FLOWERY BRANCH — There’s a marked difference between the first days of high school or college as a freshman and then as a sophomore.
Simply knowing the way around and knowing names, faces and the way things are done are a reassuring comfort of the experience of having gone through the process before.
For Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr., there has to be some comfort — and confidence — heading into organized team activities, knowing it’s his team and his offense to run.
He’s not the rookie backup any longer. He’s that dude.
“I would say that Mike approaches everything pretty much the exact same, no matter what role he’s in — he just puts his head down, and he goes to work," Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said Wednesday. “Obviously, the leadership and what guys are looking at him to take (it to) that next level is a little bit different.
“But he’s such a low-key guy that I’m not sure his demeanor or anything changes based on his situation. He just gets the work done and puts a ton of work in, on and off the field. So, it is fun for him coming in knowing everybody’s looking at you to lead now.
“And I mean, that’s a little bit different responsibility, but his approach is he’s such a steady guy that it feels about the same every single day.”
After last season’s baptism by fire in Penix’s starts in the final three regular-season games, there’s rightful optimism and excitement about what he can bring in the full-time role, succeeding Kirk Cousins as the play caller.
There’s a different energy around the Falcons and real talk about whether they can wrestle the division from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and a due amount of that conversation starts with Penix and the immediate impact that he can make, now that he’s been given the keys to unlock the offense.
“Yeah, just the leadership role of being the guy, being QB-1,” passing game coordinator T.J. Yates said. “It’s not only on the field; it’s in meetings, too, whether he asks Zac a question or makes a suggestion in meetings and talks to the guys on how he wants a certain route run, or how he sees it. Just so everybody’s seeing the field and seeing the offense through the same set of eyes, so we can all be on the same page.”
That’s where some of the growth will have to come, in Penix putting his own stamp on the team and getting buy-in from everyone.
The leadership mantle isn’t always easy for young quarterbacks to handle, but the indications are that it’s already happening during the offseason and into organized team activities.
“When he goes out in the field, he is a leader by demeanor and by his actions. He’s not a big vocal guy. He’s not going to sit there, hoot and holler and do all these things. He does it in his own genuine way, and guys gravitate toward it,” Yates said. “And it is awesome to see, just in the first couple of weeks out there with the guys on the grass, we’ve been taking a lot of strides so far, and we’re excited to actually get into OTAs and do it against the defense, and kind of take that next step in the progression.
“But it’s been something that’s really fun, so far.”
Mental and physical
For young quarterbacks, the twists and turns of the learning curve can be a bit perilous — and it’s not a straight-line course.
Every quarterback figures things out on a different timeline — the Washington Commanders’ Jayden Daniels’ rookie season is an obvious outlier — but there doesn’t seem to be any undue pressure on Penix to conjure that same sort of magic immediately.
It’ll be a process of combining the mental reps and film study to the physical skills on the field. And that takes time. There will be mistakes and bumps along the way, but it’s all expected.
Part of that acclimation process started with quarterbacks coach D.J. Williams, who spent most of last season just working with Penix to determine the young quarterback’s learning style.
“I think it was good last year to have some time with him as a backup to where I really understood how he learned? And he’s a super smart guy,” Williams said. “He’s quiet; he doesn’t ask many questions, but he’s super smart, super intelligent, and he’ll take it all in and then start to really understand it, the more time goes on.
“And then once he gets out there on the field, it’s like it all clicks, and he’s got it. But I think last year was really good as far as just learning how he learns.”
The next step will be in putting it all together on the field, making the right reads and the right decisions. It’s all faster on the field and when the plays are live, but it’s all right there for the taking for Penix.
“I think any time you start to play, you just get better, at the end of the day,” Williams said. “We’re all trying to get better from a standpoint of working out and running, and those things like that, as far as the players are concerned, but at the end of the day, you got to play in the games to get better — and I think he did that.”
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