We are back with our 5-question series, and this time we spoke with a real person! Last week, of course, our friends at ACME Packing Company couldn’t be reached to participate in a Q&A, so we did one with AI.
This week, the Bears head to Atlanta to face the Falcons. This week, we spoke with Jeanna Kelley of The Falconholic (SB Nation’s Atlanta Falcons site) to get you ready for the matchup. Here’s that Q&A.
1. When Michael Penix was out, the Falcons looked like one of the worst teams in the league,
but with Penix, it’s an entirely different team that could potentially win the South. Is Penix that much better, or are the other three QBs that horrible?
You know that old saying, if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks? Well, apparently in Atlanta, if you have four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, you actually have ONE quarterback. Michael Penix Jr., in my opinion, is the only starting-caliber QB on the roster. Cooper Rush has a ton of experience as a backup, and his game experience made him the best choice when Penix wasn’t physically ready and Tua Tagovailoa hurt his oblique right before Week 1. But there’s a reason Rush has a ton of experience as a backup and not a starter. Jack Strand, the rookie undrafted free agent out of Minnesota Moorhead who showed real promise in the preseason, is on the active roster because the Falcons believe he has potential and they don’t want him poached off the practice squad, but he needs plenty of development before he can be considered a viable option. If you were watching Sunday Night Football last week when the Falcons lost to the Ravens, you saw how the game ended when Penix left the game with a rib injury, and Tua finished things out in overtime with a pick that handed the win to Baltimore. My biggest concern with Tua is his concussion history, because I want him to have a long, happy, and healthy life outside of football. But I also have real questions about whether he’s physically able to play at a high level at this point of his career.
2. Bijan Robinson and Drake London seem to be decent players. If the Bears are going to try and contain them at all, what is the best way for Dennis Allen’s defense to approach that?
I think the Bears have to expect that both Bijan Robinson and Drake London will make plays. They’re exceptional athletes, and containing them is hard even for extremely talented defenders. Penix can process through his reads quickly, but the blitz—which the Bears use often—can disrupt him. It might be a little trickier with Montez Sweat out, but I do think the Bears D will be able to shake him up a little bit, which will impact his ability to get the ball out to London/other receivers. While I do think Penix is healthy enough to play after speaking with him Wednesday, I’m not certain the rib injury won’t impact him at all on Sunday. With the run game, my ongoing concern is the predictability with only two guys on the depth chart. Bijan is ridiculous, but he is human. He’s such a focal point in Atlanta’s offense that if teams are able to key in on him and slow him down, it can throw the entire game plan off.
3. When the Bears decided to trade Gervon Dexter to Atlanta, most Bears fans weren’t pleased. He may not have been in Chicago’s long-term plans, but he was one of their better defensive lineman. From afar, he seems like he’s played well thus far. How has he looked?
Falcons players, coaches, media, and fans all LOVE Gervon Dexter Sr., and we’re delighted the team already extended him. He’s been excellent for Atlanta. PFF has him graded at 81.9 so far for the season, which ranks him fourth in the league among interior DL players — PFF grades never tell the whole story, but those numbers match the eye test. He’s been really generous with his time for the media and seems very grateful to be here. My favorite story from him came after his extension — he got the call as he was driving his son somewhere, and his son immediately started thinking of all the toys his dad could spend that money on. Dexter has been complimentary about his time with the Bears, and has mentioned the fact that Ian Cunningham wanted him here and what that means to him, and he also mentioned how happy Grady Jarrett was for him when he was traded to the Falcons. It seems like a really good fit for him and for the team.
4. This has nothing to do with the game, but it was a hot topic for us Bears fans in the spring, so I want to ask… Did Falcons fans feel that the Bears should have received two comp picks for the hiring of Ian Cunningham? I know the rule is “top football executive,” which is technically Matt Ryan, but we all know that Cunningham is the guy making the calls.
I enthusiastically agree with Bears fans that Chicago deserved compensatory picks for losing Ian Cunningham. Matt Ryan is highly intelligent, is a fast learner, and I believe he is doing an outstanding job as President, and I’m delighted to have him back in the building, but Ian has the experience and the success in an executive role, and Matt Ryan is learning from him. I personally think it’s shady as hell that the Bears didn’t get comp picks for Ian, and I think it’s disrespectful to Ian and the Bears.
5. How do you think this one plays out on Sunday?
This is always the most difficult question to answer about the Atlanta Falcons. I have this one penciled in as a loss for Atlanta, but I think it will be close. 28-24 Bears.
