NFC Notes: Kirk Cousins, Bryce Young, Mickey Loomis, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Falcons

Falcons HC Raheem Morris said the team is looking to finish out the season strong and capture the divisional title. Atlanta once had a commanding lead in the standings over the Buccaneers, but the Falcons’ losing streak coincided with a revival from Tampa Bay and both teams are now 6-6 atop the NFC South. 

“How even-keel can you stay to pull yourself out of the little bit of a slump we’re having right now in order to finish this heat, right?” Morris said, via the team’s website. “I knew Tampa Bay was coming at some point, so we gotta find a way to run away from them again, and the only people who can do that are the people in this building.”

Morris said QB Michael Penix Jr., who was a first-round pick, understands he is Kirk Cousins‘ understudy and they remain confident in Cousins.

“We picked Penix with a real purpose – our future quarterback. Right now he’s in full support of Kirk, and he knows Kirk is going to bounce back and we all feel the same way. We’re ready to ignore the same noise we ignored when we drafted Penix.” he said via the Athletic’s Josh Kendall.

Panthers

Panthers QB Bryce Young appears to be having a resurgence after throwing for 298 yards and a touchdown along with a rushing score in Week 13’s narrow 26-23 loss to the Buccaneers. Jeff Howe of The Athletic cites an anonymous NFL executive who thinks Young wasn’t dealing with pressure as well as he did in college but is now playing with more confidence. 

“The surprising thing before (the benching) was that he struggled to deal with pressure. That wasn’t an issue in college,” the executive said. “He’s more confident now. He was taking a beating before. He seemed like a battered player. They’ve gotten better as an offense overall. Sitting down and coming back, he’s more confident in what he’s doing.”

An anonymous NFL evaluator feels Young is starting to show a better understanding of HC Dave Canales‘ system and is improving with better protection. 

“Bryce had a rough go, but it seems like he is starting to understand the offense,” the evaluator said. “He’s getting protected a little better and being decisive. He did go No. 1 for a reason.”

• According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, not only is Young impressing the team with his play on the field, he’s also embodying more of what they want to see from the quarterback as a leader and communicator to the rest of the offense. 
• Fowler cites sources who say learning from veteran QB Andy Dalton has been big for Young. He’s operating with more command and urgency, plus “getting it out of his brain and to others” when it comes to his pre-snap skills with reading defenses. 

Saints

• According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the early sense among league insiders is that Saints GM Mickey Loomis is safe, although that’s not a 100 percent lock. 
• Fowler adds the Saints have tended to prefer familiarity in their hiring processes, and that could make Lions DC Aaron Glenn or Bills OC Joe Brady, former Saints assistants, top targets in their head coaching search. Fowler also points out Broncos DC Vance Joseph is from the New Orleans area. 
• Saints interim HC Darren Rizzi said WR Chris Olave (concussion) had his meeting with a specialist delayed for another week, via Sean Fazende.
• Rizzi said RB Kendre Miller isn’t in the “dog house“: “I don’t have a doghouse. My dog house is empty at the moment. I don’t have a dog.” (Matthew Paras)