Falcons’ Michael Penix Jr. ready for opener after being held out of exhibitions
FLOWERY BRANCH — Michael Penix Sr. had a few words of wisdom for his namesake after he got into a major rumble with the Tennessee Titans.
Penix coached his son in youth years and was pretty strict.
“He said just be careful,” said Michael Penix Jr., the Falcons starting quarterback. “Be safe. Be smart. Also, don’t let nobody bully you around.”
Penix is set to start his first season opener when the Falcons face the Bucs at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Penix, who didn’t play in any exhibition games, has used all of tips he can get to get ready for the season. The Falcons were one of the few teams in the NFL not to play their starting quarterback in the exhibitions.
“Yeah, I feel ready,” Penix said. “I’m ready to go. I mean, you got to be. (There’s) no other choice. I pride myself to make sure that each and every week I’m always ready come game day.
“So, I’m going to do whatever I can for the rest of this week to make sure that I’m ready physically, mentally to go out there and put on my best performance.”
Offensive coordinator Zac Robinson believes Penix is ready for the season.
“He’s ready to go,” Robinson said. “We’ve had a great competitive training camp. We’ve (practiced) a lot of the plays that we’ll end up running on Sunday. Of course, there are going to be new things that are game-plan specific.”
Penix was asked if there was something that he’s done that let him know he’s ready.
“I’d say it’s just in me, it’s just in me, you know, that’s just the person I am,” Penix said. “That’s where I pride myself into being each and every day. You can’t, it’s not easy you just wake up to game day. You’ve got steps (to take). ... I know when game day comes up, the whole game plan will be in. I’ll be ready. That’s all it is.”
Falcons All-Pro right guard Chris Lindstrom believes Penix is ready to go.
“I think you can just see his confidence grow,” Lindstrom said. “His personality show more. He’s comfortable with us. He’s comfortable with the offense. He’s comfortable now in that leadership role, kind of pushing guys. Mike is phenomenal.”
Penix starred in college at Indiana and Washington. He took the Huskies to the national championship game.
After signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal worth up to $180 million, the Falcons shocked the football world by selecting Penix with the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft.
The plan was for Cousins to hold the position for at least two seasons and maybe three. Then he would pass the torch to Penix.
However, when Cousins started to struggle after he suffered a shoulder injury in Week 10 last season, the Falcons elected to bench him and start Penix. While Penix went 1-2 and could not salvage the Falcons’ faint playoff hopes, he did enough to earn the starting job.
Cousins, with a contract that was deemed untradeable, remains with the team as the backup quarterback. In addition to the hefty contract, Cousins has a no-trade clause.
So, that’s how we got here with Penix in control, and the Falcons are optimistic that he can lead the offense.
“You get to go out there and create the impression you want to give to the other 31 teams in the league,” said Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews, who’s about to enter his 13th season in the NFL. “Anything that happened last year doesn’t matter. It’s time to go out there and show. Our goal is to be an attacking and relentless offense that scores a lot of points. I know that we’ve got the talent to do it.”
Penix is not making a big deal out of making his first NFL season-opening start.
“I want to say it’s not too much different,” Penix said. “The biggest difference is the reps. When you’re not starting, you don’t get the reps out there.”
The Falcons ramped things up as they started to game-plan for the Bucs over the last two weeks.
“Everybody’s still the same,” Penix said. “The schedule of everything changes a little bit.”
Coach Raheem Morris is confident that Penix and the offense are ready to go. Last season, the offense came out with a disjointed performance against the Steelers.
“The way we’re built,” Morris said. “The confidence that they walk around with. Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Kyle Pitts, (Darnell) Mooney, Drake London (are reasons for confidence). The way Casey Washington has practiced. The way we’ve been able to step up to different areas whether it’s been (KhaDarel) Hodge. We’ll go out there and be able to make plays.”
The Falcons will enter the season with third-string tackle Elijah Wilkinson starting at right tackle. Kaleb McGary (lower left leg) and Storm Norton (ankle) were injured. McGary is out for the season and Norton for six to eight weeks.
“Our (offensive) line up front, everybody having a significant amount of playing experience, whether it’s here or somewhere else,” Morris said. “Having real bonds together going into the second year of an offense. Building on the success that they had last year, although that doesn’t matter because you’ve got to go out there and repeat those things.”
Most of the offensive players are in their second season in the offense.
“I feel really good and confident (because) these guys (aren’t) hearing things for the first time this year,” Morris said. “They’ll get a chance to go out there and execute those things at a very high level. They were close last year to being great.”
The Falcons are trying to stop the franchise’s streak of seven consecutive losing seasons.
“We’ve got a chance to go out there and prove some things this year,” Morris said. “I look forward to doing it.”
The Falcons insist that Penix is ready to go.
“You’re just fired up for the guys to go play at this point,” Zac Robinson said. “It will be fun to see them just cut it loose and see what we’ve got on Sunday.”
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
