FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. had a near-perfect day passing the ball in 11-on-11 drills Friday.
Penix completed 15 passes and had two passes dropped. Penix had a nice back-shoulder throw to wide receiver Rondale Moore on the left side. Tight end John FitzPatrick had a drop, and Moore dropped a 50-yard bomb that hit him in the hands.
“I felt like it was good,” Penix said after practice Friday. “But there are a lot of things that I want to continue to improve on. I (must) continue to learn the offense. Continue to get better in the offense. Bring (everyone) along with me.”
Quarterback Kirk Cousins was sharp, too. He had a nice bomb to wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud.
“Today was a pretty good first day (of 11-on-11),” Penix said. “That connection with Rondale has been good, since OTAs.”
The Falcons don’t plan to play Cousins in the exhibition games. The Falcons have not told Penix if he’s playing.
“I love playing football,” Penix said when asked if he wants to play.
So, that’s a yes?
“Yes,” he said.
Penix is fine with practicing in the morning heat.
“It feels good,” Penix said. “It’s hot. The weather feels like home, though. I’m from Florida, so I’m used to it. It was a good first day of actually going at it. I can’t wait for the rest.”
Penix is left-handed, and some receivers have said it’s different catching his passes.
“I haven’t really noticed that,” Penix said. “It’s nothing different for me, just throwing to the open guy. For some of the guys, if they need extra throws or extra catches or stuff like that, I’ll make sure I’ll get with them. For the most part, we do routes on air and everybody has been catching the ball clean. I haven’t seen anybody struggling.”
Penix was running the second-team offense, which was going against safety Jessie Bates and the first-team defense.
“I like to go against the ones,” Penix said. “To compete against the ones is only going to make me better and the second-team better.”
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