Falcons

Falcons owner Arthur Blank reiterated that he believes that QB Michael Penix, Jr. is the team’s quarterback of the present and the future.

“I do think Michael is our franchise quarterback,” Blank said when asked about Penix’s role, via Falcons Wire. “The injury he sustained was on his other knee. The surgeon felt 1000 percent secure in the medial procedure they went through, and they really felt his knee was going to be better than it was before. He’s on a successful rehab program.”

Blank said he’s looking forward to getting Penix back, but didn’t give a solid answer on QB Kirk Cousins‘ future with the team.

“We look forward to having Michael back,” Blank said. “He’s had good surgery. We’ve spoken with the medical staff. It seems to have gone well. Kirk, we’ll see what’ll happen going forward. But there were decisions about winning now over the next two-to-three years, and then bringing in a young quarterback and then not putting the pressure on a rookie quarterback to not have to perform at that level. But giving him an opportunity to learn under an experienced, seasoned veteran guy.”

• New Falcons President of Football Matt Ryan: “Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost twenty years ago, and he’s done it again today. While I appreciate the time I had with the Colts and with CBS, I’ve always been a Falcon. It feels great to be home. I could not be more excited, grateful, or humbled by this new opportunity. I began my career with a singular goal: to do right by the Blank family, the Falcons organization, the City of Atlanta, and especially our fans. My commitment to the success of this franchise has not changed. I’m beyond ready to help write a new chapter of excellence.” (Rapoport)
• Blank on the hiring of Ryan: “Throughout his remarkable 14-year career in Atlanta, Matt’s leadership, attention to detail, knowledge of the game and unrelenting drive to win made him the most successful player in our franchise’s history. I am confident those same qualities will be a tremendous benefit to our organization as he steps into this new role. From his playing days to his time as an analyst at CBS, Matt has always been a student of the game, and he brings an astute understanding of today’s NFL, as well as unique knowledge of our organization and this market. I have full confidence and trust in Matt as we strive to deliver a championship caliber team for Atlanta and Falcons fans everywhere.” (Rapoport)
• Per Dianna Russini, the Falcons interviewed Lions’ Mike Disner, Bears’ Ian Cunningham, Panthers’ Brandt Tilis, and 49ers’ Josh Williams for their GM role, with both Disner and Williams earning praise.

Panthers

Panthers DB Nick Scott went from being a player on the bubble to make the roster when he re-signed to Carolina, to becoming one of the team’s leaders on defense and starting all 17 games.

“I did not know that,” Scott said with a laugh, via the team’s website. “They told me I was coming back to try to make the roster. And I just had to kind of swallow my pride and trust God, and I felt like this is a place where God was telling me that I was supposed to be. So I put my pride aside, came back, just tried to have fun, work hard, lead, and you know, it played out the way it played out.”

Carolina drafted rookie DB Lathan Ransom in the fourth round this year, and many assumed that Scott would return to being a primary special teams player.

“He goes out there and makes a bunch of plays every Saturday,” Ransom said. “He’s also been a mentor, a guy who, when I have questions about the defense or how to go about the league, he answers all of them. Yeah, he’s been great for me. If I need help with something, he’s going to go out of his way to make sure I understand it.”

Panthers DB Chau Smith-Wade called Scott a “glue guy” and someone that is well-respected within the locker room.

“Nick is one of those glue guys,” Smith-Wade said. “He’s well known in the system. He brings comfort to the room; he’s an old head. He’s very good with the young players that come in, a very smart guy when it comes to scheme. He brings it all together.”

Panthers DC Ejiro Evero, who coached Scott when the two were with the Rams, admitted that even he was surprised to see the player he’s developed into.

“I have a lot of affection for Nick,” Evero said. “I was his position coach when we drafted him, and we’re going from a guy that played just special teams, and no one really thought it would amount to being an NFL-caliber starter, and he was able to start for us in the Super Bowl and was instrumental in that entire playoff run. I have a lot of respect for what he’s done just because it started off difficult, being a bottom of the roster guy who’s able to achieve success, he got a good contract, and then all of a sudden, facing adversity. And it just every time he faces adversity and faces a difficult situation, he responds, and so that’s what I’m most happy about for him and what I respect the most about him.”

Scott’s communication and his knowledge of the scheme is a key reason why Evero trusts him in a leadership role.

“He’s easy to talk to, he’s kind of like a Swiss Army knife in terms of being social with different people,” Smith-Wade said. “Like, he can be social with a guy that you can’t get a word out of; he kind of just brings it out of you. That’s from a social aspect, but also from a football aspect. He makes you comfortable to be able to talk to him about the scheme. Like a lot of young guys coming in, they don’t want to ask a coach a question about something. You can go to Nick and ask him about anything; he’ll know the whole scheme.”

Panthers

Panthers WR David Moore said he has the utmost confidence in QB Bryce Young in a playoff game and said that his experience dating back to his college days at Alabama helped set him up for the big stage.

“He’s grown every game this year, especially in these tight games that we’ve had. Watching him come down and break records and have a great season, the season he’s having. To see him in the playoffs, he’s been there,” Moore said, via The Athletic. “He’s been in ‘Bama, so the pressure won’t hurt him. I’m excited to watch him play, watch him keep doing great things and lead us all the way.”

Panthers HC Dave Canales said he’s “fired up” to see how Young performs in the playoffs.

“These are the moments when we’ve put Bryce into these high-stakes situations he’s performed well, whether it’s going for it on fourth down, end-of-game type of stuff,” Canales said. “It’s an area where he just continues to execute and do the basics and fundamentals that we ask him to. These games are like that.”