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Speaker 1: What's up, everybody.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the latest edition of the Falcons Final Whistle Podcast,

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Speaker 2: presented by Zaxby's. I'm Scott Baher alongside Tory mclaney and

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Speaker 2: Tarren Walk and we're coming to you after a nine

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Speaker 2: to seven Panthers victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Bank

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Speaker 2: of America Stadium in Week fifteen, in a rain soaked affair,

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Speaker 2: and one that ultimately the Falcons, in what we've talked

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Speaker 2: about several times, made too many critical mistakes at the

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Speaker 2: exact wrong time and ultimately ended up losing a game

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Speaker 2: that they expected to and probably should have won, and

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Speaker 2: it was a big one considering that this loss was

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Speaker 2: paired with a victory by the New Orleans Saints and

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Speaker 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So they fall behind the NFC South

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Speaker 2: in the one game down in the standings. They also

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Speaker 2: find themselves behind in several of the primary tiebreakers. So

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Speaker 2: before we get into the context of the NFC South

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Speaker 2: and some of these ever, some of these other overarching themes,

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Speaker 2: if I can say that correctly, what are immediate takeaways

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Speaker 2: after a game where the Falcons don't allow a touchdown

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Speaker 2: end up losing on a eddie Piniro field goal from

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Speaker 2: twenty five yards out as time expired.

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Speaker 3: I'll go first.

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Speaker 4: I think that this game was kind of everything that

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Speaker 4: I thought it was going to be going into it.

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Speaker 3: You knew that it wasn't going to be high scoring,

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Speaker 3: you knew it was going to be a slog you

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Speaker 3: knew it was probably not going to be a pretty.

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Speaker 4: Game, just from start to finish, just knowing that it

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Speaker 4: was cold and wet and gross. But at the end

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Speaker 4: of the day, I still went into this game expecting

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Speaker 4: the Falcons to beat a one to twelve Panthers team.

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Speaker 4: I even said that this team, this Falcons team needed

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Speaker 4: not just to win this game, but I think to

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Speaker 4: like build up confidence after the loss from the Bucks.

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Speaker 3: They needed a decisive win.

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Speaker 4: They needed a win that they took the lead at

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Speaker 4: the beginning, they held onto the lead, and there was

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Speaker 4: never a doubt from the first quarter to the end

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Speaker 4: of the game in the fourth quarter that they were

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Speaker 4: going to win this game. That was my hope and

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Speaker 4: expectation for this team going into it, and that is

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Speaker 4: not at all what we saw. And I think that

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Speaker 4: there should be levels of frustration, and there is levels

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Speaker 4: of frustration.

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Speaker 3: Coming out of the locker room.

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Speaker 4: We talked to a lot of guys in the locker

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Speaker 4: room after the game where they talked about that frustration,

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Speaker 4: They talked about that disappointment. They talked about the fact

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Speaker 4: that they expected to come in and win this game,

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Speaker 4: even with the weather, even went the conditions, even with

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Speaker 4: the injuries that have accumulated on the offensive and defensive line,

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Speaker 4: but still that expectations.

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Speaker 3: I'm at the point.

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Speaker 4: Now where I'm tired of the word expectations. I feel

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Speaker 4: like I've written that word so much in the last

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Speaker 4: couple of weeks that it's just kind of like I'm

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Speaker 4: almost done using it, because for the last few weeks,

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Speaker 4: a month and a half hour long, I keep talking

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Speaker 4: about these expects that I had for this team and

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Speaker 4: before the season started, and they haven't reached it.

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Speaker 5: The way you feel about the word expectation is how

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Speaker 5: I feel about like a must win game, because I

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Speaker 5: know before the Buccaneers game last week, I was like,

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Speaker 5: they need to win this one. They got to notch

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Speaker 5: three wins in a row for their confidence to the

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Speaker 5: whole of the NFC South and even expand the gap.

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Speaker 5: Then they lost that one. So then going into this

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Speaker 5: one knowing that they just lost the conference one. It

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Speaker 5: was kind of like they need to win this one.

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Speaker 5: This is the one in twelfth. Sorry to keep twisting

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Speaker 5: that panther's dagger, but like it was a one in

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Speaker 5: twelve team, they needed to win this to like stay

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Speaker 5: in it and not fall behind. Because it's also that's

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Speaker 5: a thing that a tough pill to swall because like

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Speaker 5: I want to say, the weather was a factor, but

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Speaker 5: then we saw them pull off a win in New

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Speaker 5: York where it was rainy also in very crummy and

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Speaker 5: even colder there, so it's like both teams have to

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Speaker 5: deal with the condition. So it is what it is there,

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Speaker 5: but one in twelve team they didn't allow a touchdown

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Speaker 5: and they still lost. Yeah.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, I think that so many of the words that

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Speaker 6: we're using in week fifteen, Tory brings up a good point,

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Speaker 6: expectations and must win, and we can add so many others, right,

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Speaker 6: critical mistakes we use.

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Speaker 5: A lot, you know, misted opportunities.

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Speaker 2: Missed opportunities, all those things we use a ton and they're.

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Speaker 1: All appropriate words.

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Speaker 2: But the repetition I think has come to define where

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Speaker 2: this team is at right now. It's those things that

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Speaker 2: keep cropping up. It's those things that the Falcons have.

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Speaker 1: Been unable to get beyond.

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Speaker 2: Arthur Smith was asked about inconsistency, and he essentially said

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Speaker 2: that's something that we've been trying to eliminate all season long,

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Speaker 2: the inconsistency, and that the turnovers are the biggest problem

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Speaker 2: with it. Going back to the Texanan how many other games, right,

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Speaker 2: could they overcome the critical mistakes or could they not

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Speaker 2: overcome them because the critical mistakes were there? Yeah, except

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Speaker 2: for the first two games really, and ultimately that has

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Speaker 2: been the trend of the season. And when you make

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Speaker 2: these types of big time errors often in areas, in

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Speaker 2: critical areas, right, desnt Ridder, just as an example, just

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Speaker 2: because I was looking over those numbers, and thanks to

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Speaker 2: Tarin for pulling up stats. She's so good at stats

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Speaker 2: and they come so quickly.

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Speaker 1: It's amazing.

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Speaker 2: That heead dot com should just employ her because she's

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Speaker 2: mastered their.

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Speaker 3: System anyway from US Wait, yeah.

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Speaker 1: Yes, never mind ignore US Football Reference.

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Speaker 2: But so desn't Ritter, has you get fired committed?

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Speaker 1: No, definitely not. We need you more than ever.

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Speaker 2: So desnt Ritter has committed five turnovers this season in

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Speaker 2: the red zone. He's also committed two other turnovers within

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Speaker 2: the falcons twenty.

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Speaker 1: Or closer to the end zone.

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Speaker 2: So those are a lot of those types of high

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Speaker 2: impact turnovers. We've we've all gone over all those numbers

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Speaker 2: about turnovers that lead to points and set them back

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Speaker 2: and create easy scores.

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Speaker 1: And in a game of no I'm gonna bring them.

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Speaker 2: Back to this game, in a game of field position

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Speaker 2: where you need to play mistake free football when there

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Speaker 2: is a conservative game plan that does make sense. It's

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Speaker 2: about who makes fewer errors and who can win the

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Speaker 2: battle of field position to create easy opportunities. Ultimately, that's

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Speaker 2: what happened. But the one thing that I do want

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Speaker 2: to bring up, and I'm not sure if I'm going

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Speaker 2: in order of the script now, but Desmond Rider throws

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Speaker 2: an interception late that was the turning point in this game.

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Speaker 2: But they were at the Carolina five with seven ish

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Speaker 2: minutes to go, and then the Panthers marsh all the

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Speaker 2: way down the field and set up a position where

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Speaker 2: they could kick a field goal as time expired. That's

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Speaker 2: what the fourth time that the defense has allowed a

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Speaker 2: fourth quarter touchdown that was decisive. What do we make

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Speaker 2: of a team? Yeah points, thank you? What do we

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Speaker 2: make of a team of a unit that is talented,

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Speaker 2: has weathered some injuries and yet has become less effective

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Speaker 2: in it, Like like in crunch time. I have a

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Speaker 2: tough time wrapping my head around that one.

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Speaker 5: I had two thoughts during that where it's like you

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Speaker 5: mentioned in the turnovers, It's not even like the Panthers

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Speaker 5: were doing well at four seeing turnovers this season. They

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Speaker 5: were ranked last in the NFL with only nine up

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Speaker 5: until this week. So you had two in one game

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Speaker 5: from a team that had given nine through double digit

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Speaker 5: other games fourteen, fifteen, whatever week we're in. And then

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Speaker 5: the second part with that when it comes to the

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Speaker 5: deep and so it's just like that drive was seventeen plays,

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Speaker 5: which according to the Panthers PR was the longest drive

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Speaker 5: in their history for ninety yards, which was the longest

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Speaker 5: drive this season.

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Speaker 1: So which is like.

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Speaker 2: Out of seventeenth exactly, Wow, big pause.

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Speaker 1: At that moment.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 3: I think for me with this defense, I go back

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Speaker 3: and forth too.

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Speaker 4: It's something that I have a hard time like weighing

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Speaker 4: in my head this defense because this defense a lot

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Speaker 4: of times is so good and so solid for three

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Speaker 4: quarters and then for some reason in the fourth quarter

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Speaker 4: when they absolutely have to have a stop in four

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Speaker 4: games they haven't gotten it, and those four games they lost.

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Speaker 4: And so it's hard for me to kind of sit

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Speaker 4: here and be like really happy or as happy as

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Speaker 4: I could with this defense, because this is still a

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Speaker 4: defense that, I mean, for three games has not allowed

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Speaker 4: a touchdown against opponents like and that that's kind of

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Speaker 4: a crazy stat in and of itself in the NFL.

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Speaker 4: And so I just like, don't know, I have like

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Speaker 4: this weird love hate relationship I feel like with the

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Speaker 4: defense where I'm like, I love watching them play. I

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Speaker 4: love watching Kalis Campbell get after it. I've really enjoyed

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Speaker 4: Jesse Bates, like just as a player getting to watch him.

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Speaker 3: And you know, you see guys.

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Speaker 4: Like Arnold Abakhetti and Zach Harris and in Ta Kwan

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Speaker 4: Graham kind of coming into their own and you know,

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Speaker 4: but then it's it, it doesn't matter if if they're

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Speaker 4: not winning games, Like, what is any mat matters?

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Speaker 2: Right?

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Speaker 5: Yeah?

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Speaker 4: What does any of this matter if the Falcons aren't

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Speaker 4: winning games? And that was actually something that I asked

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Speaker 4: Arthur Smith in last week. I asked him, I was like,

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Speaker 4: because he was talking about like these individual individual progress

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Speaker 4: that he sees from specific players or specific units, and

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Speaker 4: I asked him. I was like, how do you weigh

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Speaker 4: in your head the fact that there is individual progress

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Speaker 4: but there are losses that affect.

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Speaker 3: The long term plan? Like, how do you weigh that

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Speaker 3: in your head?

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Speaker 4: And I mean, I don't have an answer to that,

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Speaker 4: because the ultimate goal is to win games and to

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Speaker 4: build something sustainable.

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Speaker 3: Have the Falcons done that to this point? I don't know.

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Speaker 2: And it's so weird too, how much it's changed.

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Speaker 1: I was just going to.

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Speaker 2: Bring that up, right, because early on you felt like

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Speaker 2: this defense stood up for the offense of struggles at

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Speaker 2: times and really did things right. So right, so what

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Speaker 2: is what's flipped? I mean, nobody's using injuries as an excuse,

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Speaker 2: but does wearing down depth, does depleting their rotations have

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Speaker 2: an impact? Or is it just going back to what

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Speaker 2: I think? I think Taren has mentioned a few times

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Speaker 2: in writing, where is it a confidence play at some

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Speaker 2: point where all of a sudden it's kind of drifting

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Speaker 2: in the opposite direction.

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Speaker 1: I think that's a.

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Speaker 2: Complicated thing to weigh out, but it is something that

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Speaker 2: has changed over the course of the season. We talk

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Speaker 2: about so many things remaining the same the same issue

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Speaker 2: as well. This is a relatively new one, but it's

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Speaker 2: ultimately cost them four games, and you look at a

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Speaker 2: couple of those victories, it's take a proper angle and

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Speaker 2: you maybe win two of those games against Minnesota and

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Speaker 2: Arizona a seventeen play drive that that that's something that

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Speaker 2: late can't happen.

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Speaker 1: The weird thing.

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Speaker 2: I don't know if this is a full circle moment

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Speaker 2: or if that's not the right usage of it, but

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Speaker 2: it was something that we were talking about actively in

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Speaker 2: the press box, and something that Tory wrote about in

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Speaker 2: her post game takeaways is that if you look at

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Speaker 2: what happened there in Charlotte on Sunday, and then you

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Speaker 2: look at what happened in Charlotte last year in November

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Speaker 2: of twenty twenty two, there are like, it's not exactly

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Speaker 2: the same situation, but there are some striking parallels to

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Speaker 2: where you can probably if the Falcons don't make the playoffs,

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Speaker 2: then it's a long shot for them to do. So

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Speaker 2: you could probably at the end of the year and

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty two point back to at Carolina in the

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Speaker 2: rain and say that was a real turning point, and

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Speaker 2: you could probably look if and you might be able

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Speaker 2: to do that in twenty twenty three and say maybe

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Speaker 2: that was a real turning point there as well.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I couldn't help.

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Speaker 4: But like, as the rain is pouring down and remembering

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Speaker 4: back to that Thursday Night game in November twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 4: and there were just so many moments where I was

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Speaker 4: just like, this feels exactly like how that game felt like.

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Speaker 4: We were in the press box for that game, we

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Speaker 4: were in the press box for this Sunday's game, and

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Speaker 4: they felt similar.

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Speaker 3: I mean, heck, I even went back and.

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Speaker 4: Watched some plays from that twenty twenty two game while

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Speaker 4: we're waiting to get on the flight to come back

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Speaker 4: to Atlanta on Sunday night, and I mean they're even

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Speaker 4: wearing the exact same uniforms, like both teams. It just

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Speaker 4: felt like such the I mean, with the rain and

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Speaker 4: the it was so crazy to me, almost like a

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Speaker 4: I don't even know, like an out of body experience

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Speaker 4: where you're watching this and you're like, didn't I already

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Speaker 4: watch this? And like even to the point and I

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Speaker 4: went back and looked at this because this was what

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Speaker 4: was so crazy. As I was in my postgame story,

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Speaker 4: I was comparing.

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Speaker 3: The play that I know a lot of people.

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Speaker 4: On Twitter probably remember of Marcus Mario to rolling out

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Speaker 4: to his right, getting tripped up, and when he's falling,

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Speaker 4: he throws the ball as he's falling and it gets

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Speaker 4: picked off while he was ruled down. So it really

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Speaker 4: it ended up not being an interception, just was a sack.

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Speaker 3: It was like a loss of six.

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Speaker 4: And then comparing that to what we saw Desmond Ridder

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Speaker 4: do on that interception where he rolls out to his left,

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Speaker 4: is under dress his escaping pressure, he gets tripped up

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Speaker 4: to regains his footing and then throws an interception. And

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Speaker 4: it even looking at the words that they chose to

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Speaker 4: speak after the game when they were asked about those specific.

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Speaker 3: Moments, literally a year and a month a part, it

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Speaker 3: was striking to me.

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Speaker 4: Marcus Mariota said in November twenty twenty two after that

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Speaker 4: game that he got in trouble and he hurt the

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Speaker 4: team because he was trying to do too much. Desmond

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Speaker 4: Ridder after this game on Sunday says, almost in the

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Speaker 4: exact same way, I was trying to make a play,

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Speaker 4: I tried to do too much. Like the fact that

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Speaker 4: those are two things that happen in this place, with

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Speaker 4: the rain, with the implications of the postseason, with the quarterback.

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Speaker 4: I mean it, maybe I'm making something out of nothing,

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Speaker 4: but I can't like look at that and not just

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Speaker 4: like put a like parallel line. I feel like I'm

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Speaker 4: in y'all know, on Sherlock, where like the guy has

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Speaker 4: all of the different like red ties. That's like tying

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Speaker 4: everybody together.

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Speaker 3: That's legit. How this made me feel.

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Speaker 2: I swear, Yeah, we're all nerds, and we all and

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Speaker 2: we all know.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, I didn't get that reference, but I too.

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Speaker 2: Oh two out of three ain't bad. But I was

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Speaker 2: also there last year and this year, and there were

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Speaker 2: some striking parallels, and of course I think Tory and

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Speaker 2: I even said, like, the only difference is that it's a.

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Speaker 3: Night It was a night game before.

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Speaker 1: It was night game last time.

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Speaker 2: But it was one of those things where I think

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Speaker 2: that Atlanta was in slightly more dire straits when it

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Speaker 2: came to the postseason as it was this time. But

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Speaker 2: as much as the players and coaches don't want to

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Speaker 2: in aren't scoreboard watching. We're sitting there with a bunch

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Speaker 2: of TVs and internet access and we're watching Tampa Bay

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Speaker 2: surge ahead and New Orleans get hot, and then you

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Speaker 2: start to see the magnitude of these two games and

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Speaker 2: you think back. I think Arthur Smith even made reference

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Speaker 2: to what a change has happened in the outlook of

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Speaker 2: I don't think he was referring to the outbu look,

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Speaker 2: but what a change over the course of eight days

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Speaker 2: that you go back eight days ago and you're talking

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Speaker 2: about creating separation in the division while you're sitting on top,

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Speaker 2: and then after that you're thinking about being behind in

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Speaker 2: the standings and the tie breakers, and it feels so

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Speaker 2: much different over the course of games that look the

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Speaker 2: I almost use the word expectation, not gonna do it, but.

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Speaker 5: On the podcast, people on the pod can make it

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Speaker 5: a drinking game.

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Speaker 2: Right, Oh man, don't drive after this one, or don't

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Speaker 2: do that while you're driving.

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Speaker 1: Either way, yes, don't.

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Speaker 3: Do any of that.

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Speaker 5: I said anything.

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Speaker 2: There were definitely parallels, especially with those late turnovers that

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Speaker 2: were so impactful. And look, we're getting ready to talk

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Speaker 2: about Desmond Ritter, and it's therefore only fair to bring

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Speaker 2: up that while his turnover count isn't of the same magnitude,

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Speaker 2: is that John Robinson put the ball on the ground.

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Speaker 1: He's lost three.

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Speaker 2: Fumbles, often in space, and that's another one of those

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Speaker 2: types of situations where if you're gonna be a feature back,

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Speaker 2: those types of things can't happen full stop, period the end.

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Speaker 2: Tyler ale Jeer is as ball secure as anybody. I

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Speaker 2: think they needed Bajon Robinson to make a surge. They

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Speaker 2: were playing conservative running on a third and medium long

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Speaker 2: ish and he loses the like the like ball there

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Speaker 2: and then Desmond Ridder loses the ball. Where I watched

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Speaker 2: that play, I don't know, twenty times on a constant

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Speaker 2: loop so I could get a good picture of it

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Speaker 2: for my story. I know Tori did the same thing.

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Speaker 2: I'm sure all Falcons fans played it over in their head.

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Speaker 2: And as he's coming around, he does have the edge,

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Speaker 2: and Kaderil Hodge makes a decent enough block where he

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Speaker 2: can get back to the line of scrimmage or make

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Speaker 2: a minimal game. And it's third and nine maybe, and

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Speaker 2: then you live to fight another day. And then you

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Speaker 2: kick a field goal that's the ultimate goal, and it

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Speaker 2: changes the way that you have to defense it, and

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Speaker 2: I think that's why. And also if you look at

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Speaker 2: the play, he's going to the edge, He's going to

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Speaker 2: the left sideline. Kyle Pitts is very well covered near

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Speaker 2: the left sideline. Drake is too far out of the play.

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Speaker 2: He would have had to go across his body and

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Speaker 2: Cordero Patterson was around the end zone right, but there

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Speaker 2: were two defenders in front of him, so right, So

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Speaker 2: the trajectory and velocity was never getting to CP. And

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Speaker 2: even when Desmond was asked about kind of what he

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Speaker 2: had seen and what like where he was going, I

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Speaker 2: think he just he was trying to make a play

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Speaker 2: and ultimately that worked against them there.

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Speaker 4: He was like, I was trying to make a play

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Speaker 4: and he I mean, he said exactly, He's like, you know,

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Speaker 4: in that moment, I have to either keep it and

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Speaker 4: just run it or throw the ball away and live to.

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Speaker 3: Fight another down. Was kind of what he said, right,

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Speaker 3: And that's true.

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Speaker 5: That he did not fight another down.

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Speaker 2: No, that was that was it, especially because they went

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Speaker 2: on a seventh the Panthers went on a seventeen play drive.

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Speaker 2: And look, there's gonna be plenty of opportunity after this

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Speaker 2: season is over to for the three of us to

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Speaker 2: really dive into the Falcons long term quarterbacks like situation I.

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Speaker 1: Don't think we're alul rewind.

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Speaker 2: I don't think we're gonna come to any conclusions right now,

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Speaker 2: but I do think that after ten interceptions and ten fumbles,

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Speaker 2: most of them lost the critical down situations that we've

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Speaker 2: talked about all season long. There there are there is

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Speaker 2: some uncertainty at the position. Arthur Smith was asked because

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Speaker 2: the plan after bringing Desmond Ritter back to the starting

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Speaker 2: spot was that he would have the starting spot the

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Speaker 2: rest of the way. That's not to say that he won't,

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Speaker 2: but Desmond Arthur Smith was specifically asked about it, and

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Speaker 2: he said, nothing is set in stone. They have to

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Speaker 2: evaluate just like all other questions about personnel. You have

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Speaker 2: to find a way we need to win. So there

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Speaker 2: is some uncertainty at quarterback, and I think that that's

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Speaker 2: a fair level of uncertainty. Now what you do moving

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Speaker 2: forward over the next three games is up in the air.

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Speaker 2: But I think Desmond Ridder has played sixteen games as

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Speaker 2: a starter now one more, and he's gone through a

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Speaker 2: full season, and I don't think that there's an absolute yes,

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Speaker 2: he's the guy, and I don't think it's one hundred

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Speaker 2: percent no. Necessarily, it could be got to bring in

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Speaker 2: somebody to compete, but I definitely think uncertainty reigns when

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Speaker 2: it comes to the quarterback spot.

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Speaker 5: Jake Maddis was asked about the confidence in Desmond Ridder

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Speaker 5: after the game in the locker room, and he said completely,

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Speaker 5: like he fully trusts in Ridder's abilities and like his

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Speaker 5: leadership and whatnot. So like there's at least a stability,

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Speaker 5: it seems among the offense itself. But then you think

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Speaker 5: on the flip side and the Panther's locker room where

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Speaker 5: Brian Burns is over there saying we won because we

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Speaker 5: capitalize on the Falcon's offensive mistakes.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, and particularly calling out Desmond Ridders play.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, that was that was a tough call out.

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Speaker 3: Right, And so I think, like it's tough because I

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Speaker 3: think what Scott said in his column after the game

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Speaker 3: was really true.

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Speaker 4: Like I do think that Desmond Ridder has done some

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Speaker 4: good things, but at this point in time, it's like

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Speaker 4: the does the bad outweigh the good and and it

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Speaker 4: makes you wonder kind of where the Falcons do go

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Speaker 4: from here, because I mean, I don't want to get

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Speaker 4: like too far into like talking about the draft or

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Speaker 4: free agency or anything like that because We're not there yet,

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Speaker 4: but these are questions that they have to answer since

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Speaker 4: the since the.

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Speaker 3: Moment that Matt Ryan was sent to.

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Speaker 4: The Colts, this has been a question, what will the

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Speaker 4: Falcons do long term for a starting quarterback or a

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Speaker 4: franchise quarterback?

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Speaker 3: What is the plan here? And we are now going into.

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Speaker 4: Year four of this regime and it's like that's a

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Speaker 4: major question, if not the question that I have about

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Speaker 4: this team.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think when you and there's going to

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Speaker 2: be so much time to talk about and evaluate the

427
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Speaker 2: assets that they have available. So let's just wrap this

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Speaker 2: one up with the NFC South standing. As we've already said,

429
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Speaker 2: every other team in the NFC South one except the Falcons.

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Speaker 2: They've now lost three games. No, I'm sorry, they've lost

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Speaker 2: two games within the division, and this one because tie

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Speaker 2: breakers are division record and with a multiple team obviously

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Speaker 2: head to head and with a multiple team tie it

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Speaker 2: goes to an NFC record. The Falcons lost both then

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Speaker 2: NFC South game and you know, duh, an NFC game

436
00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,119
Speaker 2: as well, especially with Tampa and New Orleans winning in

437
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Speaker 2: previous seasons. And when we mentioned this before, we've gotten

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Speaker 2: to later latter portions of the year, and the Falcons

439
00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:13,600
Speaker 2: needed to win and get some help. Well before the

440
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Speaker 2: Tampa Bay game, they just needed to win and take

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Speaker 2: care of their business. Lost that game, and then it

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Speaker 2: became essentially a three way race for who can finish

443
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,639
Speaker 2: the best, the Bucks, the Saints, or the Falcons. Now

444
00:22:24,680 --> 00:22:27,280
Speaker 2: the Falcons are behind the eight ball in that race

445
00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:31,240
Speaker 2: as well, and look, they still have life. That was

446
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:33,639
Speaker 2: one thing that was continually said. But I think that

447
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,480
Speaker 2: we can all admit that this was a significant setback.

448
00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,520
Speaker 2: It's turning more into long shot territory than it was

449
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,840
Speaker 2: previous to these eight days, and it's going to take

450
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,760
Speaker 2: another one of those, win a bunch and get help.

451
00:22:48,080 --> 00:22:50,760
Speaker 2: But going back to the expectation thing, that's on an

452
00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,480
Speaker 2: expectation that we can set and have until the Falcons can.

453
00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:55,200
Speaker 1: You prove it.

454
00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,560
Speaker 5: Klais was talking about how they need help now, and

455
00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:01,399
Speaker 5: it goes back to what Toy was saying about the

456
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:03,800
Speaker 5: eight day window kind of being like a rollercoaster of

457
00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:08,479
Speaker 5: emotion because before they were in control and now they

458
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:10,639
Speaker 5: need help. And he was like, we just got to

459
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:13,160
Speaker 5: do our best and hope the help comes along the way,

460
00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 5: because yikes, yeah, to go from being comfortable to possibly

461
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:22,880
Speaker 5: expanding the lead to losing the lead and being backward

462
00:23:23,280 --> 00:23:25,480
Speaker 5: all within a week's time.

463
00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:25,960
Speaker 4: Weeks.

464
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:28,720
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's tough. Like, yeah, I.

465
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:30,040
Speaker 2: Mean it is a mental thing.

466
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:33,119
Speaker 5: You have to wonder how they're going to go into

467
00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:35,920
Speaker 5: this week with practice and then also a home game.

468
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:37,919
Speaker 5: I think it's good it's a home game, but still,

469
00:23:37,960 --> 00:23:40,240
Speaker 5: like that's a tough pill to swallow.

470
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,800
Speaker 4: Yeah, you have three games left in the season and

471
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,359
Speaker 4: your best bet is to win out and to hope

472
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:51,119
Speaker 4: that someone else i e. The Saints in or the

473
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:56,119
Speaker 4: Bucks lose at some point. So for that, it's like

474
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,960
Speaker 4: you to go from kind of feeling like you have.

475
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:03,800
Speaker 3: Almost like autonomy.

476
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 4: Over what you're doing and your potential for the playoffs

477
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,280
Speaker 4: and your potential for the postseason, to have that autonomy,

478
00:24:11,359 --> 00:24:14,639
Speaker 4: to feel like you like whatever you do is in

479
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,679
Speaker 4: your hands and like you decide your your future and

480
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,040
Speaker 4: your postseason. To no longer have that and tearn exactly

481
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:22,679
Speaker 4: like what you said, and for it to swing so

482
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:29,400
Speaker 4: quickly is something that this I think this organization has

483
00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 4: not experienced, even in the conversations of the last few

484
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,719
Speaker 4: years of like kind of hanging around in the conversation,

485
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:41,520
Speaker 4: but they had like they had the title, and if

486
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:44,080
Speaker 4: they went out and beat the Bucks, if they went

487
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,680
Speaker 4: out and beat Carolina, if they went out and beat

488
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:49,480
Speaker 4: the Saints. At the end of the year, like, that's

489
00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 4: that's what you want. You want, you want that, and

490
00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:55,160
Speaker 4: that's something that again, at the beginning of the year,

491
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:58,399
Speaker 4: it was it kind of felt like NFC South Champions

492
00:24:58,840 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 4: or bust.

493
00:25:00,119 --> 00:25:05,240
Speaker 3: So that's just that's just where I mean. I'm these

494
00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:06,720
Speaker 3: guys in the locker room. They want to win.

495
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:08,840
Speaker 4: I feel like I'm not saying anything that they wouldn't

496
00:25:08,880 --> 00:25:10,200
Speaker 4: say themselves either.

497
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, they want to win, they want to finish strong.

498
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 2: But I think that it is a change of mindset

499
00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:22,040
Speaker 2: from those of us who are observing. Is that is

500
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,840
Speaker 2: that is that you no longer kind of have that

501
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,840
Speaker 2: ultimate control. It's kind of what everybody is saying here,

502
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,920
Speaker 2: and I think that that's dead right to see their

503
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,639
Speaker 2: reaction over the course of the next couple weeks, Indianapolis

504
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,720
Speaker 2: is coming to town and they've been pretty tough. They

505
00:25:37,760 --> 00:25:41,040
Speaker 2: beat Pittsburgh again, they keep surging above and above five hundred.

506
00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:43,200
Speaker 2: They're in a playoff race and they're going to want

507
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,520
Speaker 2: to win that game. And then it's at Chicago and

508
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,560
Speaker 2: a game that should be cold, and then at home

509
00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:50,879
Speaker 2: against the Saints, so it will be interesting to see

510
00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:53,679
Speaker 2: how the Falcons finish up and what else happens in

511
00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:57,159
Speaker 2: and around the division. But there's no sense in mincing words.

512
00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:00,480
Speaker 2: This was a significant setback for the Falcons actually when

513
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,639
Speaker 2: everybody else in the division one. So we're gonna go

514
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,800
Speaker 2: ahead and wrap up this edition of the Falcons Final

515
00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:09,240
Speaker 2: Whistle podcast presented by Zaxby's for Terran and Torre.

516
00:26:09,359 --> 00:26:09,879
Speaker 1: I'm Scott.

517
00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:13,840
Speaker 2: We will catch you again after the Colts game. Thank

518
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,960
Speaker 2: you so much for Christmas time. Thank you so much

519
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 2: for downloading and listening and subscribing to the Land of

520
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:21,439
Speaker 2: Falcons podcast network.

521
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,160
Speaker 1: We will talk to you again next week.

522
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:31,640
Speaker 5: See you