Falcons
Atlanta finished 21st in total sacks last year, leading them to emphasize pass rush all offseason. Falcons HC Raheem Morris detailed why they place so much importance on getting after the quarterback.
“We have to get quarterbacks uncomfortable,” Morris said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. “If we can get those guys uncomfortable with whether it be secondary pressure guys, linebackers or just up-front pass rush, whether it be schemed, whether it be chicanery. Whatever it is, you want to affect the quarterback.”
Atlanta DC Jimmy Lake detailed his approach to pass rush and why he likes to disguise blitzes often.
“For me, pass rush is all 11,” Lake added. “We have to play really tight coverage for that quarterback to hold it just an extra tick, but when we’re rushing the passer, it may not just be the four down rushers. It may not just be the outside linebackers. It could be a corner, a nickel, (safety) Jessie Bates coming from 15 yards deep. When those guys are rushing, the guys who are dropping have to make sure they are in the right spot to cause some confusion for that quarterback and cause some confusion for pass protection. That’s how our pass rush will really heat up.”
Saints
Saints RB Alvin Kamara reflected on entering the eighth year of his career, now being the old veteran in the locker room instead of the rookie on the rise like in 2017.
“Man, it goes by fast,” Kamara said, via John Deshazier of the team’s site. “I know all of y’all remember ‘Rookie Alvin’ and now it’s Year 8 and I’m like, damn, it flies. In 2017 I wasn’t thinking I’d be sitting here; I’m like, the old dude now. And I’m telling everybody else, ‘This —- flies. It goes by quick.’ I mean, it’s a blessing, especially to be in the same place for so long. I was thinking about it last night: You put in a lot of work, a lot of sacrifice (and) to be able to still be doing it is amazing.”
Kamara said he doesn’t want to waste any time on winning a Super Bowl.
“I feel like there is no time to waste because let’s just say I’m at the halfway point if I were to play 16 years,” Kamara said. “Or 10 years, I’m on the back end of my career. I don’t want to waste no time. I don’t’ want to sit here and say, ‘I’ve got time, I’ve got time.’ Ain’t no time, so I’m trying to run it up. I’m trying to do what I can to have the most success. And in this league, we measure success by Super Bowls and playing in February. That’s what I’m trying to get to.”
Kamara is confident about their offense under first-year OC Klint Kubiak and is working to be on the same page with him.
“I feel good about (the offense),” Kamara said. “We’re all running the same plays in this league, it’s just terminology. Some guys have different philosophies. You can ask Klint – I was annoying him during the preseason because I was hovering around him, trying to ask him, like, ‘What you thinking? What you doing?’ And he was, like, ‘Man, get away from me, I’m trying to call the plays.’ That’s kind of what I’m used to, dealing with (former Saints quarterback) Drew (Brees), kind of did it with (former Saints coach) Sean (Payton) – just trying to be ahead and get into the mind of the play-caller. He’s calling the play, so I try to be on the same page. That way, then I can kind of piggyback and catch his rhythm and then, I might see something that he might be thinking about or about to think about, and I can beat him to it.”
Saints
Saints QB Derek Carr is entering his second year with the team after barely missing the postseason in 2023. Carr talked about proving himself to a fanbase used to legendary QB Drew Brees and mentioned how his experience in a historic franchise like the Raiders helps him.
“You have to prove to everybody, you have to show everybody … what matters to you,” Carr said, via Matthew Paras of Nola.com. “The big thing for me was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to reintroduce myself to the city of New Orleans.'”
“You know, I was in a place with the Raiders where their best quarterbacks like Kenny Stabler, Rich Gannon, all these guys — that was so far removed from when I showed up that they were just happy that we were completing passes again. This is a different dynamic for me than what I was used to, but again, it’s no pressure, nothing like that.”
New Orleans HC Dennis Allen chimed in on Carr and other QBs for the franchise living up to Brees.
“Everyone is graded against Drew (Brees) here,” Allen added. “That’s the nature of our business, and it’s always difficult to follow a Hall of Famer. … But that’s the standard that we’re used to here.”
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