FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When you open the door to the quarterback meeting room at the Atlanta Falcons facility, three words printed on a sign immediately catch your attention. Written in black, they serve as a creed and a reminder for every player who enters.
The sign simply reads: "Trust your feet."
Falcons quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt sits at the center of a quarterback discussion in Atlanta that will unfold throughout the offseason, training camp and preseason. Between Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa, one quarterback will ultimately win the starting job. The question now — and in the months ahead — is who that will be. Alongside head coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, Van Pelt will play a major role in determining who earns that opportunity.
Evaluating a starting quarterback amid an active competition is challenging enough. Add in the fact that Penix is still working his way back physically just eight months removed from ACL surgery, and the process becomes even more complicated. Balancing that reality while ensuring practice reps are distributed appropriately is no easy task.
"It's tough having a competition when both guys aren't competing at the same level (physically)," Van Pelt said. "... Mike has done a great job of getting himself to where he is right now. Really impressed to see him take 7-on-7 reps, but really, there is no competition until we can actually evaluate them equally."
Keeping that perspective in mind isn't always easy, Van Pelt admitted. However, it's the reality the Falcons face and will continue to face until Penix receives full medical clearance.
"We have to understand that Mike's knee is not 100% right now, and maybe at the top of his drop he may not be able to put that thing in the ground and throw the ball the way he might two more months from now," Van Pelt explained. "You take that all into consideration."
With that in mind — the fact there is a competition but not yet a level playing field — it raises an important question: What are Falcons decision-makers evaluating and teaching as they install a new offensive system?
The answer is easier to find than it may seem. It goes back to the first three words players see when they enter the quarterback meeting room.
It's all about footwork.
Right now in Atlanta, coaches are focused on teaching and refining quarterback footwork because one of the strongest indicators of quarterback success (accuracy) begins with properly timed mechanics.
"If your feet are right, you're going to make good decisions," Van Pelt said. "When you get in trouble is when you don't trust your feet and you hang too long and you're off and then you throw bad balls or interceptions. Footwork is a huge part of us."
That philosophy has long been a staple for both Van Pelt, who came up in a west coast offensive system as a player and coach, and Stefanski, who developed as a coach under Gary Kubiak.
The emphasis on footwork appears throughout practice, from individual drills to full-team periods, but perhaps nowhere more than in quarterback-receiver timing work.
"There are certain route trees that we have, and then we tie certain footwork in with those exact routes," Van Pelt explained. "So, making sure those guys are in rhythm and in time with the passing game that the ball is coming out. We really have really four different drops from the gun that matches different routes with different depths."
The Falcons also utilize three dropbacks from under center, not including play-action concepts. Those distinctions matter because Atlanta ran very few under-center looks with Penix in 2025. Establishing proper timing and footwork for both Penix and Tagovailoa is a critical part of what the offense hopes to become in 2026 under its new leadership.
"That's another big thing that we have worked on this year, getting Mike and Tua back under center, because in this system, we love to run the ball from under center," Van Pelt said. "And when we can do that with those guys, it opens up everything in the play action world."
According to Next Gen Stats, Penix had just one dropback from under center in 2025. As a result, one of the next questions posed to Van Pelt centered on Penix's development in that area.
"(Mike) is getting a good feel for it," Van Pelt said. "We work the drills daily so I can put him through some drill work dropping from under center, which is what he needs after not doing it much last year. I think it is only going to make our offense better when we get our quarterbacks under (center)."
The Falcons still have a long way to go before naming a starting quarterback for the 2026 season. But the work being done now during the offseason is laying the foundation for that eventual decision.
And fittingly, that process is starting from the ground up.
"I think it jumps out at you," Van Pelt said of when a starting quarterback decision could make itself known. "At some point, you've been coaching long enough that you can see a guy take a lead in the competition. ... It will come down to who's playing the best ball when it's time to go."
