MATTHEW BROWN: Neither a borrower …

Published 8:19 pm Friday, October 18, 2024

Here, you get the points nobody else is making, the questions nobody else is asking.

Over the weekend, one such question popped into a bubble over this head concerning the current National Football League season. It’s as good a question, if I do say so myself, as ‘How much longer before Jerry Jones makes a coaching change in Dallas? Will it happen after he cleans out the local radio broadcasting studios and installs his own version of AI that recognizes his genius?’

My question: Which NFL team, if any, would right now love to have quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on its roster?

Let’s go through all the points leading me up to making this inquiry:

Michael Penix Jr. is currently the backup quarterback behind veteran Kirk Cousins for the Atlanta Falcons.

Penix Jr. was a first-round draft selection last spring by Atlanta, which had just committed a lot of dough to acquire Cousins, now in his mid-30s and coming off a torn Achilles that cost him half a season.

Penix Jr. had a long injury-riddled college career but capped it off leading the Washington Huskies to the College Football Playoff championship game.

A memorable comment about Penix Jr. going to the Falcons in this situation was that he is ready to play in the NFL, not be an apprentice (see Jordan Love in Green Bay) for the length of Cousins’ stay in Georgia.

The Atlanta Falcons now stand at 4-2, and every passing yard belongs to Cousins. He may carry the same type of durability questions Chris Sale brought with him to the Atlanta Braves pitching staff this past season, even though last year was the first time Cousins missed any considerable time since starting all 16 games for Washington in 2015.

I can’t find participation charts for the Falcons, so I don’t know if Penix Jr. has seen any time in their six games to just hand the football off or take a knee.

Hopefully you can see why I pose the question. Tell me right now if there is any other quarterback in the league standing on the sidelines who could be producing better than what some other teams have.

Not counting the out-for-the-season J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota, Penix Jr. is the only one of the six high first-round QBs with nothing on his stat line. Drake Maye just got his first start for New England. Caleb Williams (Chicago) and Jayden Daniels (Washington) are both 4-2 while Bo Nix is 3-3 in Denver. So let’s not consider them for the answer. Cousins’ old team, those Vikings, seem to be doing well with a perceived backup.

I would not include any team that tied a lot of money already into that position (Jacksonville, Arizona, Dallas, Cleveland, N.Y. Giants). I would not include any franchise still trying to see if a high draft choice will work out (Carolina, Tennessee, Indianapolis).

There is one hands-down answer: The Miami Dolphins. Tua Tagovailoa going down with another concussion Sept. 12 put a damper on the season … and he still leads the team in passing yards at 483. The margin is only six, but that’s still more than two other QBs on the Miami roster combined. And this is after three games with 397 yards total through the air. Yes, 179 was in a win over New England.

Could Penix Jr. go for 397 in two games? One? That’s throwing to Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and recently-added Odell Beckham Jr.

What doesn’t help in South Florida is the leading rusher gets less than 37 yards a game.

Penix Jr., though, plays for the Atlanta Falcons, and the trend of his 2024 playing time may not change through all 17 games. And I don’t think loaning players for the short-term is part of the collective bargaining agreement or else someone might be shouting to Mr. Blank, “Hey, can you let us borrow No. 9 for a while since you aren’t using him? I promise to return him just like I found him. Oh, you’re still waiting to get your hedge clippers back. And your outdoor grill? No, that’s Jerry’s riding lawnmower. Hey, you can’t fire me. I don’t even work for you!”

•••

What a weekend, to be highlighted by Georgia Tech battling Notre Dame in the Benz! (Again, where else are you going to hear that?) Hey, what better way would there be to check out the Jackets, and it looked like there were still seats available in the upper bowl, 4% of the capacity.

Oh, I see the Miami ’Canes are coming to Bobby Dodd on Nov. 9, and there’s a smattering of upper and lower level seats unsold, 2% this time.

But what you want to know are my feelings on the Georgia Bulldogs playing No. 1 Texas in Austin (hopefully my seat at the restaurant bar is still open). Will Carson Beck set another career high in passing yards (only to break it later in Jacksonville, then Oxford)? Will the scoreboard read 28-0 UT in the first half with all Bulldogs then thinking, ‘Great, got them where we want them?’ Maybe it’s Georgia who can set the tone and make the Longhorns do the keep-up thing.

Point is, Beck’s throws need to be 30, not 50. Yes, take enough shots deep time after time in the second half and maybe you get a blown coverage or a dpi flag. That can narrow a point gap in a hurry. Or the other team gets a pick-6, or just a pick will do (ask Alabama).

Remember, this isn’t the Cotton Bowl or the Sugar Bowl. It does mean more.

(If at all possible, give pet adoption a try through the Animal Rescue Foundation in Milledgeville. Donations of any kind are also in great need. ARF is a little red building at 711 S. Wilkinson St., and more information is available at animalrescuefoundation.org.)