NFC Notes: Dan Morgan, Jeff Ulbrich, Bryce Young, Falcons, Panthers

Falcons

  • Falcons new DC Jeff Ulbrich was asked how his relationship with HC Raheem Morris will be different since both have improved since they worked together in 2020: โ€œMy core principles are the same, my football brain is in a different place.โ€ (Tori McElhaney)
  • Ulbrich emphasized pressuring the QB and the pass rush as a whole: โ€œItโ€™s a priority. Itโ€™s something that has to be fixed.โ€ (McElhaney)
  • Regarding his time as the Jets interim HC, Ulbrich admitted fault in his lack of delegations: โ€œThere is an element of a failure for myself in that way because I didnโ€™t delegate it, I didnโ€™t. I just took it all on myself. In my mindโ€™s eye, I was trying to create continuity and I didnโ€™t want to fracture the staffโ€ฆ I thought the best thing for me to do at that point in time was just try to keep everybody in the same role that they had just so we could keep things rolling โ€” and it wasnโ€™t the right thing to do.โ€ (Richi Cimini)
  • He continued: โ€œAs I look back, I should have delegated, I should have given the defensive coordinator responsibilities to someone else and because itโ€™s just, in my opinion, it is too hard, especially when itโ€™s thrown on you in the middle of the season.โ€ (Cimini)
  • Ulbrich was asked what he learned during his time in charge where he could see how the team ran from a different lens: โ€œI learned even more than I knew the value of truth tellers on your staff. I think sometimes as an assistant coach you take it as, โ€˜Iโ€™m going to eliminate every problem from the head coachโ€™s table so he can thrive and do his thing,โ€™ when in reality there are certain things that need to be taken off the head coachโ€™s table but there are certain things that need to be on his table.โ€ (Zack Rosenblatt)
  • He touched on the way things were different when he took over as the head coach: โ€œA lot of times what I found in the interim role was that even though it was interim, I felt the shift in the way people talked to me and treated me and what they said to me. The lack of truth sometimes was really detrimental. It reinforced the idea that Rah is going to need me in that way to eliminate some of the blind spots he might have.โ€ (Rosenblatt)

Panthers

Former Panthers TE Greg Olsen commented on the turnaround that he saw from QB Bryce Young over the course of the 2024 season.

โ€œI had him in the Cowboy game, (which) wasnโ€™t one of his better games since he took over,โ€ Olsen said, via Joe Person of The Athletic. โ€œBut the overall sample size when he took back over for Andy (Dalton), me and Luke would talk about it all the time: He just looks different. We can talk about his feet in the pocket and his release and his ability to scramble and avoid taking sacks and creating second-reaction plays. We can dive into all the play calls and the job that (Dave) Canales has done and the offensive line. Thereโ€™s probably a million reasons. I think the No. 1 reason is he looked like he was back playing the style of ball heโ€™s played his entire life.โ€

โ€œThe Bryce we saw when he took back over is making those plays in the pocket,โ€ Olsen continued. โ€œHis feet are underneath him. Heโ€™s keeping his eyes downfield. I think he had a lot more confidence in the pass protection. The pocket was a little firmer because of adding those two big (guards) in free agency. It was all of those things, and it looked like Bryce from Alabama. You couldnโ€™t sack him. Heโ€™s not Lamar Jackson, but nobody could get him on the ground. Heโ€™s creating second-level plays. Heโ€™s attacking the ball downfield. Itโ€™s not just swing screen, smoke screen, draw. There would be games last year where we wouldnโ€™t see him throw the ball five yards downfield. He just looked more confident in himself, the scheme, the people around him. Iโ€™m happy for him. He does it right. Heโ€™s a kid that I want my boys to look up to. I want them to model themselves (after). He could have quit. He couldโ€™ve gone in the tank. He couldโ€™ve folded. The bounce back that he took was one of the best stories in football. It represents everything we want to teach our kids about resiliency, just the ability to keep going.โ€

Panthers

Following a strong end to the season, the Panthers hold the No. 8 overall pick in the upcoming draft with holes on the defensive side of the ball. Carolina GM Dan Morgan explained why heโ€™s hoping other teams become enamored with this yearโ€™s QB class.

โ€œObviously, with being number eight, you hope that two quarterbacks are in that top eight, so some players drop that you like,โ€ Morgan said, via Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer. โ€œHopefully, thereโ€™s some more quarterbacks through the process that kind of keep getting elevated. Maybe thereโ€™s a team that really likes another quarterback thatโ€™s not in the top-two mix. Thatโ€™s just going to give us a better player at number eight.โ€

Morgan is leaving all options on the table as of now, including a trade-down.

โ€œI think everythingโ€™s on the table, like I always say. Obviously, depending on whoโ€™s on the board at number eight, thatโ€™s always going to be option โ€” to trade back.โ€

Ahead of an important draft, Morgan explained the type of people they look for when evaluating prospects. 

โ€œObviously, weโ€™re looking for passionate football players. Guys that just love playing the game, and kind of have a little bit of an edge to them, too. So, I think when youโ€™re interviewing these guys, youโ€™re just getting a sense of, โ€˜Is that passion coming through in what heโ€™s saying? Does the guy have a little bit of an edge with some of the stuff that heโ€™s saying or are you kind of reading through it as a bit of fakeness?โ€™ I think itโ€™s just really getting a feel for the guy and what heโ€™s made of.โ€

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