Falcons prepare for season with Kirk Cousins as veteran leader

On Fri., Aug. 2, the Falcons hosted their second open practice of the summer.

Fans filled Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a glimpse of their team’s future in Michael Penix Jr., Bijan Robinson, and Drake London III. As the season nears – with the first preseason NFL game having already been played — Atlanta is finalizing lineups that mostly feature Kirk Cousins at quarterback, as they prepare for a season with sky-high fan expectations.

“[Fans] are excited,” defensive lineman Zach Harrison said. “We’ve got Kirk [Cousins], we’ve got a real gunslinger now. … The expectation is the same. We want to go out there and win games. That aspect hasn’t really changed.”

Friday’s practice

Split into black and white, with quarterbacks wearing red, the team ran a short 11-on-11 drill to begin practice before the groups divided into their respective sections and worked through the “Fundamental Period.” Tight ends worked on ball protection while the D-line worked on creating turnovers. Ball security was a particular point of emphasis for all groups, including receivers.

For the remainder of practice, the team ran 1s on 2s and 2 on 2s. These are 11 on 11 drills that pit the first and second offenses against the first and second defenses in various combinations (first offense vs. 2nd defense, second offense vs. first defense, first offense vs. first defense, etc.). Kirk Cousins, despite Michael Penix Jr.’s fame at Washington, is currently their No. 1 quarterback.

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Charting a new course with a veteran QB

The reasoning for that is simple. The Falcons are in win-now mode after their closest brush with victory came in the painful 2017 Super Bowl loss to the Patriots.

After years of mediocrity and downright awfulness, and with stars like Robinson (who many argue was not well-utilized in previous seasons), Atlanta is looking for some success. That success doesn’t begin with a quarterback fresh out of college. It begins, in the Falcons’ minds, with a veteran quarterback like Kirk Cousins and the stability and leadership he brings to a young core of receivers. It also begins with new coach Raheem Morris and new leadership throughout the lineup.

“ Kirk [is a] veteran leader and he’s done it at a high level, so he knows what to expect,” Harrison said. “Just having him in the building — that extra veteran guy just to tell us how to do it and show us the way.”

“We’ve got a bunch of young guys but I know I’m always telling them ‘Hey, be detailed, be locked in,’ ” wide receiver Darnell Mooney said. “It’s cool to have fun, it’s cool to be happy and all that, but at the end of the day, we’re here to win games.”

Cousins lined up with the first unit all evening, often featuring players like Robinson and Mooney. He had significantly more success than Penix in both these drills and the two-minute drill, completing a majority of his passes. Mooney was a key receiver for Cousins, and when they practiced the two-minute drill to secure a field goal, Cousins was significantly closer than Penix. Penix struggled to find his receivers in part due to poor or delayed throws and sometimes due to receivers not finding the ball. The defense was notable especially against Penix, breaking up throws and covering receivers so tightly as to prevent them from catching the ball.

Penix showed flashes of excellence, though, nailing Casey Washington for a great long pass up the right seam that turned into a touchdown, for one instance. The plan for the Falcons rests on Cousins being the primary quarterback for this year, if not the next several as well, to allow Penix to mature into a full-time NFL star. It’s a similar plan to the one being used by the Vikings for JJ McCarthy, who, incidentally, defeated Penix in the National Championship this year.

Penix’s time will come. For now, it’s Cousins’ time.

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