Alex Van Pelt Explains Why Falcons QB Battle Is Still on Hold

FLOWERY BRANCH – Alex Van Pelt has an incredibly important job this offseason, and the Atlanta Falcons are counting on him to fulfill it. The quarterback coach will be the “non-negotiable” for Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa amid their competition for the starting job – one that has yet to start, he says.

“It's tough to have a competition when both guys aren't competing at the same level right now,” Van Pelt said. “It's hard, and it'll come. It'll happen at some point. Mike's done a great job of getting himself to where he is right now. Really impressive to take 7-on-7 reps and go out and compete. That's been great. But really, there's no competition until we can actually evaluate him equally.”

Penix, who suffered an ACL tear in November and is still rehabbing, has not yet been fully cleared for team activities. Head coach Kevin Stefanski hinted that a clearance could be “coming soon,” but declined to say if that would be during mandatory minicamp starting on June 16 or if there was any sort of timeline.

“He's hitting every milestone that he's supposed to hit,” Stefanski explained. “We're in constant communication with our medical team and Mike. I think he's doing everything he can do, and certainly, when he may want to do more, we have to hold him back from certain things potentially, but not going to put any time frames out there just yet, just going to focus on what's in front of us.”

Penix had a scheduled day off on Monday, but the third-year quarterback has been present at organized team activities. He has participated in 7-on-7 and individual drills, but Van Pelt finds himself in a difficult situation where splitting reps becomes a balancing act.

Tagovailoa is getting the vast majority of team reps while Penix is limited to 7-on-7s, a split that Van Pelt acknowledges gives the veteran a slight advantage for now.

But even if both quarterbacks were fully healthy and available, the last few weeks would still be difficult to judge. Pads aren’t on, and the reps are far from live. Everything is being evaluated, but decisions won’t come until much later.

“I think you weigh everything based on the circumstances in which you’re in,” Stefanski said. “When it comes to the quarterback position, you evaluate everything. This is – and I’ve said it before – this is an all-encompassing evaluation. You evaluate everything when you’re making decisions on your players. But certainly you understand that as you get into training camp, and you get into preseason games, and those types of things, you do weigh it differently.”

In the meantime, Van Pelt laid out how he is working with his quarterbacks during organized team activities to sharpen their footwork.

“There are certain route trees that we have, and then we tie certain footwork in with those exact routes. So, making sure those guys are in rhythm and having the timing with the passing game that the ball is coming out. We have really four different drops from the gun that match different routes with different depths. So, just staying on top of those guys. We have a big sign in our room that says, ‘Trust your feet.’

“If your feet are right, you’re going to make good decisions. When you get in trouble is when you don’t trust your feet, and you hang too long, you’re off, and then you throw bad balls. Footwork is a huge part of us. It’s the west coast philosophy that I was brought up in, and I think Kevin is the same with [Gary] Kubiak, so it's ingrained in our room.”

The Falcons will eventually have to choose their next starting quarterback, but they are still waiting for the competition to get underway. Penix is getting closer, seemingly by the day, but Tagovailoa is still getting the majority of the reps. Van Pelt is left evaluating two very different circumstances.

The real test won't come in shorts and helmets in June. Until both quarterbacks are healthy and competing under the same conditions, the battle remains on hold.

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