The Falcoholic
When a team beats you as severely as the Carolina Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons (0-30, in case you forgot), it is hard to find the silver lining, so bear with me, Falcons fans, and gird your loins for the Week 3, 3 up and 3 down.
The man everyone tried to write off, but he didn’t write back. Alford stepped up in relief of All-Pro AJ Terrell, and he looked good. Sticky coverage and tough PBUs suggested the theory that Jimmy Lake ruined him might have legs. Being out of the slot could also be paying off.
Panthers first-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan couldn’t get much going when lined up across Alford, and that’s a good sign, because there will be tougher matches ahead while Terrell nurses a hamstring injury. Corner depth was a concern, but the Falcons are looking good so far. Hopefully, Alford can continue to hold down the fort until Terrell returns.
It was a stellar day for football. Fair, 70-degree conditions, what more could you ask for? You really have to hand it to Zeus, who has been causing weather delays across the southeast, for taking the afternoon off to enjoy Sunday football.
It’s beautiful that we can all be hurt by the same sport; we’re more alike than we are different.
If you’re like me, you knew it was going to be a ride when that first field goal was shanked far right. An absolute mood killer that you can’t shake off, and the Falcons couldn’t either. When he sliced it in the opposite direction, I braced myself for the impending implosion. One could argue that no one benefited from the entire offense falling apart except for Romo, because now no one is paying attention to his performance. But I see you, Mr. Romo, and you won’t be able to hide behind bad offensive performances forever…or can you?
It was a bad game, the worst we’ve ever seen from Penix (so far). Carolina confused the young quarterback with presnap looks, and his wide receivers let him down, but the quarterback has plenty of blame to shoulder. We don’t need to get into the details. You saw what happened; he was late, timid, and making decisions we haven’t seen before. You burn this tape after watching it and move on. This isn’t the time to bail on Penix; this is part of the process when you start a young quarterback.
There will be ups and downs, and if you overlooked that while building him up all summer, that’s on you. Growth is not linear, and this coaching staff needs to support their quarterback, but before you go blaming everything on this staff, remember that you can’t solve all your problems by firing them away. Ask CJ Stoud and the Texans how that’s going. Accountability goes both ways, and the quarterback has earned his critiques with...
