Falcons receivers adjusting to rare lefty quarterback room

The first part of the play was standard for Jahan Dotson. Then, the ball flew out of Tua Tagovailoa’s hand.

Dotson jumped. Time stopped. A thought crossed his mind: What is this?

The ball spiraled left, a natural effect from a southpaw quarterback. Dotson played with a lefty quarterback in high school, but he was young, so he didn’t think anything of it. Nearly a decade later, all of which was spent catching passes with traditional righty spin, Dotson was floored.

After Falcons practices, the JUGS machine is a popular spot for receivers like Dotson. They set it to lefty spin, which features the ball tailing away from its usual direction, and catch pass after pass of left-handed throws.

“It’s something you just got to adjust to,” Dotson said. “And it’s just reps — reps on top of reps on top of reps.”

Fortunately for the Falcons’ receivers, they have a benefit privy to only one other team in league history: With two left-handed quarterbacks — Tagovailoa and Michael Penix Jr. — competing for the starting job, they’re engulfed in the lefty spin. There’s no other option but to adapt to it.

“That’s pretty big,” Dotson said. “There’s no drop-off. You’re going to get used to it. It is good to have both those guys in here.”

The Cincinnati Bengals employed Boomer Esiason and Erik Wilhelm from 1989-91, which is believed to be the first, and until this year, only time an NFL team has ever had two southpaw signal-callers on the same active roster.

It’s only fitting that the Falcons, who have an extensive group of lefties across their roster, are the next to join the club. In addition to the two quarterbacks, running back Bijan Robinson, receiver Drake London and center Ryan Neuzil are all lefties.

So is receivers coach Robert Prince, who also coached receivers with Tagovailoa and the Miami Dolphins last season. Prince said the reverse spin shouldn’t be a big deal.

“I don’t know how much of a challenge it is,” Prince said. “I mean, obviously, it spins the other way, and it probably leans a little left as it comes out. But they’re professional passers, so we’ll be professional catchers, and it’ll be alright.”

Two of the Falcons’ best pass-catchers appeared unfazed by the lefty spin, in large part because they’ve grown numb to it from playing with Penix the past two years. London and tight end Kyle Pitts both said Tagovailoa and Penix’s passes spin the exact same way and there’s no adjustment required.

Speak for themselves, free agent signee and veteran receiver Olamide Zaccheaus says. The 28-year-old Zaccheaus, who’s entering his eighth NFL season, has no experience playing with southpaw passers.

That’s where the JUGS machine comes into play. The additional reps, and adapting to the spin, is part of being a pro, Zaccheaus said.

“Just something to get used to,” Zaccheaus said. “It’s still football at the end of the day. The reps will kind of negate that.”

Falcons offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, a right-handed quarterback during his playing days, knows the lefty spin is a factor. He’s caught passes from Penix and Tagovailoa, and the ball jumped on him differently than he’s grown accustomed to.

But Rees said he doesn’t spend much time teaching or thinking about the ball’s tailing spiral. He trusts the receivers — who are paid to catch passes — to do their job.

“Look, these guys are all pros,” Rees said. “They’re going to catch a countless amount of passes from these guys over the next couple months. So, I think the adjustment’s been going pretty well.”

There’s also an impact for offensive linemen. Left tackle Jake Matthews has started 195 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL. All but 12 — those started by Penix — came as a blind-side blocker.

But with a lefty passer, Matthews becomes the strong-side protector. Is there a difference? Yes, Matthews said, but not quite as significant as one may think.

“You’ve still got to stick to your fundamentals and your techniques,” Matthews said. “Obviously, when you’re the blindside guy, a lot of times he can’t see that coming. But at the end of the day, you can get beat the same way either side, and you’ve still got to do your job.

“So, yeah, still focusing on winning the job, winning each play first and foremost. You can’t overthink it too much.”

Collectively, there are varying temperatures about the extent to which left-handed quarterbacks influence offenses.

Tagovailoa, by all accounts, is an expert. His read? It’s a bigger deal than most of his coaches and teammates care to think.

“The receivers will tell you, because they’re professionals, ‘It has no effect on me,’” Tagovailoa said in March, laughing. “I think that’s BS. It has an effect. It has an effect.”

Tagovailoa did, however, make another concession: Having two lefty passers makes life “a lot easier” for receivers.

The Falcons’ previous coaching staff often said it changed very little offensively whenever Penix took over for righty Kirk Cousins. Former offensive coordinator Zac Robinson estimated 99.8% of the offense remained the same.