The Falcoholic
Following the Broncos’ playoff-clinching win over the Chiefs in Week 18 last season, it meant only three teams hadn’t made the playoffs since 2020. No team wants to find themselves on a list with the Panthers and Jets, considering the state of both franchises over recent years, yet the Falcons find themselves on it. It has been the worst playoff drought in franchise history since the demoralizing narrow defeat against the Eagles in 2018.
A total mismanagement of a declining roster between Thomas Dimitroff and Dan Quinn in 2019 and 2020 led to a complete revamp in 2021. Two years of slow progression led to a season with credible expectations in 2023. That came crashing down in a division there for the taking, leading to Arthur Smith’s dismissal. As exciting as the beginning of last season was under Raheem Morris, another late-season collapse resulted in another wasted opportunity to make the playoffs.
You can draft all the exciting, top-tier offensive prospects. You can sign a big-name veteran quarterback with gaudy statistics. You can play in primetime against the two teams that made the Super Bowl. All of these high-profile moves and moments generate short-term enthusiasm, but everything feels largely empty in the long haul when there is no playoff berth to show for it.
Unlike in the past several seasons, there is genuine optimism at the quarterback position. It won’t be an aging franchise legend (Matt Ryan), diminished veteran (Kirk Cousins), journeyman (Marcus Mariota), or someone who isn’t an NFL-caliber player (Desmond Ridder) as the opening day starter. An ultra-talented, prolific quarterback with all the poise in the world is taking over the reins in Atlanta. It’s been an odd journey for Michael Penix Jr. to get to this point. He is no stranger to adversity. He is built to be the quarterback to revive a fallen franchise.
It’s hard to imagine recovering from two injured ACLs unless your name is Thomas Davis, who had an illustrious career despite tearing it three times. Suffering that kind of brutalizing injury twice in three years would leave any player doubting their future. What it ultimately did was build resilience for Penix Jr. to ascend into an All-American quarterback. Those setbacks at Indiana didn’t derail him on his road to glory at Washington. Two consecutive seasons with more than 30 passing touchdowns led to him being a first-round caliber player.
The idea of him being selected in the top ten, particularly by a team built to win now that spent considerable money on a battle-tested quarterback, seemed unfathomable. That changed after a private workout in Seattle three weeks before the draft. That sold Terry Fontenot on making another jaw-dropping splash with a top ten pick.
For all the defensive holes that needed addressing, the organization wanted to secure the future at the most important position of them all following multiple seasons of disastrous play. Drafting a 23-year-old quarterback who might not become the starter until he turns...
