NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Falcons, Marcus Mariota, Saints

Buccaneers

• According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, the Buccaneers had a scare with RB Leonard Fournette‘s passport and weren’t sure he’d be able to make the trip to Germany until midweek. 
• That may have played into third-round RB Rachaad White starting the game against the Seahawks, though Tampa Bay has been trying to get the rookie more work recently too. 

Falcons

Falcons HC Arthur Smith addressed the team’s disappointing loss to the Panthers on Thursday, specifically if the team was considering a quarterback change from veteran Marcus Mariota to third-round rookie Desmond Ridder.

“There’s a lot of things that we’ve got to do better, and it starts everywhere,” Smith said, via FalconsWire.com. “It starts at the top with me. There’s a lot more that goes into quarterback play than just stats and we got to protect better. We’ve got to do everything better. You can make it about the quarterback, how ’bout about the team?”

Saints

• Saints DE Cameron Jordan on the team’s record at this point: “Whatever it takes, we have to find a way to win. At this point, officially 3-7, this is a disgusting feeling.” (Katherine Terrell)
• Saints S Tyrann Mathieu on the loss: “I mean, it’s obvious that we’re just not a good football team right now. Obviously, there needs to be a lot of self-reflecting, but we just got to put one together.” (Terrell)