Falcons
Falcons QB coach T.J. Yates commented on QB Michael Penix Jr. being the full-time starter and believes that he will be a problem for opposing defenses after three games at the helm in 2024.
“There are a couple of things about those three games where it’s just his ability to manipulate defenders with his eyes,” Yates said, via the team website. “How he saw the entire picture was kind of set in stone for all of us. Like, ‘Alright, we got a guy here.’ He surprised all the guys on the sidelines. Like, ‘Oh, wow. All right, that was a good throw. That was a good throw. Good job, Mike. Some of the times when he was going into the game, throwing some of these routes, honestly, that’s the first time they’ve ever done that together on a football field. Whether it be practice or not, because you can’t really cover everything on a week-to-week basis. Little footwork things, little accuracy things are always going to be part of quarterbacks just progressing. It’s not a ton of stuff, but he’s always going to have to be able to learn more situations, learn more situational football — when to do certain things, when not to do certain things.
“He’s an aggressive player with an aggressive arm, but sometimes you’ve got to be able to dial it back a little bit. He has great field vision. He has the ability to manipulate underneath defenders with his eyes. And sometimes he might not need to do that all the time, but it’s one of his greatest assets, so we don’t want to over-coach or out-coach some of those things out of his system. It’s just the process of learning the quarterback and learning how to coach him, and him learning the offense and rolling through those things.”
- Per ESPN’s Dan Graziano, the Falcons are maintaining the stance that they are comfortable keeping QB Kirk Cousins as a $27.5 million backup. Pittsburgh could be interested should Aaron Rodgers not sign with them, and other teams could become options should injuries occur.
Panthers
Panthers WR coach Rob Moore has been impressed with first-round WR Tetairoa McMillan, but believes that he will have to improve in his ability to separate from defensive backs as a pro.
“I was pleased with his work ethic,” Moore said, via ESPN’s David Newton. “He works on his ability to finish, and tries and be detailed. It’s one of the hardest things for young players to really dial in on the details of every play. He was really dialed in.”
“He’s gotten away with it in college because he has that kind of radius and the ability to make fantastic catches,” Moore added on McMillan’s separation ability. “That’s an area that we will work on to improve, because he does have transition ability, ability to create separation.”
Saints
Saints QB Spencer Rattler was asked if there was pressure on him to perform, given that QB Derek Carr has now retired, and he is the most experienced quarterback competing for the starting job with rookie second-round pick QB Tyler Shough.
“You can’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Rattler said, via the team website. “It’s Year Two. Great opportunity ahead of me. I’ve just got to keep working, keep my head down, and give it what I’ve got.”
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