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Speaker 1: What's up, everybody, and welcome to the latest edition of

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Speaker 1: The Falcon's Final Whistle podcast. I'm Scott Baar alongside Tarren

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Speaker 1: Walk and Tory mclaney, coming to you shortly after the

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Speaker 1: conclusion of a losing streak, snapping twenty four to fifteen

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Speaker 1: victory over the rival New Orleans Saints in front of

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Speaker 1: a packed house, a spirited house as well. This was okay,

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Speaker 1: must win is overused, but absolutely one hundred and ten

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Speaker 1: thousand percent have to have it game and the Falcons

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Speaker 1: went out and got it by virtue of tiebreakers that

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Speaker 1: don't really count till the end of the season. We

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Speaker 1: will say that the Falcons are in first place in

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Speaker 1: the NFC South. They have an unblemish three tozero record

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Speaker 1: in the division, and what Arthur Smith said during the

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Speaker 1: bye and coming out of it was everything is there

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Speaker 1: in front of them, and it sure is. They are

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Speaker 1: heading towards the month of December with a prime position

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Speaker 1: to win their first NFC South crown since twenty sixteen

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Speaker 1: and their first playoff appearance since twenty seventeen. All those

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Speaker 1: things are positive. We are going to break down everything

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Speaker 1: that happened went well, did not go so well, over

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Speaker 1: the course of this game and try to figure out

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Speaker 1: how the Falcons can somehow, in my opinion, at least

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Speaker 1: get to nine and eight, which might win this division.

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Speaker 2: Overall.

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Speaker 1: General thoughts comments on this game that Falcons just had

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Speaker 1: have it feels.

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Speaker 3: Like the last time they won was very long ago. Yeah,

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Speaker 3: but that doesn't help with the bye, like it's been

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Speaker 3: a month. Yeah, we put that in perspective that. I mean,

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Speaker 3: Arthur just said himself like they needed this, and I

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Speaker 3: think they did, especially after the bye and going back

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Speaker 3: to Desmond Ritter as their starting quarterback. That there are

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Speaker 3: multiple reasons that this was so important, probably both for

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Speaker 3: confidence but also their standing because yeah, there are the

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Speaker 3: logistics that now they are atop this conference, but for

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Speaker 3: themselves more than anything, and that's what The word cathartic

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Speaker 3: was used multiple times by Arthur Smith about this win,

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Speaker 3: and I thought that was just such a well used

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Speaker 3: word and I just hadn't heard it in this kind

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Speaker 3: of context before. But yeah, it was probably cathartic, like

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Speaker 3: instead of a sigh of relief, it was like we

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Speaker 3: deserved it, we earned it, and we needed it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: I was talking to Cayden Ellis in the locker room

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Speaker 4: after the game. And obviously this game meant a lot

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Speaker 4: to him and David an Yamata and Ryan Nielsen because

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Speaker 4: the Saints are their former team, but and Terrence thanks

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Speaker 4: former Terence right, yes, I covered them. So I was

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Speaker 4: having this conversation with him in something that Arthur Smith

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Speaker 4: had said in the in his postgame interview was that

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Speaker 4: the Falcons came and had some really good practices coming

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Speaker 4: out of the bye week and going into Week twelve's prep,

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Speaker 4: And so I asked Hayden about it. I was like,

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Speaker 4: why was this week? Why did this week feel different?

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Speaker 4: And he said he was like, you know, everybody coming

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Speaker 4: off of the by has a little bit more juice.

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Speaker 2: You're a little bit healthier.

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Speaker 4: But really we were hungry when we beat Tampa at Tampa,

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Speaker 4: we expected to go on a run and then we

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Speaker 4: lose three straight and we don't feel like we should

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Speaker 4: have lost any of them. Losing those games and to

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Speaker 4: fall the way that we did that bites. That stings.

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Speaker 4: There was some tough self reflection, some tough coaching, but

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Speaker 4: it was what we needed and we came out Wednesday

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Speaker 4: fired up and ready to go. And Jesse Bates kind

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Speaker 4: of expounded upon this in the locker room too, where

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Speaker 4: he said, I think if you go back and you

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Speaker 4: watch the film of this game, you see how much

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Speaker 4: we wanted it.

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Speaker 3: I agree there. I mean, it just looked like they

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Speaker 3: were enjoying it too. You had a smile on Desmond

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Speaker 3: Ridder's face, you had a smile on Jesse Bates's face,

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Speaker 3: like they were enjoying their success. Like.

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Speaker 2: Yes, there were errors.

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Speaker 3: I mean there were two interceptions from Ritter in his return,

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Speaker 3: but at the end of the day, it didn't ruin anything.

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Speaker 4: This was the first time I think this season that

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Speaker 4: I felt that the Falcons had momentum and they kept

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Speaker 4: it for a significant period of time. I don't think

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Speaker 4: I have felt that in I'll say, almost any game

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Speaker 4: to this point.

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Speaker 2: The way that I felt it on Sunday.

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Speaker 3: I felt like we were watching in a mirrored world

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Speaker 3: because the Saints just kept kicking field goals, and for

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Speaker 3: the longest time we were talking about how the Falcons

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Speaker 3: only kicked field goals.

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Speaker 2: I was like, whoa Richie ja vu.

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Speaker 4: But on the other side, right, which we will get

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Speaker 4: into later, it was dead.

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Speaker 1: I want to go back to the LS quote there

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Speaker 1: that and now I'm paraphrasing, but that they expected to

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Speaker 1: go on a run and they felt like they should

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Speaker 1: have won. He said, all three games. So we're talking Titans, Vikings,

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Speaker 1: and Cardinals. Yeah.

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Speaker 4: I agree.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's probably a fair assessment. And when

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Speaker 1: you come out of that, the state of mind when

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Speaker 1: you expect to go on a run and instead you

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Speaker 1: go on a losing skid the opposite. I think some

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Speaker 1: of the words that are being used after this game

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Speaker 1: cathartic great one in the words that we heard in

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Speaker 1: Arizona were frustration, And I think that the reason why

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Speaker 1: frustration is used a lot, right, But I think that

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Speaker 1: that is also accurate because if they expected to go

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Speaker 1: on a run and they feel like they are way

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Speaker 1: better than four and six and are still four and

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Speaker 1: six and have the defense has lost them some games

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Speaker 1: late that I think that those two words kind of

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Speaker 1: go hand in hand.

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Speaker 4: And I think it was nice too that Cayden Ellis

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Speaker 4: said this that it wasn't just us on the outside

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Speaker 4: looking in saying Okay, they should have won these games.

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Speaker 4: On paper, these teams are better. They in the locker

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Speaker 4: room felt like these are games we should have won

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Speaker 4: and didn't, and that's why we're mad.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and it's kind of a WTF bro sort of

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Speaker 1: a situation that I think, ultimately.

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Speaker 2: Yes, Scott brob yeh Bro.

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Speaker 1: Ultimately, I think that that the motivation to come out

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Speaker 1: of it with such passion. You could see stay on

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Speaker 1: the Kate Nillis thing. I know he's playing his former team,

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Speaker 1: but he showed as much emotion out of that linebacker

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Speaker 1: spot with every play that he made. He was physical,

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Speaker 1: they were hitting. I often say that the rivalry games

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Speaker 1: play out for the NFL, not college, but in the

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Speaker 1: NFL they play out and the stands more than they

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Speaker 1: do on the field. And whether the Falcons players hate

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Speaker 1: the Saints or not, it was a level of physicality,

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Speaker 1: a level of passion and emotion. You go back to

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Speaker 1: Cordero Patterson gets a first down and he is like,

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Speaker 1: so he's just raw emotion. At that point, there's like

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Speaker 1: there's a scuffle with with John new Smith and Chris

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Speaker 1: Linstrom literally laid somebody out. That was another one of

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Speaker 1: the the go back and watch that team Chris Lindstrom

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Speaker 1: and I don't think he needs to do it. He

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Speaker 1: absolutely pulverized somebody. Another interesting point, and then we'll get

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Speaker 1: back on script here something that Desmon Ruders said a

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Speaker 1: couple of different times. He said that the offensive line

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Speaker 1: is their foundation, and the offensive line was challenged to

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Speaker 1: be the offensive line. We know they can be challenged

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Speaker 1: to a bunch of highly paid dudes and prideful dudes

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Speaker 1: to say, hey, go out there and assert yourself. And

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Speaker 1: when it now. They didn't end with the ball in

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Speaker 1: their hands on that long drive, but they were in

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Speaker 1: the ball nine straight times. The offensive line asserted itself.

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Speaker 1: I think that we saw that time and time again.

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Speaker 1: Somebody who definitely made his presence felt, both in subtle

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Speaker 1: and very overt dramatic fashion, is Jesse Bates. The dude

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Speaker 1: came through huge the pick six what ninety two yards

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Speaker 1: and a very smart play where he punched the ball

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Speaker 1: out and I think that one turned into points too.

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Speaker 4: It did yeap to start the fourth quarter they scored,

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Speaker 4: which that was something that I talked to Jesse about

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Speaker 4: in the locker room too, where I kind of said,

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Speaker 4: you know, this has been a you know, you're your

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Speaker 4: turnovers aside. Let's just look at the fact that fourteen

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Speaker 4: points were scored.

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Speaker 2: Off of those turnovers.

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Speaker 4: Obviously pick six for Jesse, but then the Falcons get

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Speaker 4: the ball back on their own five yard line after

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Speaker 4: he punches the ball out inside Atlanta territory, and for me,

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Speaker 4: that was something that we've been missing. A series of

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Speaker 4: events where the Falcons defense gets a turnover and the

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Speaker 4: offense goes and scores. That's not something that we've seen

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Speaker 4: a lot of throughout this year, and it's actually been

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Speaker 4: a problem for this offense. A lot of guys have

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Speaker 4: talked about this, and I asked Jesse about it and

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Speaker 4: he was like, Yeah, that's something that we've.

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Speaker 2: Struggled to do.

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Speaker 4: We've struggled to piece drives and peace momentum together as

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Speaker 4: a team.

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Speaker 2: For us to do that, to get a.

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Speaker 4: Turnover and then go down and score and make it

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Speaker 4: a two possession game, that's what we're talking about that

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Speaker 4: we got to do. We have to separate from people

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Speaker 4: when we get the opportunity, and we did that today

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Speaker 4: and that's so right just in the fact that Jesse

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Speaker 4: Bates was the one to do it. I mean, talking

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Speaker 4: to guys like Kalais Campbell, Ellis aj Tarell, all these

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Speaker 4: guys had such praise for Jesse Bates, who now that

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Speaker 4: Grady Jarrett is no longer available, to the Falcons with

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Speaker 4: the season ending knee injury. You need someone to continue

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Speaker 4: to step up to that like absolute leadership role. He

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Speaker 4: is the leader of this defense, and I think Jesse

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Speaker 4: Bates has been that, and honestly, it just kind of

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Speaker 4: continues now that Grady's not on the field and everybody

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Speaker 4: was talking about, you know, when we need someone to

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Speaker 4: make a play, Jesse goes and makes a play. We're saying,

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Speaker 4: let's get a let's get a fumble, let's get a turnover.

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Speaker 4: Jesse Bates goes out and does it. Kalaya said, this

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Speaker 4: is a guy I wanted to play with because I

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Speaker 4: had seen him and faced him in my in the

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Speaker 4: last few years and been really thrilled with what I've

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Speaker 4: been able to see from him, and to be able

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Speaker 4: to be on the same team as him is something

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Speaker 4: that I wanted for myself. Aj Trell's like, this is

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Speaker 4: the reason we went out and got him to be

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Speaker 4: a difference maker. He's being a difference maker day in

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Speaker 4: and day out, and I think that all can't be

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Speaker 4: over looked in the scope of what this one player

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Speaker 4: has meant to this organization, even halfway through or I

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Speaker 4: guess like now over halfway through the season.

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Speaker 3: Well, that alone speaks volumes because he's in his first

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Speaker 3: year here, right, he's already being considered such a leader

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Speaker 3: of this team. And when you think about it, in

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Speaker 3: the grand scheme of things, he's still relatively new here.

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Speaker 3: He's a veteran in the league, but still new to

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Speaker 3: the Falcons organization as a whole.

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Speaker 2: But yet we're what week is it? Week twelve twelve, and.

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Speaker 3: He's already matched his single season career high in interceptions

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Speaker 3: And it's not.

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Speaker 2: Like he's new to the league whatsoever.

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Speaker 3: Like there are years and years and years of experience

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Speaker 3: that to match it, match match it already with a

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Speaker 3: new team just says enough about him and why he's

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Speaker 3: paid how much he's paid.

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Speaker 2: Right, And that's a good point too.

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Speaker 4: And and to your first point about like, okay, he's

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Speaker 4: new here, I think that was a major question that.

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Speaker 2: I had coming into this season. It's like the.

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Speaker 4: Falcons had almost overhaul of their defense. There are a

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Speaker 4: lot of guys on this defense who this is their

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Speaker 4: first year here, who was gonna step up? Obviously, it's

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Speaker 4: still Grady's group, And that was something that everybody talked

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Speaker 4: about up until the point that Grady Jared gets hurt,

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Speaker 4: and I guarantee you when Grady Jared comes back, it's

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Speaker 4: just like, Okay, here you go.

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Speaker 2: You're still the top dog for us. But Jesse Bates.

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Speaker 4: Has done something I think really special in how much

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Speaker 4: too I love watching This is a random aside, but

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Speaker 4: I love watching the micd ups of the guys in

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Speaker 4: the secondary and how much they're talking to Jesse Bates.

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Speaker 4: My favorite one was de offered in Tampa Bay where

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Speaker 4: there's a clip and it's like thirty seconds like hey Jesse, Hey, Jesse, Hey, Jesse,

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Speaker 4: Hey Jesse.

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Speaker 2: Like that stuff matters.

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Speaker 4: When you have someone who the entire secondary, the entire

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Speaker 4: defensive unit, perhaps the entire team gravitates towards as a leader,

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Speaker 4: and I think Jesse handles it very very well.

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Speaker 1: And it's to see that individual move into that role. Look,

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Speaker 1: Grady jareded is replaceable, but I think that there was

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Speaker 1: a bit of a kind of shocking nature to him

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Speaker 1: not being around, and you hear so much about his

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Speaker 1: natural leadership and his obviously is on field production and

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Speaker 1: all of these things, and I think it was encouraging

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Speaker 1: from a motivational standpoint. We talked about this feeling like

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Speaker 1: the Falcons really wanted this one, and to see a

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Speaker 1: guy like that, Look, he's not gonna be Grady Jarrett,

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Speaker 1: but to step up and lead with production and also

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Speaker 1: with his voice and just his presence, that's what That's

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Speaker 1: what this team needs. And it's weird because when you

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Speaker 1: think about who are you gonna pay in free agency

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Speaker 1: or how in roster construction, right, they went out and

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Speaker 1: paid a safety that's not typically what you do. You

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Speaker 1: typically play edge rushers or you know, defensive tackles, cornerbacks,

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Speaker 1: things like that. But they went out and they invested

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Speaker 1: in this safety, and they spent a lot of money

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Speaker 1: to do it, and I think ultimately it's definitely hang

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Speaker 1: off for them. You know another thing that that that

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Speaker 1: paid off for them and could pay off for you guys,

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Speaker 1: is that Arnold Ebucady got a sacke.

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Speaker 2: See, now here's where I thought you were going with that.

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Speaker 4: I thought you were going into Bajon and being like

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Speaker 4: fantasy owners of Bajon Robinson had a great day, But

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Speaker 4: you went straight to the ads. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, looked up like where you're going there?

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Speaker 1: You're going with this? I'm just like, but good jobs,

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Speaker 1: goncause I was just it. I think it's because my

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Speaker 1: mind drifted to chicken Tenders, Okay, and I think that

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Speaker 1: that's naturally where I went. I haven't eaten in a while.

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Speaker 1: So this podcast, as you all know, is being brought

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Speaker 1: to you by Zaxby's, and we've got some good news.

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Speaker 1: As I mentioned, since the Falcon sacked and opposing quarterback

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Speaker 1: at home, it was Arnold Ebucady on a huge third

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Speaker 1: down that you can go to any Atlanta area Zaxby's

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Speaker 1: for a by one get one big Zack snack meal

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Speaker 1: the day after the game, so on Monday, for those

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Speaker 1: of you listening now, use the code at l sack

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Speaker 1: twenty three. Now, how am I going to transition to

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Speaker 1: John Robinson? I probably won't do it successfully.

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Speaker 2: So let's just you know who else loves chicken Tenders?

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Speaker 1: I should ask him that.

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Speaker 2: I bet he does.

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Speaker 1: I mean, who doesn't even Oh that's right, I don't.

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Speaker 1: But but John Robinson and this Falcon's running game, let's just.

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Speaker 2: They've popped off.

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Speaker 3: Let's just drop some a season high two hundred and

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Speaker 3: twenty eight rushing yards. They average five point six yards

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Speaker 3: per carry.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's about it.

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Speaker 1: On forty one carries forty one carries and they did

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Speaker 1: one of those Arthur Smith run the piss out of

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Speaker 1: the ball moments at the end of the game. Nine

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Speaker 1: consecutive runs, nine consecutive runs.

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Speaker 4: And let's talk about this, the fact that John Robinson,

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Speaker 4: Tyler Algier and Quarterell Patterson were all involved in a very,

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Speaker 4: very big way in this run game.

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Speaker 3: Three headed months.

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Speaker 4: This is when the Falcons run game is at its best,

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Speaker 4: when you are actually using all three of those guys.

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Speaker 2: In you know, different ways, in the same way, but you're.

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Speaker 4: Using them And I think that was so encouraging to

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Speaker 4: see because we have not seen those three be used

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Speaker 4: the way that they were used against the Saints at

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Speaker 4: any point in time before this. And I know a

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Speaker 4: lot of that is circumstance driven, because you know, Cordell

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Speaker 4: Patterson wasn't at one hundred percent early in the season,

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Speaker 4: but Jon Robinson had an illness against Tampa Bay, so that,

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Speaker 4: you know, messes up his usages there or limits them,

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Speaker 4: not messes them up, but limits them. So you haven't

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Speaker 4: really seen what we saw today. And to see what

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Speaker 4: we were able to see today, where this group as

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Speaker 4: a whole, with Desmond Ritter picking up some yards on

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Speaker 4: some scrambles too. Average is five point six yards per carrie.

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Speaker 4: That's a that's a big number.

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Speaker 1: I know.

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Speaker 4: Bjon Robinson alone, if you just look at his stats,

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Speaker 4: he averaged five point seven yards per carrie. I mean,

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Speaker 4: and he also in the past game had if you

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Speaker 4: include his past game and what he did in the

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Speaker 4: run game, had one hundred and twenty three total yards

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Speaker 4: from scrimmage. I mean.

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Speaker 2: This is why you go out and get some like Robinson.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and this is the type of production that he

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Speaker 1: can have. I think going back, I wrote a Falcons

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Speaker 1: Daily on Beajon during the week, so kind of dove

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Speaker 1: into some numbers, but also into what he was saying

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Speaker 1: after the Cardinals game. Obviously, his usage has been a

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Speaker 1: major talking point. I think that's a nice way to

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Speaker 1: say it, nice way to put it. Talking point over

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Speaker 1: the course of the year, especially around mid season, as

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Speaker 1: the lights in our quote unquote studio are going out.

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Speaker 1: But now it's you know.

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Speaker 2: Keep going we're talking about Oh.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, sorry, I got distracted anyway with Bajon, even he

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Speaker 1: said after the Cardinals game that it's like it's the

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Speaker 1: second half of the season, They've got to start winning games.

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Speaker 1: Kind of like gloves are off, and I think that

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Speaker 1: the workload that they got from him was solid and

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Speaker 1: productive and still found time to get him some rest,

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Speaker 1: and the guys who stepped in for him were productive.

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Speaker 1: Tyler Lzier wasn't used much at all in the first half, right,

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Speaker 1: and then as the offensive line starts wearing the opposing

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Speaker 1: defense down, that's when Tyler is really impactful. And I

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Speaker 1: know we've said this before, but CP runs hard every time.

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Speaker 4: I love watching CP run, I really do, and I've

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Speaker 4: missed seeing it. But this was a guy that was

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Speaker 4: running like he was angry at the world. He's running

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Speaker 4: like his hair was on fire.

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Speaker 2: I mean he was. Marcus Maye just bounced right off

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Speaker 2: of the so physical. He was so physical.

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Speaker 4: And I think, honestly, one of my favorite quotes from

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Speaker 4: the entire night was and it comes from Arthur Smith.

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Speaker 4: So it was interesting. And so Arthur Smith said that

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Speaker 4: essentially the goal for the second half was to take

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Speaker 4: the game over, especially at the line of scrimmage, and

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Speaker 4: they did that, and he made the comment he was like,

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Speaker 4: what we did in the fourth quarter, that's who we

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Speaker 4: need to be to close out games.

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Speaker 2: That's who they haven't really been this season.

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Speaker 4: Again, it goes back to the whole idea of momentum

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Speaker 4: and keeping momentum and what they were able to do

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Speaker 4: in the run game. It helped establish that that they

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Speaker 4: were keeping the momentum and that they were keeping the

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Speaker 4: game and they were taking control of the game by

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Speaker 4: we're just going to run the ball down your throats,

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Speaker 4: and we're going to use these big, physical backs to

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Speaker 4: do that.

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Speaker 3: It probably was a confidence boost too, considering the Saints defense,

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Speaker 3: especially that defensive line is known to be able to

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Speaker 3: stop the.

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Speaker 1: Run, and when you look at it, they were running

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Speaker 1: at almost two to one over past attempts, and I

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Speaker 1: understand the need and desire for balance. It makes sense.

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Speaker 1: I don't think that the twenty three Falcons will turn

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Speaker 1: into the twenty two Falcons, but I think maybe the

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Speaker 1: winning formula here is a dominant line with a run game. Look,

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Speaker 1: they're not always going to run like this, right, but

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Speaker 1: to get that steady product on schedule production and then

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Speaker 1: get enough from Desmond Ridder to work the ball down

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Speaker 1: the field. But the thing is right is that thirteen

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Speaker 1: for twenty one for one sixty eight not wonderful, right,

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Speaker 1: not efficient enough in my opinion, But I can deal

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Speaker 1: with in efficiency more than I can deal with the

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Speaker 1: critical mistakes, because that's just the thing that exists, and

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Speaker 1: it's whether you can overcome them or not. Today they

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Speaker 1: were able to do that. They scored off of turnovers,

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Speaker 1: they didn't allow points coming off of turnovers. All those

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Speaker 1: things are positive. I just think in the grand scheme

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Speaker 1: of it, if you're gonna go, I don't know how

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Speaker 1: many games we have left four and two down the

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Speaker 1: stretch to end up at nine to eight and be

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Speaker 1: in position to win this division, you need more consistency

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Speaker 1: from the quarterback spot. Now you can say more consistency everywhere.

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Speaker 1: But I think that we saw a great example of

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Speaker 1: an offensive line doing its job, a defense doing its job,

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Speaker 1: especially in critical moments. All I can think about, and

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Speaker 1: you know is Dan P's just playing over and over

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Speaker 1: in my head. Yards don't matter, points due and they

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Speaker 1: were good there. And I think that Desmond Ritter was

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Speaker 1: good at times. He needs to be good or gooder, gooder.

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Speaker 1: He needs to be better and more efficient with his responsibilities.

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Speaker 1: And I don't think My guess is that he would

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Speaker 1: take a look at the stat sheet and probably say

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Speaker 1: the same thing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, oh for sure, Yeah, Desmond is very aware. I

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Speaker 3: feel like of errors he's made in ways he can improve,

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Speaker 3: especially I think getting swapped out there for a hot

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Speaker 3: second probably made him step back and look at it

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Speaker 3: from a completely different perspective. Would you addressed in your

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Speaker 3: column where it's like he needed to evaluate his play

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Speaker 3: from an outside view and really figure out how to

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Speaker 3: be the starting quarterback, how to earn that role and

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Speaker 3: keep that role, because now it is again.

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Speaker 1: And I think there were some moments where his decision

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Speaker 1: to run, we're pretty good now. He said that New

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Speaker 1: Orleans has proven vulnerable to play extending quarterbacks and that

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Speaker 1: he would go one read, two read, and the third

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Speaker 1: option was his legs, so he was getting to the

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Speaker 1: run quicker. I thought he was impactful in that regard,

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Speaker 1: and those are positives. But to see like every turnover

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Speaker 1: is different, right, is a snowflake. But I still think

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Speaker 1: that having multiple critical mistakes in this game with interceptions

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Speaker 1: is something that he's got to avoid. He has to

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Speaker 1: manage those situations better if it means throwing it away,

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Speaker 1: which we saw a couple of different times and noted, hey,

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Speaker 1: he's not aggressive. That that signs of growth. If he

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Speaker 1: can get a little bit better on now on I

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Speaker 1: don't want to get too far into the weeds here,

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Speaker 1: but on the interception to Jeon Robinson at the end

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Speaker 1: of the of the first half, Bajeon says that he's

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Speaker 1: got to make that route a little crisper. There was

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Speaker 1: a miscommunication there, but Dez was adamant, saying I threw

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Speaker 1: it six inches in front of him, a little high.

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Speaker 1: If I put that on his numbers, that's a completion.

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Speaker 1: So I think it's also good that we're seeing accountability

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Speaker 1: across the board now, you know, kind of final thing.

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Speaker 1: I keep saying Falcons have to go four into down

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00:22:13,960 --> 00:22:16,240
Speaker 1: the stretch to win out. I don't know if y'all

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00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: agree with that or not, but what are some things

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00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:26,199
Speaker 1: that we saw that give you that creates optimism that

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00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:30,960
Speaker 1: four into is possible? And are there issues that make

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00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,280
Speaker 1: you think four and two might be pretty difficult considering

444
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:39,960
Speaker 1: that the Jets, the Saints again, Bucks, Colts and Panthers

445
00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:41,400
Speaker 1: embarras embarrassed.

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00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:43,760
Speaker 4: So for me, I think, and this is something that

447
00:22:43,800 --> 00:22:46,440
Speaker 4: Scott and I were talking about before we started recording.

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00:22:46,080 --> 00:22:48,720
Speaker 2: But left me out of that convo you were editing.

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00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,640
Speaker 4: So what we're talking about was that When you look

450
00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:57,040
Speaker 4: at this Atlanta Falcons team, they're still the same team.

451
00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:58,440
Speaker 2: That they were before the bye week.

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00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:02,880
Speaker 4: They still have problem with turnovers as an offense. They

453
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,280
Speaker 4: still have a problem on defense with giving up explosive plays.

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00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,200
Speaker 4: That hasn't changed. What changed today or Sunday whenever you're

455
00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:15,560
Speaker 4: listening to this was that those things didn't ultimately mean

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00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,600
Speaker 4: that they were gonna lose the game, right, But in

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00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:22,240
Speaker 4: moments during this entire season, those things have accumulated to

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00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,919
Speaker 4: the point where they have lost those games. So is

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Speaker 4: this who the I personally think this is who the

460
00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,720
Speaker 4: Falcons are. They need to play better in the moment.

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00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 2: If they're gonna give.

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00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,600
Speaker 4: Up explosive plays and they're gonna turn the ball over,

463
00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:36,960
Speaker 4: if that's who they are, then you have to be

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00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,120
Speaker 4: almost perfect in every other area in order to give

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00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,800
Speaker 4: yourself a chance. And if you can clean up those things,

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00:23:44,960 --> 00:23:48,200
Speaker 4: then great. But so far we haven't seen them do that.

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00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 4: And yes that's me being critical after a really good win.

468
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,000
Speaker 4: They really needed this win. They looked good in moments.

469
00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,240
Speaker 4: I thought this defense looked really good in the red zone.

470
00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:01,440
Speaker 4: I thought this offense putting up you know, two touchdowns

471
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,040
Speaker 4: with John Robinson was good, running the ball fantastic. But

472
00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:09,760
Speaker 4: in reality, when you have this amount of games left

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00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,719
Speaker 4: and you need to win these games, particularly their games.

474
00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:17,960
Speaker 4: They have three games against all three NFC South teams

475
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,800
Speaker 4: to close out the season, and you need those wins

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00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,560
Speaker 4: if you want to be a top NFC South. If

477
00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:26,280
Speaker 4: you're going to continue to turn the ball over and

478
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,479
Speaker 4: you're going to continue to give up explosive plays, then

479
00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:30,600
Speaker 4: there has to be a counter to that, right, and

480
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:33,760
Speaker 4: there was a counter to that today. The Falcons defensively

481
00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:36,320
Speaker 4: were really really good in the red zone. The Falcons

482
00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:40,439
Speaker 4: offensively ran the ball really dang well. So can you

483
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:45,440
Speaker 4: counteract the bad with the good? And when you are you,

484
00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,199
Speaker 4: like we saw on Sunday, you're able to win. But

485
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:52,159
Speaker 4: if you're not, you see games like Detroit, games like

486
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 4: Jacksonville Washington Titans. I mean, there are examples of both happening.

487
00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:03,040
Speaker 4: So make sure again the good outweighs the bad, because

488
00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,520
Speaker 4: you know, a game can't be perfect.

489
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:07,600
Speaker 3: See when I look at this team and compare it

490
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:09,680
Speaker 3: to the one from before the bye, the biggest thing

491
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,840
Speaker 3: that stands out to me is the fact that they

492
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:14,359
Speaker 3: made it into the end zone. They didn't settle for

493
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 3: field goals, like this is only the third time this

494
00:25:16,440 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 3: season they've scored three touchdowns.

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00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:18,439
Speaker 1: Wow.

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00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:21,440
Speaker 4: Yeah, But I'll say this too, but they again, they

497
00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:24,399
Speaker 4: only scored twenty four points today. It's still lower, and

498
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,479
Speaker 4: one of them was a pick six. So from an

499
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:31,359
Speaker 4: offensive standpoint, like, I want more.

500
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,000
Speaker 1: And I think that more is going to be required.

501
00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,880
Speaker 1: But and we I think all three of us have

502
00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,000
Speaker 1: discussed this, We always kind of joke that that that

503
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:43,160
Speaker 1: poor poor Terran is like frantically riding right up until

504
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,680
Speaker 1: the like last minute, because all of these games are tight.

505
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,040
Speaker 1: Here's here's a yes.

506
00:25:49,160 --> 00:25:50,800
Speaker 3: I didn't even realize it.

507
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,480
Speaker 1: It was a two score victory, which I think is

508
00:25:54,520 --> 00:25:57,800
Speaker 1: also an important thing. But when you look at why

509
00:25:57,840 --> 00:26:00,199
Speaker 1: they're in some some many of these close games, they

510
00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:04,720
Speaker 1: don't have Eagles Chiefs type of superior talent where they

511
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:09,280
Speaker 1: can just win a game thirty seven to seven. And

512
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,040
Speaker 1: that's not necessarily a knock. That's just a fact. And

513
00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:14,280
Speaker 1: I think ultimately, when you look at it, they're in

514
00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 1: these close games, So what are you gonna do when

515
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,480
Speaker 1: it matters most? And while I've been somewhat critical of

516
00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:24,120
Speaker 1: Desmond Ridder before and after his return to the starting lineup,

517
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,680
Speaker 1: the dude shows up in big moments, and I think

518
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:30,520
Speaker 1: that that's what they need from Jesse Bates, from Desmond

519
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,840
Speaker 1: Ridder from the offensive and defensive lines. Can you show

520
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,560
Speaker 1: up in big moments. That's gonna be key because these

521
00:26:36,560 --> 00:26:38,280
Speaker 1: things are going to come down to the wire how

522
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,359
Speaker 1: they perform. They need to perform better than they have,

523
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,199
Speaker 1: especially recently, because as Kate Nellis said, they expected to

524
00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:45,879
Speaker 1: win every game. You look at all of those games defensively,

525
00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:48,800
Speaker 1: they gave up too. Anyway, I could ramble on forever,

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00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,720
Speaker 1: but let's not do that and go home. So for Scott,

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00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,720
Speaker 1: Tory and Tarran, I'm Scott, for Tory and Terren, I

528
00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,280
Speaker 1: totally watched that one anyway. Thank you for listening to

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00:26:59,359 --> 00:27:02,760
Speaker 1: The Falcons a Whistle podcast presented by Zaxby's. Please rate, review,

530
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,119
Speaker 1: and subscribe to the Atlanta Falcons podcast Network and we

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00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:09,040
Speaker 1: will talk to you again after a road game against

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00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 1: the New York Jets. See it