News and Views (QB edition): Falcons’ hole, Schaub’s piehole

Here is D.J. Shockley (left) preparing to knock the ball out of Chris Redman's hand. Kidding. Sort of. (Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com)

It struck me the other day when rumors began circulating that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may dump quarterback Luke McCown – whom they just gave a $2.5 million signing bonus to — about how comforting it is that the Falcons’ QB situation is set. And then I thought: Wait a minute: Is it really? . . .

♦ NEWS: No. 3 (or 2 or 4) quarterback D.J. Shockley struggles in his second exhibition game against St. Louis, possibly sealing his fate on the roster.

♦ WHY SHOULD YOU CARE: Because if Matt Ryan were to go down, this team does nothing without a decent safety net.

♦ VIEWS: No. 2 (or 3, or 4) QB Chris Redman will play significant snaps Saturday against San Diego. If he plays well, the primary roster decision likely will be put to rest. Redman will be Ryan’s backup, and whatever happens to Shockley and John Parker Wilson happens. But folks, this isn’t necessarily good news. Shockley has the most talent. Redman played in seven NFL games in 2007, but’s that’s only because after the Michael Vick mess the Falcons were scrambling for bodies. (Note: Joey Harrington and Byron Leftwich also played that season — and they’re gone). Prior to that, Redman hadn’t played since 2003 and he was selling insurance in Louisville when Bobby Petrino signed him. (And there’s another reason not to feel great about Redman — Petrino’s the one who brought him in.) Bucs coach Raheem Morris is not denying that the team will trade McCown, Josh Johnson or Leftwich (who landed in Tampa). I’m not suggesting the Falcons need to get one of those guys. But I’m just not feeling Redman as the answer.

This guy hasn't done enough yet to rip Michael Vick. (AJC photo)

NEWS: Matt Schaub rips Vick.

WHY SHOULD YOU CARE: Only because so many fans here were under the impression that Schaub was the next NFL superstar.

VIEWS: When Vick admitted publicly on a recent “60 Minutes” interview what everybody on or close to the Falcons already knew — that he had weak work habits — I actually thought it was a good sign. Admitting failures is the first step to correcting them. But I was surprised to hear Schaub, Vick’s former backup, take a shot at him. Nothing Schaub said on Dan Patrick’s radio show was overly inflammatory. The strongest comment probably pertained to Schaub, saying he tried to get Vick to stay longer at practice and study more video, adding, “You can only say so much to someone until a light clicks in their brain.” My issue is with Schaub. To me, if Dan Reeves or Rich McKay or anybody in the locker room with a decent resume says something, that’s fine.  But Schaub hasn’t done bupkis in his two years as a starter with Houston. He has been injury prone, and, when healthy, fairly average at times. When Schaub has done enough in his career to build a platform, then he is free to jump on it.