June 6, 2022 • 22 mins
Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell joined Scott and Tori to talk about playing NFL football in his hometown, playing with Casey Hayward and why he’s optimistic that the Falcons are headed in the right direction during a special episode recorded LIVE after an OTA conducted in front of fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's up, everybody, and welcome to a special edition of
the Falcons Final Whistle Podcast. We are here at Mercedes
Benz Stadium in the Delta Sky Club recording this podcast live.
I'm Scott Bear with me as my tag team partner
Tory mclaney, and also here a very special guest cornerback,
AJ Terrell. AJ Terrell is here everybody. Yeah, Now, a
(00:26):
couple quick things about the format, right, So we're gonna
have twelve minutes or so with our main man here,
and then after that we're going to open it up
for questions from you guys to ask me and to
ask Tory. So get those questions ready. We are gonna
have that mic circulating around. This is going to be
a really great time to get to know AJ and
get to know this Falcons team better. So with all that, AJ,
(00:50):
first question to you. You see all these people jacked
up to see a guy from their hometown playing for
the Atlanta Falcons. What's it like to interact with the
speaking appreciate it. It's just it's different, you know what
I mean, Just a bigger platform and just got a
lot to you know, give and just out there playing
(01:11):
on the field. Just give me a lot of motivation. AJ,
It's funny you have been at the Braves you throughout
the first pitch, then you were at Laney and added
you were the Golden spike hitter. I'm pretty sure that's
the name of what you were up those two. What's
the more difficult? I thought the pitch was gonna be sweet,
but it wasn't sweet. Yeah, I had ended up spiking
(01:33):
out one in the ground. The spike was easy though, Yeah,
you know, but there's both great experiences and just something
that I definitely loved doing. So it was just giving
back in my way. Yeah, how much did it mean
to kind of see other Atlanta fan bases kind of
take to you the way that they do. It means
a lot. That means, you know, it's just growing, no
(01:53):
year after year, just out there, just off my play
and just the presence of me being on the field
and playing with my teammates and just get everybody, you know,
tighten it, you know, just the fan base and everybody.
I just appreciate everybody just locking in with us and
riding alone this this this path that we're going on
and just try to get to the playoffs. Get some
ws you grew up playing youth football right down the
(02:16):
road basically at Ben Hill Park, right you were there
for the Oom squad, for the Oom squad. What's it
like playing professional football so close to where you grew
up and how important this area is to you? So
so surreal, um, just being able to, like right now,
just being down the street from Camberton Road, right where
(02:39):
uh Ben Hill is and just being on the big
stage right now, just putting on for the city. It's
just like amazing, Like it's so surreal now, Scott, I know,
wanted to ask about your brother. Is it nice to
see him? I mean, you get to see him kind
of go through what you went through not too long ago.
You're not that old man. How does it feel thing
(03:01):
him kind of go through that what you did? It's
no surprise, you know, just all the work we don't
put in him just watching me as I you know,
went through all my phases and him now being himself
and just locking in with football and becoming a player
he is is is making me proud, you know, just
setting setting away and paving his way, you know, to
(03:21):
college is definitely amazing and and you're kind of paving
your way into this league, and in year one you
had a really good year. Year two it seemed like,
I mean second team All Pro? Right, second team All Pro?
That says a lot. How are you able to make
that jump in year two to be one of the
NFL's elite defensive backs? Just locking in, you know, taking
(03:44):
care of my body, just being ahead of everybody um
in the film room, and uh, just trusting my ability,
just going out there and just playing calm free and
just having fun with the game. I think recently you
were named one of the league's most appreciated players, and
I know, right and then underrated is a word that
(04:05):
I think has come up a few times. Do you
like that Moniker? Do you like kind of having that
Moniker or is it kind of a sign of like,
you know what, like underappreciated, undervalued? Like how do you
feel hearing that? Controlling me? Like, Yeah, I ain't really
worried about what they talking about. You know, I know
where I stand. So really just um, like I said,
(04:27):
just going attacking every day in the um in the
weight Rong film role, just with the team and just
doing my job and everybody else do their job, and
you know, everybody get day shown. So That's that's how
I feel about it. And there are a lot of
new faces on this defense, including uh, Casey Hayward, who
said a lot of nice things about you. What's it
going to be like playing opposite him, having that veteran,
(04:50):
a guy who's done it, a guy that can still
really do it at a very high level, like you said,
just experienced. You know, Casey definitely a hell all pro himself,
and he got so much experience under his belt, and
just me being on the opposite side of him is
like a blessing, just having an older brother and just
getting some knowledge from me, you know, weekend, week out
(05:12):
and in practice and all that. So just having him
as an outlets is something I appreciate. I think it's
funny because I'm pretty sure on the last like five podcasts,
whenever we talk about what we're excited to see in
twenty twenty two, I have said, you're pairing with Casey
Hayward every single time. Now that you've gotten to know
him a little bit. I know it's only been a
(05:32):
short amount of time, but what do you like about
I know you just said experience, but what do you
like about who he is as a guy, as a player. Now,
you know, we got the same agent, so I know
him outside of outside of football, so we already had
a relationship. But just the bond we have being able
to relate, you know, you've got somebody that you talked to.
You you know, some people can't relate with what you know.
(05:54):
I'm being in But like I said, he got so
much experience anything I asked that he could tap in
with me and understand what I'm saying. You're you're just
starting to get to know that this twenty twenty two
Falcon squad. What can these fans expect from this group?
Trying to Hey, we're gonna get some WS this year. Um,
we gotta go to the playoffs, and that's that's the
(06:14):
main thing. Just just thinking a big picture. Um, gotta
gotta take it one game at a time, you know,
just going in uh, going in practice the way we
prepare everybody. Just being on the same page and just
going out there and winning that one game each week
is the main thing. Okay, this is the fun part
of the podcast. We're gonna have a little bit fun,
(06:35):
even though we've we've already been having fun, I mean,
but this is gonna be a little bit different. We're
gonna do a lightning round. I'm gonna have like a
few questions for you and you're gonna go. We're gonna
go real quick and you're gonna answer these questions. Some
are funny, some are not. So you're ready, let's go.
You're ready, Okay. Fave artist or song that you're playing
right now? Little baby? There you go. Memorable play as
(06:58):
a falcon. You're most memorable, will play as a falcon.
There are a few to choose. There are a few.
My first pick here last year gets the Patriots. There
you go. Your biggest pet, peeve. I got a lot
of those, I see, see I have a problem with,
(07:21):
like slow driving. Yeah. The main one is smacking. Yeah,
I hate what somebody eat next to me and they smacking, Like,
okay to self see him out at a restaurant, for sure.
I'm gonna call you out. Your favorite fashion trend? Fashion?
You got some game day fits? I've seen those going, right,
(07:43):
it's a lot you I don't think that that one
I'm mad to just keep. Okay, well, we'll save it
for during the saxon. Yeah, that one all right. If
you're choosing text call or FaceTime text the fam is
like tight. If we ain't tight, just texts me like,
I'm not gonna answer, no phone, car FaceTime. You're okay.
(08:05):
The last movie you watched Life, good one. Y'all know
what life is? Is that the one with Eddie Murphys. Yeah? Yeah,
move is awesome? Good one. Um. The teammate that you
spend the most time with, teammate, Um, I feel like
me being here. I got so much range rocket light.
(08:27):
Just go have fun. Yeah. Um, I tap in with
all my teammates when I step out. But um, the
easy way I could say is Casey, Casey, Okay, I
like it. I like it. Um. Your favorite Atlanta restaurant
come on too, waffle House? The quick one is always
(08:49):
gonna be American Delhi. Okay, all right, I can get
behind that. There you go. Um. Now, I have seen
on Instagram your son has some serious style. I honestly,
I'm gonna say this. I think he may have better
solidan you know, I'm just saying it's close, It's really close.
What's your favorite outfit of his? Uh? I like, yeah,
(09:12):
I ain't really post a lot of pictures on them
on there, but the one I like the most of him,
and it's a central fear of God fit. Yeah, I
like that one, all right, last one and honestly we'll
get you out of here. But one word to describe
twenty twenty two for you, Uh, it's a marathon, you know,
(09:34):
just keep going. Um, Like I said, we got so
much going. Uh this year is a lot, a lot
of new faces. I feel like it's it's a marathon
where we're trying to go. Like I said, one game
at a time. And Uh, if anybody don't know the
marathon definitely from Nipsey Hustle. So I like that word.
And it's always just gonna be a marathon. Awesome, love it.
I think that's pretty much it we got. It's so
(09:57):
much I've definitely ever could have hoped for it. AJ,
Thank you so much, man, I appreciate the time. Now
we're going to enter into phase two of this podcast.
There's gonna be a microphone circulating around. If you guys
have any questions about AJ about the twenty twenty two Falcons,
We're gonna stick around for ten fifteen minutes something like that.
(10:18):
Ask her any anything that you anything that's on your mind.
We can definitely talk about and tories. So anybody who
wants to ask a question, raise your hand. We can
get you a microphone and we can get this thing going.
But Tori, as we head through this OTAs right, we're
about halfway through it, we're just getting to know a
(10:39):
lot of these new players. What are your impressions of
this team? Kind of as you're getting to know a
new quarterback, a new cornerback, so many new faces molding
molding together with so many young players. Well, I think
that's it exactly. Is it's new. I feel like right
now we are in a new era of Falcons football.
(11:00):
And I think I've said that it's like guys like AJ,
guys like Kyle Pitts, these are the new faces of
this organization. But it's not what it once was. And
we're still trying to figure out what exactly this team
is and how they're going to operate, and not just
in twenty twenty two, but beyond into twenty three, twenty four,
(11:22):
twenty five. I mean we're looking at AJ was talking
about the marathon that this is, and I thought that
was the perfect word to describe where this Falcon's organization
is and where it's wanting to go. This is not
a sprint. This is a marathon, and it's a marathon
over this season where they're going to try to win
as many games as they possibly can. It's a marathon
over several seasons as they get right with the cap.
(11:44):
They continue to build up this roster around guys like AJ,
guys like Kyle. There's gonna be a new leadership corps here,
guys that are engaged with these fans signing autographs. How
cool is this? Yeah? Love it. AJ could have just bounced,
he didn't. He's sticking around, he's signing autographs, He's mingling
with people from neighborhoods where he grew up. I love that.
I mean, that's so great. That's what's so cool too,
(12:06):
is there are a few guys from not just the
Atlanta area, but the state of Georgia at large who
are a part of this team. And I think that
is something really special that not every NFL team has,
And to be able to be a part of the
culture of Atlanta, I think is very very important. I
know you're you're a West Coast guy. I'm Georgia girl.
(12:28):
Like I've been here. I've seen this organization throughout the years,
and it does feel different. It feels newer. It feels fresher,
and it does feel like this is the foundation of
what Terry Arthur Smith, what they actually want to build here.
And that's why I think events like this are so key,
because fans can come out and interact and meet all
(12:50):
these new personalities and these young players. Because for so
long it was Matt Ryan, it was Nan Jones, right,
it was Tony Gonzales. You want to go way back,
and when you have these new people, you want to
get out and meet him. You want to see that
they're real folks who like American Delhi. That. Yeah, And
I think that those things are important now now that
(13:12):
they're kind of building this culture. Right. I was actually
going to ask him this, but so much of that
chip on your shoulder conversation is going on, right, I
can feel that. Yes. And one thing that I like
that that Grady Jarrett said is he said it's not
just what the players. Arthur Smith wants to prove himself
as a good head coach. Terry Fontina wants to prove
(13:33):
he's a good gm These guys are new to their
jobs and their job titles, so it's a big prove
it thing the entire way, And I think how these
guys do. They all want to prove people wrong. So
when they see Vegas say, okay, four and a half
wins right where they say Vegas say five and a half,
they want to be above that. And I think that
that's the right attitude to have as we move forward here.
(13:56):
Now there's a lot of talk about AJ. Obviously AJ
is just sitting here. You're going to write something for
the website about about what Arthur Smith said about Kyle
Pitts entering his second year. I thought it was a
very interesting way to a look at it, because, look,
the guy had a thousand yards season. Yeah, but the
expectations are higher. Yeah. The fact that Arthur Smith has
said on so many occasions, Kyle Pitts is only scratching
(14:19):
the surface of who he is as a player in
this league. That is to say that after you have
the rookie season that you do as a rookie tight
end in this league. I mean, that's that's hard to do.
But what you're doing is you are having an opportunity
to see what more he can be in this league.
And that's exactly what Arthur Smith was talking about. As
(14:41):
they were getting ready to go out in practice today. Yeah,
and I think it's it kind of lets your imagination
wander because if you think he had the second best
tight end, second best season by a rookie tight end
in history, right, and we're talking about scratching the surface.
I think that we're going to see him move around
the formation more and we're gonna see him more actively
involved because we don't know what we're gonna get from
(15:04):
Drake London yet. He's big, he has a huge catch radius.
He did great things at USC, which, as us le Bruin,
pains me to say. But nonetheless, I really think that
it'll be interesting to see Kyle Pitts is the number
one pass catcher, it doesn't matter what he plays, and
I think to see what he can do next is
going to be one of the most fascinating things that
(15:26):
we that we deal with before we get to anything else.
Forgot to thank Microsoft Windows, big thank you to them,
the official operating sponsor of the NFL. In the Atlanta Falcons,
the all new Windows eleven is here to bring you
closer to what you love, like A. J. Terrell being
a feature guest on this Falcon's Final Whistle podcast awesome,
and we do have a question that is so great,
(15:48):
thank you so much. We might have a couple let's
do it question. Is this given that most of our receivers,
if Julio is the AA, he could probably be like
one of the smallest receivers, is this being it's time
for real? What? Having said that, the question I have
is usually, when you're dealing with a team like Tampa Bay,
you have one Mike Evans you have to deal with.
You can kindly change a corner, switch a corner and
(16:10):
do all that. But dealing with us this year, no
matter where you go one through three, it's going to
be six four sixty three large catch radius, yag and
then you can have a chance an opportunity to put
Cordall Patterson that like six two and a half in
the bag. And I'm just kind of feel like, how
do you what do you see our offense actually doing
this year just with that set up, you know what
(16:30):
I mean, regardless of who the quarterback is. And one
last thing, ritterds tight end in college it's like six
five six six and it kind of like a match here.
So what you're thinking, brother, Well, before we get to that,
maybe we need like a guest analysts maybe next week.
That was a pretty good breakdown. I'm trying to think
of ways that I can do it better. But I
think the reason why I like this group of Drake London,
(16:52):
Brian Edwards, Art Tap. That's a basketball team, right, Kyle
Pitts maybe the tallest one in the group. Yeah, I
like the athleticism that goes with it. These aren't big
guys who can plod down field and just out jump
you right that. These are guys who are athletic, who
can go get the ball. And I think it's gonna
be fascinating, Tory, how do you? I mean, it should
be fun to see how they're gonna mix Patterson into
(17:14):
all this. That's the thing is I was so glad
you brought that up because I'm like, I honestly don't
say receivers anymore when I'm talking about yeah, you can't
do that, I say Cordarol Patterson and Kyle Pitts and
drakeln and an Audentate and Brian Edwards. These are These
aren't wide receivers. These are receiving weapons. These aren't Cordarrell
(17:35):
Patterson isn't a running back, He's a weapon. Kyle Pitts
isn't a tied end. He's a weapon that to me
makes if you're looking at this honestly, this group, when
you're looking at it and you're Arthur Smith and you're
being you're able to scheme for these guys you want
to have. You want to confuse the heck out of defenses.
And I think that's exactly what they're going to be
(17:57):
able to provide in this offense that I think a
lot of times exactly like what you're saying in your question,
a lot of times you have one big guy, now
they have a lot of versatility. It is something that
Arthur Smith has valued since he got here in Atlanta.
So where do you bring help? And I think when
you have two quarterbacks that are new to the system,
it's going to help them because at some point they're moving,
(18:19):
they're outside the pocket, they're in trouble. Throw it up,
see what happens the old fifty fifty ball, Well, the
fifty fifty ball. Drake Glendon's probably gonna come down with that, right,
and Kyle Pitts we saw in Miami and in Buffalo
and in Tampa, right, so many examples of that type
of thing happening. So I think that it's going to
(18:40):
be a fun group to watch. Here's the other crazy thing, Tori.
If you go back even a couple months pre draft,
this wide receiver corps was like Capital all Caps, major need, right.
It was Kyle Pitts and not a whole lot. It
was well, I think the only one because at the
time Alamia is that Kias hadn't yet signed his tender,
(19:00):
so it was like the only person that had even
caught a pass in at that wide receiver corps was
Frank Darby, who was a rookie last year. And then
they go out and they rebuild this whole not just room,
but like what I was saying, the weapons around it.
You resigned Cordarrell, you have Kyle Pitts coming back. You
get some other tight ends too. I think that's important
(19:22):
as well. So there was a lot that had to
be done this offseason across the offense. All Right, it
sounds like we have another question from the crowd. How
do you how do you think d I think he's
Taylor made for it. Yeah, I think that the really
cool thing was that the Falcons took the first wide
receiver available, so they had the pick of the litter
(19:45):
and he chose their scheme fit, which is a big
guy who can move around down who can move downfield,
a guy with a huge catch radius. I don't like
comparing rookies to guys who are established, but I think
A J. Brown types like a big physical dude who's
gonna run you. He's gonna run around you and then
over you. Right. So I think it's pretty exciting. I
(20:09):
keep I can't wait till training camp because we're gonna
see these guys with pads on, so we know how
physical they can be at the line. That's a that's
another Drake London asset. And I think being able to
see him work down field, to be physical and go
at full speed all these ota practices about three quarter
speed maybe, but to really see him get into it,
I think is going to be pretty exciting. Yeah, we
(20:31):
got another question over here. What do we got man
Frank Darby? Yeah, you think that he's gonna make a
leap this year? I think he has to. I think
it's gonna for Frank Darby. I'm just excited to see
his role expand. And I do think that he has
an opportunity this year that maybe he didn't have last year.
I think when you're looking at a wide receiver pick
(20:52):
sometimes it takes them a minute, especially when you had
you had at the time, you had Calvin Ridley, you
had Wrestle Gates, you had Kyle Pits. It was a
very different looking groups. So I think that the door
is open for a guy like Frank Darby to one
continued doing what he did on special teams. I think
that's just as important and then also kind of making
a name for himself in this offense as well. I'm
(21:13):
looking forward to seeing Frank Darby more, not just for
the social media contact, because we know he's hilarious. We
love being around him. So I'm excited just as much
for what he's going to do in his second year
as I am just to see him on social media more.
I mean, it feels like he's always had like a
third red Bull of like for the morning La. That's
(21:36):
just much is Yeah. Honestly, his like normal I don't
even know level is honestly ten times what I think
the normal person is. I've never seeing him not like
jazzed up and running around. Ye As we're kind of
wrapping this thing up here. I just have to remind
you guys. One more time. Please rate, review, subscribe on
(21:57):
iTunes items on Spotify. Also, sub subscribe to our Atlanta
Falcons YouTube channel where all these things go. We have
lots of great videos there. Check all that stuff out.
And really this is I'll be honest, this is our
first time doing a live podcast. We got aj freaking Terrell. Yeah,
that was awesome, guys. Thank everyone who stopped by here
(22:18):
at the Delta scut at the Delta sky Club on
Friday at the open practice, and thanks to everyone on
Monday and Tuesday down the road who's listening to this podcast.
Greatly appreciate all of the support, all the nice things
that have been said about Tori and occasionally about me,
but we definitely appreciate it. It's been so much fun
and we'll talk to you guys again next week
What's up, everybody, and welcome to a special edition of
the Falcons Final Whistle Podcast. We are here at Mercedes
Benz Stadium in the Delta Sky Club recording this podcast live.
I'm Scott Bear with me as my tag team partner
Tory mclaney, and also here a very special guest cornerback,
AJ Terrell. AJ Terrell is here everybody. Yeah, Now, a
(00:26):
couple quick things about the format, right, So we're gonna
have twelve minutes or so with our main man here,
and then after that we're going to open it up
for questions from you guys to ask me and to
ask Tory. So get those questions ready. We are gonna
have that mic circulating around. This is going to be
a really great time to get to know AJ and
get to know this Falcons team better. So with all that, AJ,
(00:50):
first question to you. You see all these people jacked
up to see a guy from their hometown playing for
the Atlanta Falcons. What's it like to interact with the
speaking appreciate it. It's just it's different, you know what
I mean, Just a bigger platform and just got a
lot to you know, give and just out there playing
(01:11):
on the field. Just give me a lot of motivation. AJ,
It's funny you have been at the Braves you throughout
the first pitch, then you were at Laney and added
you were the Golden spike hitter. I'm pretty sure that's
the name of what you were up those two. What's
the more difficult? I thought the pitch was gonna be sweet,
but it wasn't sweet. Yeah, I had ended up spiking
(01:33):
out one in the ground. The spike was easy though, Yeah,
you know, but there's both great experiences and just something
that I definitely loved doing. So it was just giving
back in my way. Yeah, how much did it mean
to kind of see other Atlanta fan bases kind of
take to you the way that they do. It means
a lot. That means, you know, it's just growing, no
(01:53):
year after year, just out there, just off my play
and just the presence of me being on the field
and playing with my teammates and just get everybody, you know,
tighten it, you know, just the fan base and everybody.
I just appreciate everybody just locking in with us and
riding alone this this this path that we're going on
and just try to get to the playoffs. Get some
ws you grew up playing youth football right down the
(02:16):
road basically at Ben Hill Park, right you were there
for the Oom squad, for the Oom squad. What's it
like playing professional football so close to where you grew
up and how important this area is to you? So
so surreal, um, just being able to, like right now,
just being down the street from Camberton Road, right where
(02:39):
uh Ben Hill is and just being on the big
stage right now, just putting on for the city. It's
just like amazing, Like it's so surreal now, Scott, I know,
wanted to ask about your brother. Is it nice to
see him? I mean, you get to see him kind
of go through what you went through not too long ago.
You're not that old man. How does it feel thing
(03:01):
him kind of go through that what you did? It's
no surprise, you know, just all the work we don't
put in him just watching me as I you know,
went through all my phases and him now being himself
and just locking in with football and becoming a player
he is is is making me proud, you know, just
setting setting away and paving his way, you know, to
(03:21):
college is definitely amazing and and you're kind of paving
your way into this league, and in year one you
had a really good year. Year two it seemed like,
I mean second team All Pro? Right, second team All Pro?
That says a lot. How are you able to make
that jump in year two to be one of the
NFL's elite defensive backs? Just locking in, you know, taking
(03:44):
care of my body, just being ahead of everybody um
in the film room, and uh, just trusting my ability,
just going out there and just playing calm free and
just having fun with the game. I think recently you
were named one of the league's most appreciated players, and
I know, right and then underrated is a word that
(04:05):
I think has come up a few times. Do you
like that Moniker? Do you like kind of having that
Moniker or is it kind of a sign of like,
you know what, like underappreciated, undervalued? Like how do you
feel hearing that? Controlling me? Like, Yeah, I ain't really
worried about what they talking about. You know, I know
where I stand. So really just um, like I said,
(04:27):
just going attacking every day in the um in the
weight Rong film role, just with the team and just
doing my job and everybody else do their job, and
you know, everybody get day shown. So That's that's how
I feel about it. And there are a lot of
new faces on this defense, including uh, Casey Hayward, who
said a lot of nice things about you. What's it
going to be like playing opposite him, having that veteran,
(04:50):
a guy who's done it, a guy that can still
really do it at a very high level, like you said,
just experienced. You know, Casey definitely a hell all pro himself,
and he got so much experience under his belt, and
just me being on the opposite side of him is
like a blessing, just having an older brother and just
getting some knowledge from me, you know, weekend, week out
(05:12):
and in practice and all that. So just having him
as an outlets is something I appreciate. I think it's
funny because I'm pretty sure on the last like five podcasts,
whenever we talk about what we're excited to see in
twenty twenty two, I have said, you're pairing with Casey
Hayward every single time. Now that you've gotten to know
him a little bit. I know it's only been a
(05:32):
short amount of time, but what do you like about
I know you just said experience, but what do you
like about who he is as a guy, as a player. Now,
you know, we got the same agent, so I know
him outside of outside of football, so we already had
a relationship. But just the bond we have being able
to relate, you know, you've got somebody that you talked to.
You you know, some people can't relate with what you know.
(05:54):
I'm being in But like I said, he got so
much experience anything I asked that he could tap in
with me and understand what I'm saying. You're you're just
starting to get to know that this twenty twenty two
Falcon squad. What can these fans expect from this group?
Trying to Hey, we're gonna get some WS this year. Um,
we gotta go to the playoffs, and that's that's the
(06:14):
main thing. Just just thinking a big picture. Um, gotta
gotta take it one game at a time, you know,
just going in uh, going in practice the way we
prepare everybody. Just being on the same page and just
going out there and winning that one game each week
is the main thing. Okay, this is the fun part
of the podcast. We're gonna have a little bit fun,
(06:35):
even though we've we've already been having fun, I mean,
but this is gonna be a little bit different. We're
gonna do a lightning round. I'm gonna have like a
few questions for you and you're gonna go. We're gonna
go real quick and you're gonna answer these questions. Some
are funny, some are not. So you're ready, let's go.
You're ready, Okay. Fave artist or song that you're playing
right now? Little baby? There you go. Memorable play as
(06:58):
a falcon. You're most memorable, will play as a falcon.
There are a few to choose. There are a few.
My first pick here last year gets the Patriots. There
you go. Your biggest pet, peeve. I got a lot
of those, I see, see I have a problem with,
(07:21):
like slow driving. Yeah. The main one is smacking. Yeah,
I hate what somebody eat next to me and they smacking, Like,
okay to self see him out at a restaurant, for sure.
I'm gonna call you out. Your favorite fashion trend? Fashion?
You got some game day fits? I've seen those going, right,
(07:43):
it's a lot you I don't think that that one
I'm mad to just keep. Okay, well, we'll save it
for during the saxon. Yeah, that one all right. If
you're choosing text call or FaceTime text the fam is
like tight. If we ain't tight, just texts me like,
I'm not gonna answer, no phone, car FaceTime. You're okay.
(08:05):
The last movie you watched Life, good one. Y'all know
what life is? Is that the one with Eddie Murphys. Yeah? Yeah,
move is awesome? Good one. Um. The teammate that you
spend the most time with, teammate, Um, I feel like
me being here. I got so much range rocket light.
(08:27):
Just go have fun. Yeah. Um, I tap in with
all my teammates when I step out. But um, the
easy way I could say is Casey, Casey, Okay, I
like it. I like it. Um. Your favorite Atlanta restaurant
come on too, waffle House? The quick one is always
(08:49):
gonna be American Delhi. Okay, all right, I can get
behind that. There you go. Um. Now, I have seen
on Instagram your son has some serious style. I honestly,
I'm gonna say this. I think he may have better
solidan you know, I'm just saying it's close, It's really close.
What's your favorite outfit of his? Uh? I like, yeah,
(09:12):
I ain't really post a lot of pictures on them
on there, but the one I like the most of him,
and it's a central fear of God fit. Yeah, I
like that one, all right, last one and honestly we'll
get you out of here. But one word to describe
twenty twenty two for you, Uh, it's a marathon, you know,
(09:34):
just keep going. Um, Like I said, we got so
much going. Uh this year is a lot, a lot
of new faces. I feel like it's it's a marathon
where we're trying to go. Like I said, one game
at a time. And Uh, if anybody don't know the
marathon definitely from Nipsey Hustle. So I like that word.
And it's always just gonna be a marathon. Awesome, love it.
I think that's pretty much it we got. It's so
(09:57):
much I've definitely ever could have hoped for it. AJ,
Thank you so much, man, I appreciate the time. Now
we're going to enter into phase two of this podcast.
There's gonna be a microphone circulating around. If you guys
have any questions about AJ about the twenty twenty two Falcons,
We're gonna stick around for ten fifteen minutes something like that.
(10:18):
Ask her any anything that you anything that's on your mind.
We can definitely talk about and tories. So anybody who
wants to ask a question, raise your hand. We can
get you a microphone and we can get this thing going.
But Tori, as we head through this OTAs right, we're
about halfway through it, we're just getting to know a
(10:39):
lot of these new players. What are your impressions of
this team? Kind of as you're getting to know a
new quarterback, a new cornerback, so many new faces molding
molding together with so many young players. Well, I think
that's it exactly. Is it's new. I feel like right
now we are in a new era of Falcons football.
(11:00):
And I think I've said that it's like guys like AJ,
guys like Kyle Pitts, these are the new faces of
this organization. But it's not what it once was. And
we're still trying to figure out what exactly this team
is and how they're going to operate, and not just
in twenty twenty two, but beyond into twenty three, twenty four,
(11:22):
twenty five. I mean we're looking at AJ was talking
about the marathon that this is, and I thought that
was the perfect word to describe where this Falcon's organization
is and where it's wanting to go. This is not
a sprint. This is a marathon, and it's a marathon
over this season where they're going to try to win
as many games as they possibly can. It's a marathon
over several seasons as they get right with the cap.
(11:44):
They continue to build up this roster around guys like AJ,
guys like Kyle. There's gonna be a new leadership corps here,
guys that are engaged with these fans signing autographs. How
cool is this? Yeah? Love it. AJ could have just bounced,
he didn't. He's sticking around, he's signing autographs, He's mingling
with people from neighborhoods where he grew up. I love that.
I mean, that's so great. That's what's so cool too,
(12:06):
is there are a few guys from not just the
Atlanta area, but the state of Georgia at large who
are a part of this team. And I think that
is something really special that not every NFL team has,
And to be able to be a part of the
culture of Atlanta, I think is very very important. I
know you're you're a West Coast guy. I'm Georgia girl.
(12:28):
Like I've been here. I've seen this organization throughout the years,
and it does feel different. It feels newer. It feels fresher,
and it does feel like this is the foundation of
what Terry Arthur Smith, what they actually want to build here.
And that's why I think events like this are so key,
because fans can come out and interact and meet all
(12:50):
these new personalities and these young players. Because for so
long it was Matt Ryan, it was Nan Jones, right,
it was Tony Gonzales. You want to go way back,
and when you have these new people, you want to
get out and meet him. You want to see that
they're real folks who like American Delhi. That. Yeah, And
I think that those things are important now now that
(13:12):
they're kind of building this culture. Right. I was actually
going to ask him this, but so much of that
chip on your shoulder conversation is going on, right, I
can feel that. Yes. And one thing that I like
that that Grady Jarrett said is he said it's not
just what the players. Arthur Smith wants to prove himself
as a good head coach. Terry Fontina wants to prove
(13:33):
he's a good gm These guys are new to their
jobs and their job titles, so it's a big prove
it thing the entire way, And I think how these
guys do. They all want to prove people wrong. So
when they see Vegas say, okay, four and a half
wins right where they say Vegas say five and a half,
they want to be above that. And I think that
that's the right attitude to have as we move forward here.
(13:56):
Now there's a lot of talk about AJ. Obviously AJ
is just sitting here. You're going to write something for
the website about about what Arthur Smith said about Kyle
Pitts entering his second year. I thought it was a
very interesting way to a look at it, because, look,
the guy had a thousand yards season. Yeah, but the
expectations are higher. Yeah. The fact that Arthur Smith has
said on so many occasions, Kyle Pitts is only scratching
(14:19):
the surface of who he is as a player in
this league. That is to say that after you have
the rookie season that you do as a rookie tight
end in this league. I mean, that's that's hard to do.
But what you're doing is you are having an opportunity
to see what more he can be in this league.
And that's exactly what Arthur Smith was talking about. As
(14:41):
they were getting ready to go out in practice today. Yeah,
and I think it's it kind of lets your imagination
wander because if you think he had the second best
tight end, second best season by a rookie tight end
in history, right, and we're talking about scratching the surface.
I think that we're going to see him move around
the formation more and we're gonna see him more actively
involved because we don't know what we're gonna get from
(15:04):
Drake London yet. He's big, he has a huge catch radius.
He did great things at USC, which, as us le Bruin,
pains me to say. But nonetheless, I really think that
it'll be interesting to see Kyle Pitts is the number
one pass catcher, it doesn't matter what he plays, and
I think to see what he can do next is
going to be one of the most fascinating things that
(15:26):
we that we deal with before we get to anything else.
Forgot to thank Microsoft Windows, big thank you to them,
the official operating sponsor of the NFL. In the Atlanta Falcons,
the all new Windows eleven is here to bring you
closer to what you love, like A. J. Terrell being
a feature guest on this Falcon's Final Whistle podcast awesome,
and we do have a question that is so great,
(15:48):
thank you so much. We might have a couple let's
do it question. Is this given that most of our receivers,
if Julio is the AA, he could probably be like
one of the smallest receivers, is this being it's time
for real? What? Having said that, the question I have
is usually, when you're dealing with a team like Tampa Bay,
you have one Mike Evans you have to deal with.
You can kindly change a corner, switch a corner and
(16:10):
do all that. But dealing with us this year, no
matter where you go one through three, it's going to
be six four sixty three large catch radius, yag and
then you can have a chance an opportunity to put
Cordall Patterson that like six two and a half in
the bag. And I'm just kind of feel like, how
do you what do you see our offense actually doing
this year just with that set up, you know what
(16:30):
I mean, regardless of who the quarterback is. And one
last thing, ritterds tight end in college it's like six
five six six and it kind of like a match here.
So what you're thinking, brother, Well, before we get to that,
maybe we need like a guest analysts maybe next week.
That was a pretty good breakdown. I'm trying to think
of ways that I can do it better. But I
think the reason why I like this group of Drake London,
(16:52):
Brian Edwards, Art Tap. That's a basketball team, right, Kyle
Pitts maybe the tallest one in the group. Yeah, I
like the athleticism that goes with it. These aren't big
guys who can plod down field and just out jump
you right that. These are guys who are athletic, who
can go get the ball. And I think it's gonna
be fascinating, Tory, how do you? I mean, it should
be fun to see how they're gonna mix Patterson into
(17:14):
all this. That's the thing is I was so glad
you brought that up because I'm like, I honestly don't
say receivers anymore when I'm talking about yeah, you can't
do that, I say Cordarol Patterson and Kyle Pitts and
drakeln and an Audentate and Brian Edwards. These are These
aren't wide receivers. These are receiving weapons. These aren't Cordarrell
(17:35):
Patterson isn't a running back, He's a weapon. Kyle Pitts
isn't a tied end. He's a weapon that to me
makes if you're looking at this honestly, this group, when
you're looking at it and you're Arthur Smith and you're
being you're able to scheme for these guys you want
to have. You want to confuse the heck out of defenses.
And I think that's exactly what they're going to be
(17:57):
able to provide in this offense that I think a
lot of times exactly like what you're saying in your question,
a lot of times you have one big guy, now
they have a lot of versatility. It is something that
Arthur Smith has valued since he got here in Atlanta.
So where do you bring help? And I think when
you have two quarterbacks that are new to the system,
it's going to help them because at some point they're moving,
(18:19):
they're outside the pocket, they're in trouble. Throw it up,
see what happens the old fifty fifty ball, Well, the
fifty fifty ball. Drake Glendon's probably gonna come down with that, right,
and Kyle Pitts we saw in Miami and in Buffalo
and in Tampa, right, so many examples of that type
of thing happening. So I think that it's going to
(18:40):
be a fun group to watch. Here's the other crazy thing, Tori.
If you go back even a couple months pre draft,
this wide receiver corps was like Capital all Caps, major need, right.
It was Kyle Pitts and not a whole lot. It
was well, I think the only one because at the
time Alamia is that Kias hadn't yet signed his tender,
(19:00):
so it was like the only person that had even
caught a pass in at that wide receiver corps was
Frank Darby, who was a rookie last year. And then
they go out and they rebuild this whole not just room,
but like what I was saying, the weapons around it.
You resigned Cordarrell, you have Kyle Pitts coming back. You
get some other tight ends too. I think that's important
(19:22):
as well. So there was a lot that had to
be done this offseason across the offense. All Right, it
sounds like we have another question from the crowd. How
do you how do you think d I think he's
Taylor made for it. Yeah, I think that the really
cool thing was that the Falcons took the first wide
receiver available, so they had the pick of the litter
(19:45):
and he chose their scheme fit, which is a big
guy who can move around down who can move downfield,
a guy with a huge catch radius. I don't like
comparing rookies to guys who are established, but I think
A J. Brown types like a big physical dude who's
gonna run you. He's gonna run around you and then
over you. Right. So I think it's pretty exciting. I
(20:09):
keep I can't wait till training camp because we're gonna
see these guys with pads on, so we know how
physical they can be at the line. That's a that's
another Drake London asset. And I think being able to
see him work down field, to be physical and go
at full speed all these ota practices about three quarter
speed maybe, but to really see him get into it,
I think is going to be pretty exciting. Yeah, we
(20:31):
got another question over here. What do we got man
Frank Darby? Yeah, you think that he's gonna make a
leap this year? I think he has to. I think
it's gonna for Frank Darby. I'm just excited to see
his role expand. And I do think that he has
an opportunity this year that maybe he didn't have last year.
I think when you're looking at a wide receiver pick
(20:52):
sometimes it takes them a minute, especially when you had
you had at the time, you had Calvin Ridley, you
had Wrestle Gates, you had Kyle Pits. It was a
very different looking groups. So I think that the door
is open for a guy like Frank Darby to one
continued doing what he did on special teams. I think
that's just as important and then also kind of making
a name for himself in this offense as well. I'm
(21:13):
looking forward to seeing Frank Darby more, not just for
the social media contact, because we know he's hilarious. We
love being around him. So I'm excited just as much
for what he's going to do in his second year
as I am just to see him on social media more.
I mean, it feels like he's always had like a
third red Bull of like for the morning La. That's
(21:36):
just much is Yeah. Honestly, his like normal I don't
even know level is honestly ten times what I think
the normal person is. I've never seeing him not like
jazzed up and running around. Ye As we're kind of
wrapping this thing up here. I just have to remind
you guys. One more time. Please rate, review, subscribe on
(21:57):
iTunes items on Spotify. Also, sub subscribe to our Atlanta
Falcons YouTube channel where all these things go. We have
lots of great videos there. Check all that stuff out.
And really this is I'll be honest, this is our
first time doing a live podcast. We got aj freaking Terrell. Yeah,
that was awesome, guys. Thank everyone who stopped by here
(22:18):
at the Delta scut at the Delta sky Club on
Friday at the open practice, and thanks to everyone on
Monday and Tuesday down the road who's listening to this podcast.
Greatly appreciate all of the support, all the nice things
that have been said about Tori and occasionally about me,
but we definitely appreciate it. It's been so much fun
and we'll talk to you guys again next week
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