Raheem Morris coached the Atlanta Falcons for two seasons. On Thursday, three days before he returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium as defensive coordinator of the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers, he was asked about the player he will spend the week trying to stop. “I talked about Bijan last year, I talked about him being the best player in the NFL,” Morris said. “He certainly is arguably the best player in the National Football League. He’s special.”
Asked what he tells his defense about Bijan Robinson, Morris joked first. “How do we say this without helping them?” he said. “You gotta keep him behind the line of scrimmage. You gotta swarm tackle this guy. You gotta get him on the ground. He’s as tough as it gets. He’s gonna be patient and find his spots.” He added: “He’s gonna present a big-time challenge for us this week, and we gotta go out there and accept it.”
The 6-0 49ers play the 2-4 Falcons on Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. ET (20:00 Cairo).
“Michael’s right at that point”
Morris was in charge in Atlanta when the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins and then drafted Michael Penix Jr. “Love the kid, love everything about him. The personality, who he was, the thrower,” he said. He said the Falcons had “been through some quarterback purgatory” and hoped Cousins could carry them “for a couple years while Michael sat behind him and learned and developed and grew.”
“Michael’s right at that point where he’s ready to go,” Morris said. “Unfortunately, he has some injury history. He’s back healthy, and he’s probably everything that you thought and hoped for as far as being a play-action passer. Can make all the throws, go through the whole process. Just one of those guys that I have a lot of appreciation for and love for.”
On whether his inside knowledge of the Falcons helps, Morris kept it short: “It’s always helpful to know who people are.” Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday that the idea is “overblown.”
Romello Height’s cast and Nick Bosa
Morris praised edge rusher Romello Height. “To see Romello come in and be what we kind of thought, that pass rusher, that edge rusher, that guy that can do some different things for us,” he said. “His ability to get to the quarterback is special.” Asked about the cast on Height’s hand, he said: “You definitely could tell the cast hurts him when he gets a chance to try to get locked up with people.” He said Height has used it “as a chopping mechanism, the up and under, because he can’t grab and use his hands to be as violent as he wants to be,” and added: “I know he can’t wait to get it off.”
Nick Bosa was not seen during the open part of practice. “I only got a little bit of Nick Bosa, and the little bit I got was very exciting. So I can’t wait to get all of it,” Morris said. “But you never want to rush the process.”
The trade deadline and the big hits
Asked how involved he wants to be with general manager John Lynch before the trade deadline, Morris compared it to the draft. “It was a collective group together trying to figure out what we wanted for the draft, what we wanted for free agency,” he said. “If there’s something real that’s in the works and people are talking about, I’m sure he’ll come talk to all of us. It won’t be something that we find out from you guys.”
On the fines and penalties that come with a hard-hitting defense, he said player safety comes first, but “there is this part of the game where you want to be able to play fast and physical and also have an intimidation factor.” He said: “There are times that that gets crossed, and there are times that that happens. But it’s definitely not any intentful harm.”
Klay Kubiak: “They’re vets”
Offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak said receivers Christian Kirk and Brandin Cooks could be two of the top targets in Atlanta despite missed practice time. “That’s the NFL. You’re going to lose guys, guys are going to step into your building and be expected to step up and play,” he said. “The thing about those two guys is they’re vets. They know what’s expected of them. They know the challenge of, hey, I haven’t had a lot of practice here, but they need me and I’m going to be ready.”
Asked what Jordan Watkins needs to do to earn more targets, Kubiak said: “It’s nothing to do with him. He’s doing a heck of a job, and Jordan’s playing the right way down in and down out. We’ve been really happy with him. It’s just circumstances and where the ball goes.”
Purdy: “It starts with your feet”
Brock Purdy, who shares the NFL lead with 14 touchdown passes, said his offseason work on footwork has carried into the 6-0 start. “Honestly, just going back to fundamentals and playing fast and with a sense of urgency, and I think it starts with your feet,” he said. “If your feet aren’t the ones that help you go through progressions and get through your reads, then I feel like you can just be behind, you can second-guess. So, sort of just went back to square one with playing with a sense of urgency starting with my feet, for sure.”
Purdy was also asked about Watkins, who a reporter noted had played 49 snaps and been targeted once. “It has nothing to do with not trying to give him the ball or anything like that,” he said. “He’s definitely a playmaker. He’s been a guy that has stayed faithful to this whole process, and now he’s getting a shot and opportunity.”
On Kirk, he said: “I think he’s ready to go. Smart guy, vet guy. He’s good to go now, man, in my eyes, and I think he’s going to come in and do his job well.” Of Kirk and Cooks together, he said: “The cool thing is they’re both vet guys. There’s no, like, I have to teach them and bring them along like sort of like a young guy. It’s almost like they know what to expect and how to do it.”
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