Falcons Can Deny It, But Tua Tagovailoa Is Winning the QB Competition
· Yahoo Sports
Regardless of what the Atlanta Falcons are trying to tell the media, the quarterback battle has definitely already begun.
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Earlier this week, quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt made a bold statement to the media, saying that the competition between Tua Tagovailoa and Micaheal Penix Jr. has yet to begin.
"It's tough to have a competition when both guys aren't competing at the same level right now," so it's hard, and it'll come. It'll happen at some point, Van Pelt said. "Mike's done a great job of getting himself to where he is right now. Really impressive to take 7-on-7 reps and go out and compete. That's been great. But really, there's no competition until we can actually evaluate him equally."
But when you are talking about who will play quarterback for an NFL franchise, it is impossible to say you aren't evaluating the talent in front of you at practice. Michael Penix has not been able to compete at the same level in OTAs so far this offseason as free-agent addition Tua Tagovailoa, who has plenty of starting experience from his time with Miami.
That means something.
It may only be June, but if you are on the side of the Falcons fanbase thinking Penix should be the starter Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, then I think you have to start being a tad bit concerned. If we are in the same situation a month from now and Penix is not fully back by the start of training camp, then it's a major problem.
Let's face it, whether you believe it's unfair that Michael Penix can't truly compete and has to watch his competition show what he can do in front of a brand new coaching staff, is irrelevant. The goal is to get the Falcons back to the postseason, something that hasn't happened in almost a decade. Kevin Stefanski did it with the Browns in his first year as head coach, so there is no reason why he can't do it in Atlanta.
Kevin Stefanski and Alex Van Pelt can say it all they want, but Tua is showing the coaching staff things that Penix physically can't at the moment. He is showing he can run this offense effectively, which has undoubtedly made an impression on the coaching staff, whether they believe it or not.
So they aren't waiting around to begin judging who will play the most important position on the field come week 1 against the Steelers; Tua clearly has an advantage heading into the summer.