Head Coach Raheem Morris, July 31st Training Camp Press Conference | Atlanta Falcons

Head Coach Raheem Morris, July 31st Training Camp Press Conference | Atlanta Falcons

Oh. Uh, second day of pads. I’m really fired about that. Um, first day got off to a nice day, good physicality. Um, got the guys out, got used to it. Um, you can see the guys like just trying to get better. You can see the competitive nature coming. Hey, Carl. You can see the competitive nature coming out of those guys. You can see everything that’s happening with the football team, which you like. Um, and you can see the competitive edge, right? You see the offense got, you know, the the the edge yesterday with the physicality with some of the ways they were able to run the football and some of the things we had to do up front. um with letting those guys and getting off the ball and starting fast and speed off the ball. And I love to see the response today from the defense. Um even though they were able to come back in team three, but you know, we kind of used the example the other day of, you know, you got to get going right from the beginning, can’t start in the third quarter, you know, and the guys the guys got going later and we got some things going on defense, but you want to get that thing going right away. And um it’ll be fun to watch the the response today from the guys and and how they go out and how they attack the day. With that, I open up questions. We actually um let go of Poke and signed Black at safety um this morning. Obviously, that’s something that you guys will see um just to get ahead of that, let you know what we did there. Um obviously the depth at safety was was a concern. We were heavy at receiver. Um you know, Poke did a really nice job and you know, we you never know how things happen in this league. Jaylen Walker out there today. Jaylen Walker will not be let’s let’s address this. So, he’s got like a small hamstring issue and it’s very minor and um really the kid is chomping at the bit to go out there and practice and I won’t let him. And uh you know, I don’t want think turn this thing into a long-term thing. Got a lot of faith in what our performance team does and how we go about our business and how we work those guys. So, he will go out and do full speed indie and then you’ll see him on the side training um and getting some running, some conditioning, things of that nature in and then he’ll come watch the rest of his teams and he won’t be happy about it. So, um I I you know, and that’s what I love about him. And he’s I’ve talked to him multiple times yesterday. I talked to him most times the day before that. And his plan is to go full speed injury today and hopefully we can ease him back into it. Very small minor um hamstring that we’re having some maintenance on. And just like we talked about with everybody, sometimes you got to protect them from themselves and and that’s what we’ll do. This kid is uh he’s wearing me out trying to get out there and practice. And uh I I I love that about him and I love that about our group and and our team. Wants to get left back out there like it’s not a case, you know, he just tries to intimidate. Look, he’s very intimidating guy. Um he’s bigger than me. Um I got a bigger stick and I get a chance to stand in front of him and uh hold him back. But um he’s he’s going to conform. He’s um he’s awesome. He’s a grown man. He’s uh very mature. Um, and you know, obviously when your team’s out there and you want to be out there, you want to have that influence, like it’s u it’s something that he wants to do and that’s something that fires me up to be able to coach him. A rookie in particular missing these snaps, how detrimental is that? You know, it’s easy to say it’s detrimental, but it’s definitely easy to say that I have so much confidence in my coaches off the field. I have so much confidence in my performance staff and how they’re going to get them ready from a performance standpoint. And it’s nothing longterm. So, for us, it’s like um of course you want to have guys out there. Of course, you want guys out there every single practice. It’s not the reality of our sport. And the reality of our sport is you got to find out how to manage guys. You got to find out how to how to how to prepare the right way to get those guys ready to go. So, I have so much confidence in what he’s done and who he is as a person and a character and bringing it to the game that I know uh that it won’t hurt him as much as most because of who this guy is. Zack Harrison’s a guy who he I remember a couple years ago, I think it was maybe before the draft, you were talking about liking those long armed interior linemen. He seems to kind of fit that mold of what you were talking about. What excites you about him and what he can potentially do this year? No, everything with Zack. You know, so positive about Zack and what he does for the team. You know, we watched him really flourish on special teams over the last couple of years, blocking punts, blocking kickoffs, getting away. Um, being a big body that can run, that just absolutely shocks you and blows you away. Having the ability to go out there and play a little bit of inside, now playing some outside, playing some inside, move around a little bit. The versatility of what he brings to the game, um, that’s something that really excites you. yesterday in practice, he was one of the phys more physical defensive players um that we had. And those are the things that I think he’s going to really flourish this year and jump off and have a big jump for us. And that’s what we want. You know, I think this system that we’re playing right now has a a unique fit for him. I think um the buyin from the coaches, the buyin from him, um the buy into all the things that he can do and what he’s willing to do is really what excites me. Do you consider him an edge at this point? Like like a big edge or is it is he going to be so versatile that it’s just not defined? I think it’s second. You know, I consider him a big edge and I consider him a versatile piece inside. Um I consider him uh I mean he’s really hard to define and and and I mean that in the most sincere way because he he definitely can play a four eye, he can play on the edge, he can play on a nine technique, he can play in a five technique, he can play in the three technique. Um he can even go in there and parttime in some nose tackle stuff like because he’s he’s so big, got is so linear. Um has unique athleticism that he shows on special teams and showed us. Um, I believe that was like probably the first thing I showed Jeff Opric when he got here was him getting off on punt punt team punt return team and watching him absolutely go out there and be a force um when it comes to rushing the punter and doing some of those things be to lift people. So, I think that was one of the first things I showed him about his get off and things of that nature. So, like I I’m extremely excited on where he can go and what he can do uh moving forward. Any update on Mooney? Mooney’s the same. you know, you know, I said a few weeks back then, so now we had a couple um and then hopefully we can get some more updates on how we go about that and and what we got going on with Mooney, but feel really confident in him and what he’s doing um and where he is and he’s a professional at at the highest very highest level. So, I feel really good about Mooney. What do you want to see out of the receiver core, you know, in his options as far as stepping up? That that’s the you hit it, you know, that you know, the stepping up, you know, stepping up a part from like a Casey Washington, you know, obviously we signed DJ Talk to go out there and give us some reps at that position. Um, obviously Ray Ray, like we talked about, has the ability to kick out and do some X work. Um, we got a bunch of guys that are that are getting some opportunities because of it. You know, the Nash being able to move inside and get a couple reps at the F position. Um, David Seals over at the Zum really being interchangeable. He’ll get a chance to get a little bit of X. You know, all of these guys have done some really nice things and you just want to see him move around. You know, when you’re a backup receiver in this league, you got to have versatile parts and have versatile moving parts to be able to play so you can play the next man up. And these guys have all shown um the ability to do that. you know, Drummond, Matthews, I can name a bunch of these different guys that are bouncing around playing a bunch of different receiving positions. Um, that really excite you. You know, obviously our our guys that go out there and play their spots, the Drakes, um, and really cow pits and really, you know, not even Ray Ray anymore because he moves around a little bit, but those guys go out there and play their standard positions, but the other guys got to have the versatility piece to move around. looked like uh Sils got some first team reps the other day and uh he’s seems to be Kirk’s favorite receiver with the second team at this point in camp. What do you guys like about about Sils? You know, I I don’t I I don’t know if it’s um I don’t know, first team, second team, you know, I think it’s just a collective group going out there and playing. You know, obviously when Mike’s out the quarterback, that’s our first unit out. And when you put him out there, it just shows the confidence in those guys being able to get out there and execute. Uh because that’s really important to when you’re playing with your young quarterback and he can go out there and execute. Um, he’s faster than you think. Um, he’s stronger than you think. He’s got great hands. Um, he’s a great guy. He’s a smack talker. You know, you like a lot about him. Um, and and and what I really love about him is the crossover talk that you get from the defensive backs. You know, when you talk to Alfred, you talk to all of those guys that play against him and they talk about how uniquely his skill set is and some of the things that he can do. Um, kind of fires you up. Not really a guy that was on the radar, you know, coming to campus. as far as we go, maybe, you know, you guys are different. Yeah. You know, you kind of get a look behind the scenes at some of the things from the offseason. It’s it’s it’s too hard. Looking at it for you guys at the time that you get to be around them, but for us, you get a little bit more. You get a little bit more of the personality, a little bit more of the meat room character, you get a little bit more of what it looks like when you talk about the details of the routes. And then obviously right now, you know, he’s put the work in when he’s when he’s gone away from camp and and been able to come back and be some really good things and really uh fires us all up. Raheem, I know you had uh Ray year of last year return kicks. David Williams goes free agent. You bring the ball out there. How deep is this return pool in terms of what you’re looking for as it contributes to that part of the game and I know you talked about the offseason you want to get more out of it. Well, we had we went out and got a node this offseason. uh we talk got a chance to talk to him. Maris does a great job of beating down my door and talking about the competition and revving it up um just across the board on special teams in general. But to get Agno in here and we know his history, what he’s been able to do and to watch him get back to where he’s going to be and to give him an opportunity to go do some of those things really excites me. But knowing you have a guy like Ray Ray, um knowing you have guys in here like Mike Hughes, knowing you have guys in here who have done some really good things for us, whether it be Natron Brooks and done some good things in the return game for us that can give us a little bit of juice. Um definitely gives you a nice sense of I can’t wait to see it. Um obviously, you know, let’s not kid ourselves. The kickoff return game is still very new, right, to everybody, right? Went through it a year last year. Still looks weird to most of us. Um and we’re working through that. So, we got a chance to see that and what Agnu thinks about it and what it looks like for him um and some of the other guys as well. And then obviously the punt return game just trying to get a first down. We got a bunch of guys I feel like are capable of doing that for us while possessing the football and maintain the possession for us to make sure we can ensure our offense gets a chance to go out there and be productive. Was were you and Maris involved in any of this league feedback and the changes of the dynamic? I know the rules have been adjusted a little bit. I am not going to tell you that it was me, but definitely Maris, you know, when it comes to special teams, I got a lot of faith in my experts and and Maris Williams is certainly one of the experts when it comes to teams and when you talk about the new dynamic kickoff as we call it, um along with him, the committee and all the guys that were involved with that with the special teams group, Rich McKay, all those guys, they did such a great job of bringing the play back. Um so, you’re really fired about that and that’s that was the main thing. And I think, you know, this year we we even have more of the play. And I think uh they get a chance to see it break out, you know, this year. And I think that’s what excites the fans. I think that’s what excites us, excites the coaching staff and like all the all the different aspects that go into that. Oh, wow. Look at this. A question from you. This is new. So much has been made about James and Jaylen, but talk about Xavier and how he’s progressed along and working with the safety group. I can talk about those other two rookies to to be honest. You know, u watch is an adult. It’s the the the the the easiest way for me to put it. Um he is uh serious. Um it’s not a lot funny to him. Um he’s very conscientious. Um he’s got pro-like skill sets. He also gets some first team reps. He’s able to mix it up with the second team. He’s able to be a leader that way. Um he comes from a great background there at Notre Dame and and what they were able to do and JD gave him a high came glowing recommendations from JD. You know, Coach Freeman does such a great job with all those guys out there. Um, yeah, I seen Ryan Clark out the other day and Ryan Clark’s son obviously played at Notre Dame. So, Ryan Clark just raves about him and then when you get a chance to be with him in person, it’s almost like I don’t even want to mess up his flow, you know? I just kind of go with him and hit him with a couple things and I almost treat him not on a Jesse Bates level, but very close, very similar. Probably what what a Jesse Bates probably was as a rookie when you talk about a serious demeanor guy that’s got the ability to be able to play early and and quite honestly, it’s very similar to what Jordan Fer was as a rookie when he played as a six- round draft pick coming into LA and starting, right? And he’s had those things. So like you got two real professionals that started a lot of football games in the National Football League at safety position with Watt coming in joining those guys bringing that serious demeanor along with Demarco Hams coming back bringing that serious competition and Thompson being back there and obviously we picked up one yesterday in black um is a really cerebral group smart guys um and and Rudy um is doing Mike Mike Rutenberg is doing such a great job with those guys and getting the details and everything that we want to get done so they want to give you a nickname so you don’t ask me who Rudy is later. How invaluable is it to have Jesse Bates working alongside someone like Xavier? Jesse is is valuable on so many different levels. Um I can’t even elaborate on that, but like to have him work directly with a guy um across from him, you know, uh both being very highly competitive, both being very cerebral like we talked about. Um both having a unique skill set of being a visual player on the quarterback and being able to pick up things very quickly. I noticed that from day one in rookie mini camp how quickly you can transition from the classroom to the field and um those are the things that really fire up. And Jesse just adds that to him, right? We were in there yesterday and you go in that room, it’s it’s funny. It’s like sitting in your your your your Ivy League, right, of your team and you’re looking at the notes and it’s just impressive, right? You look at Jordan Phillips notebook and it’s the color coded with the old school tabs, right? Then you got Jesse there, two iPad, man, right? Two iPad note one. Got his iPad here with the video. got all the stuff he’s going to steal from the Falcons, wherever he does in life when he becomes a coach. Then you look at the rookies and they’re just following suit and they’re all kind of got their own dynamic and they’re learning their different ways and those notes are just impeccable. Like I I I wish I was this good of a noteaker in school. I would have been a lot better person. Is that one of the most detail oriented note-taking groups you’ve seen in the 100%. Um there there’s no doubt about that. Just the note takingaking is the the conversations. It’s the the highlevel conversations that are able to go in there. There’s a lot of things I’ll say in that room. I won’t think about standing in the corner room. AJ cover. I’ll come in here and have a conversation with these guys. And like for those guys to get together, um, that’s awesome because now you know when you get out there, you maximize your communication across the board because the linebacker room is very similar. What’s encouraging about some of these battles that you’ve seen in the trenches so far early in camp? I think that that’s exactly what it is. There’s battle in the trenches and there’s battles in the trenches that we all like to see and I think it’s stuff that you guys all like to see. And I think that’s what you want. you know, like you’re talking about a young defense that’s going to be able to go out there and hunt and you’re talking about a young defense that’s going to be able to go out there and show um what they can do, not only talk about it, you know, like talk about it gets kind of old, you know, like that’s kind of where I’ve been this whole offseason, this whole everything. And it’s like I just can’t wait to get out there and let these guys go. When do you guys really start to separate themselves in the battles like that? Is it joint practices? Is it not to the preseason? I mean, how can you really For me, Allison, it happens in those joint practices when those highly competitive mo moments happen. when you’re talking about the situations that the coaches control and you know it’s going to happen and you get pinpoint eyes on them and things of that nature. Um I really love it in those moments for me. Those are the things that you can mitigate the most injury and things of that nature. You know obviously the preseason gives you a great walk of it as well. Um and you know that those moments are are really big time. You know you can simulate it like we did last year you know within our scrimmage and set settings and things of that nature but I thought it was really helpful for our team. Um, but I think all of those moments where it becomes coaches off the grass, we stimulate a little bit in period a day or maybe two periods a day when I kick lead off the field and things of that nature. But it’s um those are the best opportunities to see what your guys got and what they can take to the field. You mentioned you mentioned Agnu a second ago and Terry brought him up as an example of a player that you showed the team I guess when he was signed I believe but you put clips his highlights kind of in front of the team. Did you get that from a previous coach and why is that important for you to to do? Where did I get that from? Um, no. I just kind of had an idea uh one day just kind of throw up a highlight of the team, the the different teammates. Um, and I got probably the best video guy in National Football League. And anybody that that I work with as a video guy, I love you guys, too. But Jake Strute is absolutely outstanding. And uh, like Dan, the man right now is so mad at me in LA. But Jake Jake is is absolutely outstanding. I went with him, talked with him a little bit, and we talked about putting highlight up of the different people on our football team so we can throw him up. He was one of the guys that I’ve g up first obviously because the a um thag new we got a chance to see him a little bit we got a chance to see Dine um a couple other guys in there Felipe um a bunch of different guys and you know it’s an appreciation for the teammates for what the guys have done where they’ve come from um and the guys kind of like it. It’s a nice nice way to start the meetings. Thanks. I don’t know where I got it from though. I can’t remember. Hey, hey, hey.

Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris speaks with the media as the Falcons’ continue their preparations for the regular season at 2025 AT&T Training Camp in Flowery Branch, GA.

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