Falcons
Falcons LB Troy Andersen said DC Ryan Nielsen focused more on getting to know him than football during their first conversation.
“I asked him a little bit, and he was like, ‘Let’s just get to know each other, and we’ll get to football when we need to,’” Andersen said, via Josh Kendall of The Athletic.
Andersen described Nielsen as a “very detailed” coach who always provides answers to questions.
“Obviously, a great football mind. Trying to pick up and learn from him as much as we can,” Andersen said. “Very detailed and dialed in what he’s asking us to do. Has answers to the questions we are asking of him.”
Falcons OLB Lorenzo Carter said Nielsen takes a “very hands-on” approach.
“He knows a lot about the game of football, especially the hands-on aspects. He’s very hands-on,” Carter said. “When we’re sitting in meetings, he’s putting hands on people. You have no choice but to take on his personality and take on that aggressive aspect.”
Panthers
Panthers QB Andy Dalton still views himself as a starting quarterback in the NFL and plans on playing until that’s no longer the case.
“I view myself as a starter in this league; I don’t think there are 32 guys better than me,” Dalton said, via PFT. “But this is the situation I am in, and I understand that. As soon as I don’t think I’m one of the best 32, or a little lower, I’ll be watching football on TV.”
Dalton added that he’s in a great situation in Carolina and added that both HC Frank Reich and QB Josh McCown had long careers even as backups.
“I am in a really, really good situation here; Frank Reich played til he was 38. He was a career backup,” Dalton said. “He understands the continuity you want in a [quarterback] room. Josh McCown played until he was 40. Josh was my friend for the last 10 years, and now he’s my coach.”
Saints
Saints QB Derek Carr told reporters that he is looking forward to his fresh start with a new organization and commented on DE Cameron Jordan‘s Super Bowl hopes for New Orleans in 2023.
“I’m happy to be somewhere where we’re in a stable organization that’s been proven for years,” Carr told The Fresno Bee’s Anthony Galaviz. “And I hope that the Raiders find something good there too, where they can keep that stability for the next guys because I know how important it is and I care about my old teammates. But for the time being, I’m just excited to be a part of the Saints organization because they’ve won at a high level for a long time.”
“We had a great offseason as a team, really came together, and the work on the football field is very competitive,” Carr continued. “It’s one of the more competitive, as many camps I’ve ever been a part of. We have so many veterans that are really trying to prove it every day and trying to beat each other every day, talking trash. It was so competitive and so fun to be a part of.”
“For a defensive leader to say that, he wants to take me back there, just shows his heart,” Carr said of Jordan’s comments. “That’s his love for his teammate, that he wants to do something like that for his teammate. And that’s pretty much all our guys and that’s why I fell in love with the place. It would be kind of a cool story to be back there.”
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