FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons coach Raheem Morris can be effusive with his praise from time to time.
But he was very clear when discussing running back Bijan Robinson and whether the team had to lean on the defense to beat the Vikings on Sunday night.
“That was a part of watching Bijan (Robinson) be the best player in football,” Morris said of his 168 yards from scrimmage. The Falcons (1-1) will try to lean on Robinson again when they play the Panthers (0-2) in an NFC South matchup at 1 p.m. Sunday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Pressed later, Morris doubled down on his assessment to the third-year running back.
“There’s no doubt about it,” Morris said. “He’s definitely the best player in football in my head. I don’t care. He’s unbelievable. I love the kid. I love everything about him.”
Morris couldn’t stop himself.
“I love watching him with the ball,” Morris said. “I love his confidence. I love his demeanor. I love his mindset. I love the leadership. I love everything about him. And it is what it is. I love the kid.”
Robinson, who was taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, was named to the Pro Bowl last season to replace Saquon Barkley, who was busy getting ready for the Super Bowl. Robinson’s career is off to a nice start.
“I have a lot of work to do, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “I appreciate (Morris). I love him, but I’m nowhere close to where I want to be. I do this for God. But, yeah, I’m not there yet. I’ve got a lot of work to (do) before I get to that point.”
Robinson is looking forward to facing the Panthers.
“We have Carolina this week, and we have to impose our will on them,” Robinson said. “This is a big (NFC South) division game.”
Back to this best player-in-the-league assessment.
“If anything, they are the best players in the National Football League, our offensive line is because they do some special stuff,” Robinson said. “Even with (tight ends) Charlie (Woerner) and Teagan Quitoriano, all of those guys, I appreciate them.”
Robinson gets ready for games by watching videos of Barry Sanders and LaDainian Tomlinson.
“I actually, like, pull up the YouTube clips,” Robinson said. “It’s a different highlight. Barry Sanders or, like, L.T. or one of my favorite running backs. I’m just sitting in there while I’m getting an IV (intravenous fluids), and I’m just watching the highlights. They just what I do.”
Robinson has been doing this ritual since high school.
“I guess it’s just like a reminder,” Robinson said. “I get to take pieces of their game, and I just try to put it in my mind. Then when I go out there for warm-ups, I’m trying to mimic what I see. It just gets me going. That’s something that I’ve always done.”
Robinson believes that there are some takeaways from years of studying Sanders and Tomlinson, both Pro Football Hall of Famers.
“Patience and breaking tackles in small spaces,” Robinson said. “Making people miss in a phone booth. I feel like if you’re a guy who can do that as a running back, you’re already kind of ahead of the curve because a lot of people just can’t make people miss in tight spaces.”
Of course, Sanders was the master of forcing missed tackles.
“I think that, and me watching a guy like Barry Sanders do that throughout his whole career and me trying to do that as well,” Robinson said. “I think it’s something in my game that I don’t take lightly. I try to do it to the best of my ability.”
Robinson had a couple of those runs against the Vikings.
“I saw another guy try to run in front of me,” Robinson said. “So, I know how to make him miss, but it all just happened so quick. I can’t even explain to you … how it happened. Just trying to make people miss so I can get vertical, but it all just happens super quick.”
While Morris showered Robinson with praise, he also is blunt with the team.
“It’s not a lack of belief in the guys,” Morris said. “It’s more belief when you do tell them the absolute truth and when I can tell you that we didn’t play as well in whatever phase it was. I just felt like we’ll respond better going out knowing that that’s not the way.”
After the season-opening loss against the Buccaneers, Morris let the team know that its performance was unacceptable.
“Just hitting the elephant in the room right away I think is something that we were able to address,” Morris said. “I think I got it from Joe Gardi, my college football coach. When we were in college, he hit us with brutal honesty. He used it with a method of a smile on his face. It was never something that was demeaning or degrading, but it was always going to be honest.”
With the truthful assessment, the players could move forward with a clear mind.
“It was always going to be his version of the truth, and it was up to us to go out there and prove him wrong,” Morris said. “I think that’s what the (offensive) line did (against the Vikings). They went out and they showed me that they can be better and they showed us that we can be better. They showed the city of Atlanta that they can be better. They showed us what they’re about.”
If the Falcons can’t run the ball, it is going to be a long season.
“That was a pretty impressive performance by that up-front group, those running backs, our tight end corps,” Morris said. “I mean, I think all those guys had a lot to do with it. Even our receivers in the back end blocking, I think that was just a big part of it. This group has a bunch of pride, and I’m proud of those guys for how they responded.”
The Falcons plan to continue to provide a platform for who they think is the best player in the league.
“The execution, the communication, the things that we kind of emphasized last week showed up in a big way and obviously, the runners ran really well,” offensive coordinator Zac Robinson said. “‘B’ (Bijan Robinson) was unbelievable in that game, running the football, finding those creases, breaking tackles. It was just an unbelievable performance by him and ‘Ty’ (Tyler Allgeier) and the offensive line.”
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
