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Speaker 1: Dirty birds, what's up? Welcome back. I am joined not

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Speaker 1: by Tory mclaney, not by tarn Walk today, but by

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Speaker 1: our very own Dave Archer. Dave, thank you so much

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Speaker 1: for joining me. It's a pleasure to be sitting across Mundays.

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Speaker 2: Oh dude, it's great to be with you. It's fun

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Speaker 2: to be out there practice and chop things up like

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Speaker 2: you and I do, and we talk about what's going

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Speaker 2: on in practice. And yeah, we've downgraded what the set

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Speaker 2: looks like with me coming on as oppose to Tory

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Speaker 2: and Terren, so I apologize for that.

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Speaker 1: It's all good, but fans won't be without Tory today.

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Speaker 1: We will have on the back half of this episode

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Speaker 1: an awesome interview that she did with Robert Mays of

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Speaker 1: The Athletic who does the Athletic Football Show. For any

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Speaker 1: other podcast fans out there, it's a really great one.

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Speaker 1: I would recommend giving it a listen. I know it's

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Speaker 1: something I listened to throughout training camp throughout the year

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Speaker 1: if you want to get smarter about football. So that's

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Speaker 1: going to be on the back end of this episode.

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Speaker 1: But Dave, you and I are going to chat a

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Speaker 1: little bit about training camp. The second straight day of pads,

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Speaker 1: which added a little bit of a new wrinkle I

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Speaker 1: think to this camp so far. It was the first

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Speaker 1: time that they've done back to back pack to practices.

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Speaker 1: Did you see anything in particular from the team out

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Speaker 1: there today kind of energy wise.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, there's no question the energy is a great way

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Speaker 2: to put it. We looked tired. I thought that there

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Speaker 2: were some guys that it got to him. And that's

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Speaker 2: why you do it. You know, you've got to training

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Speaker 2: camp is training camp for a reason. And yes, you're

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Speaker 2: working on x'es and o's, and you're working on chemistry,

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Speaker 2: you're also working on the conditioning piece to it. And

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Speaker 2: we're running a lot of team reps in practice, which

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Speaker 2: I think I got a chance to talk with Jake Matthews,

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Speaker 2: had a chance to talk to Ruca Roro post practice,

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Speaker 2: and they really accentuated that point that we're doing a

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Speaker 2: lot of team reps, which gives us the feeling of

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Speaker 2: the game. I talked to Also, they talked to AJ Terrell,

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Speaker 2: and AJ talked about how he loves the team reps

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Speaker 2: opposed to seven on seven because seven on seven you're

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Speaker 2: not running the football, you're not having to shift gears,

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Speaker 2: and fit against the run or fit against a screenplay,

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Speaker 2: and with the variety of plays that Zach Robinson's thrown

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Speaker 2: at the defense. Now it's a game type experience for them.

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Speaker 2: So they've got to run with a guy down the

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Speaker 2: field and immediately get back in the huddle, get the call,

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Speaker 2: and now here comes a running player comes with John

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Speaker 2: Robinson and and vice versa. And and so you're getting

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Speaker 2: that kind of energy. Uh, and it's sapping, it can sappy.

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Speaker 2: So back to back days, as you mentioned of full

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Speaker 2: pads and and so, yeah, there was a little bit

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Speaker 2: of a I don't think the energy drop. I think

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Speaker 2: the energy level dropping. I think guys were fighting. I

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Speaker 2: thought that James and you know, you want to talk

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Speaker 2: about James Pearce Jr. And he's a guy it's worth

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Speaker 2: talking about, right, But just from the perspective what you're

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Speaker 2: talking about energy wise, my goodness. You talk about a

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Speaker 2: dude that you could tell was tired, but every rep

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Speaker 2: was full speed, challenging guys. And we can get into

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Speaker 2: what he did, but I just thought his energy level

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Speaker 2: really was pretty cool. That you know, you look over

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Speaker 2: to rookie and say, wait a minute, this guy might

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Speaker 2: be carrying a torch for energy.

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Speaker 1: Today he's he is giving Jake Matthews in practice some

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Speaker 1: really fascinating and sting I mean, Jake Matthew's obviously being

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Speaker 1: kind of the flagship veteran on this group. It's been

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Speaker 1: fascinating to watch. But I totally get what you're saying.

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Speaker 1: It's almost like it's not the effort level has dropped,

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Speaker 1: but just that full capacity of the tank of gas

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Speaker 1: is a little bit lower than maybe it was to

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Speaker 1: start the week, just because again it's hot out there.

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Speaker 1: You're going through it back to back days. But that's

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Speaker 1: what this time is all about. One interesting thing again

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Speaker 1: about this team is the Michael Pennocks and Kirk Cousins,

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Speaker 1: which to your point, the fact that they're running a

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Speaker 1: lot of team I think they're able to do that

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Speaker 1: at a high level really throughout all of practice because

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Speaker 1: of those two guys. If you're going in there with

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Speaker 1: the second team offense against the first team defense, there's

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Speaker 1: really not been a drop off. That competition level has

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Speaker 1: stayed high. And I do think it's because you've got

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Speaker 1: such a polished veteran back there running the ship with

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Speaker 1: the second team offense. But do you think given the

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Speaker 1: way that the Falcons start this season and how important

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Speaker 1: kind of those first four games, obviously starting against Tampa

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Speaker 1: in the division. Do you think that's maybe colored their

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Speaker 1: approach it all to training camp with more of these

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Speaker 1: team periods to just get these guys ready for football

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Speaker 1: action right out of the jump.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I think it's a great analogy. I think that

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Speaker 2: when you begin to think about because there's a lack

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Speaker 2: of hitting if you will, in practice, and why not

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Speaker 2: accentuate the drills that are going to give us the

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Speaker 2: best opportunity to kind of assimulate that, and that would

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Speaker 2: be the team reps, not seven on seven and individual drill.

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Speaker 2: And we're still doing some of that, but they're spending

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Speaker 2: a lot of time in teams. So I agree with

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Speaker 2: you the competition love with the two quarterbacks, and you're

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Speaker 2: talking about competition to the defense, the defense that can

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Speaker 2: get a drop off when all of a sudden, here

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Speaker 2: comes Kirk Cousins in there. Now it's a meaningful rep

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Speaker 2: whoever's in the game, because you're going to get a

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Speaker 2: big time guy trying to distribute the football against you.

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Speaker 2: So I completely agree with that. But I do think

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Speaker 2: that the idea of how quickly you need to start,

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Speaker 2: and obviously Tampa an opening day to get out of

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Speaker 2: the blocks quickly, to have is much feeling of a

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Speaker 2: game type atmosphere certainly would accentuate your ability to get

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Speaker 2: out to a quick start, like you're talking about.

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Speaker 1: Well, and typically I think of all the sides of

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Speaker 1: the ball, I guess will include special teams on that analogy,

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Speaker 1: even though I didn't intend to, defense is the one

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Speaker 1: that usually starts fastest, not only in training camp, but

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Speaker 1: I do think in that kind of that first stretch

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Speaker 1: of the season as teams and offenses are kind of

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Speaker 1: finding that chemistry and really defining what they are. So

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Speaker 1: what have you seen from this defense in particular, and

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Speaker 1: does that give you a little bit How are you

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Speaker 1: feeling I don't want to put any words or color

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Speaker 1: of that question. How are you feeling about what you've

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Speaker 1: seen from this defense and their ability to start fast

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Speaker 1: this year?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that jeff Olbrick, I'm gonna call him Brick,

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Speaker 2: that's his nickname here, and we've been we've known him

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Speaker 2: for a long time and a guy that It's interesting

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Speaker 2: for me with Brick because I think Brick has old

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Speaker 2: school mentalities with new school ways of getting it done.

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Speaker 2: Oh great, Yeah, I don't know if that works or not.

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Speaker 2: That he's got it. He's got an old school, tough, guy,

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Speaker 2: in your face, aggressive, right to the edge of the

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Speaker 2: whistle mentality. But we're going to do it with some

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Speaker 2: of the nuances that are new school type stuff. Defensively, so,

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Speaker 2: I think the defense has been outstanding. I think the

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Speaker 2: blend of players was divine Diablo the middle linebacker or

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Speaker 2: James Pierce Junior getting more and more reps at that.

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Speaker 2: With that, more and more with the number ones, the

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Speaker 2: ability for kateen ellis to kind of develop in what

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Speaker 2: Jeff Obrick envisions him as that second level player that

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Speaker 2: has all those dimensions of getting after the quarterback, but

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Speaker 2: also how can he affect the run game and given

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Speaker 2: him free go to attack. I think all of that

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Speaker 2: has come to life. I think that they're still working

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Speaker 2: on some of the nuances in the secondary. Obviously there's

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Speaker 2: some there's some holes to fill or one hole in particular,

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Speaker 2: potentially that safety spot. Fuller's there, Watts is there, DeMarco

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Speaker 2: Hellms is getting a chance to play some so they're

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Speaker 2: trying to kind of figure that out. Ironically, I think

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Speaker 2: all those guys are rooming together, which is kind of

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Speaker 2: cool with Jeffy Bates all those guys are in the

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Speaker 2: same room together. But I think that there's some things

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Speaker 2: that are still trying to work out with Jerry Gray's

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Speaker 2: group in the back end. I think the front seven

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Speaker 2: is exactly what you were hoping it would be.

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Speaker 1: I want to go ahead and kind of dive in

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Speaker 1: on James Pierce Junior a little bit because I was

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Speaker 1: I'm trying to think about which rookies he reminds me of,

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Speaker 1: because in training camp you can really tell. I think

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Speaker 1: Calvin Ridley was this way where it was just his

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Speaker 1: route running immediately jumped off the page to me, and

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Speaker 1: I was like that that is different from like kind

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Speaker 1: of some of the other guys I've seen. I think

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Speaker 1: Bajan was kind of the same thing where when he

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Speaker 1: made that first cut and open space, I was like, yep,

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Speaker 1: I get it. And the way that he has just

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Speaker 1: attacked the edge. And we've heard a lot this week

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Speaker 1: about get off is the number one thing may Ali

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Speaker 1: and Brick want from this defense? I mean, is there

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Speaker 1: like there may be a handful of guys in the

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Speaker 1: league right now that I feel like have just the

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Speaker 1: juice off the edge that he has. What have you

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Speaker 1: seen from James Spears Junior.

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Speaker 2: I think you give those guys you talked about, give

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Speaker 2: Brick and nat Alie credit for defining what they wanted

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Speaker 2: out of James Pears Junior say this is what I

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Speaker 2: want you to do, okay, And so yeah, we'll expand

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Speaker 2: your package and we'll talk about keeping outshide older free

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Speaker 2: and all these kind of things or wrong shouldering stuff

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Speaker 2: against the run game. Right now, I want you coming

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Speaker 2: off the ball. I want you to come off the

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Speaker 2: ball attack. We'll fill in from the back end. I'll

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Speaker 2: have safeties come down. I have linebacker scrape and that

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Speaker 2: are going to fill phil holes. I need you to

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Speaker 2: come off the ball and create havoc. And I think

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Speaker 2: he's embraced that big time. I think that there's some

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Speaker 2: weird conversation out there. This is a guy, remember that

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Speaker 2: they targeted early on in the draft process, even before

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Speaker 2: there was even a hint that Jalen Walker was going

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Speaker 2: to be available. This was the dude they really liked.

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Speaker 2: They spent time with his family, they talked to him

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Speaker 2: numerous times. They loved this dude coming in And I

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Speaker 2: don't think he's disappointed. I don't think he's let him down,

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Speaker 2: but I think it's because because Brick and Nate have

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Speaker 2: have said, this is what I want you to do.

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Speaker 2: You be the best you can be at this right now,

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Speaker 2: and then we'll we'll we'll expand on that if we

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Speaker 2: need to, but I mean will. It's it's interesting his

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Speaker 2: He's got a variety of stuff now.

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Speaker 1: He does more than I expected.

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Speaker 2: Its exactly. I mean, you you start seeing spin moves.

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Speaker 2: He's got a rip power move that he can go to. Uh.

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Speaker 2: I even saw him bull rush a couple of guys

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Speaker 2: out there yesterday. Yeah, so this guy is I think

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Speaker 2: maybe even I don't know, going to say they're surprised

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Speaker 2: because they did a lot of homework on this dude. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: he surprised me. I didn't do as much homework on

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Speaker 2: him as they did, but I thought, I think that

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Speaker 2: I would say that there's a venture of surprise in there.

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Speaker 2: Is as good as he's been.

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Speaker 1: Yes, he he has really, I think impressed early, which

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Speaker 1: is what everybody wanted to see. Not that the other

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Speaker 1: rookies haven't, but it is apparent day in and day out,

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Speaker 1: and it's that level of consistency that I think we

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Speaker 1: touched on at the beginning of the show, or the

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Speaker 1: energy day in or like rep in repout. Him is

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Speaker 1: very consistent. So it's great to see. It's kind of

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Speaker 1: what you want. But I do want to flip over

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Speaker 1: to the other side of the ball and kind of

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Speaker 1: ask you about your expertise in the quarterback position. Michael Pennix.

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Speaker 1: We saw three starts from him last year. I think

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Speaker 1: we saw a lot to be excited about.

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Speaker 3: But to your.

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Speaker 1: Eye, knowing this game the way that you do and

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Speaker 1: knowing the position the way that you do, are there

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Speaker 1: certain things and markers you're looking for specifically with Michael

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Speaker 1: Pennix in preseason, in joint practices, in things like that

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Speaker 1: to be okay, I saw that you made a little

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Speaker 1: step here and that's going to be important on Sundays.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the thing that I'm looking for for

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Speaker 2: Mike is, first of all, you got to distribute your guys.

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Speaker 2: You got to get your guys lined up, and you

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Speaker 2: got to get guys moving. And there's a lot of

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Speaker 2: movement in this offense. As you well know, Zach likes

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Speaker 2: to change strengths of formations. Then the next thing, you know,

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Speaker 2: here comes a motion, you know, and there's a lot

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Speaker 2: going on in the offense, so for Michael to have

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Speaker 2: a command of that and not have to see it,

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Speaker 2: and that might seem kind of weird to fans because

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Speaker 2: I want my eyes there. I don't my eyes looking

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Speaker 2: over here. Okay, are you gonna motion far enough for

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Speaker 2: me to Okay, he's got to. I've noticed that he's

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Speaker 2: got a nice feel for that down. A lot of

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Speaker 2: that comes in OTAs because they wrap a lot of

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Speaker 2: this stuff against air and all that kind of stuff.

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Speaker 2: But now that it's come together in pads, I've noticed

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Speaker 2: that that that is carried over into camp. So his

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Speaker 2: eyes aren't where they're not they're not supposed to be.

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Speaker 2: His eyes are where they're supposed to be.

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Speaker 1: The is that in the mirror or something like I'm

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Speaker 1: trying to vision? Is it all a visualization?

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Speaker 3: You know?

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Speaker 2: I think it's a comfort zone thing. Really well, I

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Speaker 2: think it's you get comfortable. Well, I don't need to

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Speaker 2: look and see. If Ray Ray's motion far enough, I

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Speaker 2: can signal Ray Ray and he's gonna come. And now

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Speaker 2: I'm looking. How is it manipulating the defense? Who's reacting

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Speaker 2: to it? You know, all of a sudden, this guy

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Speaker 2: tightens down and now I can get outside of him

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Speaker 2: on a wheel rout or something. Those are the kind

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Speaker 2: of things you're looking for, and I think he's he's

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Speaker 2: doing those kind of things. Ball coming out on time,

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Speaker 2: when you get back, is he holding holding holding the

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Speaker 2: ball and the next thing you know, he's scrammeding out

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Speaker 2: and it kills the play. No ball's coming out. I

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Speaker 2: think the things that Henel still needs to continue to

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Speaker 2: work on is he needs to continue and you're always

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Speaker 2: you always are as a quarterback. You're continually working on

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Speaker 2: your accuracy when the ball's coming out on time, and

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Speaker 2: I think that that's something he's continuing to work on.

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Speaker 2: He's missed some shots. He would tell you readily that

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Speaker 2: he missed some shots. When he played last year. He

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Speaker 2: had a couple opportunities against Washington comes to mind, missed

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Speaker 2: Drake a couple of times. Those those hurt him. Didn't

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Speaker 2: haunt him, but hurt him, and he wanted to be

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Speaker 2: better by the fact, he said, I think I heard

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Speaker 2: an interview on radio that he was asked, what is

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Speaker 2: it you're working on? I want to be able to

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Speaker 2: give my guys a chance. Oh, I love that yeah,

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Speaker 2: and it's a simple deal. But I can't get a

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Speaker 2: chance if you miss me, you overthrow them here. So

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Speaker 2: I think those are the things and I'm seeing him

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Speaker 2: continue to work on that. So that's the part that

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Speaker 2: I want to see take another step. But I think

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Speaker 2: he's on. He's right on talking it. I mean, we're in.

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Speaker 3: Love with the arm strength, right, Oh absolutely.

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Speaker 2: I mean how many throws is he is? He made

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Speaker 2: where he kind of whoah, that was pretty good.

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Speaker 1: There was today where he had all of it combined,

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Speaker 1: and there was maybe you saw it. It was actually a

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Speaker 1: ball that Drake dropped. So I know he's not gonna

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Speaker 1: love me saying that, but it was perfect because he

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Speaker 1: threw it right before Drake broke out of his route,

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Speaker 1: and it beat the coverage by just a little bit

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Speaker 1: and was right on the numbers. I was shocked that

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Speaker 1: Drake didn't haul it in because nine times out of ten,

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Speaker 1: ten times out of ten, he's coming up with that ball.

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Speaker 1: But hey, if you're going to drop it, any time

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Speaker 1: to do that is in training camp. I'll get it right,

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Speaker 1: they'll fix it, and they'll get right back to it.

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Speaker 2: And that's the piece, real quickly, that's the piece on

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Speaker 2: what Michael is doing is another piece of what he's

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Speaker 2: learning or the nuances receivers and as much as you're

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Speaker 2: looking at coverage, you're gonna glance and you're gonna get

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Speaker 2: an idea of little hints at the top of route.

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Speaker 2: I know that he was having a discussion. You and

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Speaker 2: I were standing talking, I believe, and we're watching practice

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Speaker 2: there and he came over and he and ray Ray

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Speaker 2: McLeod were having a conversation about the top of a

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Speaker 2: route because the ball got knocked down by Alford and

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Speaker 2: he was talking about the little hint at the top

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Speaker 2: of the route is where you when you're going to

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Speaker 2: come out of the break, and so that allows me

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Speaker 2: to get rid of the ball on time or early,

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Speaker 2: and so other defenders can't break on the football. And

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Speaker 2: he and he and Rayra were having that conversation that's ongoing,

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Speaker 2: and we're again we're a week ind to practice, you know,

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Speaker 2: and so those are cool conversations you see your receivers

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Speaker 2: and quarterback happen.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely. I want to wrap us up with a quick

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Speaker 1: question about joint practices. But in joint practices, I feel

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Speaker 1: like we're going to get maybe the clearest identifiers of

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Speaker 1: what this team is capable of, and I'm having I

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Speaker 1: don't know about you, like, I'm having a little bit

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Speaker 1: of a hard time pinpointing exactly what I expect this

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Speaker 1: team to be because there's going to be so many

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Speaker 1: new contributors and impactful contributors. I think on defense, obviously,

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Speaker 1: when you have such a new element at the most

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Speaker 1: important position at quarterback, that throws a whole kind of

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Speaker 1: new wrinkle to the offensive side of the ball. So

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Speaker 1: do you have kind of a better sense of what

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Speaker 1: the ceiling for this group could be or or the

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Speaker 1: floor of this group, Like do you feel more confident

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Speaker 1: in one version or the other? And do you think

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Speaker 1: we'll learn and get more of an idea of that

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Speaker 1: answer during joint practices.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think from an identity standpoint, I think we're

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Speaker 2: still trying to find what that is. But specifically about

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Speaker 2: ceiling and floor, I think I have a better idea

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Speaker 2: what the floor is, okay than the ceiling, And to me,

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Speaker 2: I don't think the I think the floor is going

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Speaker 2: to be very reasonable. It's gonna be something that you

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Speaker 2: could actually win with if you had to, kind of

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Speaker 2: like win a game with your C game or your

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Speaker 2: B minus game, Right, I think I have a better

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Speaker 2: idea there because I don't think they're gonna there's gonna

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Speaker 2: just be this chasm that you're going to fall into.

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Speaker 1: Is that because of the offensive line, the run game,

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Speaker 1: you do still have. I think their defensive line, they

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Speaker 1: do have some veterans they can lean on, Like is

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Speaker 1: that kind of where the veteran backstop is good with that?

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Speaker 2: I think that all of that. I think that the

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Speaker 2: veteran piece, but I think the young guy piece and

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Speaker 2: the and the go make a play piece is there

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Speaker 2: as well, both on both sides of the ball. We

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Speaker 2: have yet to see kind of what that can blossom into. Defensively,

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Speaker 2: taking the football, all away, ball on the ground, quarterback

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Speaker 2: gets hit, ball on the ground, those kind of things

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Speaker 2: that to me, that's where you start thinking, Okay, how

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Speaker 2: high come this? How high can the ceiling go? So yeah,

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Speaker 2: you get kind of excited about it. But I do

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Speaker 2: think that there's a there's enough talent and enough know

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Speaker 2: how and coaching that you have a pretty good idea.

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Speaker 2: This is about as you know, about where we're going

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Speaker 2: to be from a bottom standpoint, and you kind of

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Speaker 2: like the beginning stages of.

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Speaker 1: That absolutely so let's wrap it up with a little

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Speaker 1: joint practice talk. Is there is there one position group

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Speaker 1: that you maybe want to really laser in on to

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Speaker 1: be like, I'm going to learn something about you guys

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Speaker 1: these two days.

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Speaker 2: I don't think that you can. I don't know that

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Speaker 2: I can narrow it down. I think that you and

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Speaker 2: I are both going to be watching as much one

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Speaker 2: on one stuff as we can. Obviously, watching those young

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Speaker 2: guys come off the edge against the Tennessee offensive tackles

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Speaker 2: and into your defensive line, I'm going to be reinterested.

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Speaker 2: I think there's an area it will if there's an

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Speaker 2: area that I'm wondering about, not concerned right, yeah, now,

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Speaker 2: but I'm wondering. I'm wondering about the wide receiver corps. Okay,

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Speaker 2: I'm wondering. You don't have to wonder about Drake London.

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Speaker 2: Number five is okay, and Ray Ray McCloud is a

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Speaker 2: solid player with the Mooney bang up and we're not

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Speaker 2: uncertain as to how long that's gonna take. Now you

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Speaker 2: start thinking, okay, what does the depth look like? David

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Speaker 2: Sills has looked pretty good, and we you and I

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Speaker 2: were talking about that prior to coming on today. Obviously,

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Speaker 2: Kodero Hodge is a guy that you like. Then you

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Speaker 2: begin to kind of wonder, Okay, where else are we

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Speaker 2: from a depth standpoint in that would be interesting to

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Speaker 2: watch those guys go against DB's that aren't gonna cheat,

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Speaker 2: because I can tell you, folks, there's nothing more irritating

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Speaker 2: to a quarterback and a wide receiver than dbs that

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Speaker 2: know what we're doing, which this group does, and they're

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Speaker 2: squatting on routes and doing stuff that you would never

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Speaker 2: do in a game and screwing everything up. So you're

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Speaker 2: gonna get honest looks from Tennessee because they don't know

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Speaker 2: what we're doing, and so you're gonna get some honest looks.

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Speaker 2: They're gonna play their coverages, they're gonna play it the

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Speaker 2: right way, and you're gonna get a better look at

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Speaker 2: what their c record looks like.

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Speaker 1: Now I know why some of these double moves have

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Speaker 1: been so effective out here on the field. Right, But yes,

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Speaker 1: that's absolutely let's see can Chris Blay or can Casey Washington,

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Speaker 1: can Nick Nash? Can any of these guys kind of

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Speaker 1: separate themselves. I think it's a great point.

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Speaker 3: What about you?

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Speaker 2: What group of us hold.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's always kind of the trenches for me

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Speaker 1: because we haven't and to your point earlier, it's like

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Speaker 1: it's been so much team we haven't really gotten that

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Speaker 1: pure Like everybody line up around you know, that defensive

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Speaker 1: end and the right tackle and they're going after each other,

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Speaker 1: and then we're going to the we're bumping inside one

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Speaker 1: and getting those matchups. I love that stuff. So that's

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Speaker 1: that's what I hope we see a good bit of.

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Speaker 1: It's the big uglies, just like going right after.

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Speaker 2: Another and we're not really sure. I think you and

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Speaker 2: I sit here right now, we're not really sure you

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Speaker 2: like that. Ryan News will resign. And Ryan played eight

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Speaker 2: games for US year ago and then played some games

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Speaker 2: prior to that. But that also means that the center

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Speaker 2: position was banged up the last couple of seasons. So

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Speaker 2: what does that backup situation look like? And there's a

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Speaker 2: bird's a really good battle going on with two or

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Speaker 2: three guys in that capacity. As far as your depth

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Speaker 2: on the offensive line.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Javon Gwynn, Kyle Hinton have been here for a

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Speaker 1: little while. Yeah, that's a great point. Arch This was awesome, good.

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Speaker 1: It's always a blast to be in the podcast studio

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Speaker 1: with you. But now you guys are gonna get, honestly,

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Speaker 1: maybe an even better conversation with with Tory and Roberts.

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Speaker 1: So let's go ahead and throw you on over to that.

433
00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,560
Speaker 4: Hey, everybody, I am so excited to welcome Robert Mays

434
00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,359
Speaker 4: of the Athletic Football Show to the podcast, my friend

435
00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,920
Speaker 4: and hopefully friends of the Atlanta Falcons podcast network. Robert,

436
00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:24,200
Speaker 4: thank you so much for sitting down with me.

437
00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:25,760
Speaker 3: It's so good to see you. I'm very glad to

438
00:19:25,800 --> 00:19:26,040
Speaker 3: be here.

439
00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:28,960
Speaker 4: I know it's been a long time, honestly since the combine. Yeah,

440
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,119
Speaker 4: a lot has changed.

441
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:32,200
Speaker 3: It feels like that was two weeks ago, but it

442
00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:33,520
Speaker 3: definitely was not two weeks ago.

443
00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:36,840
Speaker 4: Yeah, and unfortunately it was not or fortunately, I mean,

444
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:38,440
Speaker 4: hopefully you got some vacations.

445
00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:38,719
Speaker 2: I did.

446
00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:40,680
Speaker 3: I actually had a really good off season, Like we

447
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,160
Speaker 3: traveled a lot, so I'm joking, we had a great

448
00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:44,920
Speaker 3: time off I'm very excited to be back to it.

449
00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:45,520
Speaker 1: Good good.

450
00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:49,840
Speaker 4: Well. Something that's really interesting is that you're you always

451
00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:53,080
Speaker 4: do kind of a tour of training camps, trying to

452
00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:54,720
Speaker 4: get the lay of the land of how things are

453
00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:56,720
Speaker 4: going to go. In the twenty twenty five season, and

454
00:19:56,840 --> 00:19:59,560
Speaker 4: something I want to start off talking about with you,

455
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,720
Speaker 4: actually all of the moves that have been made defensively

456
00:20:04,840 --> 00:20:08,159
Speaker 4: for this team in the last year, hiring Jeff Ulbrick

457
00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:12,879
Speaker 4: as the defensive coordinator, using your first two picks of

458
00:20:13,040 --> 00:20:15,880
Speaker 4: the twenty twenty five NFL Draft, two first round picks

459
00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,040
Speaker 4: on edge rushers Jalen Walker and James Pierce Junior. But

460
00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,560
Speaker 4: you were actually sitting in on Jeff Ulbrick's press conference today,

461
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:27,879
Speaker 4: and I'm curious your opinion on what you heard and

462
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:31,360
Speaker 4: took away from what he was saying and what he's

463
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,240
Speaker 4: establishing so early in training camp.

464
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:34,600
Speaker 3: I think there are a few different things that really

465
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,080
Speaker 3: jumps out to me him talking about and having the

466
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,400
Speaker 3: number in his head of a number of reps they've

467
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,760
Speaker 3: played out of a certain defensive front, and I think

468
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:45,320
Speaker 3: that really speaks to the importance of repetition in this system.

469
00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:49,160
Speaker 3: Like when you're transitioning from a more read and react

470
00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:52,040
Speaker 3: type defense to a more attacking type defense, you kind

471
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,679
Speaker 3: of have to ingrain that mindsetting guys, and as they

472
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,639
Speaker 3: get more and more reps playing that way, it starts

473
00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:00,679
Speaker 3: to become natural. You no longer are thinking so clearly.

474
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,480
Speaker 3: They're prioritizing, like getting to a place where this just

475
00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,720
Speaker 3: feels like the way we have to play. It becomes

476
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,400
Speaker 3: ingrained in the player specifically. So that really jumped out

477
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,479
Speaker 3: to me. And I think it's just the overall energy

478
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,600
Speaker 3: and mentality of somebody like Jeff Ulbrick, Like when I

479
00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:19,439
Speaker 3: think about why this defense could potentially be better than

480
00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:23,280
Speaker 3: people expect, why it can play above its collective talent level.

481
00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,160
Speaker 3: It's a mindset and play style thing. When you look

482
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:28,520
Speaker 3: at the best defenses in the league. When the first teams,

483
00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:30,359
Speaker 3: that comes to mind, and again it's a similar DNA.

484
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:32,560
Speaker 3: Their defensive line coach, inn Aid Aali was the assistant

485
00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,800
Speaker 3: defensive line coach their last year is Houston, Like you

486
00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:36,800
Speaker 3: watch the way that the Texans play, the way the

487
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:38,840
Speaker 3: Niners have played over the years, the way that the

488
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:41,200
Speaker 3: Jets played when Jeff Ulbrick was there and they were rolling,

489
00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:43,760
Speaker 3: you feel them like they have a certain energy and

490
00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,120
Speaker 3: attitude that they play with. And I think he said

491
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:48,960
Speaker 3: that today, like you need that to be a good defense,

492
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,919
Speaker 3: You need to play with edge to be a good defense.

493
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,960
Speaker 3: And I think he's the type of coach that can

494
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,280
Speaker 3: hopefully crank that up and when we get to a Halloween,

495
00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:58,600
Speaker 3: it's like, man, why are the falcons? Why is this

496
00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:00,520
Speaker 3: unit just better than we expect did it to be?

497
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,920
Speaker 3: I think that sort of mentality is how you potentially

498
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:04,360
Speaker 3: get there.

499
00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:07,640
Speaker 4: Talking about playing with some edge Let's talk a little

500
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 4: bit about those two edg rushers. Jayalen Walker, who, let's

501
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,119
Speaker 4: be real, they have said that they want him to

502
00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,919
Speaker 4: master being an EDG rusher, being probably more traditional than

503
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,439
Speaker 4: what he was at the University of Georgia. And then

504
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,240
Speaker 4: James Pierce Junior, who, let's be real, is a traditional

505
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:27,000
Speaker 4: Jeff Olbrick outside linebacker ed rusher. I am curious to

506
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:31,280
Speaker 4: see how they ultimately fit within what Jeff Oulbrick is

507
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:34,639
Speaker 4: doing and wanting to do. But I also understand that

508
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:37,280
Speaker 4: there are realistic expectations that you may have to have

509
00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:39,840
Speaker 4: for first year edge rushers. You know, sometimes it's a

510
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:41,760
Speaker 4: little bit of a shot in a dark in terms

511
00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:45,520
Speaker 4: of how you grade them, how you look at them,

512
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:48,080
Speaker 4: what their production looks like. So when you think of

513
00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,679
Speaker 4: James Pierce Junior and Jayleen Walker within this defensive rotation,

514
00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:56,600
Speaker 4: what should be kind of the reasonable expectations for them.

515
00:22:56,680 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 3: It's a great question because there are questions with both

516
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:01,399
Speaker 3: guys about how they'll transition into the league. Jalen Walker

517
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:03,800
Speaker 3: hasn't done a lot of this. You know, we've seen

518
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:06,560
Speaker 3: examples of that working out, But if you're trying to

519
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,439
Speaker 3: replicate the Micah Parson's plan, I think you're always going

520
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:11,560
Speaker 3: to be a little bit disappointed. Because Michaeh. Parsons is

521
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 3: a very unique beast. But even at Penn State, he

522
00:23:14,119 --> 00:23:16,320
Speaker 3: was somebody that played off the ball, and I think

523
00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:19,000
Speaker 3: there was an inclination to say he's best moving forward,

524
00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:21,720
Speaker 3: Let's try him there first, and then he becomes one

525
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,119
Speaker 3: of the best players in the league. If Jalen Walker

526
00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:26,879
Speaker 3: can just be a diet version of that, where you

527
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:29,720
Speaker 3: see him show some natural ability as a pass rusher,

528
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,160
Speaker 3: he looks comfortable early. Even if he's not a Micah

529
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:34,480
Speaker 3: Parsons type player from day one. Is he an impact

530
00:23:34,520 --> 00:23:37,040
Speaker 3: player from day one? That's a success, and it seems

531
00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:39,040
Speaker 3: like he'll be given every chance to do that. But

532
00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:40,920
Speaker 3: when you haven't seen a guy do a ton of it,

533
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,320
Speaker 3: there's always going to be projection. With James Pierce, I

534
00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:47,920
Speaker 3: think it's a matter of physicality going from college to

535
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,159
Speaker 3: the NFL, where this was somebody who really lived on speed.

536
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,760
Speaker 3: He had a certain type of a certain style to

537
00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,240
Speaker 3: his play, and those types of guys can take a

538
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,399
Speaker 3: little bit too adjust to the league. The Jets have

539
00:23:58,640 --> 00:24:00,800
Speaker 3: taken and deployed some of the those guys like you

540
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,080
Speaker 3: think about Will McDonald, you think about Bryce Huff. Undersized

541
00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,040
Speaker 3: edge rushers have had some success in that system. But

542
00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 3: Bryce Young was a situational player, and Will McDonald didn't

543
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:11,800
Speaker 3: play a ton as a rookie. He really came on

544
00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,440
Speaker 3: as a second year player. So I wouldn't be surprised

545
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,320
Speaker 3: if because there's that jump in physicality and he's gonna

546
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:19,600
Speaker 3: have to tweak some things about his game. If maybe

547
00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:21,639
Speaker 3: James Pierce is a little bit longer of a runway

548
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:22,760
Speaker 3: to get going, it makes sense.

549
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:24,840
Speaker 4: Let's switch over and talk a little bit about the

550
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:28,480
Speaker 4: offense and kind of the next steps for this group.

551
00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,440
Speaker 4: You have a lot of returners, basically the whole gist

552
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:32,440
Speaker 4: of returners.

553
00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 3: They have no new players.

554
00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,159
Speaker 4: It's everybody's the same, And I really am curious to

555
00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:40,960
Speaker 4: see how Zach Robinson's offense evolves with Michael Pennocks under

556
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:43,920
Speaker 4: center in the pocket. What says you, what do you

557
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,560
Speaker 4: feel like Michael Pennocks inserts into this offense.

558
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,320
Speaker 3: I think it's verticality and explosiveness. But as far as

559
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:51,240
Speaker 3: what they're going to do differently or how they're going

560
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,480
Speaker 3: to evolve, that's what I want to know. That's what

561
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,240
Speaker 3: I'm here class And Number one, Yeah, because when you

562
00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,479
Speaker 3: have a quarterback, obviously they throughout the entire offseason last year,

563
00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:01,600
Speaker 3: the plane is kir Cousins to be the quarterback. You

564
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:05,560
Speaker 3: build an offense through a quarterback strength. That's just good coaching.

565
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,760
Speaker 3: Even if you want to change mid stream, it's difficult

566
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,359
Speaker 3: to do that. You can't wholesale change what you've been

567
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,400
Speaker 3: building through the first half of the season in most

568
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,679
Speaker 3: of training camp. So I'm sure there are things they

569
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,080
Speaker 3: want to tap into this year that they just didn't

570
00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:22,520
Speaker 3: have the bandwidth to really access last year because it

571
00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:24,560
Speaker 3: was a shift in the back half of the season.

572
00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:28,560
Speaker 3: So what a Michael Pennock centric Falcons offense looks like

573
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,280
Speaker 3: with more time to build what that is? It's one

574
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,159
Speaker 3: of the biggest questions I have about this team, and

575
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,359
Speaker 3: hopefully by this time tomorrow I'll be able to give

576
00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:36,240
Speaker 3: you some better answers for it.

577
00:25:36,359 --> 00:25:39,360
Speaker 4: Fantastic And while we're kind of on this with Zach Robinson.

578
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,879
Speaker 4: I think something that this outside zone, kind of the

579
00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:45,880
Speaker 4: stretch became the bread and butter of this run game

580
00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:50,080
Speaker 4: and what they can do essentially putting Jon Robinson behind

581
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 4: Chris Linstrom and Caleb McGarry and just running the rock

582
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,560
Speaker 4: down the right side. When it comes to how the

583
00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 4: run game evolves, how is when you're thinking about scheme

584
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:02,960
Speaker 4: and everything and the trends of the league, what's kind

585
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,320
Speaker 4: of the weight of Okay, we know what works, we

586
00:26:06,480 --> 00:26:08,440
Speaker 4: know what the bread and butter is, we know we

587
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,440
Speaker 4: had success doing this, But at what point do you

588
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,800
Speaker 4: shift to evolve into something different? Like where do you

589
00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:16,200
Speaker 4: think that line is?

590
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,240
Speaker 3: It's a great question. I think that with this scheme specifically,

591
00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,360
Speaker 3: you have to major in it to do it well

592
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:23,800
Speaker 3: because it is It's similar to we're talking about with

593
00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:27,920
Speaker 3: Jeff Obrick. Repetition, comfort, cohesion, all those things really play

594
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,399
Speaker 3: into this offensive style and how they want to run

595
00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:32,520
Speaker 3: the ball. This is what Dwen Lever dubs like, this

596
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,440
Speaker 3: is what he's done forever, Like, yeah, there's a reason

597
00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,160
Speaker 3: they've continued to lean into this. It's because it's his background.

598
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:39,600
Speaker 3: So I think the two areas where you start to think,

599
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,840
Speaker 3: all right, are we going too far in this direction.

600
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:46,120
Speaker 3: One is hunting out complimentary runs that can become explosives.

601
00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,439
Speaker 3: So you can major in this, but what are your

602
00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:52,800
Speaker 3: little wrinkles, whether they're end arounds, you know, different things

603
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,280
Speaker 3: where we can hunt out explosives in the run game

604
00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:57,879
Speaker 3: with some tweaks and some wrinkles on top of this,

605
00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,160
Speaker 3: and then I think it's just complimentary runs when teams

606
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:04,280
Speaker 3: are taking something away, right, So, I mean we've this

607
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:06,399
Speaker 3: is the arc of offensive and defensive football over the

608
00:27:06,520 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 3: last ten years in the NFL. Like as teams were

609
00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:11,920
Speaker 3: really majoring in the outside z own world in twenty

610
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,960
Speaker 3: seventeen twenty eighteen, when all the McVeigh stuff was taking over,

611
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,879
Speaker 3: the league reacted and the league had an answer for

612
00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,159
Speaker 3: how to stop those teams. And so, if teams are

613
00:27:20,200 --> 00:27:22,320
Speaker 3: going to deploy some of those ideas where we're going

614
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:24,240
Speaker 3: to play with these wide edges, we're not going to

615
00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:26,840
Speaker 3: allow you to capture that area of the offensive line.

616
00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,160
Speaker 3: What sort of change ups do you have to take

617
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:30,920
Speaker 3: advantage if that's how teams are going to play you.

618
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,640
Speaker 3: If you can do that right, if you're flexible enough

619
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,359
Speaker 3: to do that in the right moments, it's okay to

620
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:39,160
Speaker 3: have one thing that you major in in a pretty

621
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,440
Speaker 3: pronounced way, because I think you have to live that

622
00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 3: way in this scheme in order for it to work.

623
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:45,000
Speaker 4: As we're talking about this, it kind of gets me

624
00:27:45,119 --> 00:27:47,720
Speaker 4: thinking a little bit about something that came up in that.

625
00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:50,560
Speaker 4: I was a little bit surprised about watching the Quarterback

626
00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:54,600
Speaker 4: Netflix documentary and hearing Kirk Cousins talk about Zach Robinson's offense,

627
00:27:54,840 --> 00:27:58,040
Speaker 4: and he was talking about the motions and the intricacies

628
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:03,600
Speaker 4: and the timing of what everything like, how all eleven

629
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,160
Speaker 4: are working off of each other. I'm curious in over

630
00:28:07,200 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 4: the course of you watching Falcons games and dissecting what

631
00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,000
Speaker 4: is a calling card for Zach Robinson's scheme and offense,

632
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:17,520
Speaker 4: what did you kind of think when he said that

633
00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:19,680
Speaker 4: as being kind of one of those things that was

634
00:28:19,760 --> 00:28:21,680
Speaker 4: a bit different in uptick for him.

635
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:24,600
Speaker 3: That's not surprising at all, you know. I think that again,

636
00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,400
Speaker 3: there's a lot of elements of this offense that kind

637
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,159
Speaker 3: of remind me of more like twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen

638
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:32,520
Speaker 3: Los Angeles Rams football, not twenty twenty three Los Angeles

639
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,359
Speaker 3: Rams football when Zach Robinson was their last. So I

640
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 3: think it is kind of a throwback a little bit,

641
00:28:37,119 --> 00:28:39,200
Speaker 3: but the ideas are still the same. I think that's

642
00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 3: the fun part. I was at RAMS camp three or

643
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,240
Speaker 3: four days ago, and in talking to some of their

644
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:47,800
Speaker 3: assistant coaches, their offense looks dramatically different than it did

645
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:50,680
Speaker 3: when Sean McVay first got there, but it's still rooted

646
00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:53,480
Speaker 3: in the same ideas. So the idea that you're marrying

647
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 3: the run in the past together, you're making things hard

648
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,400
Speaker 3: on the defense but easier on yourself, those motions are

649
00:28:58,440 --> 00:29:00,960
Speaker 3: rooted in that idea. So even if the Rams have

650
00:29:01,080 --> 00:29:04,760
Speaker 3: evolved and changed, this version of the offense of the

651
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,280
Speaker 3: Falcons are using is still rooted in the same ideas

652
00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:09,440
Speaker 3: that have driven what the Rams have been since John

653
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:10,160
Speaker 3: mcvayh got there.

654
00:29:11,000 --> 00:29:13,480
Speaker 4: What do you think is kind of the ceiling for

655
00:29:14,080 --> 00:29:17,480
Speaker 4: this offense with Bajon with Kyle Pitts, which we'll get

656
00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:20,920
Speaker 4: to in a minute, Drake London, Michael PENNOCKX this offensive line,

657
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 4: what kind of expectations do you have?

658
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,320
Speaker 3: I think health is a huge question. Yeah, right, because

659
00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:27,680
Speaker 3: even if this is a group where you like the

660
00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,520
Speaker 3: starting eleven, I don't think the depth. I think the

661
00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:32,920
Speaker 3: depth is a little shaky, especially at the pass catching spot.

662
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,200
Speaker 3: So if they stay healthy and Michael Pennix, it's a

663
00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:38,920
Speaker 3: continuation of what we saw last year. I don't think

664
00:29:38,960 --> 00:29:41,120
Speaker 3: it's crazy to think this could be a top five offense,

665
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,240
Speaker 3: but there are questions there. Right, we've seen him for

666
00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,400
Speaker 3: three games. I think his game is fascinating to me,

667
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 3: like going back and watching him and studying him. We

668
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 3: did a podcast in probably June about the second year

669
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:55,560
Speaker 3: quarterbacks and going back and really rewatching every throw he

670
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:59,080
Speaker 3: had last season. I can't I don't know another quarterback

671
00:29:59,080 --> 00:30:01,000
Speaker 3: in the league that's really like him, like they're just

672
00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:04,240
Speaker 3: his strengths are so pronounced, whether it's the arm strength,

673
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:05,920
Speaker 3: the ability to push the ball to all levels of

674
00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,920
Speaker 3: the field. I thought he processed and got the checkdowns

675
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:10,960
Speaker 3: in a really efficient way for a young quarterback. But

676
00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 3: he's a little bit robotic in the pocket. His athleticism

677
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 3: that you see on the stopwatch doesn't always translate to

678
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:20,160
Speaker 3: the field. He's not that creative of a player off schedule.

679
00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:23,080
Speaker 3: But because he's good at getting the checkdowns, does that matter?

680
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,520
Speaker 3: Like some guys, you watch them and it's easy to understand, Yeah, guy,

681
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:29,320
Speaker 3: understand what this guy is. I understand what his limitations

682
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:32,200
Speaker 3: are and what ceiling he might bump up against. I

683
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:36,200
Speaker 3: can't do that really. With Michael Pennocks, I can do yeah,

684
00:30:36,280 --> 00:30:39,800
Speaker 3: And so I'm inclinent to think that because he processes

685
00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:42,960
Speaker 3: so well, we're going to see a really good quarterback

686
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 3: this year. I just don't know how much those limitations

687
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:47,680
Speaker 3: come into play. I think he's one of the harder

688
00:30:47,680 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 3: players to project in the entire league.

689
00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:51,720
Speaker 4: I honestly, I'm so glad you said that, because it

690
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 4: is one of those things that I even went back

691
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:57,040
Speaker 4: and I go and I, you know, do my digestion

692
00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:01,000
Speaker 4: of everything at the end of every season. And I

693
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 4: was talking to Zach Robinson during the spring and he's like,

694
00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:06,560
Speaker 4: I went back and I watched Washington film to refresh

695
00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:10,080
Speaker 4: myself on what it is that Michael Pennix does very well.

696
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:14,080
Speaker 4: And even while you're watching all this, seeing what he

697
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,520
Speaker 4: does and operating in person is even like a step forward,

698
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:20,120
Speaker 4: because I remember the first day of camp, the first

699
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,280
Speaker 4: time he launches ball downfield, and it's the most effortless

700
00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:26,320
Speaker 4: thing in the world. To him, You're like, holy cow.

701
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:29,240
Speaker 4: Like I know people sometimes ding him for his accuracy

702
00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,600
Speaker 4: as well, but I'll be honest, like we're we're a

703
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,800
Speaker 4: weekend of training camp, and this is someone who is

704
00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:38,600
Speaker 4: putting the ball right here, right in the receiver's hands.

705
00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:42,160
Speaker 4: But it is sometimes about the timing or the touch.

706
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,680
Speaker 4: And I think that's the next step in his evolution.

707
00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,080
Speaker 3: That second word is exactly what I come back to. Yeah,

708
00:31:47,080 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 3: because again, he's such a he's an enigma when it

709
00:31:50,360 --> 00:31:53,440
Speaker 3: comes to quarterback play. Because it's not that he's inaccurate

710
00:31:53,800 --> 00:31:56,240
Speaker 3: all the time, right, it's that so you watch it.

711
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,040
Speaker 3: I said this on our show this this summer, and

712
00:31:58,080 --> 00:32:00,480
Speaker 3: I believe this. I think he might be the best

713
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,320
Speaker 3: intermediate outside the numbers thrower in the league now and

714
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:08,560
Speaker 3: he's played three games. Like his ability to throw the ball,

715
00:32:08,600 --> 00:32:10,520
Speaker 3: like you think about those deeper out routes to darn

716
00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,000
Speaker 3: Old Mooney, those look as good as any throw any

717
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,440
Speaker 3: quarterback makes in the league. But when he's asked to

718
00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:17,680
Speaker 3: put touch on the ball and he's asked to shape

719
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,280
Speaker 3: certain throws, he can struggle with that. Every once in

720
00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:24,200
Speaker 3: a while, slot fade, certain corner routes, balls that he

721
00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:26,760
Speaker 3: has to change the trajectory on. He's kind of a

722
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,560
Speaker 3: line drive thrower. And again, what do you do with

723
00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:32,520
Speaker 3: that or some throws are like the best high end

724
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,560
Speaker 3: stuff you can possibly see, and then some stuff it's like, well,

725
00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:37,520
Speaker 3: I don't know if he'll ever be able to access

726
00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,040
Speaker 3: those types of throws, and so that's why I don't

727
00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:42,760
Speaker 3: know exactly where to land on him. And this idea

728
00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:46,760
Speaker 3: of the highlights are so tantalizing that it's tempting to

729
00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,360
Speaker 3: believe in them. The quarterback that that reminds me of

730
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,560
Speaker 3: a little bit is like Matthew Stafford, and I think

731
00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,400
Speaker 3: as we try to seek out what his ceiling might be,

732
00:32:55,040 --> 00:32:57,040
Speaker 3: that's the guy that I would go back to, where

733
00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:59,720
Speaker 3: Matthew Stafford's not creating a lot with his feet, but

734
00:33:00,080 --> 00:33:02,520
Speaker 3: he's somebody that can access every level of the field.

735
00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:04,480
Speaker 3: He has one of the best arms we've ever seen.

736
00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:06,960
Speaker 3: And I think Michael Pennix can be in that same

737
00:33:07,040 --> 00:33:09,760
Speaker 3: sort of category if he works on some of that

738
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 3: stuff where we're shaping throws, we're putting more touch on throws,

739
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,320
Speaker 3: because that's something where Matthew Stafford can do that. It's

740
00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,920
Speaker 3: not all line drives RPMs all the time. It's being

741
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,080
Speaker 3: it's arm talent versus arm strength. And I think that's

742
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,320
Speaker 3: going to be the question with Michael Pennix's by the

743
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:27,160
Speaker 3: end of this season. Are we talking about arm talent

744
00:33:27,320 --> 00:33:29,240
Speaker 3: or are we talking about some of the blind spots

745
00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:31,680
Speaker 3: he still has with some of the throws that we're talking.

746
00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:33,720
Speaker 4: About, which I think is fair and something else that

747
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,920
Speaker 4: is a bit of an enigma within this offense still,

748
00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:38,640
Speaker 4: even though he's going on year five.

749
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,760
Speaker 3: Is Kyle Pits the enigma in the NFL period? I

750
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:42,280
Speaker 3: think over the.

751
00:33:42,360 --> 00:33:45,200
Speaker 4: Last few years, completely agree. I think every fantasy owner

752
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:46,000
Speaker 4: would say.

753
00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:47,800
Speaker 3: The example, We've all had Michael Pitts on our team

754
00:33:47,840 --> 00:33:50,400
Speaker 3: over the last few years. We've all rode the roller

755
00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:51,280
Speaker 3: coaster at some point.

756
00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,360
Speaker 4: Everyone feels, I think a certain type of way about

757
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:56,480
Speaker 4: Kyle Pitts, and it is one of those things that

758
00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,280
Speaker 4: you look at this season, there's been a lot of

759
00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:02,560
Speaker 4: talk about out about Kyle Pits, and not just about

760
00:34:02,600 --> 00:34:05,000
Speaker 4: what he is in twenty twenty five, but what that

761
00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:09,880
Speaker 4: next contract looks like, honestly, whether it's here in Atlanta

762
00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,000
Speaker 4: or elsewhere. Because that was even back when he was drafted.

763
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,560
Speaker 4: I remember having conversations about what his contract would look like.

764
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:18,600
Speaker 4: Are you valuing him as a receiver versus a tied end,

765
00:34:18,680 --> 00:34:22,160
Speaker 4: because those are two different numbers. That's two different valuations.

766
00:34:22,640 --> 00:34:26,480
Speaker 4: But my main point in asking about Kyle Pitts to

767
00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:30,520
Speaker 4: you is as he's going into this fifth year where

768
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:33,920
Speaker 4: he's not they've not been able to replicate kind of

769
00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:37,040
Speaker 4: the magic of that rookie year and whether it be injuries,

770
00:34:37,080 --> 00:34:39,560
Speaker 4: whether it be quarterback play, whether it be changes in

771
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,400
Speaker 4: offensive scheme, it's not manifested. So for Kyle Pits to

772
00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:49,880
Speaker 4: potentially get a big time contract, what does his twenty

773
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:51,440
Speaker 4: twenty five year need to look like?

774
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:54,879
Speaker 3: I really don't know, and were we're doing a show

775
00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,520
Speaker 3: tomorrow that it's the guys who are the most at

776
00:34:57,560 --> 00:34:59,400
Speaker 3: stake in the NFL this year. And I think the

777
00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:01,680
Speaker 3: two players that immediately come to mind, where if you

778
00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,600
Speaker 3: told me this offseason they signed for one year and

779
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:07,239
Speaker 3: ten million bucks somewhere, or you told me that they

780
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:10,680
Speaker 3: signed contracts in the top five in aav at their position,

781
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:13,480
Speaker 3: maybe top five to seven, it'b be Kyle Pitts and

782
00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:15,680
Speaker 3: George Pickens. Like though those two guys, it's just like

783
00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:18,279
Speaker 3: I would believe either end of the spectrum. And with

784
00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:22,120
Speaker 3: Kyle Pitts, it's so going into last year, I thought

785
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:23,840
Speaker 3: that when you look at the production as a rookie.

786
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:25,840
Speaker 3: It was all vertical stuff, right, like he was almost

787
00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,120
Speaker 3: more of like an X outside receiver than he was

788
00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:30,040
Speaker 3: a tight end, and that fueled a lot of the production.

789
00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:32,360
Speaker 3: But then there were times over the last couple of

790
00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:34,680
Speaker 3: years where I felt like they were using him too

791
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,120
Speaker 3: much in that role and I actually wanted to see

792
00:35:37,239 --> 00:35:39,719
Speaker 3: him in the slot a little bit more often, you know,

793
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:42,800
Speaker 3: corner routes Robson's space, And then when they tried to

794
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,239
Speaker 3: deploy him in that way, there still wasn't production. And

795
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,360
Speaker 3: so I don't know where the right place is to

796
00:35:47,560 --> 00:35:50,080
Speaker 3: land because I think that he's had enough struggles in

797
00:35:50,200 --> 00:35:52,839
Speaker 3: enough different areas. Like you said, it seems like, well,

798
00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:54,759
Speaker 3: if we fix this, it'll work. If we fix this,

799
00:35:54,880 --> 00:35:58,560
Speaker 3: it'll work, and no single answer has actually caused it

800
00:35:58,600 --> 00:36:01,000
Speaker 3: all to fall into place. So I don't know where

801
00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,640
Speaker 3: you seek that out. Yeah, this may be unfair, but

802
00:36:03,719 --> 00:36:06,160
Speaker 3: as I think about the Falcons, I kind of don't

803
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,640
Speaker 3: think about him like I don't when I think about

804
00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:11,359
Speaker 3: what they can accomplish this year and what the root

805
00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,520
Speaker 3: causes of their offensive success will be. He's so far

806
00:36:14,600 --> 00:36:16,640
Speaker 3: down the list that I almost think that whatever they

807
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:19,759
Speaker 3: get from him will be a bonus and if you

808
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,960
Speaker 3: can get four or five six explosive plays over the

809
00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:25,200
Speaker 3: course of the year, if he can surprise everybody a

810
00:36:25,239 --> 00:36:27,920
Speaker 3: little bit, is that just gravy on what is already

811
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:30,839
Speaker 3: a pretty good offensive foundation. Fair or unfair? That's kind

812
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:32,799
Speaker 3: of how I think about it now. Yeah, I think too.

813
00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:35,240
Speaker 4: And this is something that I've said either mail bags

814
00:36:35,360 --> 00:36:38,320
Speaker 4: or podcast is the situation that Kyle Pitchs is in

815
00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:42,080
Speaker 4: right now from an offense, like from the Falcons offensive

816
00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:45,600
Speaker 4: construction of the roster. What it was when in his

817
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:48,839
Speaker 4: first year, his rookie year, thinking back to that time,

818
00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:52,719
Speaker 4: there was not really a significant run game established. There

819
00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,759
Speaker 4: was not a true wide receiver number one option. That

820
00:36:56,920 --> 00:36:59,240
Speaker 4: was the first year without Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley.

821
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,399
Speaker 4: You only got it few games out of him that year.

822
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:07,759
Speaker 4: So Matt Ryan's options were very limited too. Let's be real,

823
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:11,520
Speaker 4: Kyle Pitts. Now that's no longer the case and hasn't

824
00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:13,320
Speaker 4: really been for the last couple of years, because you

825
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,920
Speaker 4: do have Drake c. London, you have Bejon Robinson, you

826
00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:19,399
Speaker 4: have Tyler Aljeer, Darnell Mooney, and I think to your point,

827
00:37:19,480 --> 00:37:24,040
Speaker 4: it's like I personally have the expectation that if we're

828
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:26,800
Speaker 4: looking at a whole game, a whole four quarters worth

829
00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:31,440
Speaker 4: of potential throws in targets, I'm thinking that it's fair

830
00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:33,480
Speaker 4: to say that Kyle Pitts gets three or four of those,

831
00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,320
Speaker 4: and that's on a good day, right.

832
00:37:36,360 --> 00:37:38,760
Speaker 3: Like that's tough when you are the fourth overall pick.

833
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:41,640
Speaker 4: Exactly, And that's the point, Like, that's why it's such

834
00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:44,360
Speaker 4: a it's hard to have that conversation.

835
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:46,680
Speaker 3: I think that over the last couple of years, I've

836
00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:48,759
Speaker 3: noticed this in a few different spots where I think

837
00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:51,000
Speaker 3: some and I'm not saying that Terry Fino has done this.

838
00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:52,959
Speaker 3: I think the Kyle Pits thing was right in the moment.

839
00:37:53,040 --> 00:37:54,840
Speaker 3: I understand why they did it. I would do it

840
00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:56,640
Speaker 3: one hundred times out of one hundred. I watched Kyle

841
00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:59,080
Speaker 3: Pitts's college film. Yes I would have taken him in

842
00:37:59,080 --> 00:38:01,479
Speaker 3: the top five of that. But you look at certain

843
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:03,759
Speaker 3: teams to come to mind from last year, specifically the

844
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,080
Speaker 3: Bears and the Texans. The Texans the thing is a

845
00:38:06,080 --> 00:38:07,800
Speaker 3: little bit on fair because guys were hurt. But in

846
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:10,120
Speaker 3: Chicago they went out and traded for Keenan All and

847
00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,600
Speaker 3: after already having DJ Moore and then they drafted Romaduonze

848
00:38:12,680 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 3: in the top ten. And I think some teams are

849
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:18,160
Speaker 3: of the mind that will more receiving talent equals better automatically. Right.

850
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:20,520
Speaker 3: If we have more talented players, that's great. But I

851
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:24,319
Speaker 3: think with receivers specifically, role is so important and how

852
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:27,360
Speaker 3: the pieces all fit together is so important. Sometimes it

853
00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:29,319
Speaker 3: doesn't matter if you have the most talented group if

854
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,000
Speaker 3: there's misalignment in the roles, and I think they've just

855
00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:34,960
Speaker 3: never really figured out even if somebody as talented as

856
00:38:35,040 --> 00:38:37,920
Speaker 3: Kyle Pitts, how is his role supposed to fit into

857
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:40,360
Speaker 3: the puzzle of what we're doing? More broadly on offense.

858
00:38:40,840 --> 00:38:42,680
Speaker 4: I love this conversation. I hate to cut it short

859
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:44,600
Speaker 4: because I'm having such a good time chatting with you

860
00:38:44,800 --> 00:38:47,040
Speaker 4: and ketching up about everything. But I do kind of

861
00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:50,400
Speaker 4: want to get you to go off do all your conversations,

862
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,280
Speaker 4: maybe get some sleep. I know that the Atlanta Airport

863
00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:54,319
Speaker 4: has taken AWA one day.

864
00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,880
Speaker 3: I'm working on in thirty solid minutes of sleep on

865
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:58,480
Speaker 3: red eye flight right now. The fact that I am

866
00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,160
Speaker 3: still forming cohesive sentence, I'm actually pretty proud of myself.

867
00:39:01,160 --> 00:39:04,319
Speaker 4: Honestly, that's a win. Last question, I'll let you out

868
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:06,520
Speaker 4: of here. It's kind of a think piece. I've been

869
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:09,959
Speaker 4: asking a lot of people this for the podcast. Let's

870
00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:13,200
Speaker 4: say it's January twenty twenty six, and let's say it

871
00:39:13,239 --> 00:39:16,840
Speaker 4: we're sitting down right here talking about an Atlanta Falcons

872
00:39:16,880 --> 00:39:19,480
Speaker 4: team that is going to be playing in the playoffs.

873
00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:23,000
Speaker 4: In your opinion, what is one thing that needs to

874
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:25,120
Speaker 4: happen that allows that to manifest.

875
00:39:26,040 --> 00:39:29,319
Speaker 3: There's a group of quarterbacks right now between like quarterbacks

876
00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:31,840
Speaker 3: six seven and quarterback fifteen that I feel like is

877
00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:34,279
Speaker 3: pretty flat. I feel like that's a very crowded group

878
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,640
Speaker 3: of players where they're quarterbacks that, if they're not hyper elite,

879
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,640
Speaker 3: they really give you a chance to win their substantiated

880
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:45,200
Speaker 3: good quarterbacks. Is Michael Pennox one of those quarterbacks by

881
00:39:45,239 --> 00:39:47,560
Speaker 3: the end of the season, right are we grouping him

882
00:39:47,719 --> 00:39:51,120
Speaker 3: with the Jordan Loves and CJ. Strouds and Jayleen Hurts?

883
00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:53,520
Speaker 3: Is all those guys? If that's the case, then I

884
00:39:53,560 --> 00:39:58,239
Speaker 3: think that's step one. Step two is around Halloween, when

885
00:39:58,320 --> 00:40:00,520
Speaker 3: I am thinking about the league, I do it and

886
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:02,280
Speaker 3: we're trying to figure out who we want to talk about,

887
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:04,879
Speaker 3: and we're trying to find units that are playing better

888
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,239
Speaker 3: or worse than we expect? How excited am I to

889
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:09,759
Speaker 3: talk about the Falcons defense in week ten? Are me

890
00:40:09,800 --> 00:40:12,400
Speaker 3: and Derek Clasten sitting there going how is Jeff Oulbrick

891
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:13,359
Speaker 3: doing this right?

892
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:13,520
Speaker 1: Like?

893
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:16,640
Speaker 3: How is this team the seventeenth best defense in the league?

894
00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,839
Speaker 3: If both of those things happen, I think this would

895
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:20,879
Speaker 3: probably be a playoff too.

896
00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 4: We will I mean honestly, it's like a we will

897
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:25,960
Speaker 4: wait and see type of thing. We're very early in camp,

898
00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:28,600
Speaker 4: There's a lot of time left, but I want to

899
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:30,440
Speaker 4: thank you so much for sitting down with me and

900
00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,239
Speaker 4: talking about all of this. I think this has been

901
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,000
Speaker 4: a fantastic conversation and I'm super excited for all of

902
00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:37,040
Speaker 4: you guys to listen. Make sure that you check us

903
00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:40,719
Speaker 4: out on Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. We

904
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,279
Speaker 4: will be coming to you pretty frequently as training camp

905
00:40:43,360 --> 00:40:46,239
Speaker 4: continues to roll on and as the preseason gets here.

906
00:40:46,320 --> 00:40:48,960
Speaker 4: But for Robert May's I am Tory mclaney. Thank you

907
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:50,960
Speaker 4: so so much you guys for joining us today.