FLOWERY BRANCH — Though it was only to close the game, Falcons coach Raheem Morris said he checked on Michael Penix Jr. before he was sent in near the end of the 34-14 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday.
“It wasn’t one of those things where I went over and said anything to him,” Morris said Wednesday. “I looked him in the eyes to see if he was ready. He was ready to go.”
Penix, the backup to quarterback Kirk Cousins, was the eighth player taken in the draft this year. He was making his NFL debut.
“I didn’t even go tell him,” Morris said. “I let his (position) coach do it. I just said, ‘Put Michael in and get those guys out.’ We took our guys out and put the subs in that we could put in. The next thing, the next time that I saw him was after the game.”
The first play was a handoff to running back Bijan Robinson. On his third play, Penix tossed a pass to the short left side of the field to Casey Washington, who turned it into a 14-yard gain. Then it was four consecutive handoffs to running back Jase McClellan. He was 1-of-1 passing for 14 yards and six nifty handoffs.
“Went out there threw one pass, it was complete,” Morris said. “We handed the ball off in a very angry fashion and got out of Dodge.”
The Falcons surprised some folks by drafting Penix despite their need for pass rushers and their signing of Cousins in free agency. But the team uses a best-player-available approach to the draft. General manager Terry Fontenot has said the team won’t chase needs during his tenure.
Morris believes Penix is doing well in practice and believes he’ll be ready if he’s needed for duty other than mop-up action.
“I wasn’t like some Gipper speech to get him ready,” Morris said. “I think he’s a young man that stays ready. He’s a young man that I have a lot of confidence in if something were to happen. (We’ll have something) for him to execute what we’ve got to get done, from what I see in practice.”
