Falcons coach Bobby Petrino plans to address Michael Vick's situation at the team's first meeting Thursday and then turn his focus to getting the team ready for the season.

"Every year you're going to deal with controversy and adversity," Petrino said. "One of the keys to coaching and having success is how you deal with it. How you face it straight on, how you put it behind you and move forward."

Brant Sanderlin / AJC (ENLARGE)

Most of Bobby Petrino's short Falcons tenure has been overshadowed by Michael Vick matters off the field.

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In Thursday's meeting, Petrino wants Vick's teammates to have the opportunity to express their concerns.

"We are concerned about the morale of the team," Petrino said. "I think first of all, all of the players and the coaches are concerned about Michael and his well-being and what he faces. We understand the severity of what he faces."

He expects the team will support Vick. He said the Falcons will ask players not to discuss the situation with the media and try to keep the focus on football.

"The first thing you know about football players is that they support each other," Petrino said.

He will rely on the team leaders to push things forward.

"We definitely have the leadership within the room to take over the team and lead us in the right direction," Petrino said. "This is a big obstacle. There is no question about that."

Petrino hopes that quarterback Joey Harrington can fulfill some of the promise that made him the No. 3 pick overall in the 2002 draft by the Detroit Lions.

He has had a bumpy career in his five seasons in the NFL, in which he has posted a 23-43 record as a starter.

"He has a tremendous amount of experience," Petrino said. "When he came in, he played as a rookie on a team that wasn't very good at the time. He's been through a lot of hard times. He's been hit a lot. [But] he's hung in there."

Harrington started 11 games last season for Miami and posted a 5-6 record. He won four games in a row at one point before his play dipped.

"The video that we watch of him last year when he played at Miami, he did a real nice job," Petrino said.

The Falcons will have to re-tool the offense to fit Harrington's more classic dropback style. There will be fewer roll outs and bootlegs from Harrington and likely more classic 3-, 5- and 7-step dropback passes.

"It will be different; there is no question about that," Petrino said.

Harrington was signed to a two-year, $6 million contract April 6. He was quick to pick up the offense.

"I think the thing that impressed me the most at OTAs is his take-charge attitude, the way he jumped in the classroom and studied," Petrino said. "He's a very quick learner. A very intelligent young man."

With Vick barred from training camp and Petrino planning as if Vick won't be with the team this season, D.J. Shockley and Chris Redman will compete for the backup spot. Redman played one season with Petrino at Louisville, when Petrino was the offensive coordinator under John L. Smith in 1998.

The Falcons plan to sign another quarterback to help run the training-camp drills, but they are not interested in signing Daunte Culpepper, Petrino said.

The Falcons also are working on contracts for their unsigned draft picks. They have signed six and need to sign five more, including first-rounder Jamaal Anderson (defensive end) and second-rounders Justin Blalock (guard) and Chris Houston (cornerback). They are scheduled to compete for starting positions.

"We do have a chance to get all of the rookies in camp," Falcons president and general manager Rich McKay said. "It is the job of the general manager to make that happen. ... But, it takes two to tangle."