Falcons
Atlanta dominated their first game with first-round QB Michael Penix Jr. as the starter despite his average stat line. Falcons HC Raheem Morris is pleased with the rest of his team for stepping up and doing their job to help support the rookie in his debut.
“When you go out there and your defense plays as well as they did today, able to score two touchdowns, and get the ball back and a bunch of short fields, that’s always going to set up success for the quarterback,” Morris said, via SI.com’s Albert Breer. “What Bijan [Robinson] and Tyler [Allgeier] have been doing with our O-line? It’s what we talked about earlier. We talked about supporting this kid.”
Despite signing QB Kirk Cousins to a large contract in free agency, Morris explained why they had to make the change to Penix if they want to reach their goals.
“The decision had to be made just based off of pure football performance. We weren’t playing well enough. At the same time, I was also thankful to him for putting us in position to be where we’re at right now, to be competitive, to be in a playoff race. This guy got us up to 6–3, really got us going, and for whatever reason couldn’t keep up that play that he had at the beginning of the season. I had to make the change.”
Panthers
Panthers QB Bryce Young‘s toughness over the final stretch of the season has elevated the rest of the rest of the team’s mood.
“It lifts me up for sure, and I know the other guys, too,” Panthers RG Robert Hunt said, via the team’s website. “I saw that hit, so I ran to him, and I was kinda I was like, yo, s—, are you all right? So I checked on him, and he hopped up; he was smiling, so he’s ready to play, man. That kid’s as tough as nails, and I give him a lot of credit.”
Panthers HC Dave Canales said that Young has been more decisive and accurate following his benching.
“Yeah, he just played fast again,” Canales said, summing up his quarterback’s progress. “He was really decisive. You saw some of the scrambles early in the first half, where he was able to pick up some critical third downs for us there and run one in for a touchdown. It was about just being decisive, knowing where all the bones are buried, you know, and his concepts and being able to get to the scramble when those windows opened up for him. And again, just making some really nice throws when we needed him to.”
Saints
Saints interim HC Darren Rizzi is considered a legitimate candidate for the team’s permanent head coaching position. He previously interviewed with the Dolphins back in 2019 before they opted to go with former HC Brian Flores. Rizzi was reportedly a finalist for the Miami job.
“I went into the interviews with the intention of, I’m going to get the job,” Rizzi said, via ESPN. “I didn’t think it was just a courtesy interview in either situation. I got great feedback from both.”
Rizzi said he’s been preparing for this job his entire life after taking over for former Saints HC Dennis Allen.
“It’s been something I’ve been working toward my whole coaching career now, 32 years,” Rizzi said. “I seem like the old guy now. But … it would mean the world to me.”
Rizzi has previous head coaching experience when he got the top job at New Haven.
“I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. It was baptism by fire,” Rizzi said. “But those three years as a head coach there are probably the three years where I learned the most because you had no choice. I learned a little bit about everything … offense, defense, special teams, and not just football. I learned about the training room and the equipment room and the travel and became appreciative for all those other jobs because we had like no staff. … And then I started having to learn about game management. I didn’t know anything about game management.”
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