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Speaker 1: Dirty Birds Football is back here in Flowery branch OTAs

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Speaker 1: Man OTA's They just started. We just saw, well, I

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Speaker 1: say we, you just saw the first practice. I had

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Speaker 1: to be inside doing some managerial work.

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Speaker 2: Don't act like you don't have a nice, lovely, lovely

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Speaker 2: big window.

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Speaker 1: I can say that I was looking out the window

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Speaker 1: pretty significantly, but I was not down on the sidelines

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Speaker 1: because of my schedule today.

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Speaker 3: You were.

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Speaker 1: So this is actually a very important podcast for yours

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Speaker 1: truly as well for those listening and watching at home,

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Speaker 1: because I wasn't out there, so I don't know what

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Speaker 1: was happening.

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Speaker 2: You're our audience. I am literally real time.

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Speaker 1: This is real time learning for me, which I'm really

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Speaker 1: excited to get into. So we're gonna spend the next

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Speaker 1: ten fifteen minutes going over everything you saw at practice.

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Speaker 4: Now, remember, everybody, this is.

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Speaker 1: A voluntary OTA's mandatory mini camp doesn't start for another

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Speaker 1: week and a half, and so this is something that

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Speaker 1: we will be checking in every now and again.

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Speaker 2: With the podcast only a couple of media availabilities, I

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Speaker 2: think per kind of phase. Yeah, right, so we had

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Speaker 2: one today, We'll have another one next week, and then

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Speaker 2: I don't know the rest of the schedule off the

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Speaker 2: top of my head, but we will keep you updated

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Speaker 2: from there.

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Speaker 1: We will literally be there from start to finish. So

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Speaker 1: let's dive in because I have a few questions that

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Speaker 1: I want to get to. Overall, I think that this

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Speaker 1: is a really important time for a lot of players

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Speaker 1: and coaches. It's a big part of install I know

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Speaker 1: last year talking to Zach Robinson, he was like, this

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Speaker 1: is where majority of the work that we need to do,

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Speaker 1: the brunch of the work we need to be putting

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Speaker 1: in this offense. It's all about what's happening in the

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Speaker 1: meeting rooms and inside your own brain. But this year

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Speaker 1: is a little bit different in that a lot of

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Speaker 1: these offensive players.

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Speaker 4: Are carryover from last year.

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Speaker 1: A lot of them know what they're doing, a lot

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Speaker 1: of them know exactly kind of what Zach Robinson is

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Speaker 1: implementing or has already implemented. And then you do have

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Speaker 1: some new faces on the defense Jeff Olbrick included. But

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Speaker 1: Jeff Olbrich has you know what, I want to make

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Speaker 1: this as simple of a defense as I possibly can

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Speaker 1: in terms of scheme. So I guess my question for

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Speaker 1: you is is like, as you are looking at this

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Speaker 1: ota period and the first time you're getting to see

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Speaker 1: these guys really out on the grass. What should the

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Speaker 1: goal for this Atlanta Falcons team be right now? And

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Speaker 1: what did Raheem Morris say earlier today about it.

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Speaker 2: The overarching goal for any period before the regular season

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Speaker 2: starts is to stay healthy. So that is number one,

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Speaker 2: and you're going to hear that one hundred million times

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Speaker 2: between now and the start of the regular season. But

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Speaker 2: outside of that, I think it's kind of like two

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Speaker 2: different things. Right for the rookies, it's just getting acclimated

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Speaker 2: to the speed of an NFL practice. It's understanding where

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Speaker 2: to be, when to be there, how fast to move

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Speaker 2: from period to period, individual drills, team drills, all of

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Speaker 2: that right because they need every single rep to matter,

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Speaker 2: and time is very precious in kind of the current

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Speaker 2: landscape of the NFL. So that's kind of what this

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Speaker 2: is for the rookies. But I want to go back

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Speaker 2: because one of the most interesting things to me about

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Speaker 2: today's practice was, yes, this is a returning offense with

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Speaker 2: a lot of known starters, veterans in the case of

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Speaker 2: you know, Jake Matthews and Chris Lynstrom and now Drake Lennon.

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Speaker 2: You know, we can kind of say that, so there

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Speaker 2: are known commodities on this offense. However, I kind of

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Speaker 2: think that this is still a little bit of an

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Speaker 2: install period for Atlanta because of how singularly talented Michael

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Speaker 2: PENNOCKX Junior is in terms of where he can put

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Speaker 2: the ball on the field, which is to just say,

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Speaker 2: like anywhere. So I do think you're gonna see a

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Speaker 2: newer version of this offense than we saw last year

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Speaker 2: with Kirk Cousins running the show at this point in time.

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Speaker 2: So because of that, Yeah, there were some growing pains.

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Speaker 2: I think we saw it there on day one of

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Speaker 2: OTA's which is very important to stress.

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Speaker 4: But well, that was gonna be my question. They're still

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Speaker 4: like shots, right, like, what did Michael Pennocks Junior look like?

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Speaker 1: This is really the first time that you're getting to

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Speaker 1: see him with a helmet on throwing to his receivers

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Speaker 1: and honestly since last season the season ended, So how

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Speaker 1: did he look today?

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Speaker 3: He looked a.

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Speaker 2: Little bumpy, to be honest, particularly in kind of the

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Speaker 2: eleven on eleven periods, and it's it's just tough to

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Speaker 2: tell if it was gloomy and muggy and rainy and

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Speaker 2: kind of he was an off day for.

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Speaker 4: Him, which it was. It was a gross outside, it

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Speaker 4: was it's really cold too.

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Speaker 2: Talked a lot about on the sidelines amongst the media

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Speaker 2: members who were ill prepared for this weather. But it

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Speaker 2: just looked a little bit sloppy, just the whole offense.

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Speaker 2: And that's what I'm kind of getting at is I

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Speaker 2: do think that this is still gonna be a little

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Speaker 2: bit of a learning process as you get going into

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Speaker 2: even the preseason, right, So that is, but then the

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Speaker 2: positive for Michael Pennox was particularly and take this with

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Speaker 2: a grain of salt, because again, it's OTA's they're throwing

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Speaker 2: against air.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you also don't really know exactly what they're

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Speaker 1: being asked to do, what they're specifically working on. I

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Speaker 1: always try to tell people that, especially during training camp.

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Speaker 1: It's like, yes, you're seeing kind of some of these big,

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Speaker 1: flashy plays, but you don't know what the defense is

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Speaker 1: trying to do.

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Speaker 4: You don't know what they're installing. There's just a lot

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Speaker 4: of like unknowns in terms of what's being asked of

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Speaker 4: these players.

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Speaker 2: Only people that know it are the ones out there

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Speaker 2: on the field and in the coaching staff. But in

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Speaker 2: this particular example, None of that matters because it was

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Speaker 2: just the touch on some of his short throws. A

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Speaker 2: we talk about his arm strength and how we can

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Speaker 2: launch down the field. But last season, I think particularly

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Speaker 2: in training camp early on, I noticed that's a five

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Speaker 2: yard slant, man, you don't need to put it like

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Speaker 2: right between his eyeballs as fast as you can. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: And so today I just watched some of those slants,

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Speaker 2: some of those quick ins, those outs, much more touch

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Speaker 2: on the ball, kind of feathery, a lot better pace.

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Speaker 2: So that was a positive that I think actually matters

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Speaker 2: more than the sloppy nature of the play out there,

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Speaker 2: because that's just day one of OTA's.

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Speaker 4: Right and again gross outside. Yeah exact, I didn't want

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Speaker 4: to be out there. It just so happened that I wasn't.

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Speaker 1: But no, I'm glad that you bring up Michael Pennocks,

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Speaker 1: and I'm glad that you kind of broke down how

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Speaker 1: he looked and maybe the reasons why.

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Speaker 4: But also a little bit of like this is still

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Speaker 4: very early on.

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Speaker 1: There's still a lot of questions that we have to

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Speaker 1: answer in regards to Michael Pennocks and where he's going.

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Speaker 4: But something else that I really wanted to touch on

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Speaker 4: with you.

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Speaker 1: Is you know, again, like I mentioned off the top,

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Speaker 1: this is voluntary OTAs. You don't have to be here.

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Speaker 1: Players don't have to be here if they don't want to.

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Speaker 1: But it's a really important time again in terms of

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Speaker 1: install So when you were looking out there at the

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Speaker 1: full gamut of what players were there, who was there,

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Speaker 1: who wasn't.

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Speaker 2: Kirk Cousins was not there, which Raheem Morris you know,

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Speaker 2: talked about in the press conference beforehand, said he hadn't

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Speaker 2: seen him in the building. But again, these are voluntary,

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Speaker 2: so he's been around, he hasn't been around. It kind

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Speaker 2: of is besides the point because again Michael Pennix Junior

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Speaker 2: is really the focus out there on the field, and.

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Speaker 4: Like what we've said, this is going to be a

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Speaker 4: fluid situation until it's.

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Speaker 2: Not exactly and if he's the backup quarterback, everybody's comfortable

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Speaker 2: with that like it. So everything is just preceding the

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Speaker 2: way it has been forever. Right time is a flat circle.

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Speaker 2: What is anything anyway? Ryan Noozell out there continued to

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Speaker 2: practice with the team. You know, Dwayne Ledford has spoken twice,

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Speaker 2: the offensive line coach here in Atlanta about Ryan Neuzel

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Speaker 2: and how excited he is and kind of a connuity

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Speaker 2: that he brings and what he showed in his eight

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Speaker 2: starts last year. So even though nothing has been signed

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Speaker 2: on the dotted line, for all intents and purposes, the

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Speaker 2: plan is Nowsle is the guy at center there.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think with Noosle, it's interesting because you're right, like,

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Speaker 1: he's technically not under contract right right now, and he.

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Speaker 2: Signed a medical waiver I believe to practice.

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Speaker 4: To practice, Okay, So that's what's interesting about this. And

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Speaker 4: it makes me think, and I have this is Tory talking.

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Speaker 1: This is not the Falcons organization or front office or

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Speaker 1: anything like that, but it makes me think that it's

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Speaker 1: potentially the Falcons are potentially setting up a maybe longer

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Speaker 1: term deal with Ryan Noozle because it's taken so long.

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Speaker 1: Because if you were just going to sign him to

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Speaker 1: the one year tender that I think it's just north

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Speaker 1: of like three million dollars in one year, then you

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Speaker 1: would have already done it. It makes me kind of

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Speaker 1: think that they're opening the door a little bit that

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Speaker 1: they really believe in Ryan Noozle and they really think

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Speaker 1: that they could have something longer term with him, even

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Speaker 1: if they were to let say go and draft a

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Speaker 1: starting center next off season to have him as a backup.

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Speaker 4: We've seen what he's been as.

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Speaker 2: A backup, yea. And they're not afraid, as they've shown

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Speaker 2: and said, to add competition even where there is some.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, like, I don't think it precludes you from

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Speaker 2: adding at the position moving forward, and you know, we'll

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Speaker 2: we'll see where it goes from here. But again, it

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Speaker 2: seems as though Ryan Noozle is going to be the

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Speaker 2: starting center here in Atlanta in twenty twenty five, even

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Speaker 2: though it just is he's not on the roster.

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Speaker 4: Right, that's what we've been told. Weird, it's a little weird.

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Speaker 2: There's always one weird thing with an offensive lineman to

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Speaker 2: every single training camp, preseason, off season, you name it.

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Speaker 2: There's something weird with the offensive line that we got

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Speaker 2: to touch on.

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Speaker 4: I'm just glad I'm not like talking about the left

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Speaker 4: guard anymore.

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Speaker 2: I know they shifted one inside the center position to

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Speaker 2: talk about.

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Speaker 1: So when it comes to guys who were out there

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Speaker 1: and who weren't, it's interesting because you do.

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Speaker 4: Get a lot of guys off of ir that.

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Speaker 1: Are coming back slowly, but surely guys like Young Wayku,

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Speaker 1: guys like Brayln Trice, DeMarco Helms. What updates do you

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Speaker 1: have for the people listening and myself about.

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Speaker 4: Where these guys are.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, so Braylen Trice not out there practicing with the team,

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Speaker 2: kind of still in his recovery and rehabilitation phase after

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Speaker 2: tearing his acl last preseason unfortunately, and Rahee Morris says,

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Speaker 2: we'll see maybe by training camp he's back. They would

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Speaker 2: certainly like to get him back in the fold by then,

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Speaker 2: but you know, with a young player whose career is

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Speaker 2: fully ahead of him, you want to be cautious with

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Speaker 2: these types of things. So I wouldn't be surprised if

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Speaker 2: you know, we'll see how it all plays out. Young

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Speaker 2: Wayku is been kicking. We spoke to a matter of practice.

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Speaker 2: He says, he's kicking about two days a week now,

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Speaker 2: which is a good kind of place that he likes

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Speaker 2: to be at. It is consistent with his routine has been,

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Speaker 2: you know, over the years. So seems like he's any

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Speaker 2: good spot as he works back from the injury last year.

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Speaker 2: And then DeMarco Helms was back out there cool and

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Speaker 2: that's awesome. That's great to see. He also got injured

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Speaker 2: in that same game as Breyllan Trice. But I think

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Speaker 2: the Falcons kind of sneaky are high on at least

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Speaker 2: a role for him. I'm not saying he's all of

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Speaker 2: a sudden starting right across from Jesse Bates fully, but

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Speaker 2: I think they have a way to use him in mind,

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Speaker 2: and they are excited to see what that's going to

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Speaker 2: look like in this defense.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about Young Wikhu a little bit, because I

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Speaker 1: know that this is going to be a topic of

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Speaker 1: conversation over the next months and as we get into

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Speaker 1: the regular season. Is like, the Falcons do have a

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Speaker 1: kicking competition on their hands. They brought in competition for

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Speaker 1: Young Wick who I know that you talk to him

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Speaker 1: a little bit after practice kind of what's his mentality

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Speaker 1: going like going into I guess this next period of

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Speaker 1: his career.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean he he said that he welcomed kind

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Speaker 2: of the compition. At this point in time, it's not

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Speaker 2: any different than it has been in years past. Typically

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Speaker 2: teams do go into training camp with two kickers on

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Speaker 2: the roster and there is some competition, and you know

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Speaker 2: then he kind of said all the right. Things of

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Speaker 2: even when you make the roster, you're competing against thirty

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Speaker 2: one other you know, kickers around the league and whoever

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Speaker 2: else may be available. So I think the biggest thing

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Speaker 2: for him was once he identified all right, this injury

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Speaker 2: is not getting any better. It is something that he

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Speaker 2: says he's dealt with before as a kicker. It is

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Speaker 2: just kind of the natural right.

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Speaker 4: Hip injury there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And what was interesting is I spoke to him

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Speaker 2: kind of earlier in the season, way before any of

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Speaker 2: this ever cropped up, just just kind of asking about

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Speaker 2: his workout and how he stays healthy and for the

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Speaker 2: long term, and really is about your core. It's your

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Speaker 2: core that keeps your hips tight and in place because

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Speaker 2: everything is stabilized much better. So I think all of

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Speaker 2: that once it just kind of started getting a little

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Speaker 2: bit out of whack, it broke down from there, right,

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Speaker 2: and there wasn't a way that they could get it

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Speaker 2: healthier without taking a step back. So that's when they

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Speaker 2: went on ir and all of that. And unfortunately Falcons

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Speaker 2: didn't make the playoffs, so season ended and then he

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Speaker 2: went into his off season. But I think he's looking

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Speaker 2: forward to a competition. I think most importantly, like he

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Speaker 2: has focused on his regimen, his routine. Who is a

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Speaker 2: very structured guy. He doesn't like to deviate from his

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Speaker 2: habit as most great kickers are. You know, kickers are

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Speaker 2: like golfers, their creatures of habit and routine. Yeah, so

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Speaker 2: it sounds like he is right back in his and

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Speaker 2: looking forward to proving it once again in training camp.

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Speaker 1: I know that's one of the competitions I'm looking at

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Speaker 1: most closely. But another competition that I'm really curious to

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Speaker 1: see how this goes is at Nickel. And you know,

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Speaker 1: I think that it's no secret that between d Alford,

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Speaker 1: Clark Phillips and now Billy Bowman Junior, there is kind

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Speaker 1: of this wide open competition, at least in my head

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Speaker 1: about what the starting Nickel package could look like. And

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Speaker 1: I know that I one of the questions that I

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Speaker 1: keyed you up on is, hey, who's someone who stood

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Speaker 1: out in this one singular practice that we're talking about

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Speaker 1: what's one person or one position group?

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Speaker 4: And you actually brought up Billy Bowman Junior. Can you

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Speaker 4: explain why?

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Speaker 5: Yeah?

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Speaker 2: I mean I think that you could kind of see

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Speaker 2: from both of the Falcons rookie safeties Xavier Wats and

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Speaker 2: Billy Bowman, like there is a real legitimate field speed

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Speaker 2: to them. I think there's instincts that allow them to

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Speaker 2: play a lot faster than maybe they're the numbers during

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Speaker 2: the draft process might suggest, right, because that's what we

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Speaker 2: all get caught up on. It's like is it a

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Speaker 2: four four seven or is it a four five three?

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Speaker 2: And if one then we can't draft and the other

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Speaker 2: he's a first rounder. It's like how quickly can they

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Speaker 2: diagnose things out on the field. And that was something

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Speaker 2: where seeing Billy Bowman, who's playing close to the line

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Speaker 2: of scrimmage, that's got to be a quality that you have.

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Speaker 2: You have to see things quickly and more importantly, react

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Speaker 2: as soon as you recognize what has hapen happening. And

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Speaker 2: then Xavier Watts on the back end, I thought kind

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Speaker 2: of demonstrated the same qualities as soon as the ball

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Speaker 2: was out of quarterbacks saying boom, he was breaking and going.

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Speaker 2: So really it's it's that Nickel combo with the safety

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Speaker 2: because I think the Falcons have the personality lump Kevin

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Speaker 2: King in there. You know Billy Bowmen for sure, but

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Speaker 2: d Alford Clark Phillips, like there are some bodies that

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Speaker 2: are very different. If you want to go big nickel,

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Speaker 2: you maybe put it Kevin King in there. If you

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Speaker 2: want to go you know, a little smaller but quicker,

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Speaker 2: that's maybe Billy Bowman, that's the Alford. Like, there are

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Speaker 2: a lot of options that the Falcons do have, and

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Speaker 2: again that feels like it's across the board on this defense.

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Speaker 2: You look at the defensive line options, you look at

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Speaker 2: edge rusher options, you look at nickel options, safety options,

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Speaker 2: like there's there is a lot of versatility to this

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Speaker 2: defense and malleability for how the coaching staff wants to

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Speaker 2: ultimately deplay it and deploy it.

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Speaker 1: So when you are looking at and you know, we

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Speaker 1: talk defense, let's switch over offense. Who stood out offensively

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Speaker 1: for you that you were really one either excited to

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Speaker 1: see out there today or somebody who caught.

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Speaker 2: Your ef It was really solid for the offensive line.

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Speaker 2: That's kind of a bad answer, but again, it wasn't

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Speaker 2: like the greatest day for the offense. I thought Bijon

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Speaker 2: did have a nice, really good run, long run down

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Speaker 2: the left sideline that was notable. Showcased his speed, so everybody.

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Speaker 2: Tyler al Jear showcased his vision too, as well, Tiegan Quittoriano,

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Speaker 2: the new tight end that they brought in as a

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Speaker 2: free agent. He was somebody who really was not on

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Speaker 2: my radar going into today, but I just kind of

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Speaker 2: noticed in a little like Charlie Warner light role John

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Speaker 2: Fitzpatrick last year as well, more of a run blocker,

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Speaker 2: but did great in that role. And I thought the

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Speaker 2: offensive line was the of the offense overall, was like

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Speaker 2: the most impressive part. Yeah, and kind of the one

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Speaker 2: part that took it to the defense. So overall, it

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Speaker 2: was a good day for Atlanta's defense, I would.

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Speaker 4: Say, nice. Interesting.

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Speaker 1: I'm very fascinated to see kind of how this progresses.

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Speaker 4: And it's like, okay, defense in the day to day,

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Speaker 4: but they always start, always right, and.

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Speaker 1: Then it's like what happens when you really get the

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Speaker 1: pads on, what happens when you're really going faster?

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Speaker 2: And none of the rookies with the first team, you

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Speaker 2: know I should mention. So again, it wasn't like, oh,

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Speaker 2: now you've inserted these four rookies into the lineup and

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Speaker 2: the defense has gone far and away better. No, it

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Speaker 2: was still you know, you have Leonard float out there on,

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Speaker 2: Katie was out there, You're like you had your kind

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Speaker 2: of veteran guys that you know and love out there

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Speaker 2: on the defense.

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Speaker 4: Well, there's so many more practices ahead.

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Speaker 1: This is the first of very many, you guys, like

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Speaker 1: whether it's the spring and or summer or training camp

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Speaker 1: when we get into it. But Will thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for sitting down and talking to me and catching

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Speaker 1: me up on all of the things that happened out

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Speaker 1: at practice today.

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Speaker 2: Glad you got my memo about pink.

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Speaker 1: I know we're matching. For those not watching at home,

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Speaker 1: we both are wearing pink and it is hilarious. So

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Speaker 1: I am going to actually let you go because I'm

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Speaker 1: going to get Tarn watk cool bye this seat. She's

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Speaker 1: written a story on edge rushers and first your production

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Speaker 1: and what realistic expectations should be, so I'm very excited

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Speaker 1: to talk to her a little bit about that and

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Speaker 1: what makes Jayalen Walker and James Pearce Junior tick and

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Speaker 1: what that could mean for them in your one.

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Speaker 4: But thank you so much for joining me.

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Speaker 2: Will of course anytime.

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Speaker 1: All right, I've switched well out for Tarren Walk. Taren,

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Speaker 1: welcome to the podcast studio.

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Speaker 3: Sorry I'm not in pink, but you won't catch me

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Speaker 3: in pink.

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Speaker 1: I was about to say, honestly, like I know for

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Speaker 1: a fact, Aryan and I will always match when she's

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Speaker 1: in all black, and if I wear any color at all,

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Speaker 1: it's like.

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Speaker 4: It's not gonna happen.

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Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but no, I'm really excited to welcome you

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Speaker 1: into the podcast studio today because you wrote a story yesterday.

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Speaker 4: We're recording this on what day is it? Wednesday? Today's

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Speaker 4: Tuesday's Tuesday. We're recording this on Tuesday.

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Speaker 1: The holiday Memorial Day weekend really got me, so I

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Speaker 1: hope everybody had a great Memorial Day weekend. But anyways,

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Speaker 1: it is Tuesday. You wrote a story that ran earlier

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Speaker 1: this morning about expectations that we should have for year

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Speaker 1: one pass rushers that are taken in the first round,

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Speaker 1: and I really thoroughly enjoyed reading it. You put a

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Speaker 1: lot of work in everybody. Go to Atlanta Falcons dot

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Speaker 1: com and check out Terren's work.

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Speaker 4: It's a two part story.

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Speaker 1: There's a main analysis and then there is a separate

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Speaker 1: story that we've linked in the story that kind of

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Speaker 1: breaks down all of the.

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Speaker 4: Numbers, particularly sack numbers that Tarran has pulled for these guys.

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Speaker 1: So I go, as we're talking about this, like if

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Speaker 1: you're not doing anything, like go pull it up on

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Speaker 1: the site and walk through it with us, because I

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Speaker 1: have a few questions that I'm really excited to get to.

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Speaker 1: But first things versus like why did you want to

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Speaker 1: tell this story? You know, obviously the Falcons have not one,

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Speaker 1: but two first round picks that are going to be

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Speaker 1: coming off the edge in twenty twenty five.

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Speaker 4: So where did this story idea kind of come from

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Speaker 4: for you?

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Speaker 5: I mean, it just came from questions that were asked

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Speaker 5: immediately after the two were selected, right, I remember Jalen

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Speaker 5: Walker was selected well in JPJ James Pierce Junior on

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Speaker 5: the same day. So the press conference was this But

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Speaker 5: I remember being in there and multiple people being like, oh,

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Speaker 5: pass rushers in year one don't have the production, Like

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Speaker 5: why are you confident these two can have an immediate impact?

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Speaker 5: And of course the Falcons leadership is confident they can

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Speaker 5: have an immediate impact.

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Speaker 3: And I was like, is like, what's the validity behind

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Speaker 3: this question? Like is it true?

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Speaker 5: Like do rookie pass rushers kind of not really have

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Speaker 5: the numbers that you would want? Is there a jump

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Speaker 5: in your two, like when does the jump come? If so,

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Speaker 5: and so I looked at the numbers to see if

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Speaker 5: this is true, because like that question came from somewhere,

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Speaker 5: and I was like where, And the numbers do show

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Speaker 5: that in their first year. Pass rushers tend to not

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Speaker 5: really show the numbers that you would want, regardless of

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Speaker 5: the round they were picked in. And so what I

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Speaker 5: did is I looked at the past five years of

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Speaker 5: all linebackers and all defensive linemen, which some could argue

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Speaker 5: some of them wouldn't pass rush, some of them wouldn't

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Speaker 5: do this, but like for simplicity's sake, anyone who's not

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Speaker 5: in the secondary can be involved in the pass rush.

439
00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,159
Speaker 5: And so I just looked at them because you like,

440
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,800
Speaker 5: everyone does their defense differently. Of course I couldn't.

441
00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,879
Speaker 1: Everyone names their guys differently sometimes like some guys are

442
00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:09,679
Speaker 1: defensive ends, sometimes they're outside linebackers. Like it just it

443
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,120
Speaker 1: depends on your coaching staff and what they So.

444
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:15,600
Speaker 5: I did the big buckets of linebacker and defensive lineman,

445
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:18,080
Speaker 5: and I did the last five years because that means

446
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:20,400
Speaker 5: you've cycled out of your rookie contract if you had

447
00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:21,040
Speaker 5: your fifth year.

448
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:23,440
Speaker 3: And with that, I just.

449
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,119
Speaker 5: Looked at their sec totals year over year, and on

450
00:20:26,280 --> 00:20:30,200
Speaker 5: average in year one, in their first year, these five years,

451
00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:32,360
Speaker 5: they averaged three point three sacks.

452
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 1: Which that's kind of bananas to me because that was

453
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:37,920
Speaker 1: where I was thinking in my mind, because you even

454
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:39,760
Speaker 1: asked me the question, You're like, okay, like in a

455
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:44,040
Speaker 1: first year, what would you deem to be a realistic

456
00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,040
Speaker 1: expectation in terms of just sheer sack numbers. We're not

457
00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:50,360
Speaker 1: talking about quarterback hits, we're not talking about pressures, we're

458
00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:50,879
Speaker 1: not talking about that.

459
00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:52,760
Speaker 4: We're literally gently saying about sacks.

460
00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,040
Speaker 1: And I think I said to you, like five or six.

461
00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:57,600
Speaker 1: I was like, that could be a really good year

462
00:20:57,600 --> 00:20:59,840
Speaker 1: if you get five or six. And then to know

463
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:02,960
Speaker 1: that over the course of the last five years it's

464
00:21:03,200 --> 00:21:09,360
Speaker 1: been around three per individual as an average, like that

465
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,119
Speaker 1: was kind of shocking to me.

466
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:15,760
Speaker 5: You look at last year alone, Chop Robinson had six sacks,

467
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:18,600
Speaker 5: but when you take their class average, it was three

468
00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:21,160
Speaker 5: point two because you had a low of a half

469
00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,760
Speaker 5: a sack. And so when you look at all what

470
00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,040
Speaker 5: is it six of them, there was four sacks, there

471
00:21:26,080 --> 00:21:28,040
Speaker 5: was a half sack, there were three sacks, four and

472
00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:30,679
Speaker 5: a half sacks, six sacks one sack, So it is

473
00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:31,040
Speaker 5: kind of.

474
00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:31,920
Speaker 3: A little all over the place.

475
00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,200
Speaker 5: But when you take the average, last year's first rounders

476
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,600
Speaker 5: who pass rush average three point two, which is below

477
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,000
Speaker 5: the average average of the crop eye pulled. But there's

478
00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:45,040
Speaker 5: still outliers like Will Anderson in twenty twenty three head seven.

479
00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,960
Speaker 5: Of course, Aiden Hutchinson had nine and a half in

480
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,159
Speaker 5: twenty twenty two, Micah Parsons. The biggest outlier of this

481
00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:55,800
Speaker 5: entire study is just Mike thirteen in twenty twenty one

482
00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:57,680
Speaker 5: as a rookie, and you even go back to twenty

483
00:21:57,720 --> 00:21:59,480
Speaker 5: twenty when Chase Young had seven and a half.

484
00:21:59,560 --> 00:21:59,840
Speaker 1: Yeah.

485
00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:01,880
Speaker 5: But what was even more interesting is when you get

486
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,760
Speaker 5: into the numbers of year two, there's significant jump the

487
00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:08,080
Speaker 5: average of the five years. You can't count last year

488
00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,080
Speaker 5: because they didn't get to year two, but the so

489
00:22:10,119 --> 00:22:13,240
Speaker 5: the average of the four before was what it was

490
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 5: it four point shooe, let me see about four point seven. Yeah,

491
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,680
Speaker 5: so that's a significant jump. Like, yes, it only looks

492
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,840
Speaker 5: like one to two ish, but you're looking at an

493
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:26,080
Speaker 5: entire class. And again there's a huge range of numbers here,

494
00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,840
Speaker 5: but it is proven that year one to year two

495
00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,600
Speaker 5: there is a jump, and you can see that with

496
00:22:31,760 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 5: the numbers too, Like gosh, Will Anderson went from seven

497
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:38,280
Speaker 5: to eleven to pull the exact same guys. Aiden Hudgenson

498
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:40,639
Speaker 5: went from nine and a half to eleven and a half.

499
00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,840
Speaker 5: Micah Parsons, well, he went from thirteen to thirteen and

500
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:44,720
Speaker 5: a half, so it's still.

501
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:47,920
Speaker 4: Again a big jump, but it's still a mad number.

502
00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:49,880
Speaker 3: And then he went to fourteen.

503
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:54,840
Speaker 5: So you see year over year and even I picked

504
00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,960
Speaker 5: two guys or three guys that work directly with Jeff

505
00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 5: Olbreaker worked directly with Nate Alie, and you saw the

506
00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,400
Speaker 5: same trends out of them. And so I know they're

507
00:23:03,440 --> 00:23:06,280
Speaker 5: confident that they can get this immediate impact out of

508
00:23:06,359 --> 00:23:09,520
Speaker 5: Jalen Walker and James Piers Junior. I'll be curious to

509
00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:13,320
Speaker 5: see if, like they can, like if they break this average.

510
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:15,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, because that's the thing is, like I what I'm

511
00:23:15,960 --> 00:23:21,119
Speaker 1: thinking about the what does immediate impact look like? You know, like,

512
00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:23,840
Speaker 1: what does immediate impact look like for the Falcons with

513
00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:27,720
Speaker 1: Jalen Walker and James Piers Junior? Are you okay with

514
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,000
Speaker 1: three and a half sacks for each guy throughout an

515
00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:31,760
Speaker 1: entire season?

516
00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:32,919
Speaker 3: I don't know.

517
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,600
Speaker 1: I guess it depends on what Arnold Abacketty is doing.

518
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:39,399
Speaker 1: It depends on what Leonard Floyd is doing. Braylin Trice,

519
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:41,520
Speaker 1: you know, I think that you have to look at

520
00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,760
Speaker 1: it from a holistic standpoint of your pass rush Kayden Ellis.

521
00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 1: If Kayden Ellis leads this team again in sacks, are

522
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:50,720
Speaker 1: you okay with that?

523
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:52,879
Speaker 4: I guess it depends on the number. You know, what,

524
00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:53,199
Speaker 4: did he.

525
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:56,119
Speaker 5: Have six five and a half last year? I think

526
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,280
Speaker 5: Arnold Abakhetty led with six and a half. Yeah, it

527
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,280
Speaker 5: was around there. It was in that range, right, So

528
00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:02,920
Speaker 5: if you are you okay with that? I guess it depends.

529
00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,400
Speaker 1: To my point, it's like it depends on the collective

530
00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:08,760
Speaker 1: unit as a whole. So I'm curious for you as

531
00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:12,120
Speaker 1: you were really diving into all of this and really

532
00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,400
Speaker 1: learning about what type of jump can be made from

533
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:17,880
Speaker 1: year one to year two. I'm curious what does all

534
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:20,800
Speaker 1: of this mean for Jalen Walker and James Pearce Junior

535
00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:22,080
Speaker 1: in their first year.

536
00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:27,960
Speaker 5: I think people can relax a little bit on the

537
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:31,320
Speaker 5: expectations for them because you name so many people that

538
00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:32,600
Speaker 5: I think of.

539
00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 3: Nate Ali said the other day where it's like you're.

540
00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:38,240
Speaker 5: Not gonna have one guy with this astronomical number, with

541
00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:41,120
Speaker 5: this attack style front that they want to implement, you're

542
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 5: gonna have like as a collective unit, a big number,

543
00:24:44,440 --> 00:24:46,920
Speaker 5: Like you don't really want one superstar. He used the

544
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,720
Speaker 5: phrase no independent contractors, Like you're not gonna have one

545
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,720
Speaker 5: superstar in this style. It's kind of just like all

546
00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:54,800
Speaker 5: coming at it in the wave after wave kind of

547
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:58,119
Speaker 5: thing that he's been describing. And so if it is

548
00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:00,679
Speaker 5: around three or four for those two, I would consider

549
00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,120
Speaker 5: to access as long as you are with the average

550
00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:05,840
Speaker 5: or above average in my mind, because there are so

551
00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,000
Speaker 5: many others, and I think the public in general, because

552
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,000
Speaker 5: I put a poll out that's like, what would you

553
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:13,760
Speaker 5: realistically you can consider a good year for either of these?

554
00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:17,440
Speaker 5: And I think the range was one to three, four

555
00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 5: to five, six to eight. I'm missing number somewhere because

556
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:23,800
Speaker 5: the final one was ten and up, but around that, yeah,

557
00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,560
Speaker 5: and on average mostly everyone picked I think like the

558
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:28,680
Speaker 5: second or third, like the four to six, yeah, four

559
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,000
Speaker 5: to six change. I'm missing up my own poll right now,

560
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:34,760
Speaker 5: but I was like, your your expectations are.

561
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:35,320
Speaker 3: A little high.

562
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 1: Here's the thing though, I what's funny is is like

563
00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:38,680
Speaker 1: that's not a bad thing.

564
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:39,760
Speaker 4: No, it's not a bad thing.

565
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:41,879
Speaker 1: And what I think is really interesting is is the

566
00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:44,160
Speaker 1: Falcons And you wrote about this in your story.

567
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,240
Speaker 4: The Falcons have been in.

568
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:51,679
Speaker 1: The bottom quartile of sacks over the last what five years,

569
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,359
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen? They are last, yeah, last in collective sacks

570
00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,200
Speaker 1: over that time timeframe. So honestly, what we're taught talking

571
00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:02,560
Speaker 1: about in terms of realistic expectations and the jump you

572
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:04,840
Speaker 1: could make in pass rush if you can go from

573
00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:09,560
Speaker 1: thirty two to twenty five, like, that's a great jump

574
00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,040
Speaker 1: for this team, this organization considering how little movement there's

575
00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,800
Speaker 1: been in terms of sack production collectively over the last

576
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,080
Speaker 1: seven eight years. So I know that I talked to

577
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,000
Speaker 1: Will a little bit about what he saw and took

578
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,280
Speaker 1: away from practice. And I want to ask you kind

579
00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:30,280
Speaker 1: of in the context of this story and really looking

580
00:26:30,359 --> 00:26:33,560
Speaker 1: at Jaywalk and looking at JPJ, like these two guys

581
00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,880
Speaker 1: who this coaching staff, and let's be honest, the SPAN

582
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 1: base wants to come in and make an impact immediately,

583
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:42,240
Speaker 1: what did they kind of look like out during their

584
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,480
Speaker 1: first ARTA practice.

585
00:26:43,520 --> 00:26:45,679
Speaker 5: Anytime you say Jaywalk, I think of my father, So

586
00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:48,320
Speaker 5: I know, I'm like, how was my dad out there?

587
00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 3: Just jiffy free.

588
00:26:50,960 --> 00:26:53,080
Speaker 5: Jalen Walker had some reps with the first team, which

589
00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:57,240
Speaker 5: I thought was very noteworthy because Raheem Morris did say

590
00:26:57,680 --> 00:26:59,720
Speaker 5: what was it at Rookie Mini Caamp that it is

591
00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,880
Speaker 5: realistic to expect the rookies to play in your one,

592
00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:05,800
Speaker 5: to make an impact your one, and play significant reps,

593
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,160
Speaker 5: and so to see that already being implemented or like

594
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:10,919
Speaker 5: getting a few reps here and there, It wasn't like

595
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,800
Speaker 5: a lot a lot, right, Yeah, but just seeing it

596
00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:17,600
Speaker 5: in general was interesting. I can't really speak on James

597
00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,159
Speaker 5: Pierce Junior and how he performed in team because he didn't.

598
00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:24,200
Speaker 5: I'm not really sure why we spoke to Raheem Morris

599
00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,680
Speaker 5: before practice not after. I'm sure that might be a

600
00:27:26,760 --> 00:27:29,359
Speaker 5: question when we do get to talk to Raheem next. Yeah,

601
00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:31,119
Speaker 5: so I can't speak on that. He was there though,

602
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,160
Speaker 5: and like actively watching and.

603
00:27:33,160 --> 00:27:34,679
Speaker 4: Did all like individual stuff.

604
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 5: Yeah, he was running off to the side a bit later. Yeah,

605
00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:39,680
Speaker 5: So not sure what that is he practiced in rookie right, yeah,

606
00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:41,600
Speaker 5: like fully Yeah, so who knows.

607
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:42,480
Speaker 3: It was a gross day.

608
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:44,840
Speaker 4: Maybe we'll ask more questions.

609
00:27:44,920 --> 00:27:47,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, Again, as I said earlier with Will like, we

610
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,040
Speaker 1: have a lot of practice time ahead of us, and

611
00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:52,320
Speaker 1: I don't think this one practice is gonna make or

612
00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:53,400
Speaker 1: break much.

613
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:54,120
Speaker 4: Of anything at all.

614
00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 1: But is there anything else you want to say about

615
00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,280
Speaker 1: this case study and writing this story in any thing

616
00:28:00,320 --> 00:28:02,520
Speaker 1: that you enjoyed about it?

617
00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:07,240
Speaker 5: I think the key here is just to be pleasantly surprised,

618
00:28:07,280 --> 00:28:13,960
Speaker 5: happily surprised, rather than being unrealistically hopeful, like keep a

619
00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:16,919
Speaker 5: level ahead of it, any level letting like, I don't know,

620
00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:17,960
Speaker 5: I can't think of a.

621
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:24,040
Speaker 3: I don't know I was gonna think of I can't

622
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:25,120
Speaker 3: think of the word I want to say.

623
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:29,919
Speaker 5: Anyways, that's embarrassing, but it's just being realistic. I know

624
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,200
Speaker 5: people are very very excited about Jalen Walker and James

625
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 5: Pierce Junior both and rightly so right they should be

626
00:28:36,359 --> 00:28:37,440
Speaker 5: their first round graph picks.

627
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,960
Speaker 1: You went up into the first round to get James

628
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,600
Speaker 1: Freers Junior again to make sure that you had two

629
00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:45,800
Speaker 1: pass rushers right going into twenty twenty five an area

630
00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:47,000
Speaker 1: of significant need.

631
00:28:47,160 --> 00:28:49,400
Speaker 4: So yes, there should be a level.

632
00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:52,840
Speaker 5: There is you be as excited as you want, yes,

633
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:57,320
Speaker 5: just don't be mean if their numbers aren't exactly what

634
00:28:57,400 --> 00:28:58,360
Speaker 5: you want them to be, like.

635
00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:01,600
Speaker 1: Guess technically speaking, according to Tarran and all the work

636
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:04,840
Speaker 1: that you put in on this story, like, it's not astronomical,

637
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,320
Speaker 1: like the outliers of Aiden Hutcherson and Michael Parsons.

638
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:11,240
Speaker 4: They are who they are because they're the outline.

639
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 5: In five years, there's one player who had double digit

640
00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:15,120
Speaker 5: sacks in their rookie years.

641
00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:15,480
Speaker 1: Yeah.

642
00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's like, let's tape expectations a little bit.

643
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:20,480
Speaker 5: People like, but go ahead, if they go and have

644
00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:25,080
Speaker 5: twenty sacks twenty, I don't know. If they do that,

645
00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:28,920
Speaker 5: then round of applause. I'll throw the study in the trash. Yeah,

646
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,959
Speaker 5: or I'll just redo it and you'll skew the average

647
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:34,280
Speaker 5: and you'll be an outliar. All the math terms necessary,

648
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:34,920
Speaker 5: all the thanks.

649
00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,120
Speaker 4: All right, Well, this has been a really fascinating conversation.

650
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,840
Speaker 1: Again, everybody go check out Terren's work on Atlanta Falcons

651
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 1: dot com. I know, I really enjoyed reading it and

652
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,600
Speaker 1: checking it out, and it really did help me. I think,

653
00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:48,200
Speaker 1: put him to perspective what my own expectations are. It's

654
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:51,240
Speaker 1: like any other position people, right, So I would definitely

655
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,720
Speaker 1: recommend you guys go check that out. Well, that's gonna

656
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:57,600
Speaker 1: do it for the Atlanta Falcons. Podcast Network coming to

657
00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:00,880
Speaker 1: you after the Falcon's very first OT practice.

658
00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 4: Again, make sure and like comment subscribe. You could catch us.

659
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Speaker 1: Anywhere where you can find your podcast, whether it's YouTube, Spotify,

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Speaker 1: Apple pod, tarn and I and will too.

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Speaker 4: We'll be back at a later date. We have a

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Speaker 4: lot more, many more practices to get to.

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Speaker 1: Hopefully the next one isn't as gross.

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Speaker 5: I don't want to say where summer because then I'm

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Speaker 5: gonna be like, why is it so hot?

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Speaker 4: I know it.

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Speaker 1: That's what's so crazy is I've never had an OTA

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Speaker 1: practice that was like frigid, and this one was cold.

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Speaker 1: But we will be back next time, so make sure

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Speaker 1: and check it out. Until then, guys, thanks so much