Why Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. Grew Up Idolizing Michael Vick

The last left-handed quarterback to throw a pass for the Atlanta Falcons was Michael Vick - but Michael Penix plans to change that.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. grew up watching Michael Vick play on television. / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

When Michael Penix Jr. walks out of the tunnel at Mercedes-Benz Stadium prior to the Atlanta Falcons' season-opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 8, he'll be just the third left-handed quarterback to take the field in the red and black.

Yet Penix won't be the first of his forename. That honor belongs to Michael Vick, the No. 1 overall pick in 2001 and Falcons quarterback from 2001-06.

While Vick electrified crowds to the tune of three Pro Bowl nods, two top-five MVP finishes and a trip to the NFC Championship during the 2004 season, Penix watched on a television some 450 miles south in Tampa, Florida.

Penix, who was born in May of 2000, wears No. 9 because his uncle, Joe Bain, wore it as a receiver at the University of South Florida in 2004, when Penix attended his first college football game.

The number has followed Penix throughout his football career - but when he was first starting, his No. 9 jersey was paired with Vick's Nike cleats, a now fitting homage to the last lefty signal caller to represent the Falcons on the field.

"He was my favorite quarterback," Penix said after he was drafted. "He did great things here, obviously. I'm glad to be able to be old enough to see that era and see what he did for the game, how he changed the game with just being able to do it in the air and on the ground the way that he did it and at the level that he did it."

But Penix's fandom of Vick isn't a one-way street.

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Vick, now a 43-year-old who works as an NFL analyst on Fox Sports 1, has Penix's number, and the two keep in contact. Penix said he can reach out to Vick whenever he wants or needs to, and Vick sent him a congratulatory text the morning after he was drafted by the Falcons at No. 8 overall in April.

Penix said he's glad their relationship worked out how it did, and he's now poised to carry the flag for the next generation of lefty passers in Atlanta - though his time may not come for several years, as the Falcons are set to roll with $180-million veteran Kirk Cousins under center for the foreseeable future.

Vick entered Atlanta in a similar situation. Chris Chandler was 36-years old when Vick was drafted and was the starter Vick's rookie season.

And while Penix shares several similarities to Vick, Falcons quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates believes the 24-year-old signal caller also resembles Cousins.

Yates said both Penix and Cousins are capable of extending plays inside the pocket with subtle movements due to their vision and anticipation, all the while connecting on downfield shots and fixating their eyes on hitting big plays.

Penix may mirror Cousins working within structure, but when the play breaks down and his younger legs and 4.49 40-yard dash speed enter the equation, differences occur.

But Penix, who topped out at 119 rushing yards during the 2019 season, isn't necessarily looking to run; he had 35 attempts in each of his two years at Washington and didn't eclipse 22 rushes in any of his other four.

Vick, conversely, starred on the ground. He led the league in yards per attempts on five occasions and broke the 1,000-yard barrier in 2006, two years after rushing for 902 yards. Across his 13-year NFL career, he thrice scored at least six touchdowns as a runner.

And so, Penix said he doesn't think he and Vick share the same skill set, sparked by Vick's ability to create with his legs - though the 2023 Heisman runner-up believes there are similarities.

"I feel like we both throw the ball very well," Penix said. "I think a lot of people see the way he extended plays and the way he ran, and they forget he had a cannon. The ball just flicked out his hand like nothing, like it was just effortless. So, I feel like for me and him, we kind of got that in common.

"But I'm going to give him his flowers on what he did with his legs."

Vick finished his Falcons tenure unceremoniously, spending 21 months in prison for his role in a dog fighting ring. Matt Ryan became the face of Atlanta's franchise for 14 years thereafter, winning an MVP in 2016 while guiding the Falcons painfully close to their first Super Bowl victory.

But in the two years since Ryan was traded to the Indianapolis Colts in the spring of 2022, Atlanta has battled quarterback incompetency - that's why it signed Cousins and aggressively pursued Penix as a long-term solution.

Now, Penix is forced to play the waiting game - but when time comes to play football in Atlanta, he'll do so with an opportunity paved and perhaps inspired by Vick.

"A dream came true," Penix said. "It's a dream that I had since I was a little kid."

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