Raheem Morris Expects a Big Second Year Jump from Michael Penix Jr.

Raheem Morris met with the media this week and was asked a few questions regarding the development of his younger players. The Falcons saw running back Bijan Robinson vastly improve in his second season and wide receiver Drake London increased his receiving yards in year two but made a huge leap in productivity in his third season.

Morris talked more in depth about why players tend to show significant improvement entering their second season. He said, “There are a million examples of guys who come in and flourish right from the beginning, right? We can talk about that, but definitely there is either a drop-off or there is just a huge growth process for these guys, and in order to help that growth process, it is about establishing that rhythm and routine that you can put together for yourself when you become that adult. That rookie season, it's pretty easy to have a routine when everybody's telling you what to do every second of the day up until seven o'clock until you're absolutely exhausted and you want to get something to eat and go to bed, right? That's easy. That second year, when things start to happen, and you're done at one, two o'clock during the day, and now you've got to make decisions on, grown man decisions on, maintenance to the body, what are we going to do extra on my own? How much studying am I going to do by myself? How can I get those things done? So, I think a major part of that is guys really figuring out a routine before they get there.”

Morris was also asked about keeping up with his players’ progress throughout the offseason. The head coach said,“You do keep up with it, but it's less keeping up, it's really at your end-of-the-season evaluations when you talk about those things. Mike's [Penix Jr.] done a great job of connecting that way and seeking out information on what it should look like from the people that he feels like he can talk to. I think those things have been awesome. I know for a fact that Mike's thrown personally with Drake [London].. He's thrown with Kyle [Pitts]. He's thrown with Mooney. He's thrown with all those guys. Ray-Ray's [McCloud] always ready to throw. Those kind of guys, that's kind of where they live. I think that'll just get better and better as Mike matures and develops and gets older and finds more of his voice. I think part of him doing that stuff is really just seeking information, talking about it with his coaches, using his sources that he has available to him based on our organization, where he's been, everything else. He's definitely utilized that to the highest capacity.”

He also spoke glowingly about the impact Drake London has had on the team’s chemistry and continuity. Raheem said, “Drake is a really funny one because he comes across as this really nice, just calm demeanor human, and he is absolutely the opposite when it comes to football. He is a barnyard bully. He's a dog. He's a high-level competitor. You better get your coaching and your information to him during the week because when the lights come on, it's time to play football, and he's going to go. I absolutely love that about him. He finds quality in people on our football team that he absolutely magnetizes to, to have that type of demeanor.”