Zac Robinson, Jimmy Lake and the notion of freedom that transcended their first days on the job as Falcons coordinators

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons newest offensive coordinator, Zac Robinson, was on his second full day on the job when he held his introductory press conference at the Falcons facility on Wednesday afternoon. Because of that, there were questions he just couldn’t answer yet.

“I’m just hoping I can remember my login for my computer,” Robinson quipped.

The joke was met with laughter from the media corps in attendance. The thing is, though, there was real truth in the joke.

Robinson was asked questions about his scheme. Questions that he just didn’t have the answers for yet.

“(The scheme) is going to be something that we’re going to be working on for the next couple of months,” the first-time offensive coordinator said. “So, to say that we have an exact idea of exactly what that’s going to look like right now wouldn’t be fair.”

He was asked questions about the quarterback, too. Obviously, he can’t divulge the name of a target (or targets), so the answers he gave about the position and its future in Atlanta were more abstract than concrete.

“When you look at that position, that guy has to be the most competitive guy in the room,” Robinson said. “… These games are so close in the NFL, and you gotta have a guy who wants the ball in his hands in those crunch-time moments.”

Before Robinson hit the podium for his press conference, new Falcons defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake did the same. Because of the nature of the defense and the pieces in place, he felt he could share a bit more information, namely that the Falcons would run the defensive unit out of a base 3-4 look. Other than that, though? That was kind of it for the defensive coordinator, too.

But when asked about what his defensive philosophy is, Lake had this to say.

“This is what I am hoping,” Lake said, “on opening day in September — hopefully we’re playing at home here — that you would see our defense play fast, play free and play physical.”

Not 15 minutes later, Robinson said something similar about his offensive philosophy.

“We want to be fast. We want to be physical and we want to be aggressive at all times,” Robinson said about the offense. “… At the forefront of this thing, we just want these guys to just go play.”