Speaker 1: On second down, Ryan out to his right has got
Speaker 1: a lot of grass in front of him, and now
Speaker 1: a touchdown, a rushing touchdown for Matt Ryan. That's the
Speaker 1: tenth of his career, first of the year. Falcons bring
Speaker 1: a blitz, a little sweet flicker and Bridgewater throws touchdown.
Speaker 1: Curtis Samuel only one time out of luck for Carolina.
Speaker 1: Flag on the play and Mrs Pitts intercepted and the
Speaker 1: defense makes a play that's pleading Ring Wilson. Yes, the
Speaker 1: defense for the Falcons makes a play in deep, but
Speaker 1: not before making everybody sweat it out. They get it done, though,
Speaker 1: seventeen over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. Atlanta has now
Speaker 1: won two of their last three games, and the Panthers
Speaker 1: now after that great start on a three game losing streak,
Speaker 1: And I almost feel like I'm here, Of course, was
Speaker 1: Dan Hansis with Greg Rosenthal. I only us feel like
Speaker 1: this should be a place for you and Mark Sessler
Speaker 1: to commiserate about beautiful Panthers and all that has suddenly
Speaker 1: gone wrong with them and have a little like a
Speaker 1: psych session together. But instead we'll just do a more
Speaker 1: even handed breakdown of what happened on Thursday night. Your thoughts, Well,
Speaker 1: you can just be poking and prodding me about it,
Speaker 1: and then I can be defensive and come back and
Speaker 1: that might be better podcasting. I don't. I really don't
Speaker 1: feel that. I don't feel that way about the Panthers
Speaker 1: as a whole, or Matt Rule or the team, because
Speaker 1: they're kind of where they should be where I expected.
Speaker 1: I do feel that way about Teddy Bridgewater there, like
Speaker 1: I feel like I was the parent watching, like my
Speaker 1: kid move up to like the travel team or something
Speaker 1: like he gets to play. Everyone's watching him. It's like
Speaker 1: the everyone's watching Teddy Bridgewater tonight, and I just wanted
Speaker 1: him to play a representative game and he ended up
Speaker 1: having a few things go poorly for me. He didn't,
Speaker 1: you know, throw the ball great. I don't think he
Speaker 1: was seeing things too clearly. They cooked him up on
Speaker 1: a ton of blitzes and that that really was the
Speaker 1: game to me. And he also suffered like a massive injury,
Speaker 1: uh what looked like a massive injury when he took
Speaker 1: a dirty shot to the head and you thought he
Speaker 1: was out for the game. Then he came back in
Speaker 1: and I was getting like Alex Smith coming in for
Speaker 1: Washington vibes. I was just like, don't nobody hit Teddy
Speaker 1: for the rest of this game? And he ends the
Speaker 1: game on an ugly pick, so that I I am,
Speaker 1: I am weirdly emotionally invested. I don't know. What we
Speaker 1: didn't see is a trainer for the Panthers, like shove
Speaker 1: a giant Torri Dell needle into his uh neck muscle
Speaker 1: to fix it so he could get back on the
Speaker 1: field because he was absolutely blasted there and I've slept wrong,
Speaker 1: you know, overnight and woken up with the neck injury.
Speaker 1: Where I like it. It gave me issues for weeks
Speaker 1: at a time to see the angle at which he
Speaker 1: was hit. I mean, it speaks to his toughness and
Speaker 1: also that's football. I mean, these guys are all kind
Speaker 1: of badasses to be able to play through what they
Speaker 1: play through. Uh. But you know, very strange on the
Speaker 1: Falcon side of things, Greg, because I was actually trying
Speaker 1: to document it in real time on Twitter today. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like deconstructing a Falcon's meltdown before it actually happens, And
Speaker 1: it really looked like I was going to have a
Speaker 1: document that people could come back to forever. I just
Speaker 1: want to set it up because it was all in
Speaker 1: real time. I think it started right off the gate
Speaker 1: when Raheem, not feeling so younger anymore, kicked the short
Speaker 1: field goal on fourth and inches UH in the on
Speaker 1: the first drive of the game. That was kind of
Speaker 1: indicative of some of the red zone failures that allowed
Speaker 1: Carolina to hang around in that game. Then you had
Speaker 1: the Todd Gurley touchdown in the second half and then
Speaker 1: Coup missing the extra point Falcons s to keep it
Speaker 1: in an eight point game. You're like, all right, that's
Speaker 1: gonna come back to get him. Then you have Arthur
Speaker 1: Blank and his red velvet coat and the shot of
Speaker 1: him looking sternly on the field. When has that ever
Speaker 1: gone wrong for the Falcons during a telecast? Then you
Speaker 1: had Todd Gurley, the guy that couldn't stay out of
Speaker 1: the end zone uh last week, costing the Falcons a
Speaker 1: game against the Lions, hopping and hopping and skipping to
Speaker 1: get out of bounds on third down and stopping the
Speaker 1: clock with three minutes to play, and giving Teddy and
Speaker 1: the Panthers every opportunity in the world. And Greg, you
Speaker 1: and I were texting about that, it looked to me
Speaker 1: like he he chose I don't want to get hit here,
Speaker 1: so I'm gonna put that ahead of uh not of
Speaker 1: stopping the clock. So look looks like a business decision.
Speaker 1: Or it could be the other thing, Greg, which is
Speaker 1: this guy just doesn't think right on the field. Either way,
Speaker 1: it's a bad look. It happens too much. There. There's
Speaker 1: a player too. It's not just that play at the
Speaker 1: goal line last week. There's a player too with Gurly.
Speaker 1: I've seen some some thoughts on Twitter. It's like rejuvenation
Speaker 1: season for girls leading league in Toucho Like, no, Watson,
Speaker 1: he's never getting that six million dollar contract again. No,
Speaker 1: it's nothing personal. Let's just not it's not gonna happen.
Speaker 1: And then finally the third and seventeen after the Panthers
Speaker 1: get the ball back, d J. Moores somehow gets open
Speaker 1: for a thirty or forty yard game and think it's
Speaker 1: done deal. But to their credit the Falcons, they get
Speaker 1: the sack to back up Teddy put them in a
Speaker 1: tough situation, and then they get the interception. So while
Speaker 1: all of it seems like it was heading towards a
Speaker 1: very familiar Falcons ending, uh, let's give them some love.
Speaker 1: And what's been a very tough year for closing this
Speaker 1: game out. Well, it's funny why every Falcons game now,
Speaker 1: I don't I don't know why. I'm I'm sort of
Speaker 1: fascinated by this team, but every Falcons game the announcer
Speaker 1: does with Troy Aikman did all night, which is just like, well,
Speaker 1: if they had just won those three incredibly painful games,
Speaker 1: this season would be different. But but it is true
Speaker 1: like they've been in there, not like the worst team,
Speaker 1: Like even if they had just won two of those
Speaker 1: three insane losses, there four and four right now, And
Speaker 1: a lot of it is if you look at the
Speaker 1: difference between this game and the first Panthers game, which
Speaker 1: I remember well because I had to cover it for
Speaker 1: our podcast, is their whole secondary was hurt in that game.
Speaker 1: They're back, and so their health and now Rahee Morris
Speaker 1: feels a little more comfortable cooking up those blitzes and
Speaker 1: getting crazy. And Teddy never came up with an answer.
Speaker 1: They never came up with an answer that. Oh, and
Speaker 1: Julio Jones is back, I mean Julio Jones, Like that
Speaker 1: makes a pretty big difference. Here's what Julio has done
Speaker 1: the last three weeks seven for one thirty seven tonight,
Speaker 1: even though Calvin Ridley got hurt uh in the second
Speaker 1: quarter eight for ninety seven last week, eight for one
Speaker 1: thirty seven the week before. I mean, yeah, it helps
Speaker 1: when you're like, first ballot Hall of Famer is out
Speaker 1: there with Matt Ryan and they know exactly what they're doing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's he's still that elite dude. And that's why when
Speaker 1: you talk speculation about are the Falcons ready to blow
Speaker 1: it up if Julio Jones was ever made available. Um,
Speaker 1: I would think a team that was looking for that
Speaker 1: final piece on offense would give up a first round pick,
Speaker 1: even at his advanced age, at his position or something
Speaker 1: close to it. Yeah, Ridley went out with that ankle
Speaker 1: and jury, which is a bummer. He was off to
Speaker 1: another fast start and he's been a guy that's been
Speaker 1: an automatic you know, seven for one, ten and a
Speaker 1: touchdown every week. It feels like, so, uh, it's an
Speaker 1: ankle injury. You hope it's not something that that stays
Speaker 1: with him. Brian Burns, I don't know what happened there.
Speaker 1: He's been a really big part of the Panthers front seven,
Speaker 1: and he got a sack that got wiped out by
Speaker 1: penalty late in the game and he was reaching out
Speaker 1: his back. It's kind of hard to tell what that
Speaker 1: was all about. That's a injury. He's a beast and
Speaker 1: he's That's why I'm not worried. You know, I think
Speaker 1: Panthers fans have to be happy with this season. Um,
Speaker 1: the progress. I mean, they're not gonna be a sneaky
Speaker 1: playoff team. This game was kind of fun for a
Speaker 1: game now that we know the result, that had like
Speaker 1: zero playoff implication. I mean, the Panthers are not going
Speaker 1: to be contending, but they like Burns looks like a
Speaker 1: top ten defensive end in the league. That's how well
Speaker 1: he's playing. Jeremy Chin, Daniel Jeremiah's boy. We'll give him
Speaker 1: some love after we buried him in our previous show. Uh,
Speaker 1: he was so high on Jeremy Chin, who just won
Speaker 1: Offensive Rookie or Defensive Rookie of the Month for the Panthers.
Speaker 1: So you know, they've like found some things. They gotta
Speaker 1: feel good about their coaching stuff. Um, you mentioned Blank though,
Speaker 1: what did you think about Arthur Blanks? Look the jack
Speaker 1: the velvet jacket. It was a lot and I like, listen,
Speaker 1: he's an eccentric billionaire, he owns home depot and the rain.
Speaker 1: I'm with it, you know, I like it because of
Speaker 1: the rain. I like that going just going down onto
Speaker 1: the field and essentially ruining the jacket is a flex
Speaker 1: in its own way. It's like, you know what, I
Speaker 1: can do this because it's nothing to me, because I
Speaker 1: have a whole closet of these. So because he's got
Speaker 1: no one to tell him not to wear it. By
Speaker 1: the way, what's wrong with it? I don't understand what's
Speaker 1: wrong with Look, look kind of just crazy. See if
Speaker 1: Cam Newton wears it, Greg, you're saying, he looks cool
Speaker 1: and some people can pull it. Some people can pull
Speaker 1: it off. I don't know. Like and by the way,
Speaker 1: Falcons fans like last week I made you know and
Speaker 1: Arthur Blank on the sideline joke that that it's the worst,
Speaker 1: you know, the scariest six words in sports, and You're like, well,
Speaker 1: he does that every game, And I'm like, well, yeah,
Speaker 1: that's the point. We get it, dude, Yeah, that's the
Speaker 1: point you guys. You do it every game. Um, any
Speaker 1: other takeaways from this ball game. I do want to
Speaker 1: point out that the Carolina Panthers defense, which, like as
Speaker 1: I mentioned, has a couple of players. Derek Brown looks
Speaker 1: good too. Last forced a punt um late in the
Speaker 1: fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears in Week five. That
Speaker 1: was the last time. The Panthers defense too famously sort
Speaker 1: of got rid of every productive player that they had
Speaker 1: from a year ago in Luke Kickley retired and drafted
Speaker 1: all defense. And it's just like, as you would say
Speaker 1: in the second, a bunch of ham and eggers, and
Speaker 1: it's like it is coming home to roost a little bit.
Speaker 1: It's hard to go two and a half weeks without
Speaker 1: forcing a punt. I don't know if I've ever heard
Speaker 1: that is an insane Statuh, just cleaning things up. It
Speaker 1: looks like Brian Burns did return to the game. I
Speaker 1: missed that, so that's good news for the Panthers. And uh, well,
Speaker 1: you know what I just gotta say, Greg, I gotta
Speaker 1: say you and Cessler were having a little fun at
Speaker 1: my expense, acting like the Panthers were this this all world,
Speaker 1: the big team. So it's not true. They were fun
Speaker 1: and they were fun. Uh, And I was saying. My
Speaker 1: response was I'm not rooting against the Panthers. I don't
Speaker 1: have any issues of Matt Rule. I like Matt Rule.
Speaker 1: He's a New York, New Jersey guy. But the idea
Speaker 1: that they were going to be this twelve and four
Speaker 1: team just felt a little bit caught up in the
Speaker 1: moment because now they're three and five and they go
Speaker 1: to Kansas City next week and then they host the Bucks.
Speaker 1: So look out. Now they're done. I mean watching them,
Speaker 1: they've overachieved. I really, I truly never believed they would be.
Speaker 1: I thought they could maybe be a market eight and
Speaker 1: eight fun team. And my my belief though in in
Speaker 1: Rule and even their defensive coaching staff, who I think
Speaker 1: has done a pretty good job with you know, is
Speaker 1: there like I think they got a good foundation. I
Speaker 1: think you're just salty because because Matt Rule and Robbie
Speaker 1: Anderson could have been the could have been the convoy
Speaker 1: with the Jets. I really it's not it's not that
Speaker 1: at all. I the Robbie thing annoys me, but I
Speaker 1: don't I want to see him do well. I liked
Speaker 1: Robbie Underson as a player, uh and Rule. I like
Speaker 1: Matt Rule. I wish he was a Jets coach. But
Speaker 1: it's not like it's like we lost that on Bill Belichick.
Speaker 1: I guess was my point because I've done that too
Speaker 1: and that's not fun. Um. All right, good stuff, good talk.
Speaker 1: Next time you hear from us, it will be Sunday
Speaker 1: Night where we recap every Thursday game. And like Greg said,
Speaker 1: make sure you check out the Thursday preview show. Uh
Speaker 1: Greg and Daniel Jeremiah uh in a sneak attack for
Speaker 1: the ages really went back and forth and then uh DJ,
Speaker 1: who felt you know, we talked about cornered animal games
Speaker 1: on the show, like a corner and animal. We just
Speaker 1: started hitting out on everyone on the show, so you know,
Speaker 1: character was exposed there. Um, but thank you for coming
Speaker 1: on the show, d J. All right, that's it. Killed
Speaker 1: Sunday