Michael Penix Didn't Revive Atlanta. Bijan Robinson Did | Ep 1247

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Before this, there's this.

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Jason Whitlock (0:31)

The NFL penalizes punishers to praise passers. We saw it last night in Green Bay. Green Bay got exposed in Lambeau Field. The history of backs who built this league and the business reason the league hides the return of Power Football. It all annoys me. Atlanta walked into Lambeau last night and beat Green Bay 35 to 14

The Falcons led 24 to 7 after three quarters because they controlled the line of scrimmage for the entire night. This is the continuation of what I covered at the beginning of this football season. Two weeks ago, in the season opener, Kansas City beat Denver by committing to the run in a way we rarely see in the Patrick Mahomes era. Baltimore did the same thing to Indianapolis behind Derrick Henry. Seattle built the model last year with a violent defense and a quarterback asked to be tough and efficient. Atlanta just gave us the clearest proof yet that the Power Football that I love and grew up on, it's back, baby. This is that fire.

The Falcons beat the Packers 35-14, led 20-47 after three quarters because they owned the line of scrimmage. Atlanta ran 41 times for 242 yards at 5.9 yards per carry. Bijan Robinson smoked it last night, carried the ball 29 times for 194 yards and two touchdowns, including a 55-yard run that broke Green Bay's back. Green Bay managed nine carries for 17 yards. Green Bay was credited with 85 tackles to Atlanta's 53 because the Falcons kept handing the ball to runners who refused to go down on first contact. Michael Penix Jr, the quarterback, the former first round pick, finished 18 of 25 for 256 yards in his return, but the total hides when the yards came. Through three quarters, he had about 132 yards, while Atlanta built a 17-point lead on the ground. In the fourth quarter, Penix threw for 124 yards. Drake London finished with nine catches for 194 yards, but he had about 70 yards through three quarters. In the fourth, he caught three passes for 124 yards after Green Bay was already beaten. The passing game closed the game. It did not build the lead. ESPN woke up this morning, saw the headline. They said, Michael Penix revived the Falcons attack. Nothing needed reviving at 24-7. That headline was decided before kickoff because the NFL is built around quarterbacks and the celebration of black quarterbacks in particular. Quarterbacks drive contracts, pregame television, fantasy football and cultural debate. Running backs produce first downs and victories. Bijan Robinson decided to game for three quarters and Penix received the credit for the fourth quarter against a tired and beaten defense.

I can connect what's happening to the NFL coverage to the dead internet theory I discussed on the Harmony channel yesterday. One misleading headline from a league television partner gets copied by websites, repeated on talk shows and reposted by automated accounts by mourning fans who never watched a snap believe, man Michael Penix, he balled out 250 some odd yards, he carried Atlanta.

You watch the game, you saw three quarters of punishment between the tackles. If you only read your phone, you read a story about a passing revival that never happened. We have seen this before. The 1980s, they belonged to Walter Payton and Eric Dickerson and Marcus Allen and Tony Dorsett and John Riggins and Earl Campbell. Those backs forced defenses to tackle for 60 minutes and turned quarterbacks into managers who protected the lead. Coaches built game plans around running between the tackles because physical control won in cold weather in January. No serious person watching those teams thought the passing game created the running game. The run broke the defense to pass finish what was left. 1990s, same scenario, Emmett Smith, three Super Bowls, Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, Terrell Davis. Emmett led the league in rushing and carried Dallas to championships behind a great offensive line, while Troy Aikman played efficient and disciplined football. For the last decade, analysts told you backs did not matter and should be replaced by committees and never be paid. They shouldn't get a second contract. They dressed that opinion up as analytics. The film from those Dallas team says, Emmett was the best and most important player on the field, not the quarterback. We are back to that era. Bijan Robinson, Derek Henry, Kenneth Walker, Christian McCaffrey, James Cook, Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley, Cam Scadable are deciding games by forcing missed tackles. Defenses built small to play nickel and split safeties cannot handle that punishment for four quarters. Owners are tired of paying $60 million for quarterbacks who do all these simplified reads. They got an earpiece telling them what to do. It's a joke. Watch the carries before you read the headline. The backs are breaking wheels again, while the passers collect headlines for work that was finished before they arrive. The league has decided the running game is boring and the imposition of will is unwatchable. That is a business decision, not a football truth. Crowds have loved high stakes physical battles since the Roman Coliseums. There is nothing boring about two lines fighting for three yards when everyone knows what is coming. They want to reprogram you to love finesse instead of force because finesse fits the story they already wrote. The dead internet theory explains why the trick works. A headline travels faster than the film. Repetition replaces checking facts and fans feed on narrative instead of truth. Thursday was simple. Atlanta punished Green Bay and the press release pretended otherwise. I want to end this on a real serious note.