Here’s what Falcons coach Raheem Morris had to say after the 27-21 win over the Cowboys on Sunday:
On the efficiency on offense and the improvement in the pass rush: “Yeah, that was absolutely outstanding. We talked about going out and what it looks like to be the best version of ourselves on offense. We still hadn’t seen it. We had a couple of setbacks there, whether it’s been the holding – whether you agree or disagree really doesn’t matter – or whether it’s been penalties that’s kind of set us back to now allow us to be as good as we possibly can be, so we’re still searching for that greatness. The imperfect game where you’re constantly searching for perfection, as a good friend of mine would say. Then on the pass rush, man, that was absolutely outstanding to see come to life. To see your practice preparation and your practice performance become game reality like it did for the pass rush is something that you like to see. The ability to go out there and be able to use different guys, different players, to be able to keep those guys fresh. Got to give a lot of credit to our coaching staff. Got to give a lot of credit to Jimmy Lake and being able to be efficient to able to call those things and get those guys out there in the mandatory fashion. And special teams just keeps showing up every single week making plays.”
On whether he has an injury update on DL Grady Jarrett and WR Drake London: “I was kind of focused on the game, but obviously Drake was out, and then obviously at some point Grady got ruled out. Looking forward to getting those guys rested and recovered, getting those guys back as soon as possible, whatever that is. But I’m very proud of the guys that were able to step up and fill roles in those shoes, whether it was Kentavius Street, or we had the ability to get Red [KhaDarel Hodge] out there and be able to go out there for Drake. Whoever else has been asked to step up on this team has done an outstanding job.”
On ILB Kaden Elliss’ impact in the game: “Huge, man. Just gave him the game ball. Thirteen tackles, I believe, [and] a sack on the day. I think you mentioned the big fourth-down stop. All of those things, just team ball, be able to get the ball back there with the short field and go down and score. All of those guys playing together and playing for each other are really important in this game of football that we all love, and it’s always nice when you get a chance to go out there and get a win doing that.”
On whether QB Kirk Cousins is what he thought he was getting at this point in the season: “You know, Kirk Cousins is still doing exactly what I thought he was. He’s poised. He’s able to get the ball around and spread around. He can do all the things that we described when we first met going way back to the [NFL] Combine, talking about what we were looking for, what we had to go get. I wasn’t taking shots at anybody when we said it the first time, I know we took it that way, but realistically is having the ability to get a quarterback in here that’ll absolutely deal to all of the guys that we have, all the different talent that we have, whether it’s Drake [London], whether it’s Kyle Pitts, whether it’s [Darnell] Mooney, whether it’s Bijan [Robinson]. He’s just a play maker. Last week, he showed us he can run a little bit, better than we thought, particularly at the beginning of the season, and he’s been able to go out there each week and get better and better. I am so proud of him. More importantly, I’m more proud of his leadership that he’s been able to show throughout the whole process. Whether it’s been in his quarterback room or spread throughout the team, I think it’s just been awesome.”
On how much QB Kirk Cousins’ accuracy in the pass game changed the game plan today: “Realistically for us, it’s go out there and do what they’re giving us. They probably thought the same thing [that] they’ve got to go buckle down in the run. They had a couple big-time play side internals. [DeMarvion Overshown] made a bunch of big plays in the back field running through, but that opens up things for us on the back end. When you open up things for us on the back end, it can get ugly for you. I love the way Kirk is able to see the whole process, go through it and be able to get the ball where he needs to get it to. Some of those timely fourth downs, a lot of that aggressive play call mentality is because of the guy you have, the people that’s doing it, the execution that you know is going to get done. Zac Robinson, another great game for him and all those guys. His coach, T.J. [Yates] and D.J. [Williams] and what they’re able to do to keep me poised, keep us in the mindset of what we want to do and how aggressive we want to be.”
On the impact the defense had today: “Yeah, the defensive life is just you’re going to be angry regardless, right? So I’m going to go in there and talk to Jimmy Lake [and] he’s going to be made about the last touchdown that we gave up. But when you go out there and you’re able to get stops and you hold guys, particularly when it’s coming out of halftime, or you’re talking about when the ball gets flipped to those guys and you’re able to stop the guys hold them to three. They kicked the long field goal, I believe. That was always awesome. I am so proud with the grope mindset of our whole team. We watched that happen to our offense and then we became this hot offense that everybody wanted to talk about. Now, we’re going to watch it happen with our defense because of the trust and the belief that I have in the guys doing it and the guys coaching it and the guys leading it. I just think that the sky is the limit, and we’ve got to go out there and keep getting better and better every single week.”
On getting his first win over Dallas since 2019: “It’s always big every time you go out and get a win, and I don’t hold grudges or hold anything personal against anyone. I really just like going out and having the team have success and be able to spread the wealth and spread the love amongst our franchise, our organization, our people, our players, our coaches alike and everybody that helps in everything that we do. So, I really don’t look at it that way, but if that’s the case, that’s awesome.”
On how the offensive line played today: “It’s been kind of going down that way, man, giving Kirk the ability to go through his progressions. When you have a quarterback that has the ability to be able to do that, you’ve got to hold up the extra tick and be able to string a little bit longer. To watch those guys go out and string every single week, the last couple of weeks or whatever it’s been, has been amazing. It’s been outstanding. The known passing situations, whether it be fourth down, third down, second-and-long, some of those things, these guys have gone out there and done. It’s just a marvelous job all around.”
On whether there is anything specific the team is doing to stay more focused in the game: “I think the mindset, when you’re talking about focus, is just to be absolutely clear and obsessed with your process. I think the guys, when you’re able to point the things that you do wrong out to the guys and be able to be really clear and transparent in your messaging when we’re talking about everything that we do and what it takes, those are the things that the guys give them something to focus on to be able to go out and make sure we have the right mindset. Then it’s also nice to throw some subtle reminders up there what it looks like when you don’t have that focus and that mindset that you need in order to go out there and win these home games that you want to go out there and win, particularly when people are coming in, whether they had a loss or they’re coming off a losing streak. I was able to use that example this week to the utmost and the highest level with those guys, giving them a nice, friendly reminder on what it looked like when we approach the game the right way.”
On what was different about the pass rush this week: “More people, different people. Kentavius Street got back up on the board. We were able to get DeAngelo [Malone] back out there. We were able to get A.K. [Ebiketie] some more reps. We were able to get people out there in more significant roles in the times that we wanted to get them out there. We also played a team that was doing some hurry-up offense and needed to pass the ball a little bit more than you normally would. With us having the ability to go out there and get a lead from the offensive standpoint, with us being able to run the football, that shortened the game [and] that gave us a little time to possess in edge until it wasn’t. But that made us get more opportunities to rush the passer and we were able to see the fruits of that today.”
On how it feels to be 6-3: “I know he wants more than six wins, and I know it’s my job to go out there and get it. This organization deserves more, and this team deserves more. These coaches deserve more. And we are hungry, man. We just want to go out there and keep getting them.”
On the dynamic play of RB Bijan Robinson: “He does everything. I can’t say enough positive things about Bijan. Running the football, blocking on protection, catching the ball out the backfield, scoring touchdowns, cheering for his guys, being locked and loaded, being a positive leader, our inspiration behind everything we do, what he does in our community. I mean, he is the definition of, ‘What is a Falcon?’ And when we put that slide up, Terry [Fontenot] and I, we talk about going and looking for these people and our process of bringing them in here, you can just put a picture up of Bijan and say, ‘That is it at the highest level. Now where do we work from there?’”
On whether he would say this is the most complete game the team has played this season: “Hard to say right now before I watch the tape, but when you talk about some of the complementary things that happened, I was pretty positive. I can say that was a really good feeling and a good look. There’s been some really well-done, complete games orchestrated by these guys on the comeback and the execution of a slider with a timeout, kicking a long field goal to put you in overtime, going out there on offense and executing, being able to run right down the field and score, not let them go back out there, while at the same time causing some big-time turnovers in that Tampa game. It’s hard to put this game over that until I can go back and watch it and get a chance.”
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