vike daddy Posted May 7 Author Share Posted May 7 i wonder if Kirk will even last a year in Atlanta. some QB gets hurt halfway through the season... Kirk is willing to go to that team... Atlanta eats a big chunk of his salary, gets picks for trading him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 12 hours ago, sjfja_fkdldjs said: Still though, if Penix plays until 40 and is top 5 the whole time, who cares if they miss out on 2-3 years lol. While I generally agree with that line of thinking, I'm not counting on a QB playing until he's 40. Cam Newton is still 34 and out of the league. It's still rare that a QB can and will play until he's 40. It's far more likely that Penix misses out on 2-3 yrs, doesn't light the world on fire right away, and then gets stuck as a backup because there'll be some other younger QB that has potential to start. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 13 hours ago, SemperFeist said: The biggest head scratcher about Atlanta drafting Penix, is why sign Cousins? Forgetting about age, the Cousins contract basically wastes the first 2-3 years of Penix’s rookie deal. The Falcons really aren’t going to benefit the way that teams with QBs on rookie deals can usually benefit. Owner Arthur Blank looms large here. I'm told he fully endorsed long-term stability at the position, which Kirk Cousins, at age 35, cannot satisfy to the same degree. Blank had two quarterbacks -- Michael Vick and Matt Ryan -- controlling his offense for the better part of two decades. Blank is not used to the QB carousel. I do think the coaching calendar played a factor in Atlanta's decision to sign Cousins even while continuing to scout quarterbacks in the draft. By the time Raheem Morris was hired and fleshed out his staff, the Falcons were pressed against free agency. Cousins was viewed as a sure thing. But the final four to six weeks before the draft is when coaches put their stamp on draft scouting, which helps explain why Morris and his staff would also zero in on Penix. https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2024/insider/story/_/id/40077804/key-intel-all-32-teams-2024-nfl-draft-depth-charts-buzz-team-needs-next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted May 7 Share Posted May 7 1 hour ago, swede700 said: While I generally agree with that line of thinking, I'm not counting on a QB playing until he's 40. Cam Newton is still 34 and out of the league. It's still rare that a QB can and will play until he's 40. It's far more likely that Penix misses out on 2-3 yrs, doesn't light the world on fire right away, and then gets stuck as a backup because there'll be some other younger QB that has potential to start. I figured they wouldn't even consider drafting a QB until 2026. Their window is 3 years max but likely only 2 years in reality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 On 5/7/2024 at 9:12 AM, swede700 said: I do think the coaching calendar played a factor in Atlanta's decision to sign Cousins even while continuing to scout quarterbacks in the draft. By the time Raheem Morris was hired and fleshed out his staff, the Falcons were pressed against free agency. Cousins was viewed as a sure thing. But the final four to six weeks before the draft is when coaches put their stamp on draft scouting, which helps explain why Morris and his staff would also zero in on Penix I’d be inclined to accept this more if the reports after the draft weren’t that the Falcons only interaction with Penix was at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Combine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 What’ll really be curious, is how long is the leash for Fontenot and Morris? Fontenot has already been there for 3 years, overseeing everything that went wrong during Arthur Smith’s tenure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted May 8 Author Share Posted May 8 The Falcons may not be done adding to their quarterbacks’ room. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Atlanta put in a claim for quarterback Nathan Rourke. But the Giants were higher in the waiver priority, so Rourke is headed to New York. While the Falcons’ interest in Rourke comes after the club signed Kirk Cousins as a free agent and selected Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall in this year’s draft, the team does have just three quarterbacks currently on the roster. Rourke would have been the fourth behind Cousins, Penix, and 2023 backup, Taylor Heinicke. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-falcons-put-in-a-waiver-claim-for-qb-nathan-rourke were they thinking of trading Heineke or something? i swear, following ATL's executive decisions is a popcorn eating feast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted May 8 Share Posted May 8 2 hours ago, vike daddy said: The Falcons may not be done adding to their quarterbacks’ room. Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Atlanta put in a claim for quarterback Nathan Rourke. But the Giants were higher in the waiver priority, so Rourke is headed to New York. While the Falcons’ interest in Rourke comes after the club signed Kirk Cousins as a free agent and selected Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall in this year’s draft, the team does have just three quarterbacks currently on the roster. Rourke would have been the fourth behind Cousins, Penix, and 2023 backup, Taylor Heinicke. https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/report-falcons-put-in-a-waiver-claim-for-qb-nathan-rourke were they thinking of trading Heineke or something? i swear, following ATL's executive decisions is a popcorn eating feast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted May 9 Author Share Posted May 9 Harrison Phillips: “There’s gonna be a huge loss. Kirk Cousins as a person, as a leader, as a teammate, that’s a big void in your locker room. One of the most humble guys that I’ve ever been around. Servant leader, just a great motivator. He’s great. To ask one person to fill that void is probably not probable. So what we’re going to do is have a great leadership team, which we’ve already seen. There’s already guys that I’ve seen these last few seasons being on this roster -- some are captains, some are not captains yet but will be in their careers -- and so we’re going to pass that torch off and kind of division of labor." "We’re going to all carry that load together, and maybe we can be a better football team for it. Kirk’s obviously amazing. I’ve learned a lot from him and the leadership side of thing, and that’s an area I’m trying to step up and improve my game by working on those abilities.” https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/harrison-phillips-we-need-leadership-team-to-fill-big-void-left-by-kirk-cousins 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlee Posted May 9 Share Posted May 9 (edited) I’m of the opinion - why wouldn’t the Falcons draft a QB of the future? I don’t see it as a bad choice like many others. Spending that much on Cousins in general was a bit odd but it barely raised an eyebrow. We fell for it multiple times too, but at least now we can say we weren’t the only ones. Now whether or not Penix works out is separate. However, it’s no surprise Cousins didn’t want a viable and worthy QB behind him, much less a 1st round pick. Yikes. He never wanted that here, and it’ll likely affect his field play in Atlanta. Oh well. It makes sense the Falcons did what they did to me. If he’s disappointed in them for doing so, if I’m Atlanta, I’d just roll my eyes and continue building the team. Upper Mid-Tier, game-managing QB, coming off a torn achilles. No telling what comes of it but I wish them and him, the best. I actually think they’ll be a bit better. 8-9. 10-7 for the Falcons. Rinse and repeat the last 5 years, except this time in black and red. Edited May 9 by Morlee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Relax Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 (edited) 16 hours ago, Morlee said: I’m of the opinion - why wouldn’t the Falcons draft a QB of the future? I don’t see it as a bad choice like many others. Spending that much on Cousins in general was a bit odd but it barely raised an eyebrow. We fell for it multiple times too, but at least now we can say we weren’t the only ones. Now whether or not Penix works out is separate. However, it’s no surprise Cousins didn’t want a viable and worthy QB behind him, much less a 1st round pick. Yikes. He never wanted that here, and it’ll likely affect his field play in Atlanta. Oh well. It makes sense the Falcons did what they did to me. If he’s disappointed in them for doing so, if I’m Atlanta, I’d just roll my eyes and continue building the team. Upper Mid-Tier, game-managing QB, coming off a torn achilles. No telling what comes of it but I wish them and him, the best. I actually think they’ll be a bit better. 8-9. 10-7 for the Falcons. Rinse and repeat the last 5 years, except this time in black and red. I guess the shock for me is that they didn't go defense. Their d line is terrible. Edited May 10 by Captain Relax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 (edited) 15 hours ago, Morlee said: I’m of the opinion - why wouldn’t the Falcons draft a QB of the future? I don’t see it as a bad choice like many others. Spending that much on Cousins in general was a bit odd but it barely raised an eyebrow. We fell for it multiple times too, but at least now we can say we weren’t the only ones. Now whether or not Penix works out is separate. However, it’s no surprise Cousins didn’t want a viable and worthy QB behind him, much less a 1st round pick. Yikes. He never wanted that here, and it’ll likely affect his field play in Atlanta. Oh well. It makes sense the Falcons did what they did to me. If he’s disappointed in them for doing so, if I’m Atlanta, I’d just roll my eyes and continue building the team. Upper Mid-Tier, game-managing QB, coming off a torn achilles. No telling what comes of it but I wish them and him, the best. I actually think they’ll be a bit better. 8-9. 10-7 for the Falcons. Rinse and repeat the last 5 years, except this time in black and red. I think ultimately it's more about the mixed messaging than it has anything to do with the selection itself. They tried to have it both ways (by both playing to win now and plan for the future) and did an extremely poor job of indicating that. It's similar to what the Vikings have been saying, but they didn't use the fancy terminology of "competitive rebuild." They clearly indicated that they are trying to win now with many of the moves they've made in free agency and then they blow that entire message up by drafting Penix at #8...and doubled-down on that mixed messaging with not really having good answers at the press conferences after. Edited May 10 by swede700 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morlee Posted May 10 Share Posted May 10 9 hours ago, swede700 said: I think ultimately it's more about the mixed messaging than it has anything to do with the selection itself. They tried to have it both ways (by both playing to win now and plan for the future) and did an extremely poor job of indicating that. It's similar to what the Vikings have been saying, but they didn't use the fancy terminology of "competitive rebuild." They clearly indicated that they are trying to win now with many of the moves they've made in free agency and then they blow that entire message up by drafting Penix at #8...and doubled-down on that mixed messaging with not really having good answers at the press conferences after. I agree with most of what you said. The only thing I’ll respond to is regarding answers. I guess we just see how teams should conduct themselves and their decisions differently. I think Atlanta has zero interest in letting others know what they’re doing. They likely don’t feel even the slightest bit obliged to give answers on their decisions to the people outside the building; especially if they felt they “deserved” answers. Like, let me do my job and build the team. If it works out, it does. If it doesn’t, then I’ll face the consequences of my own doing. That’s where I think they’re coming from. And I would tend to agree with that overall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted May 12 Author Share Posted May 12 (edited) Naturally, while Cousins might not want to move on to another city after just landing in Atlanta, the veteran might also not want to sit in 2025 behind Penix if the Falcons are ready to move on and there’s an exciting opportunity available elsewhere. Could the Falcons move on after one year? Yes, although it would be more complicated. If Cousins agrees to a trade, it would be easy; Atlanta would actually save $2.5 million as part of that deal, and while it would have paid him $62.5 million for one year of work, it wouldn’t be on the hook for the remaining $37.5 million in guarantees. The Falcons would have $37.5 million in dead money on their cap, but we’ve seen teams grown more comfortable eating that sort of dead money if they’re ready to move on from a quarterback. The San Francisco 49ers as a long-shot landing spot for Cousins in 2025 , the other potential landing spots appear to be with the Raiders, Steelers and Titans, none of whom have a settled quarterback of the future. The Giants, Jets, Saints, Seahawks and even the Dolphins could also be in the market for a veteran starter. If Cousins plays well in 2024 and both he and the Falcons want to split, there will be a market for him next year. https://vikingsterritory.com/2024/news/top_news/vikings-nopedy-nopes-jim-harbaugh-bad-blood-kirk-cousins-problems?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook Edited May 12 by vike daddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted Tuesday at 01:41 PM Author Share Posted Tuesday at 01:41 PM Cousins was asked on the Bussin’ with the Boys podcast if there’s a beef between him and the Falcons over the draft, and Cousins answered, “No, I don’t think there can be. I don’t think it’s helpful.” Cousins: “We’re trying to win the Super Bowl and it’s hard enough. So let’s all be on the same page and let’s go try to win the Super Bowl. You’re reminded again that there are things you control, and there are a lot of things you don’t control." https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/kirk-cousins-no-beef-with-the-falcons-were-trying-to-win-a-super-bowl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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