Falcons

Heading into a year with a completely new regime, one of the biggest personnel questions is about QB Michael Penix Jr. Atlanta president Matt Ryan believes new QBs coach Alex Van Pelt will be tremendous for Penix’s footwork development, and spoke on Penix’s ability to throw the ball.

“I’m excited about Alex Van Pelt coming in… He’s a good football coach, and coming in, you talk about the wealth of experience that he has for a young player like Michael, I think that’s really good,” Ryan said, via SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I know in that interview process Alex is going to hammer the footwork and going to hammer getting the basics right.”

“So it starts with the basics, Michael does a great job. He can spin the football. We’re excited about what he does, and we’re excited about the staff we’re putting around him.”

Saints

Saints QB Tyler Shough has had a big couple of weeks, participating in the Mardi Gras parade right before his wife gave birth to their first child. It’s another sign of how New Orleans has welcomed him in, and it’s hard not to draw a contrast between that and the satirical floats made last year for former QB Derek Carr. Shough is super grateful for the experience. 

“When we first got to New Orleans, we were right into football, right into the season,” he said via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. “And now this has been one of my favorite times because I get to be at home and be a good husband and dad and I get to go out and do Mardi Gras and try out different restaurants and do all these kinds of things where you get to really experience with NOLA where I feel like having that whole experience with Mardi Gras, working out here, running into people, really makes you appreciate this place even more, rather than just in-season.”

Shough is planning to take some time to enjoy fatherhood, be their for his wife and rest before jumping back into the football grind. He said the coaching staff has told him not to put too much pressure on himself.