Weekend in the A: Falcons QB woes, Braves find their mojo and a Dream Barbie

The Falcons have a quarterback issue — at least for now.

At the start of training camp last week, they announced Michael Penix Jr. had not been medically cleared from his ACL rehab to participate in 11-on-11 drills. Their other option, Tua Tagovailoa, had back issues flare up, and he was held out for the first practice.

Even their third quarterback, Trevor Siemian, was released on the opening day of training camp. That left Jack Strand as their top quarterback — that is, until they added Cooper Rush.

If that weren’t bad enough, All-Pro running back Bijan Robinson is holding-in to get a new contract.

What a first week of camp it was.

As the old saying goes, if you have two quarterbacks, then you don’t have a quarterback. The Falcons have four and hope to get a solid option from that lot.

If you aren’t already following Daniel Flick, our new Falcons beat writer, do yourself a solid and do so now. He’s working on a cool tool that tracks the stats of the quarterbacks in passing drills throughout training camp.

More Falcons news to know

• How Bill Callahan went from hotel security guard to NFL coaching lifer
• Falcons expect Tua Tagovailoa fully healthy ‘soon’ amid back tightness
• Falcons rally around Jeff Ulbrich after losing wife: ‘So strong dealing with it’
• Will Falcons play starters in preseason? Here’s coach Kevin Stefanski’s philosophy.

Braves find their rhythm

And just like that, the Braves have padded their lead in the NL East.

Last week, that margin was down to 5½ games. They’ve extended that lead to eight games, on the heels of their five-game win streak, including sweeping a four-game series against the Nationals.

With the trade deadline looming today at 6 p.m., the recent streak may convince the Braves’ brass they don’t need to make a big splash to win the division.

They did make a move, getting outfielder Lane Thomas and lefty pitcher Bailey Falter from the Royals for a pair of prospects. Thomas is batting .230 with 10 home runs, and has a modest 37 RBIs in 96 games this season. In Falter’s five appearance, he has an ERA of 13.97.

That’s likely not enough to close the gap with the Dodgers, who got the big fish of all deadline deals, trading for the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, the two-time Cy Young Award winner.

Dream scenario

The Dream are on a five-game win streak, and they’ve inched up to fourth in the WNBA standings, with an 18-10 record. They trail the Lynx, Aces and Valkyries, and they’re righting the ship after a little bit of turbulence last month.

It’s a big night for the Dream, who play a marquee matchup against the defending-champion Aces at State Farm Arena. It’s always a measuring-stick game for the Dream, and the house will be packed for Barbie Game Day.

Smells like football

UGA and Georgia Tech begin practice soon, and we’re a month away from kickoff weekend, when the Yellow Jackets take on Colorado at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Tech was picked to finish fifth in the ACC preseason poll.

Georgia opens against Tennessee State on Sept. 5, and it’s never too early to start thinking about the Clean Old-Fashioned Hate matchup isn’t far off.