Can Michael Penix Jr. help the Falcons defense for the Seattle Seahawks?

This Sunday's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons features a reunion in the Pacific Northwest.

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

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

Most intriguing, however, is the connection between Grubb and Penix, as the standout college quarterback just torched 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 at Montlake, led the nation with 4,903 passing yards and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy last season.

The rookie quarterback likely won't see action this Sunday, but his knowledge of Grubb's offensive scheme could be of great use 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 on Friday against Seattle Sports' Brock and Salk.

Huard said he doesn't usually put much stock in situations like this, but this one had a slightly different feel.

“I honestly believe that in this case, Grubb and Huff and Co. need to go back and make sure that some of their calls, some of their signals that they've used in the past have been changed,” Huard said. “Jimmy Lake will never have a better scout team quarterback preparing for Geno Smith this week than Michael Penix – he knows all the calls, knows all the substitutions, knows how to line up in that call, sub and in that formation changes.”

“And Michael knows it so well, probably even better than the Seahawks themselves right now, in some ways with all the years of experience.”

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

“As far as the help I can provide, I’m not 100 percent sure because I haven’t seen what he’s done this year,” Penix said. “Obviously he could be doing something completely different. I wouldn’t expect him to change everything, but like I said, I haven’t really watched their offense to see what they’ve done to see if I know some of that.”

Huard believes there is some truth to what Penix said.

“I don’t think he watched every Seahawks game,” Huard said. “I think he's doing his job there in Atlanta, but … maybe on a Monday night, a Wednesday at the beginning of 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 saying, 'I don't really need your help.' I can figure this out and I don't want to mess up our routine.' But I think in this case Penix was a good addition for him.”

Bump weighs

Seattle Sports' Bump and Stacy also addressed the topic on Friday. 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 noise and Michael Penix tried to downplay exactly what he could 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 sit Michael Penix in the room and say, “Tell us what you know,” as if he's under investigation or something like that. But I think they're looking for clues.

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

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