When Atlanta talks sports, there's only one place to turn.
01:32You want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
01:37A to Z starts now.
01:45All right. Hope you guys like the introduction. Drop a comment below as well. Let me know what
01:48your thoughts are. But let's get right into it here with the Falcons. Now look, we know
01:52how bad Sunday was against the Steelers. It's been out there for the last 48 hours. His performance
01:59both metrically, analytically, visually, everything, it was pathetic. It was bad. He looked bad.
02:04The Falcons looked bad on offense. And at this point in time, there's a general consensus
02:08to the fan base that this can't continue. That if Michael Pennings can't go, and he's not ready
02:14to go in week two, that you can't send Cooper Rush back out there, and it's got to be Jack
02:19Strand.
02:19Now, let me just address this with everybody, okay? Even I, on Twitter, you know, when Tua got hurt,
02:29I was willing to say, hey, what the hell? Throw Jack Strand out there, right?
02:33Like, at this point, everything's a mess. Just throw him out there and see what could happen.
02:39That was tongue-in-cheek. There was a modicum of truth to it from the standpoint of, like,
02:44oh my God, this is so bad. At this point, what are we even doing? You know, you may as
02:49well throw
02:49caution to the wind. But in reality, and I've said this, and I have said this repeatedly,
02:55and it's one of those things where, you know, when you look at the situation that's going on here,
03:04and I was on a podcast last week with Senator Mad Mike. It was Mad Mike Sports Podcast. He's a
03:09big
03:10Falcons fan, and he asked me to come on the show, and I was more than happy to oblige to
03:14be on there.
03:14And I said this same thing going into the game, you know, that, yes, it's fun to say,
03:20let's start Jack Strand. But let's just imagine this scenario here. There are two things at play.
03:26Number one, okay, a coach's job is tied directly to how many games he wins. And if you don't win,
03:34you don't keep your job. So a coach is always going to play the quarterback and the players he feels
03:41gives the team the best chance to win. That's it. There's no other math involved. There's no other,
03:46you know, parts of the equation. If they give us the best chance to win, they're going to be on
03:52the
03:52field, and that's it. So he has to play the quarterback he feels gives them the best chance
03:57to win. Clearly, Cooper Rush gave them the best chance to win. Now, why do you think that I would
04:04say that? Because the reality is this, guys, okay? Although the idea of seeing what you got with Jack
04:11Strand seems nice and how well he played the preseason is nice. He's not ready. He's not ready to go
04:16up against NFL defenses. Preseason is different. It doesn't count. It's just not schemed. There's
04:22just so many things that are different. Imagine this scenario, guys, okay? And for all you Falcons
04:27fans who have visceral reactions to everything, and this is fan base is broken. We can dive into
04:32more of that in a minute, and I understand why it's broken, but it is broken. But let's just look
04:37at this objectively. If Jack Strand would have went out there and played the same game that Cooper
04:43Rush played, or played a game even worse, if that's possible, than Cooper Rush played,
04:50we would be eviscerating. I mean eviscerating Kevin Stefanski and this Falcons organization
04:58for doing what they did. You threw a D2 unproving quarterback, a D2 walk-on,
05:06out on the field with NFL players. Are you out of your mind? They would have been the laughing
05:13stock of the league for doing that. Everybody, every analyst would have said, well, that's what
05:19you get when you put a D2 guy out there. There's a reason why there are no D2 guys running
05:24around
05:24the NFL because they're just not ready, and they're just not at that skill level. We would
05:28have been ripping this organization to shreds if he put Jack Strand out there and it blew up in his
05:33face. And I don't know for certain that it would have. But what I do know is the learning curve
05:38for
05:38him is a lot higher than it would have been for Tua, for Cooper Rush, or Michael Penix, whoever it
05:43may be. It would have been a much steeper learning curve to make your first NFL start in that situation.
05:51So the idea we were going to put Jack Strand out there is almost crazy. The only way it would
05:57have
05:57looked great is if he played great and they won. That's it. That's it. Even if he played good
06:03in a loss, manifest it would have been, you still lost the game. And for an organization
06:08that needs to win badly, you still lost the game. And so the idea that Jack Strand was going to
06:16be
06:17able to play was nonsensical. And as much as I thought he played well, and as much as I kind
06:22of was in the mode of, oh God, bitch, what the hell, throw him out there, right? Because you're just
06:27throwing your hands up about how insane this has been from the start. How one thing after another is
06:33spitballed and one injury after another, like you just, you can't make this up. So yeah,
06:38there's a sense of, ah, just throw him out there. That's not reality. Kevin Stefanski's whole reality
06:43is tied to winning football games. And if he doesn't win them, he's not going to be here that
06:48long. Now, some of you guys may think that's a good thing. I personally don't. I personally think
06:54Kevin Stefanski is the right man for this job. I advocate for him being here. I think he's best
06:59long-term. I think he can develop quarterbacks. I think his system is going to work well when he
07:03gets some adequate quarterback play. I think all those things are true. But right now, given where
07:11they are, and I'll tell you what, guys, if Michael Penix isn't healthy and he's not ready to walk out
07:15of that tunnel coming up on Sunday against the Panthers, it's going to be Cooper Rush again.
07:20Buckle in. Live with the reality that that's what it's going to be. That Jack Strand is a developmental
07:27prospect and will take more time to develop. So for a guy whose decisions and job is directly
07:35tied to winning, you've got to put the guy out there who gives you the best chance to
07:39win. And if it's between Cooper Rush and Jack Strand, Cooper Rush gives you a better chance
07:43to win. That's just reality, guys. You can make up whatever you want about the preseason.
07:50You can concoct whatever fantasy your mind can tell you can exist.
07:53But the reality is that Cooper Rush gives them a better chance to win.
08:01Now, with that, I want to pass out a shovel of wisdom because it leads directly
08:06into our next part of the Atlanta Falcons.
08:11Brace yourselves because it's time for the shovel of wisdom.
08:24All right. Today, my shovel goes to anybody who watched the Chiefs game last night and thinks
08:30it's the same as Michael Penix. There's a double one for you. Folks, I watched Monday Night Football
08:38last night, too. I watched Patrick Mahomes scamper around. I watched him run for a 15-yard touchdown,
08:43which was holding on Travis Kelsey, which they never called. But I watched the same game you did
08:48last night. And the idea that there are people out there who are going, see, Patrick Mahomes did it.
08:56He tore his knee a month after, four weeks after, and he's back and he's playing and everything else.
09:01Why isn't Michael Penix out there? They are not the same.
09:08As I told you guys last week, Michael Penix has one chance, one, one, one chance left.
09:15He has one bullet left in the gun to go out there on an NFL field and prove to everybody
09:21that he is
09:21a franchise quarterback. He has one chance left. Patrick Mahomes has three Super Bowls.
09:27Patrick Mahomes has $450 million coming to him in contract money. Patrick Mahomes is likely already
09:35going to the Hall of Fame. Patrick Mahomes has endorsements out the wazoo to support him and his
09:42family if his football career goes belly up. Patrick Mahomes can afford to play sluggish,
09:50and he did. He looked bad in the first half. He was 4-14 for 38 yards for crying out
09:54loud.
09:56Patrick Mahomes didn't really get going until after Kenneth Walker ripped off that long touchdown run.
10:04That's when he started going because everything was easy then. He didn't look good. Mahomes did not
10:10look good, but that's all hidden under the fact that they won the game. They were dominant up front.
10:16Their defense played well, and Patrick Mahomes as the quarterback gets all the accolades for it.
10:22These are not the same situations. Do not make them.
10:29The first game Michael Penix plays, if he comes out and they lose,
10:33already the avalanche is going to start to snowball.
10:37That's the reality for him. They are not the same situations. Don't make them the same. Outside of the
10:43health part of it, and everybody reacts different. Patrick Mahomes only had one knee surgery.
10:48Michael Penix has had two on that same knee. This is his second. They're not the same.
10:54Don't make them the same.
10:57I mean, just be a little bit objective about this.
11:03Now, that ties into the point that I wanted to make here.
11:08We had the press conference, Kevin Stefanski yesterday, and I asked Kevin Stefanski, not who
11:15his starting quarterback was going to be, because if he was going to tell me, he would have told us
11:18the first words out of his mouth. I wanted to know the timeline for making the decision.
11:25And typically, for those of you who don't know, okay, Monday is film review, the workouts.
11:30Tuesday is your off day. Wednesday is the install day. Wednesday is where you start to put the game
11:35plan in, Wednesday and Thursday, right? So whoever your starter is going to be, your game plan is
11:42tailored to those players. So Wednesday is install day, right? Now it's a home game, okay, this week.
11:50So literally, they don't have to put people on a plane, you know, because when you fly, if somebody
11:56doesn't fly because they're injured, that has to be disclosed, you know, on the NFL injury report
12:02that the guy didn't fly with the team and he's not traveling this, that, the other. So they don't
12:07have to worry about, you know, a guy starting until 1130 on, I'm sorry, 11 a.m. rather, or 1130
12:14on Sunday morning when the inactives come out. But I say all that because I want to know the timeline.
12:20What is the timeline for making the decision? Will you know by Wednesday on install day? Will you
12:25wait until Friday? Is it going to be something that leads up to game time? What is the timeline,
12:30coach Stefanski, on naming your starting quarterback this week? I was told he doesn't know the timeline
12:38by him. Again, so strange. So, so, so strange the way this is being handled. It's really not that
12:51difficult to say, guys, we'll have our answer on Wednesday on install day and we'll tell you then.
12:55Okay, fine. If you don't know, if you have to say, we need to wait to see what the medical
13:02status is
13:03of Tua. We need to wait to see what the medical status is of Mike. And if neither one of
13:08them can
13:08go, it'll be Cooper Rush again. Fine. We can wait and see. Like, but the idea that playing the stupid,
13:16ridiculous shadow game again makes absolutely no sense. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
13:25I'm not sure why they're continuing to go down this path. I don't know what they're holding back.
13:31I don't know why they're not disclosing anything. But boy, man, is it frustrating.
13:37It's frustrating and it's silly. You have to know. You have to know. At least John Harbaugh in New York
13:45said, hey, I'm flat out not going to tell you who's playing. So don't ask me. At least take that
13:50stance. At least tell me, you know what the plan is. Instead of, I don't know. I don't know. I
13:56don't
13:56know what the timeline is. I don't know what the plan is. What the hell do you guys do all
13:59day long?
14:00No. It's a bad look, man. It's a bad, bad, bad look. And I don't know why they're doing it.
14:10Give me some semblance of clarity. Like you have an idea and you're not just shooting from the hip
14:15about how this whole thing is supposed to go. If Mike's knee is ready and he's ready to go,
14:22we want to see him out there on Sunday. If it's not, tell us. And it goes into this thing
14:28here
14:30where, and this is problematic, right? Because all this is going back on Mike. Well, Mike doesn't
14:36want to play. That was the reaction last night with the Mahomes thing. Well, Mahomes wanted to
14:39be out there with his teammates. Mahomes wanted to compete. Clearly, Penix doesn't.
14:45You know, for an organization like the Falcons who are so optics concerned, they are so worried about
14:50how things look. They are so worried about optics. They are so bad when it comes to optics. They are
14:55terrible at it. The optics of this are terrible. And Mike looks like the bad guy. And we're starting
15:01to beginning to feel like there is a disconnect between what Mike wants and what the organization
15:06wants. What Mike thinks is right and what the organization thinks is right. There's clearly
15:11starting to be a disconnect between those two things. And it's a bad look all around. It's bad
15:16for the Falcons and it's bad for Mike. Again, I told you last week, I get what Mike is doing.
15:21He knows
15:22he's only got one chance left. He has got to make the most of it. And so he is going
15:28to wait
15:28until he's 100% ready to go. But you should have never cleared him then. And you should tell us
15:32right now he's not ready to go if he's not ready to go. But we're all sitting here playing this
15:38waiting game. We're all sitting here wondering what's next. We're all sitting here wondering what
15:43is going to be the answer. I don't know. I really don't. I wish we had some semblance of an
15:54answer.
15:56But we don't. We don't know. And we don't know what this is supposed to look like. So somebody tell
16:04me
16:05how this all ends up. I don't have the answer. Final point I want to make here. Final, final point
16:12I want
16:12to make on this Tuesday edition of A to Z. I know Cooper Rush was bad. And I know that
16:22people don't
16:23want to watch that again and don't want to see that again. But you also have to understand something
16:30about the NFL season. Yes, coaches tell you all the time it's a week to week league.
16:38Coaches and players tell you, I don't, I'm not even sure who we're playing next week.
16:42And guess what, folks? Believe them. Because they get so myopic and such tunnel vision on the task
16:49ahead of them, which is winning the next football game that they have to play, that everything else
16:54becomes secondary and everything else gets blocked out. That's true. That's how players and coaches
17:00handle it. It's a week to week league. And that is 100% the way to look at it.
17:07But you also, when it's, when you say it's a week to week league, not every week is a playoff
17:11game
17:12that's do or die. Not every week that goes wrong means we have to make drastic changes going into
17:17the next week. You guys, you have to let the NFL season start to play out. You have to get
17:22a sample
17:22size. Coaches used to talk about this all the time, how the NFL season is cut in quarters. It won
17:2716 games, 4-4-4-4, right? And you want to win each quarter of the season, but you also
17:33want to be able
17:34to figure out who you are. And you spend the first four to six weeks of the NFL season figuring
17:39out who
17:40you are. If you're constantly making changes, you have no way to know what the data point is that needs
17:46to be fixed. Right? I mean, if you're constantly, you know, moving things around week to week,
17:58you can't ever figure out if you're going to get good at anything or if you're going to get better
18:02at anything. Just because this run right off tackle doesn't work this time doesn't mean you
18:08get rid of it and never run it again. You have to run it again to figure out what are
18:14we doing right
18:14in this play? What are we doing wrong on this play? I mean, coaches don't just throw out one
18:21play or throw out an entire section of a playbook because, oh, it didn't work this game. That's not
18:27how you, that's, it's not how you coach and it's not how you fans should react. You can't sit there
18:33and expect massive changes week to week. That's what bad organizations do. They're emotional and they
18:40overreact to everything and they overreact to everything, which brings me back to the point
18:47where I said earlier about this fan base is broken. Now I get it. I get it. I understand.
18:54It's been a lot of bad. The last decade has not been fun. From that fateful day in February
19:02and Houston, everything has been downhill since. So I get it. But you can't do this. You can't do
19:11this after one week, Falcons fans. You cannot sit there and be shouting from the rooftops and screaming
19:18about everything that is wrong and compiling years of mistakes behind you into what is happening now.
19:26Allow me a little room to kind of defend normalcy and at least give Stefanski a little
19:32bit more of a leash to operate where this stuff, okay, makes sense. He's got to get two or three
19:40more data points before he makes any changes. And oh, by the way, if Michael Penix comes back, guess
19:45what? Everything you saw last week probably doesn't hold true going forward because you've changed a
19:51major component of the operation. So you've got to just try to pump the brakes here. You've got to
20:00try and figure out a way to detach yourself emotionally from one loss in a 17-game season
20:08and stop thinking that that means the season is over. And all of a sudden we have to do things
20:14dramatically different. It's not the way it works. You've got to pull it together, Falcons fans.
20:20I know you don't want to hear that, and I know you're giving me the middle finger right now,
20:23but you've got to pull it together. There is a better way, an easier way, a smarter way
20:30to go about this. It's a week-to-week league, but the arc of the season, okay, has to start
20:37somewhere.
20:39And who you are after week one should not be the same team you are after week six, after week
20:4410,
20:44after week 15? You've got a lot of time to start playing better football.
20:51Take some solace in the fact that the defense is actually pretty good on Sunday.
20:54I think they'll be pretty good again this week. I know you guys are broken. I understand why,
21:00but you've got to step outside yourself here.
21:04We'll have another episode coming up on Thursday. Hopefully, we'll have a quarterback name by then,
21:11and some of this stuff will get squared away. Drop a comment below. Let me know your thoughts
21:15on everything that I've laid out for you. Again, hit that subscribe button. Make sure you guys are
21:19notified every single time A to Z pops up. Check me out on social at Mark Zeno, M-A-R
21:24-K-Z-I-N-N-O.
21:26Back with another episode of A to Z coming up here later in the week. You guys have a great
21:30day.
Comments