The Atlanta Falcons are back on the field as training camp takes place, and there are already several storylines surrounding the team. There's probably not one bigger than the quarterback battle between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, and many are interested in seeing who wins the job when the season starts.
Both quarterbacks have their strong points, but more than anything, others are looking at their flaws. Tagovailoa hasn't had much success in his past two seasons in the league, and he's also had several concussions throughout his career. As for Penix, he hasn't been very consistent going into his third year in the league, and he's recovering from an ACL injury, the third of his football career.
Now, both quarterbacks have found themselves basically looking to have a fresh start this season in hopes of being the starter for the team and leading them to wins.
As of now, many would say that Tagovailoa has the lead in the race, and that's simply because Penix hasn't been cleared to participate in 11-on-11s yet as he continues to recover. He noted in the first week of camp that he may be four weeks away from being cleared, which probably is too late to truly win the job.
Though it may look like he's down and out, Penix has something that can still keep him in the race.
Michael Penix Jr.'s deep ball and arm strength could make him QB1
Coming out of college, the two things that everyone loved about Penix was his deep ball and arm strength. Through two seasons in the league, he's shown that he can use those to his advantage, and the only thing he had to clean up was his accuracy.
Already through training camp, it's easy to see why he could still be in the race for QB1, even though he's not fully cleared. He had a deep ball to Zachariah Branch that led to a touchdown, and another one to Antwane Wells Jr. down the left sideline, which some are calling his best play of camp.
Tagovailoa isn't known for having that kind of arm strength, and that could set him back in the Falcons' offense, especially if they're looking to make big plays down the field. It's obvious that Penix is equipped for those types of plays, and if he continues to impress in training camp, it'll be interesting to see how the quarterback battle goes.
As for now, the Falcons want Penix to get back as healthy as possible so he can be a full go before the season starts and the best decision can be made.
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