The Kyle Bailey Show: D. Orlando Ledbetter

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Right now, we're welcoming back a guy who knows the
Atlanta Falcons inside and out. He's the award winning Atlanta
Journal Constitution beat reporter covering the Atlanta Falcons. De Orlando
Ledbetter is back with us on a Thursday afternoon. What's
going on, buddy, How you been today?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
I've been pretty good, cop. Thanks for having me on
the show today, of.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
Course, Man, it's good to have you. You always raised
the collective IQ around here, so we appreciate that. I
got to start with Michael Pennix, man, like, we're having
some pretty frustrated conversations this week in panther Land about
losing to the one and eight Saints despite being five
and four going into that game, and people around here
are pretty salty about not just that, but you know
the way the quarterback's playing right now, and I know

(00:38):
that's a big topic of conversation down there as well.
Michael Pennix Junior not having a great year less than
sixty percent completions, hasn't found a rhythm in this Falcons offense.
Also made some interesting comments about not having help on
the sideline. Just you know, give me your thoughts and
tell us what's going on down there.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Yeah, that's that's the comments not having help with stuff
taking out of context. He was he certainly has help
and DJ Williams' quarterback coach, t J. Yates and Jack Robinson. Uh,
you know. Was he was asked about, uh, you know,
who's he talked to off the field, and he talked
about his fiance and his guys he talks to off

(01:18):
the field, and somehow one of those you know, aggregate
sites took that to mean he didn't talk to the
people on the team, and uh, that's kind of grew
some legs of his soon. It's just kind of upstirs,
you know, people that aren't here every day, Uh, and
don't know, you know, they weren't sitting in the room
and then they try to tell people what it was.
That's just a bad comment on where we're at with

(01:41):
social media and so forth. So he certainly got help. Uh.
The accuracy has been a issue, that's legit. This is
his worst game of forty two point nine percent twelve
or twenty eight game which they have to lead with
one forty four to go. So uh, he talked about
missing open receivers and he said that he feels like

(02:04):
he's not helping a team when he does that. So, uh,
that is the issue. He needs to start those.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Oh no, or lady's still with us? Yeah, okay, we
thought we thought we dropped. You dropped for a second,
all right, So to the point you just made a
second ago over time with the Colts one point loss
to the Patriots, right, there been some you know, one
possession games that just haven't gone their way, and so
they've been close. But I also go back to the
first loss to the Panthers, and you know, we do

(02:33):
a fun segment on Mondays after the Panthers win called
Loser Radio where we just tap into the opposing teams
radio and listen to the fans rant and rave about
the team. And I recall that day there being a
lot of conversation about Zach Robinson and the offense and
why they can't figure it out. So just overall, offensively,
where do you think their problems lie?

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Their problems are on third down? They were opraight against
the colt a for forty in the last four games,
doing the four game losing street Wow, also a mass
in three hundred and thirty yards a game. So it
makes no sense that you know, they can't keep it
moving on third downs, and they they kind of fix

(03:16):
the red zone problem, but it's you know, it's still
just average eighteen points a game, so you know they're
moving the bar between the twenties and then shooting themselves
in the foot on third downs and in the red zone.
So that's pretty much where they're at. People hate the
pistol offense down here. I don't know what they want,
but Dak Robinson did talk about going to more two

(03:37):
backs set without year and b John Robinson moving forward.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
What do you know, we're again we're having some struggles
here right now. But I do think they're a little
bit different than what you're talking about at the moment.
Why is this defense for Atlanta struggling so much, in
particular against the run. What's going on there? Is it
all injuries or what?

Speaker 2 (03:58):
Yeah, they lost one guy the bon Dieblo, so that's
not not the injuries. But it's a smallesh fatty fifty
time and get after the quarterback. They wanted to play
like this old coach teams where they're playing from ahead
and then their they're fast ins Matphison free can get
after people. But the problem has been there haven't been

(04:20):
ahead then that scoring enough points and deepense has been
unfeel too long, and they eventually get ran over and
rewore down. And that's happening here in the losing streak
against the forty nine ers and against you know, the Patriots,
and again against the coach.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
How injured are they overall going into this game. I've
seen reports of as many as eleven guys on the
injured list, but I'm not sure how many of those
guys are truly hurt and won't play.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah, probably just run Leonard Floyd, Drake Blennon the big one.
He was back at practice today, Leonard forty, outside linebacker.
They signed another outside linebacker today in the practice glass,
So that's probably He's gonna probably take Lard Floyd's place
in the rotation. Co league Kareem uh so, But Chris

(05:10):
Listen's the one to watch. He's had a foot right guard.
I had a tough time with Dack Brown last time. Uh,
you know, that's the that's the key one. But the
rest of the people are are expected to play or at
least be questionable going into the game.

Speaker 1 (05:25):
Have they talked much this week? Like I know the
Panthers are going to be motivated. Every team should be
motivated every week. But I know this team here is
going to be motivated because they just lost to a
bad New Orleans team and we got players, you know,
saying that we didn't have a great week of practice,
we weren't prepared, we weren't focused, and so I think
they're going to be locked in. But I also think
Atlanta's going to be locked in given the results of
the first matchup. Has there been much talk about that

(05:46):
this week?

Speaker 2 (05:48):
There have h you've heard a little bit about payback
and we all those guys, you know, because after that
they were like, hey, that's not us, We're not this.
Then they did thing against the Dolphins that want to
six Dolphins a couple of weeks later. So we don't
know which Falcons team's gonna show up. That was our
storyline going into Berlin. He's that which team's gonna show

(06:12):
up the Dolphins and Pantas team are the team that
beat Buffalo in Washington, So you know, they've kind of
been all over the board. But they certainly, you know,
don't want the Panthers coming in here and uh, you know,
wrecking their season. At this point, after they played two
really good teams to to tough.

Speaker 1 (06:32):
What's they're three and six right now with with eight
to go, right so we don't know how the season
is gonna end up, but it feels like this was
a big season always for Terry Fontineau. I know Raheem
Morris has taken a lot of heat down there. It's
a high pressure job, you know, whichever one we're talking about,
Like how many jobs are at stake in Atlanta? You know,
depending upon how this goes over the next eight games, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:52):
Big does sideways, you can you don't get a whole
lot of jobs are at stake, and I mean sideways,
you know, three and three and fourteen or four and something,
you know, something like that. If they're eight and nine,
nine and eight in the midst of it, then you know,
the owner might you know, continue to build and move

(07:14):
on with with some of the people. There'll be some changes,
but you know, if everybody wants to stay their job,
they need to kind of run the table and get
to the playoffs. They have a good show in there
that will restore some peace, but they haven't shown that
they're capable of doing that yet.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
Who do you think has been the most disappointing or
underwhelming pieces on this team. I mean, we talk about
Kyle Pitts a lot around here just in terms of
his pre draft expectations, but who down there has just
failed to live up to expectations.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yes, then Darnell Mooney, who came in the package deal
kind of with Kirk Cousins in the whole tampering case.
He we found out yesterday broke his kyler bone in
training camp and you know, just hasn't been able to
get out the gate. Has no connection with Michael Pennix.
He was had eight targets last game and only one catch,

(08:07):
and in the pen and he had eleven targets and
just one kitch. So he's been the one. Kyle Pitt's
actually having his best season. You know, he's cost seventy
six percent targets, which is a high for him. But
he had a couple of little last week, had a
big drop and didn't the fight for the ball on
one play. So yeah, Kyle Pitts and Mooney are the

(08:30):
two guys I need to step up here. And how
about the young quarterbacks a little bit more?

Speaker 1 (08:34):
All right, last thing, I'll let you go here. Just
any thoughts that you've got on on Carolina. You've seen
him once already this year. They're they're five and five.
And I've said this a couple of times. Orlando, like
the people, I think would have taken five and five
through ten games if that's what they were offered before
the season. But it's really been a roller coaster ride,
and once again people are questioning whether or not Bryce
Young is the guy. What are your thoughts on Carolina

(08:55):
from afar, Yeah, they certainly.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Found something with the running back dat and uh, you
know had humber as a aston the hole as its
back up, so uh, he should be able to throw
off of that. I don't understand the inability to not
throw deep from I saw that being a big issue
up there last game, as you and the coach talking about, Hey,

(09:19):
we got him get the passing game going, so he's
got They spent some money on our draft capital on
the wide receivers, and I figured he'd know what to
do with him. But Canalis will know by the end
of this year, that's the case, yor not?

Speaker 1 (09:33):
Okay? Well, the Orlando led Better Award winning reporter covering
the Falcons with the Atlanta Journal Constitution kind enough to
join us here on a Thursday. Thank you, brother, We
appreciate you. We'll see you soon, all right, Kyle, thanks
for having me.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
Have a great one.

Speaker 1 (09:46):
Do the same. The Orlando led Better, one of our
favorites here on the show seven oh four five, seven
ninety six ten. Hit us up on the FanDuel text
line with your thoughts and as usual, the FanDuel text
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