Raheem Morris Works to Protect Falcons QB Michael Penix from Himself

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is a self-described perfectionist, and even though he knows he's not perfect, failure weighs particularly hard on him.

The Falcons have lost four in a row, and while wins aren't a quarterback stat, they get too much credit when the team wins and too much blame when the team loses. Penix is 4-7 in his young career as the team's starter, including 3-5 this season.

Head coach Raheem Morris was asked about the mentality of Penix, who was visibly shaken after the overtime loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Morris admitted that keeping his young quarterback balanced, not too high, but especially not too low, is a priority.

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“He is extremely hard on himself," Morris said on Wednesday. "He is very high character, very accountable, almost to the point of fault at times. He's controlling a lot and doing a lot of things for a young football player and watching his development go and what he's able to handle and able to do and able to get us into, able to get us through with the good plays, the bad plays. There'll be some up and downs, obviously, when you're a young quarterback and you're going through those emotions.

"But, I definitely had to talk to him about being that hard on himself in those moments, in those times, right? This league is full of adversity, and you're going to deal with those adverse moments. I think it's up to us to be able to help him through those situations to let him know, we have to make some of those plays for him as well, both as players and as coaches, to be able to alleviate some of the problems that he thinks he is having."

Penix is self-aware enough to know not every missed play is on him, but he's also enough of a leader not to throw his teammates under the bus. He's learning on the fly with just 11 starts under his belt as he wasn't afforded the opportunity to learn by doing like other 24-year-old rookies like Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels, who both made the playoffs last year.

So there are growing pains, and Morris is savvy enough to not call those out in public.

"It provides a little bit of relief for him because I'm letting him know, like, it's okay to be vulnerable in that moment," Morris said. "But at the same time, don't be so disgruntled and hard on yourself that you blame yourself for everything. It's the reason why after those tough press conferences, it is my job to go protect him. It's like, 'Hey, man, he played well. We can get better.' He's doing a really good job as a young football player in this league and especially a quarterback.”

There are serious questions about whether the Falcons have the right structure in place to develop their first-round quarterback. Zac Robinson is a first-time offensive coordinator, and while Kirk Cousins is being lauded as the ultimate professional as a $40-million veteran backup, he clearly would like to be somewhere else.

The Falcons went all-in on Penix this offseason after a disappointing 2024 campaign. If things don't turn around quickly, it may be up to another staff to try and get the most from Atlanta's quarterback.