NFC Notes: Kirk Cousins, Carl Granderson, Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Falcons

Falcons OC Zac Robinson said having veteran QB Kirk Cousins run their offense gives them a lot of comfort going into 2024. 

“Having the comfort of a veteran quarterback like Kirk that’s coming from this system — couldn’t ask for anything better,” Robinson said, via Marc Raimondi of ESPN. 

Cousins sees similarities in Robinson’s offense to previous systems he’s played in. 

“There’s a lot of things where you say, ‘Great, I had concerns that maybe I would be starting over, but I can spit that play out no problem,'” Cousins said. “‘I know that read — been there, done that.’ So, there’s a little bit of both sides of it, and that’s why the time on task together is so helpful.”

Robinson, who has spent his entire career with the Rams before arriving in Atlanta, said he plans on taking some aspects from Los Angeles’ system. 

“We’re kind of in a combination between what they’ve done [in Atlanta] and the run game, some different things and what we’ve done with the Rams. And so, it’s been a good combination to where Kirk’s having to stay up with it, and there is some new information with it,” Robinson said. “He knows everything, because we’ve installed it, but there was definitely still some learning with some new things.”

Panthers

Panthers HC Dave Canales went into detail about his vision for the team’s tight ends and how he believes the system is friendly towards that position.

“I think it’s tight end-friendly,” he said, via Panthers Wire. “We don’t ask our tight ends to really to be dominant blockers at the point of attack on runs a lot. We will ask them at times. Within our system, we use their skill sets and we’re looking for tight ends with versatility. We’re not necessarily looking for that big 275-pound mauler type of tight end, although those guys are awesome and they have a place in this league. But if you have a smaller guy who’s more of a route runner and he’s a little bit crafty—then at the run, you can slide him back and block a defensive end on the backside. You can send him up away from a defensive end, in or out depending on where his alignment is. And so that allows him to get better matchups in blocking—linebackers, safeties, sometimes corners. That becomes our advantage. So that part of it is really friendly for the tight ends. And then just within the scheme, because we throw a lot of play actions, the tight ends are involved in different ways. Just getting them in the flat, dragging them underneath the linebackers—the ball finds those guys a lot because we ask ’em to block and all of a sudden, they’re bluffing the linebacker and they show up on the other side.”

Saints

Saints DL Carl Granderson is aiming to have more consistency this season, after running into a midseason dip in production in 2023.

“It’s always good to start off strong, but looking back at last year, it got rocky in the middle,” Granderson said, via the team website. “For me, it’s maintaining and being consistent, and the numbers will come. The middle of the season for me was kind of like you hit a wall, and then you turn it up when it’s too late. So moving forward to this season, I expect my production to start off hot and in the middle keep it going, and then toward the end crank it up even more.”