NFC Notes: Dave Canales, Taysom Hill, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Falcons

Falcons OLB coach Jacquies Smith said third-round OLB Bralen Trice is an enforcer on the defensive side of the ball and is a tone-setter for the defense.

“He’s an enforcer in his play, in the way he plays and with the strength and power that he possesses. He shows it play-in and play-out,” Smith said, via the team’s website. “I think that’s the perfect nickname for him.”

Smith said that Trice’s film jumped out at him due to his ability to win in one-on-one situations.

“When you’re looking at edge rushers, you want to see, can they win a one-on-one rush?” Smith said. “And this guy for the past two years has led the FBS in win percentage as far as one-on-one pass rushers go. … He’s the top in that. You’re getting a guy who can affect the quarterback. And that’s what we need in this league and with everything we’re trying to do.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales discussed his working relationship with the team’s ownership group of Dave Tepper and Nicole Tepper.

“That’s been fantastic,” he said, via Panthers Wire. “I see a couple who is really passionate about their team. And sometimes, Nicole more than David — she just like absolutely loves Panthers football. And the whole thing, the community — she’s like so fired up to serve and find, like, ‘Who can we bless? Who can we go and spread this . . . ?’ Her deal’s like, ‘I just wanna come out to practice and enjoy the energy of what I’m seeing.’ And with David — to be able to be with him and pick his brain and, like, lean on the successes that he’s had. He’s unbelievably successful in terms of like when we think of leadership and all those things. I’m able to kinda sit with him and watch him just, like, courageously bring us together. ‘Ok, let’s evaluate free agency. Let’s evaluate the draft process. How did that go, guys? How was it? What went well? What didn’t go well? Why not?’ And there’s no blame, there’s none of that. It’s just like can we speak the truth? Can we go into things with our eyes open and courageously say, ‘Ok, this didn’t work, let’s fix it, let’s move forward?’”

Saints

Saints QB/TE/RB Taysom Hill said new OC Klint Kubiak has come to the organization with a “distinct vision” for his offense. 

“I feel like Klint came in and had a really clear, distinct vision of what we were going to be offensively and how good we can be,” Hill said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “I feel like he came in and has coached with a ton of detail, which has been really nice. I love the way that he’s approached it, you know? I feel like I’m a detail-oriented guy. I like to know what to do versus different looks and that’s very much how he coaches.”

Hill has been getting time in the running back position this offseason. He mentioned that Kubiak has a lot of plans for him in his system.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Hill said. “It’s weird to say after seven years of doing what I’ve been doing, that I’m being asked to do things that I’ve never done before. But I think that is exciting. That is exciting to me. And it’s challenging and I love to be challenged like that, so, man, I’m grateful for those guys for creating unique opportunities and fun opportunities for me.”

Kubiak confirmed they are moving around Hill to multiple spots and has been impressed by the veteran. 

“Taysom has been phenomenal here early,” Kubiak said. “We’ve been kind of moving him in a lot of spots, as he’s done his entire career, really intelligent guy. So, looking forward to … giving him a lot of volume early, and then we’ll start narrowing it down as we get closer to the season.”