Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Week Four Media Availability | Wednesday, Sept 24th | Press Conference

Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Week Four Media Availability | Wednesday, Sept 24th | Press Conference

[Music] All right. Yeah, Mike. Um, you had some time to um reflect um you know, what are some of the things that uh you know that uh happened Sunday that you all can uh correct and try to move forward with the offense? Yeah. Um I kind of hit on it. Um but just executing, you know, we got to execute the small details and do all the small things right in order for us to be able to make big time plays. And I obviously, like I said, it starts with me. You know, I got to be better with my execution and um you know, putting us in position to help us win win football games and also um throw it to the wide open receivers when they open. So, how do you anticipate that coming down on the field to help you with that and help kind of your flow in the game? Yeah. Yeah, it it’ll be good um just just to be able to have have him to talk to on the sideline, you know, um to to so he can tell us what he’s seeing as well and why he’s calling certain plays, you know, in the series that’s coming up. So, um it should be good. Did they ask you if you had a preference whether he was sideline or booth? No, feels good. I’m good either way. How are you feeling just physically? You a lot of hits in that game, too. Like I mean, did any of that play a factor of you not playing your best when you feel sore, bumps and bruises, anything? No man, there’s no excuses. Everybody get hit. Everybody Everybody’s sore. You know, it’s football. It’s a game we signed up for. So, you said the open receivers. Um, have you been missing them or not reading it or um or you know, what’s been going on on the in that situation? I just got to hit him. I got to see him and hit him. That’s it. Can you feel the frustration maybe in that receivers’s room especially? Like they want to get in the end zone. They want to make an impact. Like they haven’t been able to do that yet. Uh, I wouldn’t say it. It’s frustration. I I feel like um the guys have been great. You know, obviously everybody wants to make plays and when you’re not making plays, it’s it’s it’s tough, but at at the end of the day, you know, the guys are rallying around each other. And it it’s been all positive and just trying to figure out a way for us to get better at that point. And u we will we will because I can see how how determined people are to to to want to go out there and do great. So, how how can you get Darnell more involved just in terms of his explosive passing attack? um just keep giving him opportunities, you know, obviously he he’s a great great pass catcher. He’s a great route runner and he he’s going to get open. So, uh just giving him those opportunities and you know, putting him in position to to be great. And like I said, the ball is in my hand every play. So, I got to find a way to get him the ball. Mike, what’s the biggest lesson that you want to learn yourself in order to grow as a quarterback from Sunday? The biggest lesson? Um, [Music] just stay the course. I say just stay the course. Um, don’t get don’t get discouraged. You know, it’s it’s never like nobody perfect. You know, we’re not always going to have the best game. We’re not always going to have the game that we wanted. You know, obviously, you know, putting up zero points is it’s tough, you know. It’s it’s tough sele, you know, nobody likes that, but at the end of the day, you know, uh that’s week three. We got a we got a whole season ahead of us and we got to um come ready to play this week and for the rest of the season. So that that’s what our focus is right now. And you know, just always continue to remember like you you can’t change the past. You know, you got to move on and and find a way to get better and do better the next week. You had a kind of a crazy performance against this team uh coming up with Commanders and and uh do you expect to kind of like get back to that somehow? Or when you say crazy performance, just a strong performance is what I’m saying against them last year. Yes, sir. I didn’t think so. Uh I feel like um I missed a lot of opportunities that game last year. you know, obviously that was the second game starting with with the first receiver. So, it was a lot of, you know, uh chemistry stuff that was still getting built. So, um I don’t know, it was it was good at the end, you know, to be able to put us in an opportunity to win at the end of the game. But I feel like that game could have been better um all the like from all all aspects of me playing. But it’s not just about me. It’s about this team. And um like I said, I touch the ball every play and I can help this team win football games. That’s what I got to do. How about going back to to last year was talking about you were you seem to air the ball out a lot more those those three starts last year throwing the deep ball playing looser playing more comfortable first three games maybe not as much of that. What would you say the difference has been so far? Um I’m not sure. I’m not sure. Uh we’re just we’re trying to figure it out, you know. Um each and every day we getting better, you know. I feel like it’s always in the game plan and you know whenever whenever those opportunities are called we got to take advantage of them and I feel like we haven’t been taken advantage of them whenever they have been called and I I feel like that’s the only difference you know just haven’t been taken advantage advantage of it and we got to start doing that. There’s been a lot of talk about the pistol and you guys running that more and how that might not be a good advantage for the run game and things of that. Do you have any say or your thoughts on the pistol or do you feel like that maybe I don’t know you shouldn’t run it or you don’t like to run it or any thoughts on it? No, I love the offense. I like all of it. Um there’s no excuses to us, you know, not not executing. You know, it it don’t matter what formation we in, the defense still don’t know our play. We got to go out there and execute them at the end of the day. So, how have the conversations been just these last few days with teammates, coaches, and terms of just understanding where the breakdowns were and how you can, you know, pick some opposite? Yeah, it’s been positive. You know, conversation’s been positive. You know, the guys are looking forward to a bounceback week. You know, that’s that’s all we can do at this point. you know, we we can’t go back and change what happened uh this past Sunday, but um we we can we can fix and and do the right thing so that we can have a better result this week and that’s that’s what all the conversation has been about. You feel like there’s a good understanding amongst the team of like where the breakdowns were occurring and just like how you can, you know, consistency. Yeah, for sure. For sure. We we we got a good understanding and like I said, it all come down to executing at the end of the day. Uh you got to be better. Uh, you got to win your men one-on-one matchups and I got to find ways to help us win and I didn’t play winning football on Sunday. So, I got to find a way to do that and that’s that’s what we going to do. You feel like with Mooney missing most of training camp that that may might have affected some of the chemistry between you two just so early in the season? I don’t think so. I feel like we had a good offseason and I feel like our offseason was good enough to where like those couple weeks that he did miss it, we we didn’t we weren’t a step behind, you know? I felt good about where we were. So, I would I wouldn’t put it on that. How comfortable are you at this point in your career in being proactive in terms of going to Zach as you review games and saying, “I don’t like this. Get rid of this. I want more of this, X, Y, and Z.” Or are you more taking things in at this point because you’re making your sixth, seventh NFL start? Nah, man. We we have great conversations and um you know, he asked me the things I like and the things I don’t like and you know, by the end of the week, come game day, we have those things out if I don’t like it. And so everything that’s in the play call, you know, I agreed on and um you know, he made sure that I I liked it. So it it’s none of that. Raheem said he’s sort of thinks of you as a rookie in terms of your de development because you’re only making your six or seven start. And because of that, he’s willing to give some grace for games like this. Do you look at it the same way? Do you still feel like a rookie or do you I know grace is not You’ve had this conversation. It’s not your strong suit with yourself. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it’s not. But I’m an NFL football player. Rookie, second year, 10th year, it don’t matter. We all in the NFL. Um, our fans, they don’t they don’t care who’s a rookie, who’s not. If you on that field, you know, everybody want to see you perform. And at the end of the day, that’s what we got to do, and that’s what I got to do. And, um, we going to flip the script. I know you always go into the week wanting a win, but do you feel, would you describe, uh, there’s more urgency, I guess, in the building this week to try and get a win considering you guys had a really tough loss? Um, I wouldn’t say it’s it’s more urgency cuz then that sound like we didn’t have urgency the last couple weeks. You know, it’s always been great. You know, Raheem hinted on it, you know, on Monday. He was saying like he felt like last week was one of our best weeks of practice. He felt like everybody practiced good and we practice at a high level. So, I wouldn’t say as far as urgency, we feel feel like we have to have more of that. We just got to execute. We got to execute and find way to win. That’s all it is. How’s the team take it when you’re not performing where you should be and a coach loses his job? I mean, do you take that personal or do you feel like, you know, upset or sad or I mean, how do you take it when a coach loses so early? Yeah, man. It’s tough. Um, you know, everybody loves Ike. You know, I love Ike. You know, I’m always going to love Ike. He’s been nothing but great, you know, to to me and this team since he’s been here. So, um, it’s always respect with him. And you know, for me, I don’t I don’t like I try not to take the blame, but I I do feel like I I have to help help the guys as well. You know, at the end of the day, um the coaches, they they’re going to coach their tails off each and every day, but at the end of the day, the players, we’re the ones that’s on the field, you know, making those plays. So, um as far as the whole, you know, losing the coach, that that’s that’s above me, you know, obviously that’s that’s something I can’t really speak on, but for I’m just speaking on us as players. We got to go out there and make the plays at the end of the day. You mentioned a lesson was don’t get discouraged. Would would a continuation of that be don’t show your discouragement when Raheem mentioned he he could tell that you felt down? Might that have contributed to his decision to make a change in the fourth quarter? You think? I I don’t know. You got to ask him. Did you get feedback about the fact that you showed your discouragement? Not just felt it, but showed it. Um I I got feedback from DJ, my quarterback coach. He always tell me just keep your head up you know um you know don’t don’t show show those discouraging moments you know but um I’m human I ain’t perfect you know I want to be perfect so sometime I do get discouraged whenever I’m not but at the end of the day you know it’s football um we got another week ahead of us and I got another opportunity to go out there and you know show who I am. What have you seen from just Washington commanders on tape as you’re preparing for this game? Yeah. Um, a good defense, you know. Um, I I feel like they they show a lot of different things. You know, I feel like, um, between last year and this year, uh, they’re they’re pretty similar structure. You know, I feel like they have an identity and they’ve been doing good with it and, um, it’s going to be a good game. This is really the first time we’re getting to talk with you since coming off of a bad game. So, how do you respond? Like, are you the type that’s like watching the film on the the flight back or Yeah. Fight back or drive back? Um, are you watching it once, moving on? Are you watching it a couple times? Like what are you like after that? You saying the film from last week? Yeah. Oh yeah, I watched it. I watched it twice. Um but like once once Monday hit, I’m on to the next week. You know, I can’t sit there and soak in it. Um I I got to be here be there for my team and, you know, um I can’t come around here in the building around, you know, that next week cuz obviously we got another game this week coming up. So I I got to uh show the team that um you know, no matter what happened last week, you know, I’m ready to attack this week strong. Are you a social media guy? How much? Just in general? No, not much. Not much. I’m on it, but I not not much. Hey, how does Bobby Wagner, he’s a 10 time Pro Bowler? How does he jump off uh film when you’re getting ready for the commander defense there? Yeah, he looks good. You know, he’s still moving good. You know, um you know, being in the league for so long, you know, he’s still a great player and a highly respected player. And um you know last year whenever I was out there on the field you know against him. It was cool to see cuz like I remember watching him growing up and I’m like damn it’s crazy I’m actually on the field with him. So um you know nothing but respect to him and you know what he’s done in this league and you know he he’s still going. Anything else? Thank you.

Atlanta Falcons Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. speaks with the media as the Falcons’ continue their Week 4 preparations before their matchup against the Washington Commanders in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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