BREAKING NEWS: Cooper Rush to start for Falcons on Sunday vs Steelers | Friday Five Podcast

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Video summary

The Atlanta Falcons face a significant lineup change heading into their Week One opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers, with veteran backup Cooper Rush named the starting quarterback due to injuries within the team's top tier. Originally, Tua Tagovailoa was designated as the starter for the season premiere, while Michael Penix Jr. was ruled inactive because he had not yet reached 100% physical readiness, specifically citing a lack of full strength in his back. However, the situation shifted dramatically after Tagovailoa suffered an oblique injury during individual drills on Thursday, forcing him to be placed on the limited injured reserve list and effectively ending his chances to play in the upcoming game. Consequently, head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed that Rush would take over at quarterback with Jack Stoll as the backup, while Penix Jr. remains inactive for the Sunday matchup. A key factor in this decision-making process involves the unique dynamic of the team being in their first year under a new offensive system, which has proven beneficial for integrating a veteran like Cooper Rush. Stefanski highlighted that because every player on the roster is also in their rookie season within this specific scheme, Rush's ability to understand and articulate the "why" and intent behind each play aligns perfectly with the current group. This shared learning curve allows Rush to communicate effectively during walkthroughs and meetings without needing to be brought up to speed on complex concepts that veteran quarterbacks in year two or three of a system would already possess. With Rush having eight years of NFL experience, he brings a level of maturity and situational awareness that complements the team's collective effort to master the new playbook from the ground level. Regarding the performance expectations for Cooper Rush, the Falcons are looking at his preseason statistics as a baseline, where he completed 30 of 48 pass attempts for 254 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions over three games in Atlanta. Although his performance showed improvement as the preseason progressed, particularly after joint practices with Indianapolis, there were moments that suggested the offense needed further refinement before facing an NFL opponent. Over his career, Rush has started 16 games primarily as a traveling backup, maintaining a completion percentage of 61.1% across eight seasons with 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. The upcoming game in Pittsburgh will serve as a crucial test to see how much of the new offensive scheme, including gap-style concepts and under-center work, can be executed effectively by a quarterback who is essentially starting alongside his teammates for the first time. Looking ahead, there remains considerable uncertainty regarding the recovery timelines for both Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr., with Stefanski indicating that their returns will be evaluated on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis rather than following a fixed schedule. While the coaching staff trusts the medical process and believes Penix will be ready when he is, there was never any serious consideration of activating him for the opener given his own statements about not being fully prepared earlier in the year. As kickoff approaches at 10:00 p.m., the focus remains on how the Falcons' offense adapts to this new quarterback situation and whether Rush can stabilize the unit against a tough Steelers defense, with further updates expected from sideline reporters as the weekend progresses toward Sunday's game.

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Falcons [music] fans, Tory Mlhaney back in the studio on this fine Friday afternoon. I normally would not be coming to you at this point in time because we have a bunch of other content that's gone out. We've had the pregame show that went out on Thursday evening, Friday 5 podcast that went out first thing this morning on Friday. But like I told you on the Friday 5 podcast, if something were to change, you'd probably hear from me sooner. And a lot has changed in a matter of 24 hours. to catch you guys up off the top. Tua Tugavaloa was named the starting quarterback for the Falcons in week one against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday. Kevin Spansky said that Michael Penn would be inactive because he is not yet 100%. We talked to Michael Penn in the locker room thereafter. He said the same thing that he wasn't ready yet. He didn't have full strength back. He felt like he wasn't able to give 100% to the team if he were to go out there. So Tua was the name the starter Cooper Rush the backup. Fast forward to Thursday. Tua Tuck Aloa was throwing in individual drills. Threw a ball, reached for his back, went down to the ground for a couple seconds. He was placed on the injury report with an oblique injury and limited. It was a limited designation. Now here we are on Friday morning. Kevin Stfansky came out and said that Tua Tugaloa would be out for Sunday's game. Cooper Rush would be the starter. Jack Strand the backup. Michael Penn Jr. will still be inactive. He has been also ruled out. So that is the news as it stands right now. I want to kind of give you some more of the most recent information that we know right now. We we talked to, like I said, we talked to Kevin Stfansky. He talked a lot about Cooper Rush and getting him up to speed and where he's at. I asked the question of, you know, Cooper Rush said when we talked to him in the locker room on Thursday that it actually is pretty helpful that everybody is also in year one of this system. And Kevin Stfansky concurred with that and he he was like, "Yes, and in this situation, it it actually does make a lot of sense why he would feel that way because everybody kind of feels that way when you're in year one of a system. You're really in the in through the install process and as you're going through walkthroughs and all the discussions in the meeting rooms, you're really spending a lot of time talking about the why and the intent behind each play. When you get into year two, year three of a scheme, everyone knows the why. They know the intent. So now you have Cooper Rush in these meetings talking about the why and the intent and what they're doing. And he's a veteran in this league. He's seen quite a bit. He's been in the league for eight years. So you have somebody who's coming in at the ground level like everybody else. So I I think for you guys sitting at home, that was a really important piece of the conversation that Kevin Stapansky had that Cooper Rush brought up earlier on Thursday. So as we're thinking about what this means moving forward, we really don't know because Kevin Stansky was asked what Tua's status would be moving forward with that oblique injury. Was it going to be a a week to week, a month to month, a day to day? And in the question that was presented to Kevin Stfansky, he was asked, "Okay, day to day, week to week," and he said, "Yes." So, we don't really have a true specific timeline to give you guys just yet. As for Michael Penn Jr., Kevin Spansky said, and I quote, "Mike will be ready when he's ready." He said that he trusts the process that they're in. He trusts what they are doing medically. And he said, "I trust Mike." So that's where Michael Pennix is. I will say Kevin Spansky was asked specifically whether or not there was ever a consideration or a possibility that Michael Penn would be active for this Sunday's week one opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And he said no. That that was not something that they were considering because of what Michael Pennix had said earlier this year. Now what will the Falcons get from Cooper Rush? I think it's a it's a great question and one that you have to kind of go back and look at what he was able to do with the Falcons throughout the preseason. So, through three games with Atlanta this preseason, he completed 30 of his 48 pass attempts for 254 yards. He had two he had a touchdown and two interceptions. I think he got better as the preseason went on like you would expect. I think the first showing at home against the Bears was probably not the sort there were probably a lot of moments that Cooper Rush would have wanted back. Uh there were a lot of moments that I think even from an overall offensive operation the Falcons wanted to clean up. You saw them be able to do that through joint practices in Indianapolis and then going out and having a much better performance against Indianapolis on the road in week two and then of course finishing things out in Miami for week three of the preseason. Over his career, Cooper Rush has actually started 16 games as as a traveling backup in this league. He completed 61.1% of his attempts for 3,766 yards, 20 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, again through eight seasons. So, that's what the Falcons are getting this Sunday in Pittsburgh. up in Pittsburgh. Kickoff is at 100 p.m. I'm really curious to see kind of how things from a holistic standpoint from the offense, let alone the quarterback. But how much of this scheme we really see, we talked about it on Friday five, how much more gap style is incorporated, under center work, all of that kind of stuff. We'll see it all on this Sunday. And uh I know there's still a lot of questions out there, a lot of timelines that you're playing around with, especially in terms of Tua and Mike as they are working through their respective injuries and return to play. But that is where we sit right now at about three o'clock on Friday, September 11th. Um, I hope that you guys stuck with me long enough to get to all of this. Um, but I thank you so much for listening. Make sure and check out our pregame hit on the sideline up in Pittsburgh. It'll be Will McFaden, Dave Archer. They will be able to give you even more information as the weekend has progressed and get you to kickoff on Sunday. So guys, thank you so much for listening and we will talk to you real soon.