NFC Notes: Falcons, Packers, Saints

Falcons

With an offseason of additions and a year to get everyone back to full health, Falcons QB Matt Ryan doesn’t see why Atlanta can’t contend for a Super Bowl this season. 

“The group of guys that we have, we have a locker room of competitive, hardworking, unselfish people, and I think it’s the people in our building that give us a great chance to get back and obviously hopefully win a Super Bowl,” Ryan said via ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. “We’ve got a great coaching staff. We’ve got a combination of guys that are going to try and put the players that we have in the best position to be successful.”

Packers

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst mentioned that while QB Aaron Rodgers has said he wants to play at least until he’s 40, both understand there are no guarantees when it comes to age and quarterbacking.

As a result, the Packers were noticeably more aggressive in both free agency and the draft to capitalize on a Super Bowl window that could close at any moment. 

“The more you’re around Aaron, you realize the bar is set really, really high,” Gutekunst said via Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “The expectations are always high. They always are around here, they always have been, but I don’t think in today’s football, with today’s athlete, especially a guy like Aaron … it’s just different, guys are playing longer, guys are taking care of their bodies differently. Every year is different. I don’t think you look at windows, I think you just look at it year-to-year.”

Saints

Saints RB Alvin Kamara has been a perfect fit with the Saints, both with his skillset on the field and his personality off the field. Kamara said he made it clear during the pre-draft process that he was who he was and that organizations who weren’t happy with that shouldn’t take him. 

“I had a team before I went into a meeting, one of the guys came up to me and was like, ‘Well, you’re about to go in with the G.M. so, you know, he doesn’t really understand the nose rings and things like that. So you might want to — can you take them out or tuck them?’ I was like, ‘No,'” Kamara said via Andrew Hawkins of Undisputed. “Basically, if you don’t understand it or you don’t like it, then you don’t need to draft me. It wouldn’t be a good choice to draft me.”