Latest news with #MichaelPenix
Reuters
a day ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Reports: Falcons expect QB Kirk Cousins to be at minicamp
June 9 - Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is expected to attend Atlanta's mandatory minicamp starting Tuesday, according to multiple reports Monday. Cousins has expressed a desire to find a starting role elsewhere after finishing last season as the backup to Michael Penix Jr. However, the Falcons have been reluctant to trade him without getting a significant return. Atlanta signed Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed before the 2024 season, then selected Penix with the eighth overall pick in the draft. The Falcons started last season 6-3, but a nosedive Cousins told NFL Network coincided with a shoulder injury prompted Atlanta coach Raheem Morris to turn the offense over to Penix with three games left in the regular season. Penix went 1-2. Cousins, who turns 37 in mid-August, attended several of Atlanta's voluntary organized team activities in late May though he did not practice. Penix is the team's No. 1 quarterback entering the new season. The Falcons also have Easton Stick and Emory Jones on their depth chart. Cousins threw for 3,508 yards, 18 touchdowns and a career-high 16 interceptions in 14 starts last season. The four-time Pro Bowl selection was a starter in Washington and Minnesota before joining Atlanta. --Field Level Media
New York Times
7 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. has stepped up; now he's working on speaking up
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The only measuring stick Darnell Mooney can think of to illustrate Michael Penix Jr.'s progress in becoming a more vocal leader is that this year Penix will sometimes tell Mooney his music stinks. Mooney, the Falcons' sixth-year wide receiver, likes a wide range of genres. Penix, the team's second-year quarterback, is hip-hop only. Advertisement 'He's being a little more vocal with that,' Mooney said, 'but he's still a quiet guy.' So quiet that Penix still keeps his thoughts on the subject mostly to himself. 'I don't refuse to listen to it,' the quarterback said. 'It's a little different than mine. I'll listen to it, but in the back of my head, I'll be like, 'Turn it off.'' Penix was thrust into a leadership position in Atlanta in Week 16 last season when he replaced veteran Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback and then started the final three games. This offseason, the Falcons have been emphatic that Penix is their quarterback of the future, and the 25-year-old is trying to get more comfortable with all that comes with his new role, which requires more talking. Still, the University of Washington product is so serene that it was the first thing veteran wide receiver Jamal Agnew learned when he joined the team as a free agent in March. 'They always joke around like, 'Mike don't talk much,'' Agnew said. 'I'm starting to realize that.' Quarterbacks coach D.J. Williams recently relayed Penix's emotional outburst last season on the day he learned he was being elevated to the starting job, fulfilling a dream he had had for most of his life. 'We had some taco trucks outside, and we just walked and went and got a taco,' Williams said. 'He ate one and asked if I wanted the other one. I'm like, 'No, I'm good.'' No, 'Yipee!' No, 'How about that!' No, 'Woo-hoo!' Just get a taco and get back to work. The Falcons coaches don't care that their quarterback is not the talkative type. In fact, they have come to view his preternatural calm as a strength and maybe even a superpower. 'Everyone has their own leadership style,' passing game coordinator T.J. Yates said. 'He's going to be very different from Kirk. He's not a guy that is going to be super out loud. He leads a lot by example, by how hard he works. He's never going to be a big rah-rah guy, it's not his personality.' Advertisement Falcons coach Raheem Morris said Penix has 'a real unique kind of wide receiver vibe to him when he's talking to the guys.' 'He's finding his voice,' Morris said. 'He leads a little bit differently, probably than a lot of people. We've got to find a healthy rhythm in how you coach it up and how you really encourage it. A lot of times you want people to talk, but you don't give them an opportunity to. The more opportunities you give them, the better he'll get at it, and that's what I'm looking forward to doing.' Penix is in the first phase of what Morris envisions as a three-step evaluation of his leadership process. 'When you take over that quarterback spot, there's a certain humility about playing the position, and then it becomes a certain confidence about playing the position. It eventually turns into a little bit of almost an arrogance about playing the position where it becomes non-negotiable,' the coach said. 'We're not there yet. I don't think we will be for a little bit.' Still, Morris said he believes Penix is beginning to gain the confidence special quarterbacks possess. 'I've been fortunate enough to be around a few of them in the last two in Matt Ryan and obviously (Matthew) Stafford out in L.A.,' Morris said. 'When they had that kind of control and you felt that kind of arrogance, you felt those kind of guys that could just go out there and win any football game. You felt like you couldn't be beat. It was really just coming off of those guys in those moments. You can feel it at times (with Penix), even last year, but those things are coming.' Them boys up to something 🔥@themikepenix x @DrakeLondon_ — Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) May 29, 2025 Penix had a conversation this offseason with Ryan, who was not known for his verbal reserve. 'He talked to me about his time and how he got to where he ended up, his building blocks,' Penix said. 'That was big time.' Falcons offensive tackle Jake Matthews called Penix 'very reserved' and acknowledged that he wondered last season how Penix would handle the starting job. Advertisement 'But right when he got in the huddle, it was like, 'This guy knows what he's doing,'' Matthews said. 'Very quiet guy off the field, but a great dude. Someone you want to do well for.' Penix has focused this season on getting to know more of his teammates and more about them. Quietly, of course. 'I feel like I've done a lot better connecting with everybody around the team, not just offensive guys but defensive guys as well,' he said. 'Whether that's doing things around the facility, eating lunch, or going out and playing golf. I like to get to know my teammates. I don't think you can lead anybody if you don't know them. You have to build relationships. I want to get to know those guys to know who can take certain leadership styles, if it's verbal right there in the moment or if it's pulling you to the side. Hanging out with them more, that's it.' Mooney has appreciated the effort. 'I think he's been doing well owning that he's the guy and that he's going to be the guy,' he said. 'He's done a good job of showing up every day. Just continue to show up.'
USA Today
13-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
NFL reveals Indianapolis Colts' opponent for international matchup in Germany
NFL reveals Indianapolis Colts' opponent for international matchup in Germany The Indianapolis Colts will host the Atlanta Falcons during the NFL's first-ever game in Berlin, Germany this season. The Indianapolis Colts will host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10 during the NFL's first-ever game in Berlin, Germany this season. The game will be played at Berlin's Olympic Stadium. "The Colts are proud to be part of this landmark event in one of the world's most historic cities," Colts Owner & CEO Jim Irsay said via the team site back in January. This matchup will be the Colts' third abroad game since the NFL International series began. In 2016, the Colts were the away team against Jacksonville at Wembley Stadium in London. Then, recently, during the 2023 season, the Colts were the visitor vs. New England at Frankfurt Stadium in Germany. The Falcons are coming off an 8-9 season and seem prepared to move on to second-year quarterback Michael Penix, although Kirk Cousins remains on the roster. While the 2024 season isn't indicative of what 2025 will look like, of note, the Falcons' offense ranked 14th in points per game last year and eighth in yards per play. The defense was 23rd in points per game and 19th in yards per play.
NBC Sports
26-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Falcons sent only defensive coaches to Combine and are interviewing only defensive players
The Falcons aren't hiding the fact that defense is their priority at the Scouting Combine. Only defensive assistant coaches, not offensive coaches, were part of Atlanta's contingent to Indianapolis, according to the team's website. And the Falcons scheduled interviews with 45 players at the Combine. All 45 of them play defense. Last year the Falcons sent only one assistant coach to the Combine: Quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates. And then they chose quarterback Michael Penix with the eighth overall pick in the draft. So the Falcons have a history of sending the coaches who are going to scout the positions they want to draft. That doesn't make it a sure thing that the Falcons will go defense-heavy in the 2025 NFL draft. But it sure does look like defense is what they're focusing on.
USA Today
25-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Raheem Morris believes Michael Penix Jr. is the Falcons' future
The 2024 NFL season was bittersweet for the Atlanta Falcons. The team got off to a 6-3 start before losing six of the final eight games to miss the playoffs for a seventh consecutive year. Despite the disappointing finish, the Falcons found their franchise quarterback in first-round pick Michael Penix Jr. The rookie showed incredible poise in his three starts and gave fans hope for the future. Head coach Raheem Morris is a huge believer in Penix and praised the young quarterback during his Tuesday press conference at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. 'Michael Penix is our quarterback and Michael Penix will continue to be our quarterback,' said Morris. 'We stood here last year and we talked about looking for that guy, and we believe we've found him. And I've got so much confidence in Michael Penix leading us into the future and I believe our whole building does and I believe our fan base does and I believe our owner does.' Raheem Morris on the quarterback position — Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) February 25, 2025 The Falcons still have plenty of work to do on defense but the offense is in good shape. Penix is in a position to thrive playing behind one of the NFL's best offensive lines. Plus, the team has no shortage of playmakers, including Drake London, Darnell Mooney and Bijan Robinson. If Penix can build chemistry with tight end Kyle Pitts, the sky is the limit for Atlanta's offense in 2025.
