Why the ‘day to day’ quarterback plan is perilous for Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH — There was only one thing Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski was willing to say for sure about the most important position on his team for Week 2.

“We will have a quarterback, yes,” Stefanski said Wednesday.

Which of them will start against the Panthers on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium?

“I would say we are working through it,” he said. “I’m not ruling anyone out.”

Does that mean it could be Michael Penix Jr.?

“I’m not trying to be coy,” Stefanski said. “Just not ruling anyone out.”

It would be better for the Falcons if Stefanski were just being slippery with his answers. The reality is the Falcons really did enter Wednesday unsure which QB will start Week 2. Penix and Cooper Rush both took snaps with the starters during Wednesday’s practice, while Tua Tagovailoa (back) sat out.

But Stefanski loses me when he talks about quarterback like it’s any other position. Much of the game plan is built around the quarterback. That’s not true for, say, the left guard.

The Falcons’ best player said it’s disadvantageous for the offense to not know the starting quarterback until late in the week.

“I think the challenge is more the playbook,” Bijan Robinson said. “It could (or) it could not change. You just never know.

“And then on top of that, two (quarterbacks) are lefties and two are righties. That, I guess, could (also) be the challenge. But, other than that, the plays are the plays, and we’ve got to be the ones to bring it to life and execute at a high level.”

The Falcons desperately need competent quarterback play. Rush was bad during Sunday’s 20-13 loss at Pittsburgh. A balky back and little time to prepare were mitigating circumstances for his performance.

Penix said he could play this week. He’s medically cleared to practice but hasn’t felt comfortable enough to play in his first game since having knee surgery in November.

He said there are “some (physical) goals I want to achieve” before he plays in a game.

“Whenever my knee feels good, I will be out there,” Penix said.

Once Penix is ready, the Falcons will benefit from his ability to avoid sacks, his accuracy on outside passes and his carefulness with avoiding turnovers. He could help open up the offense after Rush’s accuracy issues essentially limited the Falcons to short passes against the Steelers.

Stefanski said rookie Jack Strand also is an option to start Sunday. But all indications are that Strand isn’t ready to make his first NFL start.

Then again, Stefanski and his staff haven’t done much to get Strand ready. That will need to change if whichever QB starts against the Panthers is ineffective.

Stefanski is picking his starting quarterback from among flawed options. There was always a chance it could come to that after the Falcons moved on from Kirk Cousins after last season.

Penix was recovering from surgery when Stefanski got the job. Penix spent most of the summer saying he planned to be available for Week 1. I always thought that was too ambitious, and Penix eventually reached the same conclusion.

I figured Tagovailoa would be available for Week 1. He was set to start the opener until he suffered an oblique injury on Thursday.

Now, Stefanski is in the familiar position of trying to make the best out of a bad situation at QB. He coached the Browns when the team used five starting quarterbacks in 2023.

Incumbent starter Deshaun Watson was done after six games because of a shoulder injury. The Browns made the playoffs with an 11-6 record largely because of Joe Flacco, who won the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award that year.

Stefanski doesn’t have a steady veteran like Flacco in Atlanta. He doesn’t even have a fully healthy quarterback. As of Wednesday, Stefanski didn’t have a starting quarterback for Week 2.

“There’s countless examples of — we’ve done it, (other) teams do it — where you find out more information as the week goes on,” Stefanski said. “Guys go in and out of the lineup. Guys go out of the lineup maybe after the first play. I’ve been a part of that, too, at different positions.

“Our job as coaches is to be flexible and to make sure we have a system or scheme where we can lean into different things.”

Stefanski can’t be so flexible that he and his staff end up not having enough time to build a plan around the quarterback. Day-to-day is not a good place to be for the team’s most important position.