00:00Coach, when you're in an organization like Atlanta, Kevin Stefanski is the brand new head football coach, and he's had
00:05to make a pretty tough decision.
00:07Michael Penix was a number one draft choice for them a couple years ago, and all of a sudden, now
00:11you bring in Tua from Miami here.
00:14How tough of a decision that is, because isn't that coach an organizational decision?
00:19You drafted the kid number one, and when you put him in the second hole now, what does that tell
00:25you about what the direction of the Atlanta Falcons is with Kevin Stefanski going with Tua over Michael Penix?
00:33Well, it's been my experience that who you play in the lineup, whether it's quarterback or the right guard, whoever
00:39it might be, it's a coaching decision.
00:41Now, obviously, they can preempt that before the game and say, we're paying this guy this kind of money.
00:47This is who's going to play. I've not seen that happen before. Maybe it does, but that's not been my
00:52experience.
00:53I think the biggest thing is you're trying to get ready for that opener to win a game, and who
00:58gives you the best opportunity, that's the guy.
01:02My opinion has always been you pick your guy early, you get him ready to play, and you go with
01:07him until he proves to you that he can't play.
01:09Then you go to number two, and I've never had to go to number two other than through injury.
01:14Coach, when you're using a left-hand quarterback, you're kind of flipping the offense inside out.
01:20Sometimes when you build the football team, you're obviously building the team offensively, at least for a right-handed guy.
01:26The right tackle is obviously now the blindside guy on a left-hand quarterback, so it's a completely different look.
01:32How much of a challenge is that, going with a left-hand quarterback?
01:35That's pretty much, Coach, why there's so few of these guys in pro football today.
01:40Is that a challenge, or is that something that I'm making here, of it being a challenge?
01:44Well, the challenge is the right tackle.
01:47No question about the point made about that position is everything.
01:50It's his blindside.
01:51You want your best offensive lineman on the blindside, whether it's left or right, then.
01:56But the point that is for receivers, it's interesting, and nobody really talks about it, but left-handers throw a
02:04different ball.
02:05It's harder to catch.
02:06The nose comes in at a little bit of an angle, comes out.
02:09It doesn't come in straight.
02:11It comes in a little bit different, and the receiver's a guy I get used to.
02:14I've had a couple left-handed quarterbacks, and it's different for receivers to adjust, but they've got time and can't
02:19do all that stuff.
02:20But, you know, that's an adjustment for them.
02:23But the right tackle situation clearly is the most important, most significant.
02:29Coach, with a guy that's got injury issues like Tug of Viola does, do you look at game one, or
02:35do you just say, hey, look, if the guy's ready to play, he's playing, and I'm not sitting here, and
02:40we're not going to, like, put him on a pitch count or anything like that?
02:43How would you go into a game coaching a Tug of Viola when it comes to his history issue?
02:49Yeah, that's always a concern.
02:52You've got to be all in.
02:54You can't worry about a pitch count.
02:56You're going to assume he's not going to get injured, but by the same token, quietly, make sure number two
03:01understands that at any time he can be the starter.
03:04So, you know, you can't look at the pitch count, I don't think.
03:08You know, you've got to be all in on him, but quietly, behind the scenes, so to speak, number two's
03:12got to know that at any time he can be in there.
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