Falcons Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Lefty Spin Is ‘Definitely Different,’ But Is That a Problem?

At 11:50 a.m. on May 10, Michael Penix Jr. looked to his right and threw a pass to quarterbacks coach TJ Yates.

It’s a day full of firsts: the first practice of the Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp, the first time Penix takes the field in his helmet and No. 9 jersey, and Yates’ first opportunity to catch passes from a left-handed quarterback in a span of time as long as he. don’t remember when it was.

Yates, who spent seven years as an NFL quarterback but was Atlanta’s receivers coach the past two seasons, reached out to catch Penix’s pass — but watched as the ball slipped between his hands.

The play was told several times in the Atlanta quarterback room, with Yates the butt of several jokes from his colleagues. He said playfully that it was windy and his hands were slippery, sarcastically avoiding blame for the dropped pass.

But the reality of the situation is this: Penix’s southpaw spin surprised Yates.

“It’s weird,” Yates said last week. “It’s different – it spins differently, the tracks are different, how it falls in certain directions and all that. And he’s got a good arm, so he comes with a zipper on it.”

The Falcons selected Penix 8th overall in April’s draft, citing his belief in his long-term future under center as reason enough to overlook any short-term concerns about his role with $180 million passer Kirk Cousins occupying the starting role for the foreseeable future. future.

When Penix arrived at Falcons headquarters in Flowery Branch the day before rookie minicamp, he quickly proved why that belief exists, leading a tour with a large group of 40 attendees.

Sixth-round receiver Casey Washington was part of the group, and he and Penix quickly formed a strong bond during minicamp and OTAs. Still, Washington has taken note of Penix’s left rotation – although for him, little change in his approach.

“It’s definitely different,” Washington said. “But as a receiver, it’s, ‘See the ball, get the ball,’ so (when) that ball is in the air, I just have to attack it.”

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Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts, who is set to begin his fourth professional campaign this fall, said catching passes from Penix was the first time he’s seen a lefty turn — and it’s far from alone in this category.

Last season, only one left-handed quarterback – Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins – started regular season competition in the NFL. Penix and Tagovailoa are the only active lefties currently on NFL rosters and represent two of 11 lefties to advance to the sport’s highest level since 2000.

But as was the case with Washington, Pitts doesn’t view Penix’s left-handedness as a problem.

“It goes the other way,” Pitts said. “The ball is always going to hit you in the face if you don’t catch it.”

An initial consensus on Penix has formed among Flowery Branch players and coaches: the 24-year-old has a powerful left arm capable of generating a lot of momentum.

Drake London, Atlanta’s leading receiver in each of his two seasons since entering the league in 2022, previously called Penix a “damn player” while touting his arm strength. Pitts agrees.

“He can run it,” Pitts said. “I like him. I’ve seen him come out of college. He’s a great player and I can’t wait to see what he does.”

Essentially, those receiving Penix’s passes have faced an adjustment phase with his left spin, but that hasn’t posed much of a problem. The same goes for Yates and the Atlanta coaching staff.

Nearly three weeks into training together, Yates and Penix continue to get to know each other. Penix is ​​the first lefty quarterback Yates has coached, which created a learning curve for Yates in his first season working with the signal-callers.

A right-handed quarterback who has been surrounded by those of the same hand throughout his coaching journey, Yates experienced something of a culture shock trying to reprogram his brain when speaking and illustrating concepts at Penix.

“It’s tough,” Yates said with a laugh. “It’s very difficult, because you have to change your brain. Whether you’re talking about footwork, for a right-handed quarterback, it’s seven or eight steps. All these different things, you have you have to flip it in your head.”

Yates has had his fair share of slip-ups so far, but luckily for the Falcons, Penix can figure it out and turn the message around – after all, it’s nothing he’s not used to.

“When I accidentally say something from a right-hander, he says, ‘Yeah, I get it. I’ve been through this my whole life,’” Yates said. “So he’s doing pretty well.”

Yates was aided in the process of working with Penix by speaking with Dolphins senior offensive assistant Chandler Henley, who was the Falcons’ assistant offensive line coach in 2021 while Yates was the team’s passing game specialist. Atlanta.

Henley left the Falcons for the Dolphins in 2022, becoming the assistant quarterbacks coach and working alongside Tagovailoa for the next two years. After drafting Penix, Yates and Henley discussed methods of training left-handed passers.

Henley told Yates to start thinking in reverse, essentially reprogramming his mind when coaching and talking to Penix. While it’s a brutal adjustment, Yates said Penix’s left-handed status is a good thing and doesn’t really make much of a difference.

So, considering the testimonies of Yates, Washington and Pitts, a consensus is forming around Penix and the positives and negatives of his powerful left arm.

“It’s definitely (different),” Yates said. “Just the way it falls in a different direction. It takes a little bit of judgment. If you have two different JUGS machines, where one turns right, the other turns left, (receivers) are going to catch from both sides so it takes a little getting used to.

“It’s a little different, of course, because there aren’t a lot of left-handed quarterbacks in football.”

Penix is ​​just the third left-handed quarterback in Falcons history, joining Tony Graziani and Michael Vick. The day after he was drafted, Penix said that Vick was his favorite quarterback and that he grew up with Vick’s cleats.

So while Penix isn’t necessarily unique in Falcons history with his left-handedness, he remains a new phenomenon to many around him – but it doesn’t matter whether they’re a player or a coach , the adaptation phase is far from being problematic.

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