FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris already announced starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will not play in Friday’s preseason opener against the Detroit Lions at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
That decision was based heavily on Morris' intent to give Penix a heavy dose of game-like reps during Wednesday's full-team scrimmage. The same goes for the other first-team players, too.
"This is their day," Morris said. "The guys that you plan on not going (Friday), right? You plan on them not going because of what you're going to do today. You're planning on giving them the high-level work, the looks.
"So, let's just talk about Michael Penix, for example. Michael Penix is going to go out there, and he's going to get all the high-level looks, all the protection looks, all the things you can get from a progression standpoint, all the things you can get from a game standpoint. Except for getting hit."
Penix was never fully pulled from Wednesday's practice, easily taking the most snaps out of any of the quarterbacks. Penix took the field for seven series. Backup Kirk Cousins, who Morris also said will not play Friday, did so for four. Reserves Easton Stick and Emory Jones combined for four.
The scrimmage basically lasted the full two hours of practice and even featured a brief half time to simulate protocol.
All of the scrimmage notes and observations can be found below.
Injury updates: Morris addressed recent repeat absences Wednesday, including offensive tackle Storm Norton, inside linebacker JD Bertrand and cornerback Keith Taylor.
-- Norton (lower-body injury): "He's managing it. It's something that we know about, something that we've dealt with in the past. We feel really good about it. But (he) won't be out there in any action right now."
-- Bertrand (non-contact jersey): "He'll be down for this practice and the game. A contact issue. Obviously we'll get to that stuff. But being extra cautious of his history and some of the things that he's had happen to him in the past. We expect to see him back soon."
-- Taylor (hamstring): "It was a significant one. It was a big one. He's been out for a couple of day or whatever he's been. It was the long ball that Ray-Ray (McCloud III) caught down the sideline. (Taylor) made the great play, running down there and punching it out late. He got hurt then."
Open practice count: 8 of 11 | See all dates
Most notable player: Penix. His scrimmage stats will be shared farther down. So, here, I want to highlight the most beautiful ball he threw. It came on the third play of his second series. Penix recognized the defensive mismatch of inside linebacker Caleb Johnson covering McCloud. As the play continued, he sent a dime of a deep ball to McCloud toward the right sideline — hitting him in stride with a cushion to the boundary. It was only a few yards short of a touchdown.
Say what now: "It's nice. I'm super grateful for God giving me another opportunity to continue to be here. I've been (here) for so long, so just keep doing what I've been doing. It wasn't something I was super worried about, but I'm certainly not going to complain. It's very cool," offensive tackle Kaleb McGary on signing a two-year extension this week.
Song of the day: Oh, gosh. I don't know if there even was music playing during the scrimmage. I was too focused on what was going on. But I highly doubt it because the Falcons wanted to simulate a game-like experience.
Roll call: It was difficult to take attendance today because the Falcons basically jumped right into the scrimmage. However, two notable absences that weren't addressed during the pre-practice injury updates were cornerback Clark Phillips III and running back Carlos Washington Jr. Phillips went down during Tuesday's practice but didn't leave. Washington was an unexpected miss. So, unsure what's going on with those two. Morris won't address the media again until Friday's post-game press conference.
General observations:
-- Let's get to the quarterback stats right away. Penix completed 18 of his 28 passes, facing both the first- and second-team defenses. Cousins was 7-of-9. Stick was 2-of-2. Jones was 2-of-4.
-- Rotation among the first-team defense continued, which is no surprise given the depth available and how many position battles are happening. The very first lineup of 11 included defensive linemen LaCale London and Ta'Quon Graham, edge rushers Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd, inside linebackers Kaden Elliss and Divine Deablo, cornerbacks Mike Hughes, A.J. Terrell Jr. and Billy Bowman Jr. (slot) and safeties Jordan Fuller and Jessie Bates III. It definitely didn't stay that way. For example, cornerback Mike Ford Jr. even took snaps with the unit. Rookie edge rushers Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. did, too. So, it's difficult to name one starting lineup. There likely will never be just one.
-- One position battle that may be the closest of all is the safety spot alongside Bates. Fuller is a veteran who the Falcons signed as a free agent. Xavier Watts is a rookie who the Falcons drafted in the third round. DeMarcco Hellams is a third-year player making his return from an injury. All of them spent nearly equal time partnered with Bates with the first-team defense.
-- Casey Washington ran solely with the first-team offense, indicating that he has filled the void of the wide receiver spot vacated by Darnell Mooney, who is still out with a shoulder injury. Washington's speed was seen immediately with his first target, which was a deep shot downfield from Penix. Washington easily outran his defender and created great separation down the left sideline.
-- Floyd intercepted Cousins' very first pass attempt with the second-team offense. The ball looked like it was intended for tight end Teagan Quitoriano, but instead of sailing over Floyd's head, it landed right in his hands. Not too long thereafter, Deablo nearly had an interception against the first-team offense when Elliss tipped one of Penix's passes meant for tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. The ball ultimately fell out of Deablo's hands as he landed on the ground.
-- There were two rushing touchdowns. Running back Tyler Allgeier had one – within the 5-yard line – with the first-team offense. Stick scrambled for about 48 yards to reach the end zone himself. Stick did that before he even attempted a pass. He did throw a touchdown pass, too, in a different series. It looked to be an 18-yarder to tight end Feleipe Franks.
-- There were two catches by wide receiver Drake London that were tentative touchdowns. Depends who you ask. London had a beautiful catch over Terrell. It was a 20-yard completion, but the argument was whether London crossed the goal line. Wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard was calling for a touchdown to the referee. The second close call came on the very final play. This time, Hughes was covering London, who dove to catch a 15-yard pass in the end zone. Defense claimed London's feet did not touch grass inbounds. Offense, naturally, claimed and celebrated otherwise. The team as a whole watched the replay during their post-practice huddle.
-- Younghoe Koo kicked all of the field goals throughout the scrimmage, making six of his seven boots. It looked like the distances he was good from were (in order) 40, 33, 48, 38, 50 and 33 yards. His sole miss was a 60-yarder. If the scrimmage was any indication, it looks like the kicking battle has been settled in the veteran's favor, at least for now, over rookie Lenny Krieg who is expected to be the team's kicker in Friday's game.
What's next: The Falcons have the preseason opener against the Lions on Friday. It's scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. FOX5 will carry the live broadcast.
Countdown to kickoff: There are 32 days until the Falcons' Week 1 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 7 inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | See full schedule
