NFC Notes: Falcons, Saints, Seahawks

Falcons

• The University of Virginia is targeting Falcons running backs coach Des Kitchings for their offensive coordinator position. The deal is not yet finalized as the Falcons are still in the midst of finishing their season. (Adam Rittenburg)

Saints

• Saints fourth-round QB Ian Book said he has to improve upon his poor debut: “Personally I’ve got a lot to get better at. I’m excited to watch the film and get back to the drawing board. … I’m evaluating it. It was bad. We didn’t score a touchdown. Can’t win a game that way.” (Katherine Terrell)
• The Saints hosted free agent DE Jabaal Sheard on a visit Monday. (Aaron Wilson)

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Pete Carroll said that he doesn’t believe the team needs to make any wholesale changes, or even change their approach or philosophy moving forward. 

“Not one reason at all am I thinking that we have to restart this whole thing and create a new philosophy and a new approach and all that,” Carroll said, via Seattle Times. “I don’t think that. I think we’ve got the essence of what we need.”

When asked to elaborate on what he feels what that essence is, Carroll alluded to the team’s success during his 12-year tenure as the head coach of the Seahawks, and feels that the team can get back to it’s winning ways with the foundation that’s been built.

“What I do know is that we’ve got a way of doing business and we have operated for a long time with a real consistent approach and connection and communication and all of that,” Carroll said. “And that’s what I’m really talking about is I think you can count on us to figure it out and to make the choices and the decisions that have to be done, coming from a philosophical foundation that we have, and have established over a long period of time. That’s really what I’m trying to get across.”

The relationship between Carroll and QB Russell Wilson has gone under a microscope recently, most notably when Wilson attempted to extend a play and eventually took a sack, when Carroll wanted him to just get rid of the ball. Carroll said that the relationship between he and Wilson is the same as how it’s been since Wilson entered the league in 2012.

“We’ve given Russ latitude for years to make what he can of the play,” Carroll said. “Now we will also come back and we critique him hard when we’re trying to get him to do something this way or that way. And he’s trying to he’s trying to please us as well. So in that situation, unfortunately, it didn’t work out in our favor because we didn’t hit the field goal. But I’m telling you that I’m trusting that he is going to make decisions, that he’s going to take a shot at a play. So I give him latitude to make the great plays that he can come up with making and I critique him when he didn’t. In that situation it would have been better if we had done this. But, nice try. I get it. I understand and let’s go to the next thing. And there’s been that kind of a conversation for 10 years, ongoing. Maybe it’s hard to appreciate, but that’s where that’s where we’ve been the whole time. So it’s not new.”