FLOWERY BRANCH — With Michael Penix Jr. now at the controls, the Falcons do not plan a major overhaul of their offense.
“Obviously, just the best version of himself,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said of the expectations for Penix on Wednesday. “He’s been doing a great job in his preparation. How he’s getting to the spot. We are really fired up to go watch him play. Get him through practice this week. We are focused on trying to get a win against the Giants.”
The Falcons (7-7) and are set to face the Giants (2-12) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The team elected to demote quarterback Kirk Cousins to the No. 2 spot and promote Penix to the starting quarterback position Tuesday.
Penix has played sparingly, seeing mop-up duty in two games, after being selected eighth overall in the NFL draft this year.
Morris doesn’t believe the offense will change much.
“We are going to do what we do,” Morris said. “You’ve seen a good part of our offense. The majority of it.”
There will be one major change.
“Michael is a little more mobile just because of the youth,” Morris said. “He didn’t show that, necessarily, in college. But the youth makes him a little bit more mobile and able to move around a little bit more.”
Penix had been working with the scout team and had not worked the team’s game plan this season. He will get that duty this week. It started with a walk-through Wednesday.
“The young man can execute everything that we want to do,” Morris said. “He has a live arm. He’s able to do all the things we are going to ask him to do. He’s got great accuracy. Got great touch. It will look very similar to what you know. We just have to go out there and execute.”
Penix is left-handed, and that would make right tackle Kaleb McGary his blindside blocker. At times, McGary has struggled against elite pass rushers. He has allowed five sacks this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
“A little bit older format, not necessarily have to use that as much anymore,” Morris said of the blindside concept. “A lot of more (shotgun). A lot more pistol. A lot more things of that nature. It was more prevalent back in the day when you had to get up under the quarterback, when you (went) to the drop-back, things of that nature. All of our things remain the same. It just has Michael playing as a left-handed quarterback.”
Morris said it was a tough decision to bench Cousins, who signed a four-year contract worth up to $180 million in free agency. The team even tampered to sign him, which led to a $300,000 fine from the league office and the loss of a 2025 fifth-round draft pick.
“Obviously, we’ve got to play better at the position,” Cousins said. “We want to play better at the position. That’s why we made the decision.”
Cousins, who was coming of an Achilles surgery, got off to a fast start with the Falcons. They were 6-3 and in first place before they went 1-4 over the next five games, in which Cousins threw nine interceptions and only one touchdown pass.
“Kirk was a professional,” Morris said. “He’s a pro. He’s a man. He’s a great human. He’s a great father. He’s a great football player. He’s done a lot of great things for us this year. He handled it with class. ... Obviously, it comes with some disappointment when you lose your job.”
The zip on Cousins’ passes appeared to decrease over time. He also wasn’t very mobile and was sacked 28 times.
“It was just a football decision,” Morris said when asked about Cousins’ health.
The Falcons are putting a lot of stock in how Penix prepared mentally for games while not getting the work with the first-team offense in practice.
“He’s ready to go as far as (from a) mental standpoint,” Morris said. “Now, he’s just got to go out there and do it physically in a practice format.”
Morris is not certain how long-term this is for Penix.
“I don’t think anything is ever permanent in the National Football League,” Morris said. “Right now, Michael Penix is our quarterback. We’re going to back him and give him the utmost support that he needs, as we did Kirk when he was our starter.”
Cousins will back up Penix, while Nathan Peterman will remain the No. 3 QB and on the practice squad.
“Kirk will be our No. 2,” Morris said. “Talked with him last night, obviously wasn’t the best time to talk about it, but he definitely expressed to me how he was going to be the best No. 2 quarterback in the National Football League.”
Morris didn’t want to make the switch. The Falcons were hoping that Cousins would snap out of his slump.
“We were playing extremely well,” Morris said. “I’d be telling you a story if I didn’t tell you I wasn’t surprised how the last couple of weeks have gone and how (we) haven’t been able to turn it around and play a little bit better at the position in order to keep things going ... (and stay with) the general plan.”
The plan was for Cousins to do well and start for at least two seasons and then have Penix compete for the starting spot.
“In the National Football League, things hit you and you have to adjust,” Morris said. “You have got to adapt. You got to adjust. You have got to deal and keep it moving.”
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