September 12, 2025 • 31 mins
Tori McElhaney, Terrin Waack, and Will McFadden commiserate the Atlanta Falcons' season opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by doing an internal vibe check and a 5-minute freak out session. But things take a turn for the better as they break down how the Falcons can come back to beat the Vikings, in terms of 5-layer burritos. Finally, Will revives an ancient (and quite possibly non-existent) rivalry.
0:00 - Intro & Friday Forecast
5:00 - Five-minute freak out
11:12 - Offensive victory burrito
23:20 - Defensive victory burrito
27:30 - Duluth vs Duluth
30:00 - Outro
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
So now everyone cares about special teams.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I am pro Beaver. I'm a fan of the Beavers.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
They only had one single play that they ran outside
the tackle to the right.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We gotta wrap this Agapore, we go off the rails.
Happy Friday Falcons fans, Welcome back to our second episode
of Friday five. I'm your host, Will mcfad and I'm
joined as always by Tory mclaney and Tarren Wack. The
Falcons have their second game of the season against the
Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. It's going to be another
early primetime game in the year, and we're gonna talk
(00:29):
a little bit about it, but we're also gonna have
a lot of fun. That is the you know, the
whole vibe for this episode. And we're going to start
right off the top with a little Friday four or
five cast, right, you know, like trying to figure out
what this team's mentality is like heading into the week.
They obviously, you know, dropped a tough close Week one opener.
(00:49):
So Tory, we'll start with you, how has the vibe
kind of been in the building and what's your vibe?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
So my vibe has been a bit of like a
question Mark, I think I have a lot of questions
about this, and I have a lot of questions about
how they're going to respond. But ultimately, like something that
I found out when I was doing some research for
the show I do with Fox five calls Rise Up
Tonight that we it's every Thursday night out check it out.
I do it with Kelly Price, and she was kind
(01:15):
of talking about, oh, I feel I don't know how
to feel. I'm just like trying to feel better about
like losing in week one, and I said, I was like,
you want to know the last time that the Falcons
lost to the Bucks at home to start a season, Like,
do you do y'all know? When I know y'all know,
I know y'all know, But so y'all y'all want to
tell tell.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
People go oh gosh, pull what if I'm wrong?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
It's literally so we're recording this on September eleventh, twenty
twenty five. It's exactly nine years ago today, September eleventh,
twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
What was that thirty one, twenty eight, yes, or twenty
four okay, but yeah, but I remember that game. It
was it was a great game.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
To sum it up, the last time the Falcons lost
to the Buccaneers in a home opener. Was the same
year the Falcons went to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
So not to say that that is happening this year,
not to say anything.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Everyone calls it down.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, not to say, but I'm just saying, like, it
just goes to show, like if you lose Week one
against a divisional opponent, it's not the end of the world.
It's not the end of your season.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Hold on, I gotta go cancel a flight because I
thought that that meant we were automatically booking our tickets.
But no, I think I think that's definitely a great
reminder and it's a good reminder that week one is
week one, right, there's so much football left to play.
So Taren, what's your your vibe state going into loading?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Loading? Loads?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
The like umrae like circle wheel, the circle wheel. Yeah,
the colorful wheel of death on a MacBook.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
That is how that's so contradicted to the colorful wheel
of death, dark color of happiness. Oh not the colorful
wheel of death anyways, But yes, loading, because as we
have now said, it was just week one. I'm also
the one who said week one needs to set the
tone for the season. So hello, contradictory, but I don't
(03:03):
know there were things that you can fix. They're like,
not really the injuries, people will get healthy eventually. But
everything else, it's like you could see what went wrong.
It's not some fluky stuff where you're like, well, I
can't really fix that, it just happened. It's like you
can improve your run game, you can improve your pass rush,
and those are like the two things will highlight later.
(03:25):
I'm already ruining the surprise, but I'm going to stop
talking now because yeah, loading, loading.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Loading, No, I love all of that. I'm kind of
cop cautiously optimistic is kind of the mentality I'm bringing
into this weekend. And the reason I say that is
the further away I get from last Sunday, the more
I feel like the Falcons were the better team, like
in a lot of ways in that game, and I
think Tampa is a good team. And so in Week one,
(03:52):
yeah there were mistakes, but like again, week ones kind
of about identifying some of those. It's the first time
the rubbers hitting the road in a real way, and
you come away with that with a lot of lessons.
You probably scrap some things, you may add some things,
and expand on some stuff. So in the areas that
they shined like, I thought the Falcons were really solid.
I saw a lot from Michael Pennix Junior. I liked
what Sean Robinson did, even though you know, the ground
(04:14):
game has a little bit of work to do, and
the defense the rookies looked solid. You actually didn't get
great play from Kaden Ellis or Jesse Bates are the
guys that you would maybe rely on to make some
of those impact plays. So I'm kind of optimistic even
after coming, you know, shocker, coming off of a loss.
It's like, if they clean up those few areas, this
team showed me enough in Week one to build on.
(04:35):
So that's kind of where I'm at going into it.
I think the team vibes are fine. You know, it's solid.
It's still again keeping it in perspective, and it probably
won't be until after the bye week that we really
start to sense like the season bleeding into it. But
that is our vibe check we're now going to after
I just said, I've got some optimism and I've got
(04:58):
a little bit of, you know, some cautious hope going
in that we're gonna freak out a little bit. I'm
gonna set a timer for five minutes, and we're gonna get,
you know, any of the anxieties that we have built up,
And we have a mail bag that's going that went
up on Thursday. We had another one that went up
on Tuesday, and a lot of fans were able to
voice their opinions and some of their anxieties. So we're
I'm gonna set the timer right now, five minutes on
(05:18):
the clock, Taren.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So, now everyone cares about special teams.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Like it's kind of like the same thing with the
run game and like offensive line play, Like you really
don't talk about like the offensive line unless something bad's
going wrong.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Yeah, now everyone's like, hmmm, special teams? What's going on?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Karen's like Baine, and She's just like, I've been here
the whole time I was born in Welcome is that it? Yeah,
you're more freaking out about the bandwagon getting heavier, and now.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Everyone wants to pay attention to a unit I have
had my focus on for years.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Man, So where do I mean, where did the Falcons
kicking go from here? Right?
Speaker 4 (06:03):
I literally just really wanted to say that, But the
issue with special teams right now is the fact that
Young Waiku continues to have kicking issues, problems and consistencies,
whatever you want to call it. And so right away
on Monday, Raheem Morris said that they're going to bring
in competition for him, and they did that as soon
as Tuesday with Parker Romo, and that we don't get
(06:24):
to see any of the kicking battle in the media
viewing period of practice. But I will be very curious
and kind of surprised if this doesn't happen. Whether Parker
Romo is one of the two practice squad elevations for Sunday,
whether or not he.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Actually goes out there is tbd. But to just have that.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Option to say, like, if Young Wayku's vibe, as we
were saying, is a little off, then put Parker Romo in.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
But I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
I don't know that there's going to be like a
drastic roster change this week at all.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
But do you want that option?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, I mean it could be something worth my nitoring
during inactives before the game starts, just to see if
there's any indicator there. But yep, that's TVD just keeping
it on special teams really quickly. Is I really liked
what I saw from Minnesota's rookie returner on Monday night
against Chicago. The Falcons gave up a long return on
Sunday against Tampa, so like that's got to get cleaned
(07:18):
up too. It wasn't just the kicking game. Basically everybody
outside of Bradley Pinion and Liam Yeah, someone.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Was like, did so poorly And I was like, Bradley
Pinion pin two within the ten.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
She's like justice for Bradley Davies. Bradley did fine.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
We got two two forty five left on the time
or tour. You want to freak out it out anything.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I mean, I guess I'll just stay with the kicking game,
Like I mean, the fact of the matter is is
that on Monday, Raheem Morris is asked, like, not having
a consistent kicker, does that change like your game plan
or your ability to like make decisions, particularly like in
field goal wrench, And he said yes, it has to be.
And like I said this or I said this somewhere,
and I was like, this is not a like high
(07:58):
school head coach admitting to that or alluding to that.
This is a professional NFL head coach alluding to that
and saying yes, it does make a difference in how
we go about our game plan. And that to me
is like really worrisome.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
While you're seeing urgency and kind of addressing it.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, and I think like that's why they brought in
however many kickers they reportedly brought in on Tuesday, and
that's why they signed Parker Romo, Like it's it's they're
doing I will give them this, like they're doing their
due diligence in bringing people in. And again, like does
that mean they run anyone but young Wayko out there
on Sunday night against Minnesota, Like I don't know, but
(08:38):
I just think the writings on the wall with like
you have to do something because the what's the thing.
It's like the definition of insanity is doing the same
thing over and over and expecting different results and that
and that is I kind of feels like this situation
Young Way Who's like I wrote a whole entire story.
(08:58):
I don't need to rehash all of it. Like go
read the story that I wrote at dot com, like
and you'll be able to see kind of the trends
and the trajectory. But like, ultimately that's where we are
right now, and it's just unfortunately, Like it's unfortunate because
young Wiku has been so good for this organization for
a very long time. But but the last you can
(09:19):
only go off of what most recently happened, and in
a black and white type of game, in a one
score game, like this stuff just freaking matters, like it
just does. And at this level you have to have
those conversations and you have to do something about it.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yeah, it'd be like if you're if your entire starting
five in a basketball team just suddenly started missing all
their free throws. It just makes it really hard when
you start getting in late in games, and like strategy
comes into it to be like cool, we can navigate
what is more technical aspect now and.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Because ultimately, like what if what if you have fourth
and three and you are in field goal range like
that normally would be a place where you send the
kicker out, but like no hesitation yet, right, no hesitation,
but you have hesitation, Like that's the point is there
is like this hesitation.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
And so it's important too, I think for Fait because
like I can already see the like, hey, we could
have used the touchdown there or a field goal there.
In hindsight, and that would have cut the lead of
this and then in the future we could have only
kicked a field goal. It's like, these are all decisions that.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Elkans aren't the only one in this situation.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, forty nine Ers released some Jake Moodies.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Oh yeah, that's right. Yeahron Broncos, Broncos, make a change
the brown the Browns b ro. I was so close,
Yeah close, but yeah forty nine Ers Browns, Like I mean,
because it is. It's a one score this the NFL
is a one score league. Like they that's what they want.
They want the competition, they want that. All right, I'm sorry,
go ahead.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Well I was going to say, if you kept talking
for a minute longer, I was going to freak out
on you, freak out.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I thought that was going to be more freak out
e respect because then when y'all looked at me to
actually like say things, I was like, oh, like, I
was just ready to go and freak out.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
I didn't know we actually had only seen you.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Actually I was just about.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
To say the same thing. I don't think I've ever
seen Taren like truly freak out about something cool.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
All Right, we're now going to start talking a little
bit about this next game and really excited for forgotten
this concept we came up with. We're calling it our
five five layer burrito of or victory burritos.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Tell the people how we landed on this concept.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
You're going to be hungry.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Every time always, that's my superpower. So basically it's it's, yeah,
let's start with kind of what is an obvious area
that the Falcons maybe need to have success in to
win on Sunday, right, But then we want to kind
of dive a little bit deeper and show and illustrate
how all of these game parts of the game are
interconnected and kind of build and play off of one another.
(11:50):
So the first layer of our offensive burrita that we're
about to build is getting the run game going, right.
We know that that's their bread and butter. Just we
got all the carbs in this this section right here,
but they weren't able to do that effectively on Sunday
against Tampa and we saw, you know it kind of eventually,
I think, come back to bite them in the second
half when you're unable to sustain those possessions and really
(12:12):
lean on what you've been able to so against Minnesota
when Chicago's offense was working in the first half. It's
because they were running the ball successfully. I think that's
going to be really important on Sunday, So you want
to keep our burrito making going.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Of course.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
I mean the Falcons only had sixty nine rushing yards
against the Buccaneers, only one rushing touchdown, which came from
Michael PENNOCKX Junior, not from any other running dames.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Michael Jordan impression in the space Jim.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
A but the tame on his back.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, I did, yes, And let me continue with my stats.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
For comparison, the Falcons averaged one hundred and thirty one
yards rushing per game last season, which ranked tenth in
the NFL, so you weren't seeing that top ten run
offense last week. Jean had Jon Robinson had just twenty
four yards rushing on twelve carries. Tyler Algier also had
twenty four yards rushing but on ten carries, and Michael
(13:06):
Pennix Junior had twenty one. It's you don't want your
quarterback and your running backs to be.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Not unless you're Lamar that's fair, That's right.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
You don't want all you don't want the Falcons quarterback
and running backs to be basically the exact same playing
field when it comes to rushing yards, and just for comparison,
like league wise, Derrick Henry had the most rushing yards
in Week one with one hundred and sixty nine for
the Ravens.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Even though they lost.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Yeah, but like twenty four versus one hundred and sixty nine,
and people say, but John Robinson is one of the
best backs in the league. We did not see that
at least in the run game. He did really well
in the passing game, but we're not talking about that.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Toey, you wrote, I thought an excellent piece kind of
analyzing the run game and how it was not very
successful on Sunday. You know what, in your opinion, like,
do they need to do maybe schematically to like jump
start this thing?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, I mean I think that it goes back to
even something Zach Robinson talked about when he spoke to
the media on Wednesday about like, especially in short yardage situations,
like going back and readjusting what they were even trying
to do. And I think that is a good strategy
to have because ultimately I saw a lot of different
wrinkles within the run game and what they were trying
(14:16):
to do with Bjon and Tyler when you compare it
to what their bread and butter was in twenty twenty four,
which we know is stretch zone to the right behind
Caleb McGary and Chris Linstram as your lead blockers in
having you know, motioning Charlie Warner out there like that
was so successful for them to the clip of like
they were running to the right on an average of
(14:40):
sixty eight percent of their runs. We're going to the right,
We're going behind kayleb McGary, going behind Chris Lntrum. And
it allows when you're running this like stretch zone, it
allows Tyler Algier and Jon Robinson to cut back if
they need to, or to keep going down towards the
sideline like it just it allowed this flexibility for the
running backs to be out in base and to do
(15:00):
what they do best. And I think that what was
different this time around was they only had one single
play that they ran outside the tackle to the right. Now,
what that ultimately means is, I don't know, Like I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Than that.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Sorry, I but essentially literally.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
That was so funny.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Sorry, but no, Like, so you run one time outside
the tackle to the right. Comparatively speaking to seven times
to the left. That to me just shows that, Okay,
not having Caleb McGarry there beside Chris Lynstrom had an
impact in play calling. And I think that they're like, Okay,
we know what you have and Matthew Bergeron and Jake
Matthews running it to the left or you know, and
(15:50):
so there's that piece of it. I also think that
they were doing a little bit more gap style stuff
with or inside zone inside zone stuff comparatively speaking with
Bajon specifically, and I think that was a something that
Tampa Bay really sniffed out very well. You watch their
(16:12):
middle linebackers and even Antoine Winfield like at safety, like
you saw them basically just zeroing in on Charlie Warner
wherever Charlie Warner was motioning to whatever side Charlie Warner was.
They knew. They're like, this guy is gonna be the
lead blocker with that when you don't have like Cale
McGarry out there, who can kind of.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Be this reputation proceeds here.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Yes, Yeah, And so all of this kind of accumulated
to what Sunday was and I just think that it
was very interesting the difference in how I felt about
the run game at the end of last season and
also going into this season, Like I know, for me,
I was expecting so much more out of this run game,
(16:54):
even without Cale McGary in the picture, because of the
fact that like when it felt like, you know, over
the years, when nothing's been working, that run game has done.
And so that was always something that in the preseason
and training cam I was not worried about the run game,
but then to come out and have the performance against
the Bucks that they did on Sunday, It's like, no,
I there is I am worried about it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
It never get comfortable.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, all right, let's give a brief burrito breakdown of
where we are right now. First layer of the tortilla.
You gotta get the run game going. So what types
of run games or run plays are you gonna call, Like,
you got to figure out that that mix. Yeah, nice
to get balance exactly right. And so if they're going
to run as much inside zone as they did on Sunday,
then who are the guys we need to see step up,
(17:39):
specifically on the offensive line. I'm looking at those kind
of three interior guys, Ryan Neuzl, Chris Linstrom, Matthew Bergheron.
Chris Lnstrom is freaking all Pro. He's one of the
best offensive linemen in the league. I didn't think he
had a great game on Sunday, you know, Like, but
I don't think anybody up had a great game on.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
It was the entire line. Yeah, And I think you're
can put it on any one individually.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
And I think too. Michael Pennix had a great quote
on Wednesday where he was kind of just like, we
need to be more physical at the point of attack period,
point blank period and something I was talking.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
That includes wide receivers.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Yeah, And I was talking to Dave Archer, you know
about kind of all like the run game and what
they're trying to do, and he's like, you know, I
what we kind of agreed upon is like there are
certain things that you just can't simulate in training camp
without like a live rep. And sometimes it is this
like how quickly decisions have to be made in this
(18:32):
inside zone outside zone type of scheme and you don't
really know the feel of it until you're in the
moment and how far you're having to block a guy
downfield or who's shifting off of a block, Like, you know,
all of these things are happening very live that you
can try and simulate as much as you can out
at practice, but it's not anywhere close to what you'll
(18:53):
see against Tampa Bay in Week one.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Absolutely, and so but A Minnesota's front is no slouch
by any means. Like Javon Hargrave looked amazing out there,
so there's there's gonna be another tall task in front
of him. You kind of touched on this a little bit, toy,
but like the balance not only in the plays you're
gonna call, but who you're running the football with. And
we saw a couple of plays with Tyler and Bajon
(19:17):
out there at the same time. I was interested by that.
I'd like see a little bit more from that. But Taren,
what did you think about kind of the usage between
those two. I feel like we saw a little more
of Tyler in quarters one through three than we have previously.
He's usually kind of like a fourth quarter closer. What
do you make of just their kind of overall mix.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I like to see more of Tyler.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I think he is more so of a bowling ball
of a running back where you want to see him
in the short yardage situations.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
I just think he.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
Plows his way through more easily, whereas Bajon is like
the elusive one who can go the longer distances when needed.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
So maybe that's the balance.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
I don't know that it needs to be quarter based,
and maybe that's what they're trying to get away from.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, do you think there's there's something to that, the
blend of kind of using these these different formations, the
different runners, the different plays, Like that's what they're going
for is the tendency breaking things, which is why it's
so interesting the sixty eight percent and the success they had,
Like that is tendency all the way, baby, and we
are just running it and you can't stop us.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Right, I mean. And what's so interesting too is that
it completely flipped on its head on Sunday where it's like, Okay,
sixty eight percent of all of the Falcons runs in
uh in twenty twenty four or outside the tackles, whereas
sixty three percent this on Sunday Week one was inside
(20:37):
the tackles. So to me, also, there was an issue
too with like lanes being clogged too quickly, and there
was a part of me that's like, as we're talking about,
like who do you run it with There was a
part of me that's like, I want to see a
bit more inside zone with Tyler alt Gear than Bajon
Robinson because my big thing Withjon Robinson is get him
(20:57):
out in space. Yeah, let him make a move, allow
him the.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Ability fifty yard touchdown catches. It started the fifty.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Please right like his ability to yes, like, put him
out in space. I'm not saying go stretch outside zone
to the right every single time with Jean Robinson, behave
if it's worth Oh I am like, And then I
think some of this more like inside zone stuff with
Tyler Aljier makes a lot of sense because he has
the ability to kind of, like to your point, run
through people. So if those lanes are getting more clogged,
(21:25):
like Bajon doesn't have the space to make a move,
but Tyler, the way his game is, I'm like, he
can run into some people.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
You have the best of both worlds in the right
you really do.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Yeah, all right, we're gonna we're gonna put this offensive
burrito to bed real quick. First layer, get the wrong
game going. Second, what types of run plays should be called?
Speaker 4 (21:43):
Third?
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Who do the offensive Which offensive lineman need to step
up for? Who do you run it with? And the
last layer to this one is what would establishing the
run do for the rest of the offense tory?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Oh my gosh, it just opens up the pass game
so much.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I mean, the fact of the matter is is Michael
Panics was over seven and will I know that we
talked about this post game. He was over seven. Sorry, yes,
check it out, but they he was over seven and
throws beyond fifteen yards air yards, yes, And that to
me one we were talking after the game about how
(22:17):
that seven number was a little bit lower on the
lower spectrum than maybe what we even thought with Michael
Penix knowing his arm strength, but also to the O
for seven and I think that the way that Tampa
Bay was able to kind of sniff out the runs
and take away the runs and it just kind of
not only did it clog things up with the run game,
(22:38):
but it clogged things up I think everywhere else in
terms of what you wanted to do from a pass
game perspective. And you know, Michael Panick said, it always
starts with the run for Atlanta, like it's always going
to that's going to be who they are. They want
to run the rock and when you can't do that,
and raheiem Wor said, like, we weren't wanting Michael Penix
(22:59):
to throw the as many times as he That's.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
What I think it unlocks, is it takes he becomes
less of a game manager and you allow him to
become like, hey, go go sling the ball around because
we can lean on the run game to keep us
on schedule instead of Michael Pennox. Love that as our
offensive burrito, We're now gonna move on to our defense burrito.
And this is gonna have to be a little baby
brief burrito. We got about also five minutes to talk
(23:23):
through this burrito. So the first layer to this one
is going to be finishing plays right, sacks, turnovers. When
you get a chance finish it. What's going to be
the who is going to have to or where does
that start up front or on the back end?
Speaker 4 (23:34):
For you?
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Starts up front? I mean it's it's getting sacks. They
only had one sack, but I you know, they were
pressuring Baker Mayfield at a rate of forty point five percent,
which actually ended up being one of the best defensive
pressure rates in all of the league in Week one,
and so they were there, they were around him, they
were all over him. They were making him uncomfortable, like
(23:55):
causing some errant throws early on in the game. But
then it goes the next layer within that is okay,
if you can't get the sack, you gotta contain him. Yeah,
and that's where I think ultimately got away from them
on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Yeah, we saw Baker, you know, kind of break contain
there a few different times, and they kind of resulted
in some of the biggest plays for Tampa. JJ McCarthy
he can run too, Tarren.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, and JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
It was talked about today how Jesse Bates was talking
about it, how JJ if anything could be faster than
Baker and he has that ability and that's only one
game of film on him.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
That maybe he unknocks even more in week two.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
So being able to contain him is key, and being
able to get him down is even better.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
And as a young quarterback, honestly, I would think that
he might even be a little quicker to get out
of the pocket and just use his legs as opposed
to standing in there like a veteran like Baker who's
kind of seen it all.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
He's probably less comfortable just standing.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Exactly, and so I think you tap into that and
let's go another layer deeper. Is that pressure on a
young quarterback if you're able to box him in and
not leave him anywhere to go? All right, now, I
gotta make a play. I gotta look downfield. Who am
I going to throw the ball to. It could be
an Atlanta Falcon because we saw a lot of them
around the ball on Sunday, and again, a young quarterback,
he looked kind of shaky to start that game against Chicago.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Well, that's exactly what Chicago did. In that first half.
They took Justin Jefferson away the interior of that defensive line.
Shout out Grady Jarrett of that Chicago defensive line was
getting significant pressure on JJ McCarthy and he throws an
interception very early on. Now, he was able to bounce
back and get a bit more comfortable in the flow
of the game, but that first half specifically showed that, like, hey,
(25:36):
if you can get him uncomfortable, he's gonna he's gonna
air it out and put it in. Put the ball
in the scope of an Xavier Watts, who, let's be
freaking for real. He was in the lane.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Let's be freaking Playlets be.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Freaking for real, Like he had two opportunities where the
ball was literally inches away, saying that Cayden Ellis got
hit in the chest with one, a j Trurell was
diving for one couldn't completely hold on to it, Like
there were opportunities. And if we're talking about this game
on Sunday and what it can mean for this coming
Sunday is the fact that like one of those plays happened,
(26:09):
we're maybe talking about a completely different outcome to Sunday's game.
That's how the league is going back even to the
first thing that we're talking about with the kicking game.
So the margin for error is so small that when
you do have an error that you capitalize on, like
a turnover opportunity like that can really change the momentum
of the game.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
It's still always easier said than done because there are
these opportunities, and there could be opportunities again this Sunday.
But that's why we're talking about finishing these plays because
otherwise it is just another missed up.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
But it's not just the plays you got to finish,
and this is our final layer of the burrito. You
gotta finish the game. We saw the Falcons and we're
unable to do that. On Sunday, we saw the Vikings
come back to win that game in kind of dramatic fashion.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
A good one for you, go for it.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
JJ McCarthy is the first starting quarterback with a ten
point fourth quarter comeback in its NFL since Steve Young
in nineteen eighty five. He's the only such quarterback since
nineteen fifty to do so on the road. Wow, because
we're forgetting heaped in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
In Chicago on the road.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Yeah, in Shytown. That's crazy. So even though he's young, right, like,
he's capable. Yeah, and this offense Minnesota is very capable.
They've they've kind of been a little bit of a
Falcons boogeyman in recent years. Like I think they've won
six to last seven. So the Falcons are gonna have
their work cut out for them going on the road,
a big game, a crazy environment. But again, as I
said kind of up top my vibe check, I think
(27:34):
this team is capable of doing it. They just have
to go out and play that way. So that is
our defensive burrito, our offensive burrito. And now we're going
to wrap it up. But I want to just remind
everybody that this the Falcons did open Week one against
a rival, but they're playing maybe their biggest tribal or
at least certainly my biggest tribal because I want to
(27:54):
renew the Duluth, Georgia versus Duluth, Minnesota rivalry. All right,
For those who are unaware, there is a far inferior Duluth,
much much, much further north than the one down here
in Georgia. There downtown is too big, it's too noisy,
there's buildings, there's smoke, there's too many cars. Ours ours
is quaint. You can walk from one side to the
(28:14):
other in a mere thirty seconds. There's a fountain in
the middle. It's beautiful. There's one park swing it's great.
Come check it out if you didn't know. A big
part of the reason that Duluth, Minnesota was founded is
because of the beaver pelt industry. I am pro beaver.
I'm a fan of the beavers, and I don't think
they should be killed for their pelts. So that is
the reason right there, Duluth, Georgia no no beaver kills
(28:38):
in eighteen sixty nine, Yeah, to seventy Duluth was the
fastest growing city in the country and was expected to
surpass Chicago in only a few years. Well, how did
that work out for you, d Luth? Moving on, in
the very first Duluth Minnesotian, the editor wrote to everybody,
among other things, everyone should bring blankets and come prepared
to rough it it first. So if that is your
(28:58):
elevator pitch for your new city, hey, come down to Duluth, Georgia.
It's not gonna be freezing cold, and we have hotels
for you.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Yeah, you don't need to rough it.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
So, yeah, I just wanted to put that on everybody
else's radar that it is a true blue rivalry weekend
for the Atlanta Falcons once again, or at least for
the city of Duluth, Georgia. How'd I do?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (29:21):
I got nothing that was so fun.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Will thank you.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
You're welcome.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I had a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
So glad that you are pushing this. You know, it's
like on mean girls, like I'm trying to make fetch happen.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Oh I am making fetch it.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
This is your fetch Like, this is your uh what's
the word? Like the main this is my mission, is
my project, This is your life goal. Yeah, this is
your platform, this is your brandy, and we're really happy
to be here and support you.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And I'm gonna start selling shirt next time you watch
this Friday five, We're gonna have shirts. It says Duluth,
Georgia with a greater than sign and then a Duluth, Minnesota.
There you go, and maybe I can work on that. Awesome.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
I don't know how to react to any of them,
just sitting here in silence.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Oh so, producer Jared gave me another lovely little note
down here. It says, according to Reddit user bubonic Tonic,
love that name. You go, the traffic gets worse, the
better the traffic is. I don't even know what that means.
And according to another Reddit user, they called me mister Pickles.
Another great name. Reda has the best names. The streets
(30:26):
are a mess and the snow cleanup sucks.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
So yeah, honestly, maybe the same thing could be said
about probably Deluthe George.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Hey, our streets are amazing and it rarely snows, but
and that's what.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
And I'm someone who had to be saved off the
side of a road one time via ice. My boyfriend
had to come and pick me up.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
I had to half of them. Is there a new
snow apocalypse? Or was that during the snowpocalypse back.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
In literally this this past January. I was at the facility.
I drove and I couldn't get up a hill.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Oh my god. All right, we gotta we gotta wrap this.
We go off the rails. They thank you guys so
much for listening. Yes, this was I hope a lot
of fun. I had fun in here today. So again,
big match up on Sunday, Sunday Night football against the
Minnesota Vikings. Falcons have a tough one ahead of them,
but we'll see if they're capable enough of the challenge
(31:15):
that'll do it for us today. We will see you
after the game four Falcons final whistle which you can
get bright and early Monday morning. For Tory mclaney and
tarn Walk. I'm Will mac patten. Thank you so much
for listening to for Friday five,
So now everyone cares about special teams.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I am pro Beaver. I'm a fan of the Beavers.
Speaker 3 (00:04):
They only had one single play that they ran outside
the tackle to the right.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
We gotta wrap this Agapore, we go off the rails.
Happy Friday Falcons fans, Welcome back to our second episode
of Friday five. I'm your host, Will mcfad and I'm
joined as always by Tory mclaney and Tarren Wack. The
Falcons have their second game of the season against the
Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. It's going to be another
early primetime game in the year, and we're gonna talk
(00:29):
a little bit about it, but we're also gonna have
a lot of fun. That is the you know, the
whole vibe for this episode. And we're going to start
right off the top with a little Friday four or
five cast, right, you know, like trying to figure out
what this team's mentality is like heading into the week.
They obviously, you know, dropped a tough close Week one opener.
(00:49):
So Tory, we'll start with you, how has the vibe
kind of been in the building and what's your vibe?
Speaker 3 (00:54):
So my vibe has been a bit of like a
question Mark, I think I have a lot of questions
about this, and I have a lot of questions about
how they're going to respond. But ultimately, like something that
I found out when I was doing some research for
the show I do with Fox five calls Rise Up
Tonight that we it's every Thursday night out check it out.
I do it with Kelly Price, and she was kind
(01:15):
of talking about, oh, I feel I don't know how
to feel. I'm just like trying to feel better about
like losing in week one, and I said, I was like,
you want to know the last time that the Falcons
lost to the Bucks at home to start a season, Like,
do you do y'all know? When I know y'all know,
I know y'all know, But so y'all y'all want to
tell tell.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
People go oh gosh, pull what if I'm wrong?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
It's literally so we're recording this on September eleventh, twenty
twenty five. It's exactly nine years ago today, September eleventh,
twenty sixteen.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
What was that thirty one, twenty eight, yes, or twenty
four okay, but yeah, but I remember that game. It
was it was a great game.
Speaker 4 (01:53):
To sum it up, the last time the Falcons lost
to the Buccaneers in a home opener. Was the same
year the Falcons went to the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
So not to say that that is happening this year,
not to say anything.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
Everyone calls it down.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Yeah, not to say, but I'm just saying, like, it
just goes to show, like if you lose Week one
against a divisional opponent, it's not the end of the world.
It's not the end of your season.
Speaker 2 (02:16):
Hold on, I gotta go cancel a flight because I
thought that that meant we were automatically booking our tickets.
But no, I think I think that's definitely a great
reminder and it's a good reminder that week one is
week one, right, there's so much football left to play.
So Taren, what's your your vibe state going into loading?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Loading? Loads?
Speaker 3 (02:35):
The like umrae like circle wheel, the circle wheel. Yeah,
the colorful wheel of death on a MacBook.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
That is how that's so contradicted to the colorful wheel
of death, dark color of happiness. Oh not the colorful
wheel of death anyways, But yes, loading, because as we
have now said, it was just week one. I'm also
the one who said week one needs to set the
tone for the season. So hello, contradictory, but I don't
(03:03):
know there were things that you can fix. They're like,
not really the injuries, people will get healthy eventually. But
everything else, it's like you could see what went wrong.
It's not some fluky stuff where you're like, well, I
can't really fix that, it just happened. It's like you
can improve your run game, you can improve your pass rush,
and those are like the two things will highlight later.
(03:25):
I'm already ruining the surprise, but I'm going to stop
talking now because yeah, loading, loading.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
Loading, No, I love all of that. I'm kind of
cop cautiously optimistic is kind of the mentality I'm bringing
into this weekend. And the reason I say that is
the further away I get from last Sunday, the more
I feel like the Falcons were the better team, like
in a lot of ways in that game, and I
think Tampa is a good team. And so in Week one,
(03:52):
yeah there were mistakes, but like again, week ones kind
of about identifying some of those. It's the first time
the rubbers hitting the road in a real way, and
you come away with that with a lot of lessons.
You probably scrap some things, you may add some things,
and expand on some stuff. So in the areas that
they shined like, I thought the Falcons were really solid.
I saw a lot from Michael Pennix Junior. I liked
what Sean Robinson did, even though you know, the ground
(04:14):
game has a little bit of work to do, and
the defense the rookies looked solid. You actually didn't get
great play from Kaden Ellis or Jesse Bates are the
guys that you would maybe rely on to make some
of those impact plays. So I'm kind of optimistic even
after coming, you know, shocker, coming off of a loss.
It's like, if they clean up those few areas, this
team showed me enough in Week one to build on.
(04:35):
So that's kind of where I'm at going into it.
I think the team vibes are fine. You know, it's solid.
It's still again keeping it in perspective, and it probably
won't be until after the bye week that we really
start to sense like the season bleeding into it. But
that is our vibe check we're now going to after
I just said, I've got some optimism and I've got
(04:58):
a little bit of, you know, some cautious hope going
in that we're gonna freak out a little bit. I'm
gonna set a timer for five minutes, and we're gonna get,
you know, any of the anxieties that we have built up,
And we have a mail bag that's going that went
up on Thursday. We had another one that went up
on Tuesday, and a lot of fans were able to
voice their opinions and some of their anxieties. So we're
I'm gonna set the timer right now, five minutes on
(05:18):
the clock, Taren.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
So, now everyone cares about special teams.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
Like it's kind of like the same thing with the
run game and like offensive line play, Like you really
don't talk about like the offensive line unless something bad's
going wrong.
Speaker 4 (05:34):
Yeah, now everyone's like, hmmm, special teams? What's going on?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
Karen's like Baine, and She's just like, I've been here
the whole time I was born in Welcome is that it? Yeah,
you're more freaking out about the bandwagon getting heavier, and now.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
Everyone wants to pay attention to a unit I have
had my focus on for years.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Man, So where do I mean, where did the Falcons
kicking go from here? Right?
Speaker 4 (06:03):
I literally just really wanted to say that, But the
issue with special teams right now is the fact that
Young Waiku continues to have kicking issues, problems and consistencies,
whatever you want to call it. And so right away
on Monday, Raheem Morris said that they're going to bring
in competition for him, and they did that as soon
as Tuesday with Parker Romo, and that we don't get
(06:24):
to see any of the kicking battle in the media
viewing period of practice. But I will be very curious
and kind of surprised if this doesn't happen. Whether Parker
Romo is one of the two practice squad elevations for Sunday,
whether or not he.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Actually goes out there is tbd. But to just have that.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Option to say, like, if Young Wayku's vibe, as we
were saying, is a little off, then put Parker Romo in.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
But I don't know.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
I don't know that there's going to be like a
drastic roster change this week at all.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
But do you want that option?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, I mean it could be something worth my nitoring
during inactives before the game starts, just to see if
there's any indicator there. But yep, that's TVD just keeping
it on special teams really quickly. Is I really liked
what I saw from Minnesota's rookie returner on Monday night
against Chicago. The Falcons gave up a long return on
Sunday against Tampa, so like that's got to get cleaned
(07:18):
up too. It wasn't just the kicking game. Basically everybody
outside of Bradley Pinion and Liam Yeah, someone.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
Was like, did so poorly And I was like, Bradley
Pinion pin two within the ten.
Speaker 1 (07:28):
She's like justice for Bradley Davies. Bradley did fine.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
We got two two forty five left on the time
or tour. You want to freak out it out anything.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I mean, I guess I'll just stay with the kicking game,
Like I mean, the fact of the matter is is
that on Monday, Raheem Morris is asked, like, not having
a consistent kicker, does that change like your game plan
or your ability to like make decisions, particularly like in
field goal wrench, And he said yes, it has to be.
And like I said this or I said this somewhere,
and I was like, this is not a like high
(07:58):
school head coach admitting to that or alluding to that.
This is a professional NFL head coach alluding to that
and saying yes, it does make a difference in how
we go about our game plan. And that to me
is like really worrisome.
Speaker 2 (08:15):
While you're seeing urgency and kind of addressing it.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, and I think like that's why they brought in
however many kickers they reportedly brought in on Tuesday, and
that's why they signed Parker Romo, Like it's it's they're
doing I will give them this, like they're doing their
due diligence in bringing people in. And again, like does
that mean they run anyone but young Wayko out there
on Sunday night against Minnesota, Like I don't know, but
(08:38):
I just think the writings on the wall with like
you have to do something because the what's the thing.
It's like the definition of insanity is doing the same
thing over and over and expecting different results and that
and that is I kind of feels like this situation
Young Way Who's like I wrote a whole entire story.
(08:58):
I don't need to rehash all of it. Like go
read the story that I wrote at dot com, like
and you'll be able to see kind of the trends
and the trajectory. But like, ultimately that's where we are
right now, and it's just unfortunately, Like it's unfortunate because
young Wiku has been so good for this organization for
a very long time. But but the last you can
(09:19):
only go off of what most recently happened, and in
a black and white type of game, in a one
score game, like this stuff just freaking matters, like it
just does. And at this level you have to have
those conversations and you have to do something about it.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yeah, it'd be like if you're if your entire starting
five in a basketball team just suddenly started missing all
their free throws. It just makes it really hard when
you start getting in late in games, and like strategy
comes into it to be like cool, we can navigate
what is more technical aspect now and.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
Because ultimately, like what if what if you have fourth
and three and you are in field goal range like
that normally would be a place where you send the
kicker out, but like no hesitation yet, right, no hesitation,
but you have hesitation, Like that's the point is there
is like this hesitation.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
And so it's important too, I think for Fait because
like I can already see the like, hey, we could
have used the touchdown there or a field goal there.
In hindsight, and that would have cut the lead of
this and then in the future we could have only
kicked a field goal. It's like, these are all decisions that.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Elkans aren't the only one in this situation.
Speaker 2 (10:26):
Yeah, forty nine Ers released some Jake Moodies.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
Oh yeah, that's right. Yeahron Broncos, Broncos, make a change
the brown the Browns b ro. I was so close,
Yeah close, but yeah forty nine Ers Browns, Like I mean,
because it is. It's a one score this the NFL
is a one score league. Like they that's what they want.
They want the competition, they want that. All right, I'm sorry,
go ahead.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Well I was going to say, if you kept talking
for a minute longer, I was going to freak out
on you, freak out.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
I thought that was going to be more freak out
e respect because then when y'all looked at me to
actually like say things, I was like, oh, like, I
was just ready to go and freak out.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
I didn't know we actually had only seen you.
Speaker 2 (11:02):
Actually I was just about.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
To say the same thing. I don't think I've ever
seen Taren like truly freak out about something cool.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
All Right, we're now going to start talking a little
bit about this next game and really excited for forgotten
this concept we came up with. We're calling it our
five five layer burrito of or victory burritos.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
Tell the people how we landed on this concept.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
You're going to be hungry.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
Every time always, that's my superpower. So basically it's it's, yeah,
let's start with kind of what is an obvious area
that the Falcons maybe need to have success in to
win on Sunday, right, But then we want to kind
of dive a little bit deeper and show and illustrate
how all of these game parts of the game are
interconnected and kind of build and play off of one another.
(11:50):
So the first layer of our offensive burrita that we're
about to build is getting the run game going, right.
We know that that's their bread and butter. Just we
got all the carbs in this this section right here,
but they weren't able to do that effectively on Sunday
against Tampa and we saw, you know it kind of eventually,
I think, come back to bite them in the second
half when you're unable to sustain those possessions and really
(12:12):
lean on what you've been able to so against Minnesota
when Chicago's offense was working in the first half. It's
because they were running the ball successfully. I think that's
going to be really important on Sunday, So you want
to keep our burrito making going.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Of course.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
I mean the Falcons only had sixty nine rushing yards
against the Buccaneers, only one rushing touchdown, which came from
Michael PENNOCKX Junior, not from any other running dames.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
Michael Jordan impression in the space Jim.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
A but the tame on his back.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah, I did, yes, And let me continue with my stats.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
For comparison, the Falcons averaged one hundred and thirty one
yards rushing per game last season, which ranked tenth in
the NFL, so you weren't seeing that top ten run
offense last week. Jean had Jon Robinson had just twenty
four yards rushing on twelve carries. Tyler Algier also had
twenty four yards rushing but on ten carries, and Michael
(13:06):
Pennix Junior had twenty one. It's you don't want your
quarterback and your running backs to be.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Not unless you're Lamar that's fair, That's right.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
You don't want all you don't want the Falcons quarterback
and running backs to be basically the exact same playing
field when it comes to rushing yards, and just for comparison,
like league wise, Derrick Henry had the most rushing yards
in Week one with one hundred and sixty nine for
the Ravens.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
Even though they lost.
Speaker 4 (13:31):
Yeah, but like twenty four versus one hundred and sixty nine,
and people say, but John Robinson is one of the
best backs in the league. We did not see that
at least in the run game. He did really well
in the passing game, but we're not talking about that.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Toey, you wrote, I thought an excellent piece kind of
analyzing the run game and how it was not very
successful on Sunday. You know what, in your opinion, like,
do they need to do maybe schematically to like jump
start this thing?
Speaker 3 (13:55):
Yeah, I mean I think that it goes back to
even something Zach Robinson talked about when he spoke to
the media on Wednesday about like, especially in short yardage situations,
like going back and readjusting what they were even trying
to do. And I think that is a good strategy
to have because ultimately I saw a lot of different
wrinkles within the run game and what they were trying
(14:16):
to do with Bjon and Tyler when you compare it
to what their bread and butter was in twenty twenty four,
which we know is stretch zone to the right behind
Caleb McGary and Chris Linstram as your lead blockers in
having you know, motioning Charlie Warner out there like that
was so successful for them to the clip of like
they were running to the right on an average of
(14:40):
sixty eight percent of their runs. We're going to the right,
We're going behind kayleb McGary, going behind Chris Lntrum. And
it allows when you're running this like stretch zone, it
allows Tyler Algier and Jon Robinson to cut back if
they need to, or to keep going down towards the
sideline like it just it allowed this flexibility for the
running backs to be out in base and to do
(15:00):
what they do best. And I think that what was
different this time around was they only had one single
play that they ran outside the tackle to the right. Now,
what that ultimately means is, I don't know, Like I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:19):
Than that.
Speaker 3 (15:21):
Sorry, I but essentially literally.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
That was so funny.
Speaker 3 (15:30):
Sorry, but no, Like, so you run one time outside
the tackle to the right. Comparatively speaking to seven times
to the left. That to me just shows that, Okay,
not having Caleb McGarry there beside Chris Lynstrom had an
impact in play calling. And I think that they're like, Okay,
we know what you have and Matthew Bergeron and Jake
Matthews running it to the left or you know, and
(15:50):
so there's that piece of it. I also think that
they were doing a little bit more gap style stuff
with or inside zone inside zone stuff comparatively speaking with
Bajon specifically, and I think that was a something that
Tampa Bay really sniffed out very well. You watch their
(16:12):
middle linebackers and even Antoine Winfield like at safety, like
you saw them basically just zeroing in on Charlie Warner
wherever Charlie Warner was motioning to whatever side Charlie Warner was.
They knew. They're like, this guy is gonna be the
lead blocker with that when you don't have like Cale
McGarry out there, who can kind of.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Be this reputation proceeds here.
Speaker 3 (16:31):
Yes, Yeah, And so all of this kind of accumulated
to what Sunday was and I just think that it
was very interesting the difference in how I felt about
the run game at the end of last season and
also going into this season, Like I know, for me,
I was expecting so much more out of this run game,
(16:54):
even without Cale McGary in the picture, because of the
fact that like when it felt like, you know, over
the years, when nothing's been working, that run game has done.
And so that was always something that in the preseason
and training cam I was not worried about the run game,
but then to come out and have the performance against
the Bucks that they did on Sunday, It's like, no,
I there is I am worried about it.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
It never get comfortable.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, all right, let's give a brief burrito breakdown of
where we are right now. First layer of the tortilla.
You gotta get the run game going. So what types
of run games or run plays are you gonna call, Like,
you got to figure out that that mix. Yeah, nice
to get balance exactly right. And so if they're going
to run as much inside zone as they did on Sunday,
then who are the guys we need to see step up,
(17:39):
specifically on the offensive line. I'm looking at those kind
of three interior guys, Ryan Neuzl, Chris Linstrom, Matthew Bergheron.
Chris Lnstrom is freaking all Pro. He's one of the
best offensive linemen in the league. I didn't think he
had a great game on Sunday, you know, Like, but
I don't think anybody up had a great game on.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
It was the entire line. Yeah, And I think you're
can put it on any one individually.
Speaker 3 (18:00):
And I think too. Michael Pennix had a great quote
on Wednesday where he was kind of just like, we
need to be more physical at the point of attack period,
point blank period and something I was talking.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
That includes wide receivers.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
Yeah, And I was talking to Dave Archer, you know
about kind of all like the run game and what
they're trying to do, and he's like, you know, I
what we kind of agreed upon is like there are
certain things that you just can't simulate in training camp
without like a live rep. And sometimes it is this
like how quickly decisions have to be made in this
(18:32):
inside zone outside zone type of scheme and you don't
really know the feel of it until you're in the
moment and how far you're having to block a guy
downfield or who's shifting off of a block, Like, you know,
all of these things are happening very live that you
can try and simulate as much as you can out
at practice, but it's not anywhere close to what you'll
(18:53):
see against Tampa Bay in Week one.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
Absolutely, and so but A Minnesota's front is no slouch
by any means. Like Javon Hargrave looked amazing out there,
so there's there's gonna be another tall task in front
of him. You kind of touched on this a little bit, toy,
but like the balance not only in the plays you're
gonna call, but who you're running the football with. And
we saw a couple of plays with Tyler and Bajon
(19:17):
out there at the same time. I was interested by that.
I'd like see a little bit more from that. But Taren,
what did you think about kind of the usage between
those two. I feel like we saw a little more
of Tyler in quarters one through three than we have previously.
He's usually kind of like a fourth quarter closer. What
do you make of just their kind of overall mix.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
I like to see more of Tyler.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
I think he is more so of a bowling ball
of a running back where you want to see him
in the short yardage situations.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
I just think he.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
Plows his way through more easily, whereas Bajon is like
the elusive one who can go the longer distances when needed.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
So maybe that's the balance.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
I don't know that it needs to be quarter based,
and maybe that's what they're trying to get away from.
Speaker 2 (19:59):
Yeah, do you think there's there's something to that, the
blend of kind of using these these different formations, the
different runners, the different plays, Like that's what they're going
for is the tendency breaking things, which is why it's
so interesting the sixty eight percent and the success they had,
Like that is tendency all the way, baby, and we
are just running it and you can't stop us.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Right, I mean. And what's so interesting too is that
it completely flipped on its head on Sunday where it's like, Okay,
sixty eight percent of all of the Falcons runs in
uh in twenty twenty four or outside the tackles, whereas
sixty three percent this on Sunday Week one was inside
(20:37):
the tackles. So to me, also, there was an issue
too with like lanes being clogged too quickly, and there
was a part of me that's like, as we're talking about,
like who do you run it with There was a
part of me that's like, I want to see a
bit more inside zone with Tyler alt Gear than Bajon
Robinson because my big thing Withjon Robinson is get him
(20:57):
out in space. Yeah, let him make a move, allow
him the.
Speaker 2 (21:00):
Ability fifty yard touchdown catches. It started the fifty.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Please right like his ability to yes, like, put him
out in space. I'm not saying go stretch outside zone
to the right every single time with Jean Robinson, behave
if it's worth Oh I am like, And then I
think some of this more like inside zone stuff with
Tyler Aljier makes a lot of sense because he has
the ability to kind of, like to your point, run
through people. So if those lanes are getting more clogged,
(21:25):
like Bajon doesn't have the space to make a move,
but Tyler, the way his game is, I'm like, he
can run into some people.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
You have the best of both worlds in the right
you really do.
Speaker 2 (21:35):
Yeah, all right, we're gonna we're gonna put this offensive
burrito to bed real quick. First layer, get the wrong
game going. Second, what types of run plays should be called?
Speaker 4 (21:43):
Third?
Speaker 2 (21:44):
Who do the offensive Which offensive lineman need to step
up for? Who do you run it with? And the
last layer to this one is what would establishing the
run do for the rest of the offense tory?
Speaker 3 (21:53):
Oh my gosh, it just opens up the pass game
so much.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
There you go.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I mean, the fact of the matter is is Michael
Panics was over seven and will I know that we
talked about this post game. He was over seven. Sorry, yes,
check it out, but they he was over seven and
throws beyond fifteen yards air yards, yes, And that to
me one we were talking after the game about how
(22:17):
that seven number was a little bit lower on the
lower spectrum than maybe what we even thought with Michael
Penix knowing his arm strength, but also to the O
for seven and I think that the way that Tampa
Bay was able to kind of sniff out the runs
and take away the runs and it just kind of
not only did it clog things up with the run game,
(22:38):
but it clogged things up I think everywhere else in
terms of what you wanted to do from a pass
game perspective. And you know, Michael Panick said, it always
starts with the run for Atlanta, like it's always going
to that's going to be who they are. They want
to run the rock and when you can't do that,
and raheiem Wor said, like, we weren't wanting Michael Penix
(22:59):
to throw the as many times as he That's.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
What I think it unlocks, is it takes he becomes
less of a game manager and you allow him to
become like, hey, go go sling the ball around because
we can lean on the run game to keep us
on schedule instead of Michael Pennox. Love that as our
offensive burrito, We're now gonna move on to our defense burrito.
And this is gonna have to be a little baby
brief burrito. We got about also five minutes to talk
(23:23):
through this burrito. So the first layer to this one
is going to be finishing plays right, sacks, turnovers. When
you get a chance finish it. What's going to be
the who is going to have to or where does
that start up front or on the back end?
Speaker 4 (23:34):
For you?
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Starts up front? I mean it's it's getting sacks. They
only had one sack, but I you know, they were
pressuring Baker Mayfield at a rate of forty point five percent,
which actually ended up being one of the best defensive
pressure rates in all of the league in Week one,
and so they were there, they were around him, they
were all over him. They were making him uncomfortable, like
(23:55):
causing some errant throws early on in the game. But
then it goes the next layer within that is okay,
if you can't get the sack, you gotta contain him. Yeah,
and that's where I think ultimately got away from them
on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (24:10):
Yeah, we saw Baker, you know, kind of break contain
there a few different times, and they kind of resulted
in some of the biggest plays for Tampa. JJ McCarthy
he can run too, Tarren.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Yeah, and JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
It was talked about today how Jesse Bates was talking
about it, how JJ if anything could be faster than
Baker and he has that ability and that's only one
game of film on him.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
That maybe he unknocks even more in week two.
Speaker 4 (24:34):
So being able to contain him is key, and being
able to get him down is even better.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
And as a young quarterback, honestly, I would think that
he might even be a little quicker to get out
of the pocket and just use his legs as opposed
to standing in there like a veteran like Baker who's
kind of seen it all.
Speaker 1 (24:49):
He's probably less comfortable just standing.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Exactly, and so I think you tap into that and
let's go another layer deeper. Is that pressure on a
young quarterback if you're able to box him in and
not leave him anywhere to go? All right, now, I
gotta make a play. I gotta look downfield. Who am
I going to throw the ball to. It could be
an Atlanta Falcon because we saw a lot of them
around the ball on Sunday, and again, a young quarterback,
he looked kind of shaky to start that game against Chicago.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
Well, that's exactly what Chicago did. In that first half.
They took Justin Jefferson away the interior of that defensive line.
Shout out Grady Jarrett of that Chicago defensive line was
getting significant pressure on JJ McCarthy and he throws an
interception very early on. Now, he was able to bounce
back and get a bit more comfortable in the flow
of the game, but that first half specifically showed that, like, hey,
(25:36):
if you can get him uncomfortable, he's gonna he's gonna
air it out and put it in. Put the ball
in the scope of an Xavier Watts, who, let's be
freaking for real. He was in the lane.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Let's be freaking Playlets be.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
Freaking for real, Like he had two opportunities where the
ball was literally inches away, saying that Cayden Ellis got
hit in the chest with one, a j Trurell was
diving for one couldn't completely hold on to it, Like
there were opportunities. And if we're talking about this game
on Sunday and what it can mean for this coming
Sunday is the fact that like one of those plays happened,
(26:09):
we're maybe talking about a completely different outcome to Sunday's game.
That's how the league is going back even to the
first thing that we're talking about with the kicking game.
So the margin for error is so small that when
you do have an error that you capitalize on, like
a turnover opportunity like that can really change the momentum
of the game.
Speaker 4 (26:27):
It's still always easier said than done because there are
these opportunities, and there could be opportunities again this Sunday.
But that's why we're talking about finishing these plays because
otherwise it is just another missed up.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
But it's not just the plays you got to finish,
and this is our final layer of the burrito. You
gotta finish the game. We saw the Falcons and we're
unable to do that. On Sunday, we saw the Vikings
come back to win that game in kind of dramatic fashion.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
A good one for you, go for it.
Speaker 4 (26:54):
JJ McCarthy is the first starting quarterback with a ten
point fourth quarter comeback in its NFL since Steve Young
in nineteen eighty five. He's the only such quarterback since
nineteen fifty to do so on the road. Wow, because
we're forgetting heaped in Chicago.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
In Chicago on the road.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Yeah, in Shytown. That's crazy. So even though he's young, right, like,
he's capable. Yeah, and this offense Minnesota is very capable.
They've they've kind of been a little bit of a
Falcons boogeyman in recent years. Like I think they've won
six to last seven. So the Falcons are gonna have
their work cut out for them going on the road,
a big game, a crazy environment. But again, as I
said kind of up top my vibe check, I think
(27:34):
this team is capable of doing it. They just have
to go out and play that way. So that is
our defensive burrito, our offensive burrito. And now we're going
to wrap it up. But I want to just remind
everybody that this the Falcons did open Week one against
a rival, but they're playing maybe their biggest tribal or
at least certainly my biggest tribal because I want to
(27:54):
renew the Duluth, Georgia versus Duluth, Minnesota rivalry. All right,
For those who are unaware, there is a far inferior Duluth,
much much, much further north than the one down here
in Georgia. There downtown is too big, it's too noisy,
there's buildings, there's smoke, there's too many cars. Ours ours
is quaint. You can walk from one side to the
(28:14):
other in a mere thirty seconds. There's a fountain in
the middle. It's beautiful. There's one park swing it's great.
Come check it out if you didn't know. A big
part of the reason that Duluth, Minnesota was founded is
because of the beaver pelt industry. I am pro beaver.
I'm a fan of the beavers, and I don't think
they should be killed for their pelts. So that is
the reason right there, Duluth, Georgia no no beaver kills
(28:38):
in eighteen sixty nine, Yeah, to seventy Duluth was the
fastest growing city in the country and was expected to
surpass Chicago in only a few years. Well, how did
that work out for you, d Luth? Moving on, in
the very first Duluth Minnesotian, the editor wrote to everybody,
among other things, everyone should bring blankets and come prepared
to rough it it first. So if that is your
(28:58):
elevator pitch for your new city, hey, come down to Duluth, Georgia.
It's not gonna be freezing cold, and we have hotels
for you.
Speaker 3 (29:05):
Yeah, you don't need to rough it.
Speaker 2 (29:08):
So, yeah, I just wanted to put that on everybody
else's radar that it is a true blue rivalry weekend
for the Atlanta Falcons once again, or at least for
the city of Duluth, Georgia. How'd I do?
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (29:21):
I got nothing that was so fun.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Will thank you.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
You're welcome.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I had a lot of fun.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
So glad that you are pushing this. You know, it's
like on mean girls, like I'm trying to make fetch happen.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Oh I am making fetch it.
Speaker 3 (29:35):
This is your fetch Like, this is your uh what's
the word? Like the main this is my mission, is
my project, This is your life goal. Yeah, this is
your platform, this is your brandy, and we're really happy
to be here and support you.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
And I'm gonna start selling shirt next time you watch
this Friday five, We're gonna have shirts. It says Duluth,
Georgia with a greater than sign and then a Duluth, Minnesota.
There you go, and maybe I can work on that. Awesome.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
I don't know how to react to any of them,
just sitting here in silence.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
Oh so, producer Jared gave me another lovely little note
down here. It says, according to Reddit user bubonic Tonic,
love that name. You go, the traffic gets worse, the
better the traffic is. I don't even know what that means.
And according to another Reddit user, they called me mister Pickles.
Another great name. Reda has the best names. The streets
(30:26):
are a mess and the snow cleanup sucks.
Speaker 3 (30:27):
So yeah, honestly, maybe the same thing could be said
about probably Deluthe George.
Speaker 2 (30:32):
Hey, our streets are amazing and it rarely snows, but
and that's what.
Speaker 3 (30:36):
And I'm someone who had to be saved off the
side of a road one time via ice. My boyfriend
had to come and pick me up.
Speaker 2 (30:43):
I had to half of them. Is there a new
snow apocalypse? Or was that during the snowpocalypse back.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
In literally this this past January. I was at the facility.
I drove and I couldn't get up a hill.
Speaker 2 (30:54):
Oh my god. All right, we gotta we gotta wrap this.
We go off the rails. They thank you guys so
much for listening. Yes, this was I hope a lot
of fun. I had fun in here today. So again,
big match up on Sunday, Sunday Night football against the
Minnesota Vikings. Falcons have a tough one ahead of them,
but we'll see if they're capable enough of the challenge
(31:15):
that'll do it for us today. We will see you
after the game four Falcons final whistle which you can
get bright and early Monday morning. For Tory mclaney and
tarn Walk. I'm Will mac patten. Thank you so much
for listening to for Friday five,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!