It's possible neither Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. nor Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb would be in their current positions without each other.
For the previous two years, Grubb served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Washington, calling plays as Penix carved his way through opposing defenses and into the Huskies' single-season passing record books.
But now, Penix is conspiring against his former coach -- for the better of his new team.
Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake told reporters Thursday he has spoken with Penix about Grubb's system, though Penix's answers were less revealing and "more a confirmation of some things," Lake said.
"Just a few little questions here or there," Lake said. "But he's obviously busy preparing on the other side of the ball, so I didn't want to bog him down too much. Everyone adds wrinkles. Everything's new every single week. It's not like we have all the secrets to the test here.
"We still got to go out there and do what we do and execute what we do at a high level."
Penix, meanwhile, said Wednesday he doesn't know how much help he can be, but he's willing to do anything he can to aid Lake's preparation.
"I haven't seen what he's done this year. He could be doing a totally different thing," Penix said. "I wouldn't expect him to switch up everything, but I haven't really watched their offense to see what they have been doing to see if I know some of that stuff."
Penix added it's not an awkward situation, and he knows whatever happens Sunday, he and Grubb will still have the same love toward each other -- times like this are merely part of the game.
And while Penix can't necessarily give the Falcons a word-for-word cheat sheet, any help he's able to give may prove beneficial for Lake's unit against Grubb's potent attack.
The Seahawks, led by quarterback Geno Smith, rank No. 1 league-wide in passing offense, averaging 276.7 yards per game through the air. Conversely, Seattle's 96.5 rushing yards per game sits at No. 29.
Collectively, the Seahawks are No. 7 in total offense with 373.2 yards per game and No. 13 in scoring at 24.3 points per game in Grubb's first season at the helm.
"His offense is high flying," Lake said. "A lot of unique stuff. A lot of stuff you can see why they were so successful in college, and now he's brought that to the NFL. He's the No. 1 offense throwing the ball right now. I'm sure they want to balance out a little bit and try to run the ball a little bit more.
"It gets really easy to do that when you have those talented running backs back there. So, we have a monster coming in here in Atlanta that we have to deal with defensively."
The Falcons have 25 defensive players on their roster. To help tame Seattle's monster, Atlanta is adding a 26th member: Penix.
And while Grubb's offense may not be identical to what it was at Washington, Penix has a strong relationship with and intricate understading of Grubb's offense -- which could be a considerable boost for Atlanta's defense.
So, while Penix, who's the Falcons' backup signal caller behind veteran Kirk Cousins, doesn't expect to throw any passes against the Seahawks, he may play a crucial role in Sunday's outcome.
"As much as I love him, I'm on the Falcons, he's on the Seahawks," Penix said about Grubb. "So, I'm going to do whatever I can to help us win."
