Falcons’ D.J. Williams shuts down talk of Penix Jr. lacking support
FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons quarterback coach D.J. Williams, who talks to quarterback Michael Penix Jr. every day, saw the social media clip that mischaracterized the players’ internal support.
“I understand the world we’re in,” Williams said on Friday. “I’m at a perfect age where I was able to grow up without social media. Then I’m at this age, too, where now I understand. So, I’m able to hop in and hop out when I want to. Like, compartmentalize it. I didn’t even pay attention.”
Some on social media misconstrued a question about who Penix leans on in tough times into a wild notion that he didn’t have any support on the team.
Williams saw the clip.
“I mean … I didn’t have (a reaction),” Williams said. “Yeah. The most blatant way I can put it, I literally didn’t have one.”
Williams noted that he has a very close relationship with Penix and that they talk every day, multiple times on most days.
“I joke with the quarterbacks, and I’m like, Bro, I see y’all more than I see my kids,” Williams said. “So, if we don’t have some vulnerable conversations, and you can’t be sensitive, I can’t be sensitive, like, we got to talk every single day.”
In addition to Williams, veteran coach Ken Zampese is in the quarterback meeting rooms.
“We all are in constant communication every single day,” Williams said.
Since the misconstrued clip came out, Williams has talked to Penix, but only about getting ready for the Panthers.
“We talked about third downs,” Williams said. “We just finished red zone and third down. So yeah, we’ve been, like, doing football. … Stuff like that, I don’t even pay attention to. … As long as we know what’s going on in-house.”
Penix was tough on himself after the 31-25 overtime loss to the Colts on Sunday in Berlin. Coach Raheem Morris had a talk with him on Tuesday about being too tough on himself.
Williams believes that’s a good trait.
“I think all great athletes are,” Williams said. “I love to watch documentaries and study people. A lot of these, you know, great athletes, I bring up Kobe (Bryant). You talk about Kobe. He was hard on himself. Michael Jordan was hard on himself. Everybody saw the (“Last Dance”) documentary. So, all these great athletes have the same trait, one common trait. They’re all hard on themselves.”
Morris is hoping that other players step up to help Penix, who’s 4-7 as a starter.
“So, it’s a fine line, obviously, because you’re gifted so much talent,” Williams said. “You expect a lot out of yourself. So, I understand where he’s coming from that standpoint. So, it’s a fine balance.”
Penix is coming off his lowest completion percentage game (42.9%) on 12 of 28 passing against the Colts. There were some drops and some missed passes.
“Just getting back to the fundamentals,” Williams said about Penix’s accuracy. “At the end of the day, you harp on the fundamentals. I always like to say, like Kobe would always say, don’t get bored with the boring (stuff). It’s just part of just going back to … football is all about fundamentals.”
Penix has also had footwork issues.
“Yeah, we address it no matter what,” Williams said. “I always like to say, like, we’re not result-based. I mean, some of his best throws, sometimes I’m going to find something to coach. I’m going to find something to nitpick.”
Williams believes Penix is making some nice strides as well.
“The situational football stuff has been great,” Williams said. “You’ve seen him make great decisions on certain checkdowns. You saw the first touchdown of the year, right? I mean, obviously, we all seen in college, like, he’s a guy who wants to push the ball downfield and do things, but for him to do that in that game was big.”
The first touchdown of the year was a check-down to running back Bijan Robinson that went for a 50-yard touchdown when the Bucs took away the deep pass.
Williams insisted that Penix has plenty of support and is getting coached hard.
“It’s just little things like that you just constantly harp on and just taking it day by day,” Williams said. “Obviously, we have other stuff that we keep in-house that we harp on every single day. But for the most part … we’re not results-based. Like, no matter what, after a win, we talk about the same things after a loss.”
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.
