Can Michael Penix Jr. help Falcons prepare for Seahawks’ offense?

This Sunday’s matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons features a Pacific Northwest reunion.

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Former UW Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb (now Seattle’s OC) and quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (now Atlanta’s backup) will be on opposite sidelines for the first time since reaching the national title game together last season.

The reunions don’t end there. Seattle’s offensive line coach, Scott Huff, was the O-line coach at UW alongside Grubb and Penix. And Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake spent several years coaching alongside Huff at the college level, including Lake’s brief tenure as head coach of the Huskies.

But the Grubb and Penix connection is the most intriguing, as the standout college quarterback just finished up torching opposing defenses for two seasons in Grubb’s system at UW. Penix amassed a whopping 9,544 passing yards with 67 touchdowns and 19 interceptions during his two years on Montlake, including leading the nation with 4,903 passing yards while finishing as the Heisman Trophy runner-up last season.

The rookie quarterback likely won’t see any action this Sunday, but his knowledge of Grubb’s offensive scheme could be a valuable asset to Lake and the Atlanta defense.

FOX football analyst and former UW quarterback Brock Huard was asked if Penix’s experience in Grubb’s system can help Lake and the Falcons during his Blue 88 segment Friday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk.

Huard said he usually doesn’t put much stock in these sort of situations, but this one has a little bit of a different feel.

“I honestly think in this case Grubb and Huff and company are going to have to go back and make sure that some of their calls, some of their signals that they did use in the past, they have changed,” Huard said. “Jimmy Lake will never have a better scout team quarterback getting ready for Geno Smith than Michael Penix this week – knowing all the calls, knowing all the shifts, knowing how to line up in this call and shift in and move to this formation.

“And Michael is so well-versed in it, probably even more well-versed right now than the Seahawks are themselves in some ways with all of the years of experience.”

Penix was asked about the reunion with Grubb by reporters in Atlanta this week.

“As far as like what help I can provide, I’m not 100% sure because I haven’t seen what he’s done this year,” Penix said. “Obviously he could be doing a totally different thing. I wouldn’t expect him to switch up everything, but like I said, I haven’t really watched their offense to see what they have been doing, to see if I know some of that stuff.”

Huard feels there is some truth to what Penix said.

“I don’t think he’s sat and watched every Seahawks game,” Huard said. “I think he’s doing his job there in Atlanta, but … maybe on a Monday night, a Wednesday early in the week, (the coaches would ask), ‘Hey, can you watch an hour of this? What are they trying to do here? What do you know?’

“Now some (defensive) coordinators – and maybe Jimmy has some of this – are like, ‘I don’t really need your help. I can figure this out and I don’t wanna mess with our routine.’ But I think in this case, I bet you Penix has been a good asset for him.”

Bump weighs in

Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy broached the subject on Friday as well. Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus shared his thoughts on Penix’s ability to help his team’s defense.

“I heard the sound and Michael Penix is kind of trying to downplay exactly what he can contribute, but he knows the offense,” Bumpus said. “He was the best passer in the country under (Grubb’s) offense, so I think there are some questions. I don’t think they’re sitting Michael Penix down in the room and saying, ‘Tell us what you know,’ like he’s being investigated or something like that. But I think they’re looking for some cues.

“These guys are smart. They watch a lot of film. So they’ll lean on Penix, but I think they’ll lean on the film a bit more.”

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