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Speaker 1: Thirty birds. What's up? And welcome to another edition of

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Speaker 1: Falcons Final Whistle presented by Zaxby's. I'm your host Will McFadden,

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Speaker 1: joined as always by Tory mclaney and Tarren Walk And

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Speaker 1: we've got a lot to talk about today, or do we? Honestly,

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Speaker 1: it's the fifty three man roster for the Falcons released

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Speaker 1: today Tuesday. It is five o'clock, so an hour ago

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Speaker 1: we learned who was on Atlanta's fifty three man roster,

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Speaker 1: at least initially. And I feel like the biggest takeaway

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Speaker 1: is that there weren't a ton of takeaways. There weren't

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Speaker 1: a ton of surprises. So Taren, you were just kind

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Speaker 1: of red hot coming into the podcast studio today, So

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Speaker 1: we'll start with you. Yeah, like what was your biggest

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Speaker 1: thing when you looked at the fifty three man roster

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Speaker 1: for the first time.

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Speaker 2: I first wanted to say, like, today is probably the

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Speaker 2: worst day in the NFL, So I don't want to

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Speaker 2: like I shouldn't have said I on Buzzing right away,

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Speaker 2: but it's a tough day because there are so many

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Speaker 2: players who were released and whatnot. I hope they all

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Speaker 2: land somewhere and have fruitful careers. It is the word

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Speaker 2: fruitful or is it fruitishes?

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Speaker 1: That's definitely not a word.

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Speaker 2: Okay, anyways, back to what I was saying. So with

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Speaker 2: that said, I'm buzzing though, because I had D'Angelo malone

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Speaker 2: as like on my fifty three man projection, and I

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Speaker 2: was the only one out of us, and so.

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Speaker 3: I would just like to take that slight W.

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Speaker 2: I know, Tori, I'm getting you a pass because you

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Speaker 2: had to do the first edition which was right after

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Speaker 2: Miami aka pre injuries and also pre Matthew Judon and

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Speaker 2: Justin Simmons. But Will, I'm taking that dub over you

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Speaker 2: because otherwise ours were about the same.

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Speaker 1: I just love that your big takeaway is that you

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Speaker 1: took the W in an imaginary roster prediction series that

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Speaker 1: we decided to do, Like that was your big We

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Speaker 1: have like made it through a month and a half

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Speaker 1: of training camp. We have been watching this team like

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Speaker 1: a hawk, nobody closer than you, and you're just like

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Speaker 1: the Angelo alone. I decided to put that name down

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Speaker 1: let's go because it takes that well.

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Speaker 2: Back and forth of like Chris Blair D'Angelo alone, Chris

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Speaker 2: Blair d'angelam alone, and I went with.

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Speaker 3: The special teams because.

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Speaker 1: Special player and the Falcons did as well, and Tori,

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Speaker 1: that was something that all preseason long, like you were

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Speaker 1: very good. I think about reminding us is special teams matters, right,

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Speaker 1: Like it's a cliche for a reason this time of years.

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Speaker 1: A path to the team for a lot of players

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Speaker 1: is through special teams, and so you're going to win

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Speaker 1: special team's credit. When you saw D'Angelo alone kind of,

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Speaker 1: you know, make the fifty three man roster, given the

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Speaker 1: performance that he's had all preseason, Like, did it make

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Speaker 1: complete sense to you or was it still a little shocking.

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Speaker 4: No?

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Speaker 5: I think it made sense because I think we we

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Speaker 5: even talked about this a couple of podcasts ago where

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Speaker 5: it's like you want to because special teams is this

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Speaker 5: part of the game that I think over the last

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Speaker 5: few years has lost value, and recently with the dynamic

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Speaker 5: kickoff rules and everything with the rule changes, they're trying

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Speaker 5: to infuse.

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Speaker 3: I'm just excited, right, Yeah.

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Speaker 5: They're trying to infuse and bring back special teams and

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Speaker 5: the significance of it in the modern game. And so

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Speaker 5: to see someone like Dangela alone, who we have talked

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Speaker 5: about having this special team prowess and that's his value.

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Speaker 5: To see him get rewarded with a fifty three man

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Speaker 5: roster spot, I think is not necessarily surprising, but it

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Speaker 5: is something to take note of because it's something that

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Speaker 5: I think other people across the league, even players who

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Speaker 5: are in college right now and will be coming up

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Speaker 5: in the next four or five years, that can hopefully

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Speaker 5: make a name for themselves on special teams. Dangel alone

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Speaker 5: is kind of that guy over the last few years

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Speaker 5: to the Falcons that you don't necessarily know exactly where

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Speaker 5: to place him defensively, but you know that he's someone

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Speaker 5: who shows up in special teams all the time, and

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Speaker 5: you reward someone like that.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, he's a little bit of that tweener

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Speaker 1: body type, right, and those are probably becoming a little

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Speaker 1: bit more common, I think, just with the prevalence of

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Speaker 1: seven on seven passing camps and things like that. At

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Speaker 1: the youth level, you've got maybe some of these bigger

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Speaker 1: bodies who are just better athletes frankly than they probably

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Speaker 1: were thirty years ago when you were the same six

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Speaker 1: foot five, two hundred and fifty pound guy shouldn't be

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Speaker 1: running as fast as these guys do nowadays. So that

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Speaker 1: makes them almost like the perfect special teams player though, right,

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Speaker 1: like Dangel and Malone. And this is why I almost

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Speaker 1: feel a little bit silly in hindsight, like not having

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Speaker 1: thought of this or seen it coming, because once I

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Speaker 1: did about, you know, Saturday afternoon and was just kind

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Speaker 1: of thinking about what could this proster look like? I

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Speaker 1: was like, of course, Dangel Malone is like a quintessential

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Speaker 1: special teams player, especially in kind of the modern NFL.

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Speaker 1: And how I expect this rule change to impact kickoff

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Speaker 1: coverage kickoff returns. Like he runs in space very well,

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Speaker 1: he is long limbed, he can make these reaching diving

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Speaker 1: tackles like he's going to be I think, a pretty

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Speaker 1: good special teams player for this team. So I did

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Speaker 1: tearan anything else about special teams that you want to

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Speaker 1: you get the last you want to mention here special team.

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Speaker 2: Well, D'Angel Malone, just to solidify it one more time,

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Speaker 2: had the most special team tackles not only among the

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Speaker 2: Falcons but in the league six and that is my

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Speaker 2: lucky number.

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Speaker 3: So wow, look at that full circle. Well yeah, I

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Speaker 3: just realized that.

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Speaker 1: Too live on air. All right, So let's have calmed down.

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Speaker 1: Let's kind of quickly go We're not going to touch

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Speaker 1: on every position, but maybe just the ones where there

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Speaker 1: was a notable name included or left off. Quarterback very quickly,

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Speaker 1: we can talk about Taylor Heineke. You know, Taron, you

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Speaker 1: and I recorded your kind of fifty three man Prediction podcast,

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Speaker 1: and in the middle of that recording session, the news

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Speaker 1: came out that the NFLPA was rejecting the proposal to

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Speaker 1: have the emergency third quarterback be a member of the

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Speaker 1: practice squad with unlimited elevations. Therefore, that emergency third quarterback

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Speaker 1: has to be on your active roster. We don't know

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Speaker 1: if that factored into the decision at all. We are

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Speaker 1: not privy to the decision making process for the Atlanta

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Speaker 1: Falcons organization. But as much as people think we do

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Speaker 1: exact right, you know, they think we're just sitting right

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Speaker 1: over Terry's shoulder. But no, I do wonder if that

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Speaker 1: played a factor in Taylor Heineke being on the fifty

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Speaker 1: three man roster. But I think we're all in agreement

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Speaker 1: that he does provide a lot of value in that

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Speaker 1: third quarterback role. So, Toy, I mean, are you surprised

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Speaker 1: to see Taylor Heineke here? After the preseason or ultimately

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Speaker 1: like he should be here.

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Speaker 5: No, I wasn't surprised at all by this, actually, especially

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Speaker 5: considering the conversation around the emergency third quarterback. I do

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Speaker 5: think there is value in keeping Taylor Heineke on this roster.

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Speaker 5: And I know that's a hot take for or a

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Speaker 5: loud faction of the fan base over the course of

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Speaker 5: the preseason, but I would argue against kind of what

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Speaker 5: you saw from Taylor Heineke in the preseason and look

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Speaker 5: more towards what you've seen from Taylor Heneke over the

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Speaker 5: course of his career. He is a valuable asset in depth,

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Speaker 5: and I will stand by that. You also have to

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Speaker 5: think about it this way too. His cap hit versus

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Speaker 5: his dead money hit was lopsided, so if you were

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Speaker 5: to cut him, I know it's not a huge number,

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Speaker 5: but I believe it was like three point three million

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Speaker 5: that you were going to have in dead money, which

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Speaker 5: again not the end of the world. Considering that the

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Speaker 5: Falcons have extended AJ Terrell, they've moved money off of

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Speaker 5: Chris Linstrom's contract, that they've done a lot of cap maneuvering,

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Speaker 5: and they're in a very very healthy spot in terms

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Speaker 5: of cap and dead money. But that's a part of

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Speaker 5: the conversation too that you have to have that. You

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Speaker 5: can't overlook that. And Taylor Heneke again, I will say

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Speaker 5: this again, I'm looking ahead to week ten eleven, when

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Speaker 5: God forbid things happen across the league and you can

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Speaker 5: maybe get something for Taylor Henikey if it came down

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Speaker 5: to it, if that's something you even wanted to do.

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Speaker 5: But Taylor Hanekee has said he wants to be here.

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Speaker 5: He believes there's something special being built with this roster

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Speaker 5: and with Raheem Morris, so it wasn't a surprise to

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Speaker 5: see him on the roster for all of those reasons.

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Speaker 5: And again, think about the Taylor Henikee who's been this

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Speaker 5: journeyman who's come in and played some valuable football for

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Speaker 5: a few teams in the league. Don't think of the

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Speaker 5: Taylor Henekey that we saw in the three preseason games

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Speaker 5: where he has a third string offensive line blocking for him.

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Speaker 5: Nothing against those guys. That does make a difference.

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Speaker 2: Well, And another thing to consider is if Kirk is

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Speaker 2: supposed to be focusing on the play on the playoff

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Speaker 2: push and whatnot like that, having Taylor Heineke in the

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Speaker 2: quarterback room is a benefit to someone like Michael Pennocks

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Speaker 2: junior because it's been on Michael to learn and so

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Speaker 2: Kirk is focusing on the day to day and whatnot.

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Speaker 2: At least now Michael has someone he can go to

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Speaker 2: with veteran experience with questions.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I'll take that one step further. I actually

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Speaker 1: think Taylor Heineke's a massive asset to Kirk Cousins as well,

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Speaker 1: and one of When Matt Shaw was here, right, he

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Speaker 1: wasn't just a quarterback who I'll never freaking forget this,

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Speaker 1: Like in his one start in like twenty eighteen or

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, just goes out and throws for like four

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Speaker 1: hundred and eighty yards against I want to say it

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Speaker 1: was the Rams or so. It was just bonkers that

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Speaker 1: he hadn't played a game in like four years, came

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Speaker 1: out and just threw it all over the yard. But

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Speaker 1: it wasn't what he could do on the field. His

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Speaker 1: biggest value to this franchise was in the meeting rooms,

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Speaker 1: in the quarterback room, because he was one of the

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Speaker 1: few players in the league by the end of Matt

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Speaker 1: Ryan's career who was older than he was had also

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Speaker 1: seen a lot of starting action, could speak with the

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Speaker 1: voice of a starting quarterback and somebody that Matt Ryan

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Speaker 1: would listen to. Yeah, there's few players at this point

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Speaker 1: that Kirk Cousins is probably going to, you know, seriously

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Speaker 1: consider their input and things like that. Not because you know,

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Speaker 1: Kirk doesn't like to take advice from different people. It's

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Speaker 1: just because he probably knows a lot more than some

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Speaker 1: of the people around him. And so if it was

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Speaker 1: just Kirk Cousins and Michael Pennox, then yeah, Kirk can

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Speaker 1: rely on TJ. Yates and I'm sure he does, and

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Speaker 1: I'm sure he will. He can rely on Zach Robinson,

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Speaker 1: but Taylor Heineke is also going to be just another

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Speaker 1: veteran presence that he can rely on who will be

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Speaker 1: able to say, hey, I remember when and in that

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Speaker 1: situation I did X. Yeah, and that I think will

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Speaker 1: carry a little bit of weight as well. So just

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Speaker 1: one other aspect to think about. It's not just on

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Speaker 1: the field play. If they need it from him, he

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Speaker 1: can provide it. But I think during the week that's

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Speaker 1: going to be impactful as well. So let's quickly touch

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Speaker 1: on wide receiver Chris Blair not not on the roster,

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Speaker 1: you know, I feel like maybe it was the Angelo

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Speaker 1: Molown or Chris Barre at least maybe the better way

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Speaker 1: to put that is like, that's kind of what we

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Speaker 1: build it to be. Who knows if that was the

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Speaker 1: actual position spot. But it's interesting that special teams, you know,

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Speaker 1: that's where D'Angelo Malone made his case as opposed to

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Speaker 1: offense for Chris Blair, where he would be a little

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Speaker 1: further down on the depth chart. Ultimately, I guess five

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Speaker 1: wide receivers, that's a good place to start, Taren, did

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Speaker 1: you think that that's the number they would keep, knowing

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Speaker 1: kind of the offense and how pass happy we expect

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Speaker 1: it to be.

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Speaker 2: That was the number I had, Yeah, for the projection,

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Speaker 2: But I also think it does come down to, like

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Speaker 2: you said, even special teams where you have someone like

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Speaker 2: D'Angel Malone where he can do defense and special teams,

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Speaker 2: but when you look at the wide receiver group, you

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Speaker 2: already have people who are in both areas offense and

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Speaker 2: special teams that they don't necessarily need another like Chris

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Speaker 2: Blair could have been a special team's asset, but you

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Speaker 2: already have Casey Washington will be Cadarrel Hodge will be

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Speaker 2: on both, like Ray Ray McLoud will be on both.

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Speaker 3: That do you need another.

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Speaker 2: Wide receiver body type out there? Yeah, that's my thought

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Speaker 2: process though.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I mean, I think you bring up a good

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Speaker 5: point because that's something we've been talking about all the

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Speaker 5: time with special teams, is like, how does the new

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Speaker 5: rules change the body types that you throw out there.

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Speaker 5: It seemed that if this, if we're working with the

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Speaker 5: assumption that it was D'angela Malone, Chris Blair, Kevin King,

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Speaker 5: which we'll get to in a minute, that are all

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Speaker 5: of these guys who were right on the cusp, those

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Speaker 5: bubble players.

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Speaker 3: I think there were four total that you would see, Yeah.

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Speaker 2: That they're kind of like interchangeable in these like we

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Speaker 2: can say Chris Blair and Dangela Malone and then maybe

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Speaker 2: Kevin King and Jovon Gwynn. Like I feel like those

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Speaker 2: four you're like permutation combinationing them, right, like who's in,

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Speaker 2: who's out?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, And with Chris Blair, I was surprised you asked

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Speaker 5: about like being surprised, Oh, Taylor Haneke being surprised about

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Speaker 5: dangel and Malone. I wasn't surprised that they made it,

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Speaker 5: but I kind of was surprised that Chris Blair and

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Speaker 5: Kevin King did not, and it was because of all

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Speaker 5: the things that we've seen them do over the course

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Speaker 5: of the preseason and.

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Speaker 3: Really really felt like both of those guys.

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Speaker 5: Had stand out preseasons and seemed to be important depth

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Speaker 5: pieces that looking back now, it's kind of it's going

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Speaker 5: to be weird to not and we don't know what's

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Speaker 5: going to happen with practice squad stuff like that's that's

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Speaker 5: yet to be decided tomorrow problem. Right, That's not a

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Speaker 5: five p fifteen on fifty three man roster cut down day.

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Speaker 3: That's not the conversation that we're having.

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Speaker 5: So I don't think this is like end of the

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Speaker 5: road for these two guys because of everything that they

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Speaker 5: did in the preseason. But it was surprising because we

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Speaker 5: talked about someone like D'Angelo and Malone like working his

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Speaker 5: way onto the fifty three men roster for what he

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Speaker 5: did in special teams, and you felt like Chris Blair

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Speaker 5: and Kevin King worked their way onto the fifty three

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Speaker 5: man roster based on what they did and what they

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Speaker 5: showcased in training camp in the preseason as well in

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Speaker 5: different avenues, but that didn't come to fruition for them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think you know, when we tell and well,

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Speaker 1: we can just speed it up and talk about Kevin

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Speaker 1: King kind of now. But yeah, he was my biggest surprise. Well,

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Speaker 1: and I think that it's different from Chris Blair, even

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Speaker 1: though they both equally were probably like the offensive and

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Speaker 1: defensive stars of and Dyangelo and alone would be the

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Speaker 1: special team star of like the preseason game. I didn't

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Speaker 1: expect Chris Blair at the start of OTA's mini camp

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Speaker 1: the offseason. He wasn't on my radar as somebody to

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Speaker 1: look out for. Kevin King was, and not only because

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Speaker 1: of the draft pedigree, but also just because of the

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Speaker 1: way he did play in Green Bay, Like he had

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Speaker 1: some decent seasons there across from Jayra Alexander, like.

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Speaker 3: His ties here with the coaches exactly.

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Speaker 1: So it's like, all right, he was a player I

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Speaker 1: was going to kind of keep an eye on. His

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Speaker 1: was more a confirmation than like an introduction. And then

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Speaker 1: when he starts getting more of the look at safety

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Speaker 1: and in some of the dime packages, and then I

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Speaker 1: was like, okay, so it almost again I was like

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Speaker 1: he's locked down something now they're figuring out more of

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Speaker 1: a role for him, for what he can do, And

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Speaker 1: in hindsight, maybe like, all right, you gotta find a

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Speaker 1: way to make the roster. And maybe we should have

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Speaker 1: looked at the amount of snaps he played on Friday

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Speaker 1: Night as something different than what I thought it was

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Speaker 1: at the time, which was, Okay, you're trying him at

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Speaker 1: a different position now, cit the snaps are important for

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Speaker 1: that reason. Maybe it was also like, yeah, the guys

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Speaker 1: that are playing tonight, they got to show us something

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Speaker 1: because this might be their last chance. Today's episode of

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Speaker 1: Falcons Final Whistle is brought to you by Zaxby's. And

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Speaker 1: after a long game, when I'm tired and I need

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Speaker 1: to refuel, I turned to Zaxbies their marinated handbreaded fried

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Speaker 1: to perfection chicken fingers. They hit the spot every time.

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Speaker 1: Get yours with seasoned crinkle fries, a nice drink in

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Speaker 1: But it always hits just right. So next time you

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Speaker 1: need to refuel, go get yourself some Zaxbies.

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Speaker 5: The thing with Kevin King is that's the one that

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Speaker 5: I think hurts the most, Like from a like storyteller

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Speaker 5: standpoint too, the story of him being out of the

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Speaker 5: game for two years and how much it meant to

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Speaker 5: him to be back on the grass and playing and

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Speaker 5: being full go and being there mentally and seeing the

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Speaker 5: plays that he was able to make and seeing that

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Speaker 5: he was keeping up with the second team. I mean,

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Speaker 5: he's a true second teamer for this group and from

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Speaker 5: the cornerback and safety position was really adding value to

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Speaker 5: the roster by being on it, And for him not

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Speaker 5: to be on the initial fifty three man it just

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Speaker 5: goes to show that, like the numbers game is gonna

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Speaker 5: hurt somebody. Yeah, there's gonna be somebody who we talk

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Speaker 5: about it every single year that you're like that person

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Speaker 5: I felt like should have been on the fifty three

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Speaker 5: man roster and they weren't. And I was honestly surprised

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Speaker 5: when I look at the cornerback group and they're only

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Speaker 5: carrying five guys.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, that was shocking to me. I hadn't.

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Speaker 5: I never thought for one second that you would carry

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Speaker 5: any less than.

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Speaker 3: Six at that position.

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Speaker 5: So, especially when DeMarco Helms goes to IR, which he's

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Speaker 5: officially gone to IR and is designated to return which

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Speaker 5: is I think good news all around for the Falcons,

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Speaker 5: But I mean, like Kevin King not being on the

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Speaker 5: fifty three man roster, that's the one that I think

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Speaker 5: stings the most because of the level of surprise I

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Speaker 5: felt when I saw his name on the list of

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Speaker 5: released guys.

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Speaker 2: I can pull out a stat go ahead, so I

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Speaker 2: didn't break them down when I pulled these initial numbers

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Speaker 2: between cornerback and safety. But regardless, if you combine cornerback

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Speaker 2: and safety, there's nine defensive backs on this fifty three

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Speaker 2: man roster that had they've had double digits since twenty nineteen,

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Speaker 2: at least ten eleven, which like, yes, that's one or

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Speaker 2: two bodies.

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Speaker 3: But that's that makes one or two bodies.

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Speaker 2: When you were talking about how tight this puzzle is

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Speaker 2: when it comes to the fifty three man.

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Speaker 3: I think it goes too. Again.

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Speaker 5: It goes back to the first conversations we ever had

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Speaker 5: about this fifty three man roster. How many defensive linemen

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Speaker 5: you knew you had.

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Speaker 3: To keep nine?

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Speaker 5: Like, yeah, how many you knew you had to keep

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Speaker 5: on the roster, And that meant pulling numbers from other.

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Speaker 3: Points in time, and.

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Speaker 5: That's something I don't know, like we knew, I say

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Speaker 5: all this, and we knew that was going to happen.

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Speaker 3: We say here every podcast over the last couple of.

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Speaker 5: Weeks, being like, dude, you're gonna cut out of the

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Speaker 5: defensive lineman no one, And they didn't. They kept that

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Speaker 5: almost the entire group intact that we had spoken about

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Speaker 5: time and time again and again. It's just kind of

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Speaker 5: like that group is deep. If you're looking at the group,

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Speaker 5: like that defensive line group is as deep as they

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Speaker 5: have been in a very very long time.

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Speaker 1: Even the guys who ultimately didn't make the cut, Like

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Speaker 1: you could make strong cases for Diman Harris and Lakale

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Speaker 1: London and Bradley and I and you know Tito guy,

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Speaker 1: Like all of those guys had really good camps or

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Speaker 1: flashes in a preseason game. So it like kudos to

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Speaker 1: the staff to the front office for like acquiring the

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Speaker 1: number of camp bodies that they did, for retaining some

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Speaker 1: of the guys like Lakale London or a Contavious Street

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Speaker 1: and you know, kind of bringing him back because that

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Speaker 1: was a real standout group. And so yeah, to keep

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Speaker 1: the nine and we're including James Smith Williams in that

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Speaker 1: Nine's that's a hefty group. It's where I think you're

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Speaker 1: going to get a lot of the unique nuances of

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Speaker 1: this defense. Yeah, they can do a lot of different

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Speaker 1: versatile things, both in the front end and the back end.

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Speaker 1: As we talk about some of the maybe additions onto

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Speaker 1: the roster that cost frankly, guys like Kevin King potentially

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Speaker 1: a spot. I look at the offensive line, somebody who

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Speaker 1: I loved watching in training camp and in preseason games,

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Speaker 1: who I'm thrilled to see on the fifty three man roster,

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Speaker 1: but who I'm ultimately very sad that I didn't have

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Speaker 1: enough faith in in my projection, because then we would

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Speaker 1: have tied Taren and it would have come out of nowhere.

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Speaker 1: But Javon Gwyn like he in his second year as

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Speaker 1: a reserve interior offensive lineman just impressed the heck out

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Speaker 1: of me. Like, looked smart out there on the field,

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Speaker 1: kind of always found work, was passing things off, both

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Speaker 1: playing center and the guard position. So I like I

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Speaker 1: think both he and Kyle Hinton and Ryan Noozol the

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Speaker 1: Falcons have some quality interior depth. And then Store Norton

404
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Speaker 1: is kind of your swing tackle. I love this offensive

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Speaker 1: line group, But did you guys, because I know I

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Speaker 1: was high on like Javon Gwynn, probably the highest of

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Speaker 1: the group, probably the highest of like anybody I know.

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Speaker 1: I think I was the only one ready to have

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Speaker 1: like the Javon Gwynn Kyle Hinton conversation. Even Arch was like, yeah, okay, will,

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Speaker 1: let's talk about Chris Blair a little bit more So,

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Speaker 1: did you guys see that one coming at all? Was

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Speaker 1: that even on your radar that they would maybe keep

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Speaker 1: nine offensive linemen?

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Speaker 3: Not really, I didn't. I mean, HI got him.

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Speaker 5: I think with Javon gwen though, he was kind of

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Speaker 5: he was someone who's kind of flew very under the radar, and.

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Speaker 1: The word I thought of him, if I hadn't like

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Speaker 1: brought his name up to you guys.

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Speaker 3: I knew.

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Speaker 5: So I actually talked a little bit about him in

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Speaker 5: the off season on a podcast because he was getting

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Speaker 5: a lot of reps at guard and he's a true

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Speaker 5: and true center. That's where what he specialized in at

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Speaker 5: South Carolina.

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Speaker 1: Undersized.

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Speaker 5: He's undersized, like when you look at a guard, he

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Speaker 5: is not the normal body type for a guard.

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Speaker 3: And I didn't really put a lot of.

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Speaker 5: Stock into it then, but I didn't make mention of

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Speaker 5: it that, hey, this is a guy who's kind of

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Speaker 5: cross training a little bit, spending a lot more time

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Speaker 5: playing guard in you know, some OTAs and mandatory mini camp,

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Speaker 5: and then we get into training camp and there are

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Speaker 5: so many other position battles and so many other things

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Speaker 5: to talk about that a guy playing a reserve role

436
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:53,680
Speaker 5: at a guard position when he's normally a center, like

437
00:21:53,760 --> 00:21:55,960
Speaker 5: wasn't necessarily a thing. And then Ryan Noosel has the

438
00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:59,320
Speaker 5: calf strain when we're in Miami and Devine Gwyn goes

439
00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:01,600
Speaker 5: back to playing center a little bit in that game

440
00:22:02,320 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 5: and just continues to crosschrain, continues to fly under the radar.

441
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:10,840
Speaker 5: That that's kind of his story and why we're here

442
00:22:10,880 --> 00:22:13,720
Speaker 5: today talking about him is I have you have to

443
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,679
Speaker 5: get credit where credit is due, where he did what

444
00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,000
Speaker 5: he had to do in terms of having that position

445
00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,120
Speaker 5: of flexibility to find a way onto this fifty three

446
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:22,720
Speaker 5: man roster.

447
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:28,280
Speaker 1: Yeah, I completely agree. It's it is. The versatility is

448
00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,200
Speaker 1: like just an important part of this time of year.

449
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:35,920
Speaker 1: I mean both special teams versatility and at positional versatility.

450
00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:39,760
Speaker 4: But that still makes Kevin King So it does shocking,

451
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:42,440
Speaker 4: I know, right, and again, but we don't know. Brought

452
00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,119
Speaker 4: up a great point. Yeah, like we don't know what

453
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,200
Speaker 4: the future holds. Kevin King could be a strong candidate

454
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:53,359
Speaker 4: for practice squad. Yeah, like elev what happens right with that?

455
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:56,800
Speaker 4: Who around the league is Like, frankly, I think this

456
00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,040
Speaker 4: process in general, just around the league is becoming a

457
00:23:00,040 --> 00:23:03,760
Speaker 4: little bit more of an important moment for a lot

458
00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:05,800
Speaker 4: of front offices and teams. Like, I think there is

459
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:08,960
Speaker 4: a little bit more attention paid to just kind of

460
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:10,840
Speaker 4: roster cuts and things like that, because I do think

461
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,679
Speaker 4: the level of talent across the league is just raised

462
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:16,680
Speaker 4: a little bit. Guys entering the league every single year

463
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,560
Speaker 4: probably like from pick one to mister Irrelevant, Like that's

464
00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 4: a stronger batch, And so I think teams are just

465
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,800
Speaker 4: more aware and able to track guys a little bit better.

466
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:31,120
Speaker 4: I wanted to actually, let's touch on mikeah Abernathy briefly.

467
00:23:31,440 --> 00:23:33,240
Speaker 4: He was somebody who I kind of had a little

468
00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,600
Speaker 4: bit of a blind spot for, so Taren, I know,

469
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,320
Speaker 4: like you constantly were kind of a voice saying, mikeah

470
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,240
Speaker 4: Abernathy in my ear, what shoot out about him?

471
00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,120
Speaker 2: I didn't have him on my fifty three man projection.

472
00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:48,600
Speaker 2: Slowly because I guess I messed up mentally where it

473
00:23:48,640 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 2: was like I thought DeMarco Helums had to be on

474
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:51,800
Speaker 2: it and then put on IR.

475
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,399
Speaker 5: But that I mean I think technically he does like

476
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:57,679
Speaker 5: and then you file it to the meeting.

477
00:23:58,359 --> 00:24:02,080
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's very n the reason being announced versus And.

478
00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:04,760
Speaker 2: When I wrote it, I put like, if DeMarco Hellns

479
00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:07,400
Speaker 2: does end up on IR, then Micah Abi is going

480
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,480
Speaker 2: to fill that void. It's just you've seen him step

481
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,199
Speaker 2: up in that role. You saw him step up on

482
00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:15,320
Speaker 2: in it last year a lot. I know you wrote

483
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:18,879
Speaker 2: a really good story on Michah last year, sitting in

484
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:19,960
Speaker 2: the crowd with his dad.

485
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,320
Speaker 3: Right, Well, no, no, no, that was d d Alford.

486
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, no, Michaeh was the church. Yeah, Okay, Micah's

487
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:28,040
Speaker 2: m seen up great stories. Sorry, he made the roster too,

488
00:24:28,040 --> 00:24:29,440
Speaker 2: though he's also on the roster.

489
00:24:29,920 --> 00:24:31,240
Speaker 3: You haven't read those read them both.

490
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:36,160
Speaker 1: But d Alford watched a football game with Mike's dad.

491
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:37,560
Speaker 1: Is that what I'm no?

492
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,280
Speaker 5: I watched a football game with the Alferd's dad and

493
00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:46,639
Speaker 5: then went to Ralph Abernathy Seniors Church, which was a

494
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 5: the haven for the civil rights movement, and it's they're

495
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,760
Speaker 5: trying to work on it becoming a national landmark.

496
00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:56,280
Speaker 3: The Micah story is chef's kiss.

497
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:59,240
Speaker 1: Thank you, thank you anyways, that sounds amazing.

498
00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,919
Speaker 3: Lot to praise real, I thank you, I appreciate it,

499
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 3: thank you so much. Or I took the w in

500
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 3: the beginning and your podcast.

501
00:25:06,359 --> 00:25:10,520
Speaker 2: But I just think people have spoken very highly about

502
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,720
Speaker 2: Micah and Jerry Gray, especially after de Marco got hurt.

503
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,760
Speaker 2: Was like Micah, because I asked him, like, who do

504
00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:18,879
Speaker 2: you expect to fill that void?

505
00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 3: Is there someone on your mind? He's like Mike g Abernathy.

506
00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:25,480
Speaker 2: So he's just someone who is continuously showing us that

507
00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,080
Speaker 2: he is capable and is able to step up to

508
00:25:28,119 --> 00:25:28,480
Speaker 2: the plate.

509
00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:32,120
Speaker 5: So you raise a good point too about this familiarity. Yeah,

510
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 5: his familiarity with the guys in this room, his familiarity

511
00:25:35,119 --> 00:25:38,800
Speaker 5: with Jerry Gray, this entire secondary.

512
00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:40,960
Speaker 3: He's from Atlanta. I mean, I don't that.

513
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:43,240
Speaker 5: Doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but

514
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,920
Speaker 5: there is just like it's sentimental. Yeah, there is this

515
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:48,600
Speaker 5: like level of familiarity with Micah Abernathy that you just

516
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:52,000
Speaker 5: kind of trust him to handle his business. Something that

517
00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:53,920
Speaker 5: I did want to talk a little bit about before

518
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:56,879
Speaker 5: we wrapped everything. Up was I wrote an analysis on

519
00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:00,480
Speaker 5: kind of just analyzing the fifty three man roster, and

520
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:02,639
Speaker 5: what was interesting is, you know, we're talking about all

521
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:04,080
Speaker 5: of this and it was like, are we surprised?

522
00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:04,399
Speaker 2: Are we?

523
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,200
Speaker 5: And yeah, there are some moments where we're like, yeah,

524
00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:08,040
Speaker 5: like Kevin King not making the fifty three man roster,

525
00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:12,400
Speaker 5: that is surprising. But to be completely honest, comparative two

526
00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,000
Speaker 5: years past, this fifty three man roster cut down today

527
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:20,840
Speaker 5: wasn't filled with a lot of big surprises, and for

528
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:25,400
Speaker 5: me that was so I think it speaks to the

529
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,479
Speaker 5: falcons current cap health, which, let's be honest, is not

530
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:31,879
Speaker 5: something that we were able to talk about for a

531
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,879
Speaker 5: few years when Terry Fonteau first got in here. That

532
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:39,040
Speaker 5: was the challenge was getting the cap to a healthy level,

533
00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,960
Speaker 5: getting it out of the red. And in twenty twenty two,

534
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,280
Speaker 5: when they traded Matt Ryan to Indianapolis, they took on

535
00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,399
Speaker 5: at the time the largest dead money hit in the

536
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,920
Speaker 5: league's history that has since been surpassed by Russell Wilson

537
00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:52,919
Speaker 5: in the Broncos.

538
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,800
Speaker 3: But I digress. At the time it was huge, It

539
00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:56,120
Speaker 3: was a.

540
00:26:56,119 --> 00:26:58,280
Speaker 5: Huge number, and they took it all on the tin

541
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:02,200
Speaker 5: In twenty twenty two in hopes of getting to twenty

542
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:04,240
Speaker 5: twenty three and twenty twenty four and being able to

543
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,120
Speaker 5: make the moves that we have seen the make in

544
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,439
Speaker 5: the last six months. You got and you get a

545
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,080
Speaker 5: franchise level quarterback in Kirk Cousins. You rebuild the wide

546
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,159
Speaker 5: receiver room around Drake London, bringing in someone like Darnell

547
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:20,359
Speaker 5: Mooney Ray rim Cloud. You sign Justin Simmons, You trade

548
00:27:20,359 --> 00:27:23,880
Speaker 5: for Matthew Judon, you extend aj Terrell. All of these

549
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,680
Speaker 5: things on top of going out and rebuilding and getting

550
00:27:26,680 --> 00:27:29,640
Speaker 5: some playmakers in Kaden Ellis, david On Yamana, and Jesse Bates.

551
00:27:29,640 --> 00:27:32,160
Speaker 3: The third last offseason, it.

552
00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:36,439
Speaker 5: Goes to show you how important cap health is and

553
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,760
Speaker 5: how important not having that weight of dead money is

554
00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:42,280
Speaker 5: and kind of like what can happen in the caliber

555
00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,760
Speaker 5: of moves you can make when you're not strung to

556
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,560
Speaker 5: You have to piece a team together with rookie young

557
00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:54,800
Speaker 5: rookies and mid level veteran free agents on one year deals.

558
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:56,119
Speaker 3: Now what all you can do?

559
00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,040
Speaker 5: And I think this initial fifty three man roster in

560
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,119
Speaker 5: twenty twenty four, the one just got cut today, is

561
00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:04,360
Speaker 5: evidence of the work put in by this front office

562
00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:10,160
Speaker 5: to get help infused back into the salary cap.

563
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,640
Speaker 2: Yeah, when you were like talking about that, here comes

564
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:14,440
Speaker 2: a Tarran analogy.

565
00:28:14,480 --> 00:28:16,560
Speaker 3: Here we go, here we go. But like the.

566
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 2: Way I think of it is like they're they have

567
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:22,760
Speaker 2: the money, and so instead of buying a bunch of

568
00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 2: little things or like lower quality things, they bought a

569
00:28:26,680 --> 00:28:29,520
Speaker 2: few big, good quality things.

570
00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:30,000
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?

571
00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:32,080
Speaker 1: Does that make sense? Like got their Chucky Cheese tickets

572
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:33,439
Speaker 1: to buy the bear on the top shelf.

573
00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:38,280
Speaker 2: I was thinking more like real Birkenstocks versus Target Birkenstocks.

574
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:42,960
Speaker 3: Sure, but okay, I had a childhood. I wasn't allowed

575
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:44,600
Speaker 3: to go to Chuck E Cheese. You weren't.

576
00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:47,280
Speaker 1: I got to play my mother.

577
00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:50,320
Speaker 5: Okay, so a fun times about me and Chucky Cheese.

578
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,040
Speaker 5: I did also get to the point where my parents

579
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,560
Speaker 5: were like, let's not go to Chuck Cheese because every

580
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:54,360
Speaker 5: time I went, I would.

581
00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:56,960
Speaker 3: Get sick afterwards. Well that's probably why my mother didn't

582
00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:57,760
Speaker 3: let me go. There you go.

583
00:28:57,880 --> 00:29:00,000
Speaker 1: Did y'all know Chuck E Cheese's full name is Charles

584
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:01,479
Speaker 1: Charles Entertainment Cheese.

585
00:29:01,520 --> 00:29:02,720
Speaker 3: I sure did. I did not know that.

586
00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,920
Speaker 5: I one time did a expose on Charles entertainment cheese.

587
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,760
Speaker 5: It was like a random college assignment where we wanted

588
00:29:08,760 --> 00:29:10,600
Speaker 5: to find that story. It's creepy.

589
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:11,280
Speaker 3: I'll tell you that.

590
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:13,920
Speaker 1: Somebody asked me that the other day and my first thought,

591
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,640
Speaker 1: for whatever reason, was Chuckles entertainment cheese. I don't know

592
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:23,360
Speaker 1: why I thought Chuckles was the full proper name of Chucky. Yeah,

593
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,520
Speaker 1: but it's Charles for everybody listening out there is Chucky.

594
00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:28,040
Speaker 3: Like the movie also full named Charles.

595
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:30,720
Speaker 1: I don't know the doll yeah, I don't know.

596
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,120
Speaker 2: I equate the doll in Chucky to like the same

597
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:37,000
Speaker 2: because it's like characters and costume really freaked me out.

598
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:39,120
Speaker 1: So that's another reason why you never went to Chuck

599
00:29:39,160 --> 00:29:39,600
Speaker 1: E cheese.

600
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:41,920
Speaker 3: Maybe that's why we have gone off.

601
00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:43,840
Speaker 1: We have gone off the rail. So we're gonna wrap

602
00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,000
Speaker 1: this podcast up. But I do totally agree with you, Tori.

603
00:29:47,120 --> 00:29:50,160
Speaker 1: I think the cap health this is a testament to

604
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,040
Speaker 1: you know, like the bill comes due for better and

605
00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:58,880
Speaker 1: worse always, right, So when you are like restructuring contracts,

606
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:02,120
Speaker 1: when you are kind of pushing money maybe to the

607
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,120
Speaker 1: front end so that you can work the cap to

608
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:08,400
Speaker 1: keep guys around in the push for a super Bowl

609
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:11,120
Speaker 1: like that, ultimately is going to leave you on the

610
00:30:11,120 --> 00:30:14,040
Speaker 1: back end in a tougher spot. And I agree, Like,

611
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,680
Speaker 1: I think that Terry in the front office did a

612
00:30:16,720 --> 00:30:19,440
Speaker 1: great job beating it all up at once and then

613
00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:23,720
Speaker 1: finding ways to creatively add where they could. I think

614
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,480
Speaker 1: that they've continued to do a pretty good job of

615
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:29,920
Speaker 1: keeping us on short contracts, of not really getting themselves

616
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:34,479
Speaker 1: over their skis financially with certain players. And yeah, like

617
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:37,400
Speaker 1: there's if you're going to continue this approach, there's going

618
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:40,680
Speaker 1: to be some hard decisions along the way, But so far,

619
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,160
Speaker 1: it's it's tough to quibble with any of the moves

620
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,800
Speaker 1: that they've made and any any of the contracts they've

621
00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,720
Speaker 1: really put themselves into. And I think that today, like

622
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: you said, as a testament to kind of that work.

623
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,600
Speaker 5: On paper, this fifty three man roster is good. Yeah,

624
00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:58,560
Speaker 5: it's a strong fifty three man roster. That means nothing

625
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 5: until you go out and what happened to me? What

626
00:31:02,080 --> 00:31:05,800
Speaker 5: happens on paper, what we're talking about now, it's all

627
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,280
Speaker 5: well and good, But when it's all said and done,

628
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 5: how many wins did you get? How far can you

629
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:14,520
Speaker 5: get in your division? How far can you get in

630
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:15,040
Speaker 5: a playoff?

631
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,120
Speaker 3: Push. They got to go out and earn it.

632
00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,280
Speaker 5: This front office is put together a roster that I

633
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,360
Speaker 5: think across the league people are looking at like, oh yeah,

634
00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:23,040
Speaker 5: they got some of the best safety. They have one

635
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:24,720
Speaker 5: of the best safety duos in the league. Like, you

636
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,000
Speaker 5: got a good defensive a deep defensive front. You're bringing

637
00:31:28,040 --> 00:31:30,800
Speaker 5: back all five guys on this offensive line. You got

638
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,040
Speaker 5: Kirk Cousins in the pocket, you cannon and off to

639
00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:35,680
Speaker 5: Jon Robinson tossing it to Kyle Pitts and Drake Lennon.

640
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 5: Good roster. Can this good roster win games? That's the question.

641
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,880
Speaker 1: Absolutely. But it is officially the end of the preseason

642
00:31:45,040 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 1: and the start of the real journey. So thank you

643
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,400
Speaker 1: guys so much for following along all throughout training camp

644
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:54,320
Speaker 1: and the preseason. We will be officially naming the camp

645
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,080
Speaker 1: champ later this week, so stay tuned for that. It's

646
00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:00,480
Speaker 1: going to be a fun episode. I'm excited to see

647
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,720
Speaker 1: what we can come up with. Frankly, I guess that's

648
00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:07,520
Speaker 1: my job, but there will be a lot of fun

649
00:32:07,600 --> 00:32:11,160
Speaker 1: in store for that one. So again, for Tory mcaleney

650
00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:13,120
Speaker 1: and Tarren Walk, I am Will McFadden. Thank you for

651
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:16,479
Speaker 1: listening to Falcon's final whistle, presented by Zaxby's We Will

652
00:32:16,520 --> 00:32:18,000
Speaker 1: see you guys again soon