As someone who watched Penix play every week for the last 2 years, have fun with that controversy in Atlanta when he shows up and outplays Cousins in practice and training camp

This pick makes sense. The problem was paying an injured 36 year old QB all this money

As a falcons fan it is growing on me. Love the player , pick is growing

As a Niners fan, it feels like Arthur Blank is doing what Jerry Jones refuses to do: go all in and try anything to win! If Kirk doesn’t work, this looks like a really nice backup plan to have! ❤

This situation feels eerily similar to the Mahomes-Cheifs draft situation and the uproar that caused.

“we won’t be picking this high again for a while” - That’s what Scott Fitterer said to justify trading up for Bryce Young . Then he went 2-15 and got fired.

People really acting slow about this like the 180 came out their paycheck. It’s common sense, Kirk is getting paid to ball out for two years and help develop Penix to lead the team. After two years Kirk contract will be reconstructed. After that his main concern is to ride out into retirement. The best QBs in the game sat behind great vet QBs for a few years until they were ready.

First off, Penix is a BEAST. Second, they HAD to sign Kirk. They couldn’t go into a season banking on the fact that their QB would be there in the draft.

He literally turned around and ran out of his own end zone before. 180 is kinda his thing

Cousins is a good move. Penix is a good move. Both together is malpractice.

So if its so great to get Penix, why tamper to pay a 36 year old with a repaired achilles with barely any playoff wins 100 million dollars guaranteed?

Truth is, quarterbacks that sit do better, especially when they're behind someone good, as Kirk is. I think people are overreacting to this. Love Dan - yet again, he makes that easy to understand.

Atlanta has capital in the most important position in the league. If it doesn't work out with cousins they can trade him comfortably. So no worries about contract. If he play well, then you have a young QB to deal in a QB hungry market. I like this move. But mostly because Penix is a good pick. The downside is Cousins no longer being all in.

I love the Pick. Most Falcons fans hated it but this is the most important position in Sports. I love that Falcons went from no QB to a Veteran Top 10 QB and a new young prospect

I been understanding why they did drafted Penix … I just needed a tv guy to confirm for everyone why 😂

I agree now that I have listened to the argument. They probably will not be this high up on the draft board again...here was a QB they love, and Kirk has now suffered a major injury. The only thing I wonder about is Penix sitting out for two years, that seems like a lot...but then again, Aaron Rodgers (the nutter) did it too.

Only time will tell but this reminds me of a typical business model study where the company has resently spent a significant amount on a machine and shortly is faced with the realization that a newer machine that just came out that is significanly more productive and can increase their profits by a significan amount but the recently acquired machine works perfectly well - what do you do? You look at the bottom line and if all the facts are correct, you replace the machine with the newer inovation and sell this less effecient machine to the highest bidder, even at a loss if this doesn't negatively affect the bottom line analysis. In Atlanta's eyes, Penix represents the more productive machine. This effectively makes Cousin a bridge QB, not what he was banking on.

I'm old school. I like that Pennix will have to sit and learn for a while.

I think it just comes down to the fact that Atlanta assumed penix wouldn't fall to them so they went for cousins, but realistically feel like cousins is on a must win contract for the next two years otherwise penix will be stepping in to the starting position

This will split the locker and the fanbase will be calling for pennix like crazy.

Is that the guy from Always Sunny?

Everybody gaslighting TF out of everyone today. 🤣

If Kirk Cousins gets hurt then what? People who are hating on this pick are just pissed that it screwed up their draft boards! As Falcon fans, we have to get over it.

At the end of the day it's a business, I didn't like the pick at first, but I get it now. " If you fail to plan ,you plan to fail"

What was our 3 issues last year: Play Calling, QB Play and our front 7 got decimated. We literally addressed all of those. New coaches. We went out and got a starter at QB. Then in the draft one of our top 5 players fell to us so we took him. Then we draft 4 players in the front 7 who will help now. May not start but WILL be used. I dont understand they hate. This isnt madden. We had no idea Penix would be there. If he wasnt maybe we do go Turner, we stuck to OUR board and not the boards of the media outlets. Fin.

Talk about who they passed on. They needed to pick Odunze or Bowers or the best defensive player on the board.

Either Penix is an insurance policy (dumb) or the Falcons drafted him to sit for 3-4 years (really dumb). In either case you don't spend the #8 pick in the draft like this!!!

I understand why they picked HIM, i dont understand why they DIDNT pick a pass rusher. But now seeing Orlovsky agree with me makes me not feel so good about it 😂

Damn Kirk or Mr. MONEY Get a another contract???? You GO Kirk Love it!!

They won 7 games with the old head coach. Didn't we just watch a 7 win team fire their coach, hire a new coach, fire him in his first year after winning 2 games. What you did with your last coach means nothing. It's a whole new regime now

Morris and Fontenot spelled it out for all you “experts” at the press conference. They want to win NOW. And they will with Cousins. But they knew they would not be in this prime spot again so they invested in their QB future.

Everyone will eat crow. It's cool when other team do it, it's a problem when Atlanta does it.

So what Orlovsky is saying is that Fontenot, Morris and Blank all had bad recent experiences with not having a top level QB, and so collectively they used those experiences to panic and make one of the most bizarre draft choices anyone's ever seen....

whats frustrating is we wont be able to see him tear up the league

It might make sense if you look at the pick in a vacuum, but when you consider the money already spent for Cousins and who was still on the board it's insane. Took an injury-prone back up when Murphy, Odunze, Fashanu and a couple other instant difference makers were still available.

I have a feeling that Penix is very quickly going to be better than Cousins, it would be wild if they switched to Penix THIS season

this is also good for Raheem. He’s going to be there at least four years if Kirk doesn’t get hurt. He’s going to have two years to turn it around with what many consider to be a decent,solid quarterback, then ownership is more than likely going to give him a couple of years when it’s Penix’s time under center.

That last sentence!!

There’s a video of Kirk cousins saying he would retire at every team he played lol

2:58 Look at those freaking hands. Yeah, with Cousins’ recent injury history, the pick makes more sense.

Why is it OK for cousins to be picked when RGIII is the starting quarterback, but Atlanta can’t pick Penix WHEN cousins is the starting quarterback

I went through the exact same thing Dan Orlovsky did; I was completely confused when the pick happened, slept on it, woke up in the morning still a little bit confused, then I started to understand why. This draft didn't really stick out defensively, which is why a defensive player didn't get picked until 15th which wasn't even the guy everyone had being the first defensive player off the board, so they decided to pick based off want instead of need. Everyone has a problem with Penix's age and being a little bit too old to be developed, but we gotta understand that 40 is the new 35 for the QB position. Quarterbacks are playing much longer and taking A LOT LESS hits. They probably plan on letting Penix sit behind Kirk for two years and then let him compete with Kirk for the starting position for the remainder of Kirk's contract. I'm still not the biggest fan of the move but I can understand it. My main problem is the fact they started that plan now instead of next year. I understand that no defensive player was worth a top 10 pick this year but the best decision was to trade back and take a chance on someone like Turner or Latu. If they don't work out oh well, at least we traded back and got a another draft pick in return. My ideal plan for the Falcons would've been; Let Kirk get a year under his belt to see if he's truly good enough to lead this talented team to a Superbowl. If not then trade up to draft Shedeur next year, because the Falcons aren't going to be bad enough to get a high enough pick to draft him. He's no where near the thrower of the football as Penix but you can't tell me two years under Kirk's guidance wouldn't help with that. He's still raw but the fact he's talented enough to warrant a top pick really shows he has the natural ability, he just needs a little bit of quarterback guidance, instead of that bs QB coaching he gets from his dad and Colorado. Then just re-up on Pitts, London, and Bijan before Shedeur's rookie contract ends. I personally do believe the Falcons pulled the trigger a little bit too early, but I guess only time will tell.

😊 I'm a long-term Falcons fan when this happened I was shocked I thought we were going to get arguably the best defender in the draft. I like what they've done now I am good with it let's go

I love Penix and think he’s gonna be our franchise QB, so in 5 years I don’t think any of this will matter. My problem is that it feels like we’re just punting on the next 2 years and will be complacent with making the playoffs and that’s it.

People who are casual fans and never seen MPJ play will like the kid. I don’t have a problem with the pick. He will start sooner than people think. Kirk better be on his A game.

Between the end of the season and when free agency starts is a big time gap to figure out your QB plan.

Sounds like Falcons got toooo much money but Penix is best qb in draft and better than some starters in nfl

Dan has never met a QB move he didn’t like lol

The new background is kinda distracting lol.

Kirk made sure his money was fully guaranteed. But forgot to add a no trade clause 😂

I think Kirk's had 'The rug pulled from beneath him', as they say.

Go look at cousins contract. Guaranteed money at 100M over two years is under the qb market for both calendar years. The second year of his contract Kirk wont even be amongst the top 10 highest paid quarterbacks. This is a brilliant move by the Atlanta falcons. And honestly the lack of r&d by most broadcasting professionals is astounding. Even rich, you are showing age here. Simply not accepting something because it hasn't been done before.

Its not just two years with Cousins. Its 3 years cuz the Dead Cap money is horrible in year 3 also.

$100M g-money sounds a lot but it really isn't in today's NFL especially for starting QBs. That amount is basically middle of the road compared to other QB contracts. Yea it's going to suck for ATL if hey have to unload Cousins next year, but the hit isn't so bad. Also Cousins will likely have trade value so ATL might get something back.

If Penix get injured and out for the season. Then they all will say, he shouldn't have been drafted in 1st rd. So write the positive reviews names down and should penix get hurt ( hopefully not) see how the positive will become negative.

Why mystified for planning for the future of your team. QB IS the most important position.great planning for cheap..

Does rich not understand ATL not have honking by they would be able to draft him at 8. I’m not sure where the confusion is. The draft didn’t go the way teams thought it would

As you think about it its a right pick. I think everyone just want him in a position where he could start, I.E. the Raiders which i would have loved lol

Trouble is even if he beats out Kirk. You don't get the cap saving a rookie QB gives you. The lose if they beat him out. They lose if he doesn't because by the time he plays he's 27 and the rookie saving is about over. Not a bad QB to pick. Just a bad pick overall to make because of the insane money you just paid Kirk.

I will take this "problem" over Ridder

literally everyone been arguing about how the falcons should have done what the raiders did. Raiders didnt overpay for cousins, they got a bridge qb so that when the draft came and they could pick their qb of the future no one talked shhhh about overpaying for cousins. Thats how you do it, sign less talented qbs and hope the future qb falls to you in the draft. nice to see dan finally explain how free agency works to rich,

Falcons signed up for 1 of these 2 things : 1) #8 overall pick in Draft NOT ON FIELD PLAYING 2) $100m Guaranteed Player NOT Playing

Media making a bigger deal out of this than need be..

lets talk about about the NFL DRAFT crowds and TV Ratings VS NBA playoffs , the NBA DREAMS of getting HUGE crowds like that at their draft or the TV ratings the draft gets compared to NBA playoffs games WOW

Didn’t Greenbay give Rodgers an extension then went in the draft and moved up to get Jordan????

How can they say Atlanta doesn't have to worry about a QB till 2030? WHo knows what could happen in 6 years.

Penix is already 24 years old and will not get a chance to play until he’s 27 years old. It’s like I’m going to get him so you don’t get him and use him against me ! The Pick made Zero Sense because you didn’t get any better with him on the Bench ! 😂

Let’s hear Rich’s brilliant plan for what the Falcons do at QB in 3 years ( max) for a QB. They won’t have a good draft pick between now and then, so, without Michael Penix they are right back into QB purgatory. The idea that not taking Dallas Turner somehow means they are abandoning a plan to “win now” Is stupid. They went 7-10 with frigging Desmond Ridder at qb and their current personnel on Defense. That same team with Cousins at QB wins 9 or 10 games easy. And, if they are one edge rusher short of winning the Super Bowl ( which is laughable but seems to be what is implied here) they can easily fill that need with the 20th pick ( or similar) next year. You know what need can’t be immediately addressed with the 15th or higher pick in the draft ? 3 guesses (and the first 2 don’t count)

I think it’s finally setting in to me that this whole Penix and Kirk Cousins thing, is the best series of decisions in franchise history. On draft night I thought Penix was an irreplaceable talent that happened to fall and they couldn’t pass. But after some thought, I’m pretty sure Penix was part of the plan all along and they realized they refuse to go the route of feed the rookie to the fire and start him year one. That is always a crap shoot, for every CJ Stroud there’s a Bryce Young. They also realized most rookies do not improve under poor bridge QBs, in fact in many ways they end up adopting many of their bad habits. So, how do you give your best shot of recreating a Mahomes situation, or a Rodgers or Love situation? You go pay Kirk. Now, you are a winning football team and you just so happened to get one of the best possible mentors for your franchise QB. It may just slip into genius territory, if it goes right.

What did Rodgers do after they drafted Love? MVP, MVP....Maybe they want to push Kirk to be his absolute best for the next few years and now Penix gets to learn, study, and be his best when he does get his shot. If he pans out, they could have elite QB play for the next 10 years. They have holes to fill, but QB hopefully shouldn't be one of them going forward. My best take.

Credibility killer doing a complete 180 the next day.

I’d get if you drafted JJ to sit because of his age. I just can’t get around on Penix being the guy. This just can’t end well. Plus the pressure it puts the locker room in if Cousins struggles and Penix looks great at practice.

Do you think if free agency came after draft , this would happen ?

Kurt Cousins threw out the first pitch, Kurt Cousins said he wanted to retire there. The Falcons didnt throw out the first pitch. The Falcons didnt say they wanted Kurt to retire there. Not sure what is so hard for Rich to understand.

They’ve already said KC is going to b QB1 for the next several yrs. Penix is their qb1 for the next 10 afterwards

Did Dan just say the first pick is pointless? Lmao

When they signed Cousins they didn’t who would be on the board when they picked. Did not trade up for him but reacted to take what they believe is big value. Cousins could get injured at anytime. Competition makes people better. I support ATL decision 100%

Dan gets it 💯

It’s hilarious hearing a jets fan disagree with a team getting 2 good qb’s 😂

They didn't try to make the team as good as they could for Cousins, and they didn't go out on a limb and get Penix hoping he'd be their solution.. they had one foot in and one foot out. Getting Cousins was a waste of money. If you want to have a few years to develop Penix before he plays, you don't really want to have an upper-mid record like you'll get with Cousins - and you could have used that money to get Penix future weapons.. it was a terrible decision to get them both, no matter how you look at it 😂 I can't believe some franchises decisions.. Panthers, Broncos, and now the Falcons.

If Kirk plays out his contract, penix will be 26-27 starting and 1 year left on his rookie contract. If the plan was drafting him, why pay Kirk and not a qb journeyman that he can learn from

just like Jordan Love had to wait a few years, it should work out for Penix being an understudy to Cousins. And if Cousins goes down again, boom!

the plan is fine, but you put your eggs in the kirk basket. you do that cuz you plan to win now, just needed a qb. if your plan is to win now, why not invest in that? why use resources to plan for the future? not committing to the now and sign kirk which will keep you in 2nd half of draft, hurting building for the future. seems like they kinda hamstrung the now and the future. only thing that makes picking late in the draft appealing is the possibility of picking last in the draft.

Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. situation will work itself out in time.

Orlovsky is missing one giant piece of critical info when he lists all these places that drafted the “next” QB. The phenomena is absolutely NOT new: he’s right. But in everywhere he listed, the “established” QB in the equation had been with that club for some time. It wasn’t somebody they went and wined and dined and SOLD on coming to their club weeks earlier. The PHILOSOPHY makes sense. This execution is beyond underhanded. It’s clear they did Kirk completely dirty and that management group is now gonna have a higher hurdle to clear with every contested free agent it tries to bring in. They are now on record being completely dishonest with a high profile free agent.

If they like Penix that much, they should trade Cousins to some team that needs a QB, like the Raiders.

Rich talking like Kirk's retirement isn't right around the corner😆 He's 36 how much longer do you expect him to play?

Never didn't make sense. How long does rich think cousins is playing he contract goes until hes 40 ..

I felt the Jets should have done the same but with JJ

Orlofksky was the one who stepped out of the back of the end zone and didnt know it, right? ok. got it.

I agree with Dan. Wanted Latu but we move

Rich said I appreciate the insight into the situation but I’m still gonna believe my stupid perception of the pick

Cousins will likely continue to get injured. He is older now and one play away from being out for the season.

The pick makes sense. If you adjust I’m sure for inflation what the Packers paid for Rodgers as a rookie is probably in line with what Penix will make. Cousins got an MSRP value the market established this someone was getting $100 million we crossed that threshold with Watson and Team 3.

Maybe the talking heads have to be delicate and careful, but the truth is that Penix will be finishing the year as the starter because Kirk is gonna get hurt. And if not this year, then next. ATL needs to be set up for when that happens. And now they are.

It's crazy falcons fans can be mad about acquiring a talented quarterback in the draft considering their franchise history

If I was cousins I would be pissed shaking my head.

Kirk cousins getting 100 mil he needs to be figuring out how he gonna make good on that payment and get that leg better

I like the pick, Kirk Cousins is 35 years old quarterback starting on a new team with a new offensive coordinator usually older quarterbacks do not transition well to a new offense and he's coming off surgery I give this Man 2 and 1/2 years left of good football before the decline starts rapidly having not everyone is Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers. And if he gets hurt Within These two years they have a backup plan Terry Fontenot should be honored we're going against the mold

It does have something to do with the way you see Penix’s ability as a QB becausebif Caleb Williams fell to no one would think twice if Atlanta took him