July 29, 2025 • 32 mins
Terrin Waack and Tori McElhaney join Will McFadden to break down the latest Atlanta Falcons training camp practices, including a Darnell Mooney update and a look inside the kicking competition. They also name their Camp Champs, which span from an "Edge with an edge" to an "old faithful" on the offensive side of the ball. Dan Graziano then joins the show to share all of his observations from AT&T training camp, including how Michael Penix Jr. has grown in his first year, what he likes about Drake London and how Atlanta can challenge Tampa Bay for the NFC South this year.
0:00 - Intro
0:25 - First padded practice
2:35 - Mooney injury update
6:40 - Kicking competition
9:27 - Camp Champ
19:55 - Dan Graziano joins the show
21:30 - Penix's leadership
23:00 - Atlanta's WR room
25:45 - Falcons new look defense
29:32 - Bijan & 2025 expectations
32:20 - Outro
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Dirty birds, what's up and welcome back. I've got Tory
mclaney and Tarren Wack, Will McFadden here with you. The
Pads came on for the first time in training camp.
So on today's docket is just breaking down the energy,
the kind of what we saw out there from the trenches,
the run game, a lot of good stuff. And then
on the back end, you guys will get to hear
from Dan Graziano, who does some amazing work over at ESPN.
(00:23):
So loaded show today. Taren, We're gonna start with you though.
Hi gods came on, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hello, Yes, I'm here.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
He just gave me like the most innocent look. So
what was what were the overall just kind of feelings
and vibes from practice today?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
The first two plays really showed from the bat of
eleven eleven work the enthusiasm that the team has with
Pads on because Carlos Washington Junior took the ball and
ran at the first play and you could just hear
both sides on the sideline being like oh, like you
could hear the clash and then the eruption of cheers,
like didn't even matter how far he got, just like
(01:04):
the beating banging was finally present and it kind.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Of excited both sides of the ball.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
And then on the second play Carlos Washington Junior at
it again. There was a little scuffle like it wasn't
nearly as big as Sunday, and we didn't record a
podcast after Sunday, so to.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Recap quickly, there were two.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Rather large fights and a third minor one, so they
were pretty aggressive too.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
But today, aka, what.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Day of the week is it today, it's we're at.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
The point in training camp where I don't know what day.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It's practice, that's right, Yeah, yeah, it's practice for I
don't know what day it is. But for practice four
they came together and it was like a little bit
of like, uh, oh, is it going to happen again?
But it settled down really quickly, which I know is
what Raheem Morris said he wanted to see. It's what
Jeff Oldbrooks said, he wanted to see. It's what Dayne
Ludford said he wanted to see after Sunday's practice where
(01:54):
it wasn't what they wanted to see because it crossed
the line. But yes, pads on and the excitement is there.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, they're kind of in the process of fine tuning.
I think a lot of the mindset mentality that they want,
and Raheem has been very quick to say, look, I'm
not putting an identity on anybody. The identity is born
out there on the field, but it is clear that
they want to see a certain type of makeup and
mentality from this group, and so far, I think they've
done a decent job of cultivating that. Again, it's spilled
(02:22):
over a little bit into some intense moments, but I
think they'll they'll take that to get you ultimately where
you want to go. One thing that you never really
want to see, in addition to fights out there on
the fielder are injuries. And we did get a little
bit of an injury update from Raheem Morris about Darnell
Mooney today tour. You want to walk us through that.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Yeah, So, as we noted in podcasts previously, Darnell Mooney
on the very first day of practice goes down pretty
hard with a deep ball from Michael Pennix, lands on
his shoulder, walks off on his own with the trainer
and it was a shoulder injury, going to be out
for a.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Few weeks, and that was kind of where things landed.
Speaker 5 (02:58):
Well. Today was the first day that we really got
to talk to Raheem Moore specifically about that injury and
about what the prognosis is. And I and this is
funny because this is where I was. And I was like,
I even said to Will and Tara before we started recording,
I was like, am.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I reading too much into this?
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Because he was asked or he Morris was asked today
during his press are like what is the prognosist for
Darnal Mooney? Like are you concerned at all about him
potentially being ready for week one? And instead of being like, no,
we're not worried about him not being ready for week one,
it was like, well, it's a few weeks and we'll
reevaluate at that point. And in my head I was
like like, because you're.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Such a pessimists, such a worry work.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I know, I truly am, like, have you been talking
to my therapist?
Speaker 1 (03:41):
But they're all gone.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
I've broken two nails literally today, I have two boy
nails and three girl nails, and so I, I, honest
to goodness, was just sitting there and and I was like, oh,
this mean this is not good, Like this means that
potentially Darnel Mooney, Like are we really talking about not
having Darnell Mooney for week one? And it kind of
(04:04):
led to my question that I presented to Raheem, like
a couple of bit and later like, hey, going back
to Darnell Mooney, like who's kind of the replacement now?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Who who is more? Who's value on.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
This roster kind of increased with the more with more
opportunity to see the field. And he answered it pretty well,
talking about like Darnell being the X and like how
you have clones.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Of guys which is not right. There is interesting Darnell
being the because I think body type wise, you look
at Drake and be like that's that's your ex.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
Yeah, but but no that Raheem was very adamant that, like, Nope,
that's Darnell's spot and.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So and you see a lot more of Ray Rumcloud.
You've seen a lot more of like the like the
duos of.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
Instead of it being kind of a Ray Ray McCloud
Darnell Mooney, Drake London lineup, it's more Drake London, Ray
rym McCloud. And then a couple of tight ends like
Hodge has been in there, so it's been interesting. But
I say all that to ultimately say, like I took
it as, oh, like it was like.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
A little bit of a worrying show.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah I was.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
I took it as being like the fact that Rahem
didn't come out and just be like, well, like we're
trying to be overly cautious. It's training camp, like it'll
be a few weeks like and then, but we're not
worried about him not being there for week one. It
was it was no, it was like, well, it's a
few weeks and we'll reevaluate after those few weeks.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Did y'all take it out? Did you take that turn?
Speaker 4 (05:22):
It didn't ring any bells in my head.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I just I'm just care.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
I kind of just took it as.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
A few weeks and then we'll figure it out. Like
I took it as they're not worried because it was
said so las fair.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's I kind of took it that way too, where
it was more just we we don't necessarily have any specifics.
It's still early and there is no real urgency to
get Darnell out there for preseason, like even if he
was healthy, let's say he comes back before that first
preseason game, I would probably be of the opinion that, like, hey,
that's all well and good for him, put him in
(05:56):
bubble wrap, and then we'll see week one Darnell. So like,
even given that that is kind of the case, I
took it as like a few weeks, we'll re evaluate
where we are and then kind of give an update
from there. Yeah, okay, so hopefully hopefully that's the case.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
I do also think because we've seen him at practice
and it's not like he has a sling or.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
Like, yeah, he's walking shoulder before.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
If it's that is.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
True, Will has hurt his shoulder before he has, he
told us about it.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
What was it? Wakeboarding?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
That was That was the second time. The first time
was motorbiking, which makes me sound way cooler than I
actually am. Like maybe that's why I don't actually do
action sports because like the two times I've done him, So, uh,
don't don't run away with that too. I'm not that cool.
But let's real quick before we kind of get to
a bit of a shorter episode today up top because
(06:44):
of the Dan Grausiano conversation in the back end. So
we're gonna get to Camp Champion in just a second
and kind of use that as an avenue to talk
about a couple of other players. But before we do,
we have seen a little bit of kicking battle kind
of take place over the last couple of practices, Taren,
I know you have been eagle eye on that. I
guess falcon I would be the better place better than
to say, but what have you seen from the kicking battle?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Well, the first time we saw them kick any field
goals and them as in Young Wayku and Lenny Creek.
I always want to say Kenny because Lenny the kicker, right,
but it's Lenny Kreeg was on Sunday and on Sunday
Kreig hit all five of his and Coup was four
or five. And today they both kicked five apiece again
and they were both four or five. Lenny Kreig missed
(07:31):
from around fifty five yards out and Young Way did
the same. We noted his as fifty four yards out.
So it's a really like tight battle at the moment.
I do think this is a really big position battle
for this off season.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
So yeah, special teams.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, ars sitting around like finally other people are going
to pour as much attention into Special teams as.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Me our resident beat reporter for special teams.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
And so yeah, they're both kicking. Well, they both look strong.
I mean you're off by one at this point. It
has only been two practices, but it is something worth
monitoring and seeing what kind of reps they get as
time goes on.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, I do. I just kind of like visually, kriegs
kicks seem almost a little bit more like a wedge
in golf where there's a little more air under it,
and I think Young Ways are kind of more of
a driving kick.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
They look so different.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I have no idea what what to do with that information,
but I'm just giving it to you, Like that's so
my eye, that's what we've seen.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah, it's one with kickers.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
It's one of those things that you're just like, I mean,
I'll let them do what they do as long as
they're making the kicks, Like, I really don't care how
they get personal preference.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, it's like it doesn't matter if you got a
high arcing drop or you just kicking going through the
upright and true.
Speaker 6 (08:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It has been really cool though, is because we have
seen Young Wayku so much in Atlanta already to finally
get a look up close and personal of Lenny Creek,
and he can kick. I remember he's like fifty five
yarder on Sunday we were like the media members and
I were all like that could have gone another.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Ten yards, like he's got a leg.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
And so it really is a competition for I'm not
gonna say for lack of a better word, because that
it is the word.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
The word. Yeah, and especially when you kind of saw
the contract that they signed Creed two initially with three. Yeah,
So like that that gave you this is a legitimate competition,
like they're they're truly going to battle it out.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
UK special teams, special players, special players.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
There you go. But let's go ahead and talk about
a couple of special players in the Camp Champ segment
Camp Champ working on my segways. You see that, I'm
say Taren will start with you defensively.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Who you got, Well, you set me up. You gave
away that it's going to be a defensive player.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So there's like forty eight people.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I'm going to go with James Pierce juniorj He is
just everywhere on that field right now, like you can
see him working his butt off to show I don't
even want to say to prove himself, but to show
what he's capable of. He is being lined up on
both sides, so you see him when he's with the
second team defense going against the first team offensive line.
(10:10):
So he's lining up against Cale McGary and Jake Matthews
and then he's also going up against Charlie Warner and
Tigan Quittoriano.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah, you got it.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
I was nervous about that present.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
No pronunciation, that couldn't have been.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That couldn't have been better.
Speaker 5 (10:30):
Diming And on that note, JPJ No, he has he's
So that was my story from today was really talking
about James Feast Senior and the infectious passion.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
That I feel like he is bringing.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
And I say that because that is something that has
come up in every conversation that I feel like we
were in today. Is James Pearce Junior setting the tone
for physicality, for energy.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
And I was talking to Leonard Floyd and we were
talking to him about Sunday's practice when James Fears Junior
was in the middle of a few little skirmishes and
I remember thinking on Sunday like, that's what you want.
You have a defensive coordinator in Jeff Wholbrick, who says,
we want to be a violent defense. We want to
(11:20):
dictate terms on our terms, and so you challenge your
defense to do that, regardless if there's pads on or not.
If you challenge someone like James Fears Junior to go
and knock ups on somebody, like that's what he's gonna do.
And he was doing that, And it was funny because
Leonard Floyd was like, hey, like at one point, I
turn around and I see a bunch of white jerseys
(11:42):
just kind of scatter around this one little black jersey
of James Pearson. I'm going in, like I'm going to
check in on my guy, whether he's right or whether
he's wrong. And I'm sitting there kind of laughing. But
I do think it's indicative of you know what.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Leonard Floyd is saying. He's like he was ready to work.
He's ready to work.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
That was the thing that stood out was too. It
was like, yeah, we're it's like a rider die defense.
I'm jumping in no matter what. But also like he's
done the right things, which makes me want to jump
in for him.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
Yeah, and I'm like keep doing it, like and that
was the theme of today is like the defense is
playing with some edge and no pun intended. James Fears
Junior has a lot of edge. He has a lot
of juice. It's something that we talked to area scouts
about immediately after the draft and what he brings in
terms of his level of juice and just getting after
the quarterback. And he's not gonna slow up or stop
(12:31):
for anyone. And you talk about wanting to prove yourself
or maybe even not maybe just showing up. But Jockey's Smith,
who is the outside linebackers coach for the Falcons, he
was very much like, yeah, it is a little bit
of like, hey, I am the rookie, but and you
are the vetch Jake Matthews, You've been here for twelve
freaking years. Like, but I'm gonna show you what I've
(12:52):
got and to prove that you know I got something too.
And I think, like that's been fun for me to watch.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I mean, how many times have we.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Been able to kind of say that there is that
juice coming off of the edge this early in training camp,
before the pads even went on.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now the pads are on and he's doing.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
He's backing it up right exactly, And I like what
you said about like, I'm going to show you what
I got because we know James Pearce's is not, you know,
the biggest talker. And although wouldn't it be so funny
if just like in practice, he's running his mouth NonStop,
it's just the biggest chattermouth in the right.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
That would be an amazing aspect of his game, Like
I would want to know. I would want him micd
up week one for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Yes, absolutely, I'm going to flip over to the other
side of the ball for my Camp Champion because one
thing that's just stuck out so clearly to me, and
it's the aspect of the offense we thought was maybe
going to be the most clear cut the same because
it's worked. I kind of think there's going to be
some changes to the run game this year. And I
don't mean like it personnel or anything like that. Obviously,
Jean and Tyler are going to be out there maybe
(13:53):
at the same time. You know, I would love to
see that, but I do. I feel like I've just
noticed some more gap influence in this and I'll obviously
they've been a big outside zone team ever since Dwayne
Ledford has been here, and it fits the personnel. But
now that you're changing center a little bit, you do
have have Tyler and they have talked about one and
he gets more explosive plays for Bijon. If you listen
to the podcast with Ben Solak a few weeks ago,
(14:15):
you know north south is the quickest way to get
those explosive plays. So just again file that away, I
think getting that run game going. So the premier benefactor
of that so far to me has been Tyler all year,
which is why he's my camp chip.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Okay, great, because that was the thing is I was like,
why are you.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Looking at me? But I realized I literally never said
I know.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I was like I was, I was going to help
you out. I was going to be like and champions Tyler.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yes, good, good points Tyler Alger talk about.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Was your clincher.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
So with all of this, it's something that Will and
I have actually talked a lot about in the last
in the four practices that we've been able to see.
Is this this gap style influence and the evolution of
the run game and.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
How much do you even though this out zone is your.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Bread and butter just Havingajon Robinson jump it to the outside,
run behind Chris Lynstrom, Kayler McGary down the right side
of this line. That is what works from something, Why.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
To get away from something that's working.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
But today, and to your point about Tayler Algier, today,
there was this one moment specifically where they started to
it looked like kind of an outside zone to the
right with Tyler Algier, but instead of continuing behind Chris
Slistrum and Kayla McGary, you had Matthew Bergron pulling up
beside Chris Lynstrom through that a gap, and then Tyler
(15:37):
Argier running behind Matthew Bergron. And that was the one
that it was the one time that I felt like
today it truly felt like something broke open, and not
in a manufactured way, in a way that really was
beautifully blocked.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
And schemed in that way.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
And it was it was the one time that I
felt like with Tyler Algier, I was like, there he is,
like that's it, that's the one. So I I love
this this Camchamp specifically for that moment, but also to
what we're seeing in scheme and influence and also a
little bit something about Robert Mays is gonna be on
the podcast really soon. And something that I talked to
him a lot about was the RAMS influence and how
(16:15):
the RAMS also you know, you think back to like
twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, and you know, being an outside zone.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I mean, Tod, you just get him to the outside,
get him around the defense, and let him turn on
the field.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Yeah, let him turn a corner and get gone. But
there to a certain extent, good defenses pick up on that.
So it's I almost wonder if, to your point, if
this is Zach Robinson trying to get ahead of that
to be like, hey, teams, know how good we are
running the ball behind like just bouncing it to the
outside down the right side of this this field. Let's
(16:48):
maybe not do that as much, Let's not go to
it as much. And so it's it's interesting to see
how much this is evolving within the context too of
you now have Michael PENNOCKX and the pocket. He's going
to stretch the ball way downfield, as we've seen time
and time again. I don't know, it's an interesting conversation.
It's one that I'm like, let's put a pin in
(17:10):
and come back to it in week seven to see
how much of this is actually showing up in real games.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Well, and you brought up Robert Is. They recently just
had a show on The Athletic Football Show, a great
podcast recommended to everybody, but really recommend It was what
lessons can we learn from the league's best offenses last year?
And kind of the point I'll make about this is
the continuity of Atlanta's offensive line I do think allows
them to kind of work on something like this. And
the point they made on that show using a team
(17:36):
like Buffalo, Right, Buffalo used a lot of like six
offensive linemen sets last year, which is a weird thing.
So the more like nuances and wrinkles you can have
as an offense, the more that teams like, the menu
of what they have to prepare for and a given
a week expands. So for the Falcons having an offensive
line that's been together and Ryan Neusel starting eight games
last year, they know how to run outside zone. Yeah,
(17:56):
they know how to run outside zone in their sleep
with their eyes closed. So now that affords you the opportunity,
I think to maybe work on some other things where
for another team, maybe in your one with their offensive
coordinator or their offensive line or one they're still installing
what would otherwise be maybe a more simple type of philosophy,
but here you get to build on it because of
what that continuity affords you.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
I like it.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
And let's just be real too. I you know, I
think that to your point about having Ryan Neuzl in there,
I think people are sleeping on Rye Noozle right now
because I have been very impressed. I know they're not
running at one hundred percent capacity.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
They're snoozling there.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
They're snooze.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, they're snooze.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
They're snoozing on Noozle.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yeah, snoozles snoop.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
The snoozles I got were offt that one in We're
off the rills.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
I I think that what he has been over the
four practices and what I feel like, you know, I'll
be honest. I was the first one to say like
I wasn't one hundred percent sold on the Falcons decision
to go full like no holds bar on Ryan Noozle
being the starting center. I'm like, this is an undrafted
free agent you're not even gonna bring in like.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Some veteran competition.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
And he has pleasantly surprised me in his role, I
think even within that as well, and having this more
like gap style run game.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
His piece of this matters too. And I wanted, I
just wanted to give Ryan Noozle his flowers.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
And Rucuroro said, and I quote that he is stump
like like a tree stump, and it has become my
favorite quote of training camp so far.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, we got stumps, we got Snoozles. He's just endearing
himself left and right. He's like just the best. Yeah,
my favorite center in the NFL by far. All right,
well we have talked for a long time. Let's let's
keep talking. But let's do so with Dan Grasiano of ESPN.
So again, thank you guys so much for listening today.
Our next show will come Friday, So for anybody you
(19:49):
know following along marking their calendars, be on the lookout
for that. It'll be after the third padded practice. But
for now, let's go ahead and get to Dan Graziano,
NFL insider. Dan Graziano joins me works fre ESPN does
an incredible job over there. Dan, thank you for taking
the time. My pleasure will so we are talking on Saturday.
The Falcons just wrapped up their second open training camp practice.
(20:10):
A lot of fans out on the hill. Yeah, pretty
hot out there. What was kind of your initial impression
of the team.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
Well, I think watching practice on this particular day, it
seemed like the defense was making a lot of plays.
Seemed like there was some pass breakups, there were some
forced fumbles, and and that's you know, I think it's
early in training camps that that tends to happen, but
it's got to be a good sign because there's so
much new on that side of the ball for Atlanta
this year. So I think that, you know, the more
(20:36):
you see from them in terms of the ability to
grasp the system and make place, I think that's got
to be encouraging. And then talking to Raheem Morris after practice,
he said he was really happy with the way that
Michael Pennox handled the fact that the defense got the
better of the offense today, that the way when he
gathered his guys that he was you know, he was
sending the right message, he was he was communicating the
(20:59):
right things. So I think that's the other thing that
you have to be happy about is seeing his leadership
ability as he enters this year where he's the unquestioned
QB one to start and obviously, you know, this is
a player that, as we all know, six years of
college football, has all this experience. But one of the
reasons that they liked him pre draft was that he
has natural leadership abilities. So I think they've been very
(21:20):
happy with what they've seen from that, and based on
you know, what was told to me after practice today,
it seemed like he was doing a good job of that.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, it is. It was something that really stood out
to us after kind of the first practice as well,
was when he spoke to the media, just the level
of confidence that he had, the command of kind of
the room, and it was a little bit of a
not a full departure, but in year one, you know,
you heard about how kind of quiet he is, right,
And I do think leadership is different for every single person,
but it is interesting to kind of hear you say
(21:49):
that the way he handled maybe a down day for
the offense is just as important as when everything is
going right and being able to galvanize everybody.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
I think. So I was talking to DJ Williams, the
quarterbacks coaching he said he's authentic. So when you're a
leader like that's the trick. You have to be your
authentic self, and he always is that. And another word
I heard today a lot about him was consistent. So
I think that that's the kind of thing if you
have that and he's you know, he's a guy that
(22:17):
has you know, again, twenty five years old, so older
than a lot of second year players, the oldest of
three brothers. I believe like he's sort of been in
this sort of leadership role for a while. So I
think that's the that's the cool. So whatever your message is, right,
if if it's a positive or if it's a negative,
or if you've got to get on guys, at least
they know who they're talking to, who they're hearing from,
(22:38):
and they trust it and they believe in it. So yeah,
I think, you know, he's a he's a young player,
and I think we saw a lot of good stuff
at the end of last year. Some stuff he needs
to work on, uh, but you know, I think he's
got that. From what I can tell, he's got those
characteristics you look for in that position.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, and the physical tools are are apparent. We saw
those in three starts. We saw him at Washington. But
he's already dealing with a little bit of adversity here.
Darnel Mooney is going to be missing some time after
banging up his shoulder in that first open practice. DJ
Shark signed by the team. We'll start maybe with DJ Shark.
What does he bring to this Atlanta offense.
Speaker 6 (23:12):
Well, a veteran, I think in a room that if
if Mooney's not a part of it is fairly young, right,
so I think that that's key. And you know, earlier
in his career he was he was known for his speed.
Is that still there? I mean, he's so. I guess
we'll see. They liked what they saw in the workout,
and I guess they felt an urgency to sign someone
after Mooney went down. But it sounds like there's a
(23:34):
couple of young guys they wanted to get a look
at on the roster in terms of, you know, if
they have to fill in. I don't. They're not saying,
but I don't. I didn't. I don't get the sense
that they're worried about it being something long term that
bleeds into the season. Obviously you can never know, but
if it were that then and even if it's not,
then at least you now have an opportunity to see
some of these younger guys in maybe an expanded role
(23:56):
throughout camp and throughout the preseason. So if DJ Shark
can be a helper, that's great. But I think, you know,
having just met him, right, the team is probably not
sure what and they don't want to put that on him.
So maybe some guys who have been here throughout the
offseason might be you know, might might get a little
bit of a longer look.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, because I mean there were some games last year
where you could argue that Darnel Mooney was the number
one receiver for Atlanta. I mean, like the the immediate
connection he had with Kirk Cousins was a parent and
Tampa Bay game to touch that, Like, he definitely was
a huge asset for this offense. And I think they
have high hopes for him in year two as well.
But what about Drake London? I think it was and
correct me if I'm wrong. Jeremy Fowler did the the
(24:33):
top ten position rankings, I believe for y'all, and Drake's
not on that. I understand why when you look at
kind of the national perception, but here in Atlanta, like
he has done everything. Yeah, it's been asked of him,
what do you think of Drake?
Speaker 6 (24:44):
Well, I think he's awesome. You know, you see him
out there and you see why. You know, he looks
like a number one wide receiver. He's built like a
and we've seen the things he can do going back
to college in terms of contested catches in the end
zone everything. So there hasn't been as you well know,
you know, a lot of consistency or stability at the
quarterback position here since he's been here, so you kind
(25:06):
of give him a break on that. But I think
he's a guy that heading into year four now, right,
so they pick up the option and and maybe he's
in line for an extension at some point. But I think,
you know, he has to have that number one wide
receiver season in terms of productivity, in terms of you know,
consistent week to week and then piling up yards and touchdowns.
(25:29):
And I don't see any reason why he should. I mean,
if if if Michael Pennix can play quarterback in the NFL,
then I think Drake London should be something like a
star receiver.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Let's put to the defensive side of the ball. And obviously,
the Falcons, like all off season talk is the pass rush.
Falcons say, hey, we hear you. We're going for a reason,
two first round picks on pass rushers. We can table
the first round pick part of it that in that
trade maybe, But now that we're here, now that they're
on the field, what do you expect to see from
James Pearson Jail Walker.
Speaker 6 (25:57):
I always feel like the pass rush sure is a
spot where rookies can contribute right away because there are
third down situations where you just say, go get the
quarterback and they don't how to do that.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
See quarterback hit quarterback.
Speaker 6 (26:08):
Yeah, And I asked Jeff Olbrick about that and he said,
you know, both those guys can set the edge too,
so it will work with them on the run game
knowing that the pass rush is there. And I think
they see them as kind of different kind of players
in terms of what their role can ultimately be, but
helpers in the pass rush that needs help. And then
the Leonard Floyd signing is very interesting because this is
a guy going into now his tenth season in the league.
(26:30):
He's he's been placed very many places, He's one big
and it sounds like he is embracing the veteran leader
role with those two rookies, which is fantastic. I mean,
it's not necessarily why you signed Leonard Floyd. You want
him to help you sack quarterbacks, but the fact that
he sees himself that way at this point in his
career is only going to be a benefit to those
(26:51):
young guys. So, yeah, the pass rush has to be better.
They obviously know that based on the offseason moves that
they made, and we'll see a lot of resource is
obviously into that position. And it's it's a big one
because if you're talking about late season games, if you're
talking about ideally playoff games, Yep, you know that's what
you need. You need closers, you need guys that can finish,
you can get the opposing quarterback on the ground in
(27:12):
the fourth quarter, and and obviously this is a team
that has, you know, struggled to do that.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
And when you're looking at kind of the overall makeup
of this team, you have an offense that if if
Michael Pennix can can step in and play the way
they expect them to, all the pieces are there for
this to be a very good offense. You could be
looking at some high scoring games, games you are leading
in the fourth quarter. You want closers on the other
side of the.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Ball ideally, right, I mean all those top ten picks
on the offense, so you feel like it's and you know,
if you can if you can get the run game
going with b John Robinson and Tyler ale Year, then yeah,
you can build some leads and and and work on that.
I think that's that's what they would like to be.
You know, the shootout with Washington end of last year
was fun, but you'd certainly rather be the only one
(27:54):
shooting right, So and that was you know, so I
think that's it. The defense. This is going to be interesting.
I I get this sense it's going to change more
than maybe some people might think. So we'll see. Scheme wise.
I think it'll be interesting to see what they come
up with.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
What was kind of your initial reaction to Jeff Ulbrick
coming back here in Atlanta. We saw, obviously in an
interim capacity, these two guys working hand in hand, and
they're the pros of that immediate kind of reliability and
communication that they've developed. But you know, some people could say,
all right, doing it again. You know, where did you
land on that?
Speaker 6 (28:29):
I think they know each other what we're talking about
him and Raheem Morris. They know each other well, they know,
they know how to how the each knows how the
other works, what the expectations are, and relationships are very
important in this business and life in general. But I think,
you know, after what Jeff went through last year, I think,
you know, finding a comfortable landing spot is probably good.
(28:50):
But also I mean, look, he's he's well regarded, he
is he's somebody that knows the place, he's been here,
he knows Raheem, and he knows again he knows what
the expectations are. So it made a lot of sense
to me what happened with the Jets last year. I
don't think should be held against Jeff Ulbrick. I think
he was put in an impossible situation and you know,
(29:11):
sort of did the best he could. But he's obviously
a talented and an intelligent defensive coordinator who should be
who should his addition should be a benefit.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Yeah, I do think the interim head coach roll is
one of the toughest spots to be in, probably in
all of space.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
I haven't seen too many too many guys ye hold
the job.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Not many two two more for you one I want
to talk about Jean. We kind of have talked about
Michael Pennis talks about Drake, talked about Darnell Bjean Robinson.
I mean, it feels like he's already in that kind
of rarefied era of the running backs in the league.
Like how much more do you think we have left
to see from him?
Speaker 6 (29:47):
When you get picked where he got picked, you have
to be special because that is not something teams like
to generally do, is pick running backs that high. So
you see, you know a Saquon Barkley has picked two
and Jamier Gibbs I think was same year as Bijon
right twelve, So he should be a guy who can
play on all three downs, give the ball to as
much as you want, and expect magic and when we've
(30:08):
seen it in flashes for sure. But I think what's
cool is they have Algier too that they that they
really like, and the ability to put him in there
to either you know, be a complimentary piece or to
spell Bijon if he needs a rest. I think that's
that's great. So Bijon seems like the kind of guy
when he's going well, you would never take him off
the field, Like he's that level of weapon, but the
(30:31):
fact that they have depth there I think is only
going to help him as well. So yeah, this is
exciting this roster. I mean it is. You look at
these players, you look at these names, you watch them
walking and running around out there, and it could really
be something here. And obviously, I know it felt like
that last year and didn't work out, but you know,
you're pretty close and you beat the division champion twice,
(30:53):
so it feels like, you know, if things really do
come together, if Pennix is what they hope he is,
and if the defense improves, especially up front, yeah, it
could be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
So let's let's wrap up right there. Tampa Bay, obviously
we know what they are. They are a consistent team.
They're a good team. Has Atlanta, in your opinion, kind
of done enough to really really challenge for this division?
Speaker 6 (31:12):
I say yes, but I would have said yes last
year as well, and they did challenge for the I
mean right, So, uh, Tampa Bay's wont at four years
in a row, and the year before that they won
the Super Bowl, So they're on quite a run that
doesn't get talked about very much because they other than
that one year, they don't make a lot of nice
when they get to the playoffs. So to me, if
you're looking at these two teams, their roster looks pretty
(31:33):
strong too. They're gonna be without their starting left tackle
for the start of the season. It sounds like Tristan
Wurfs and it'd be interesting to see how they handle that.
And they don't want to get too far behind U, certainly,
But I don't see any reason why this team doesn't
have enough to compete with and beat them out for
the division. You're talking about making picks at the end
of July beginning of August. That's tricky, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Tell me.
Speaker 6 (31:55):
I always say, tell me who's gonna get hurt, and
I'll tell you who's gonna win. But I think you would.
I would look at it from this standpoint as a
close race. Probably favor Tampa just because of that track record.
They know how to do it, and we haven't seen
Atlanta breakthrough yet. But yeah, I don't see any good
reason why. Again, they beat them twice head to head
(32:16):
there obviously can compete with them, so I think there's
there's no reason not to expect it to be a
good race at the very.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Least hopefully it's a fun season, and yeah, hopefully it
comes down. No, hopefully it doesn't come down to the wire.
Jargons hopefully.
Speaker 6 (32:27):
We just want to be Buffalo. Last year they clinched
their division with five weeks left. That's who you want
to be. Yeah, so yeah, I think big.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I'm just thinking about the content. But yeah, all right, Dan.
Speaker 6 (32:39):
Five weeks of playoff previews. Wouldn't you love that?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Yeah? That would be great. Dan, Thank you so much
for taking the time pleasure to join us. This as
a blast. Everybody, please go check out all this great
work at ESPN.
Dirty birds, what's up and welcome back. I've got Tory
mclaney and Tarren Wack, Will McFadden here with you. The
Pads came on for the first time in training camp.
So on today's docket is just breaking down the energy,
the kind of what we saw out there from the trenches,
the run game, a lot of good stuff. And then
on the back end, you guys will get to hear
from Dan Graziano, who does some amazing work over at ESPN.
(00:23):
So loaded show today. Taren, We're gonna start with you though.
Hi gods came on, how you doing?
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Hello, Yes, I'm here.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
He just gave me like the most innocent look. So
what was what were the overall just kind of feelings
and vibes from practice today?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
The first two plays really showed from the bat of
eleven eleven work the enthusiasm that the team has with
Pads on because Carlos Washington Junior took the ball and
ran at the first play and you could just hear
both sides on the sideline being like oh, like you
could hear the clash and then the eruption of cheers,
like didn't even matter how far he got, just like
(01:04):
the beating banging was finally present and it kind.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Of excited both sides of the ball.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
And then on the second play Carlos Washington Junior at
it again. There was a little scuffle like it wasn't
nearly as big as Sunday, and we didn't record a
podcast after Sunday, so to.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Recap quickly, there were two.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Rather large fights and a third minor one, so they
were pretty aggressive too.
Speaker 4 (01:27):
But today, aka, what.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Day of the week is it today, it's we're at.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
The point in training camp where I don't know what day.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
It's practice, that's right, Yeah, yeah, it's practice for I
don't know what day it is. But for practice four
they came together and it was like a little bit
of like, uh, oh, is it going to happen again?
But it settled down really quickly, which I know is
what Raheem Morris said he wanted to see. It's what
Jeff Oldbrooks said, he wanted to see. It's what Dayne
Ludford said he wanted to see after Sunday's practice where
(01:54):
it wasn't what they wanted to see because it crossed
the line. But yes, pads on and the excitement is there.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
Yeah, they're kind of in the process of fine tuning.
I think a lot of the mindset mentality that they want,
and Raheem has been very quick to say, look, I'm
not putting an identity on anybody. The identity is born
out there on the field, but it is clear that
they want to see a certain type of makeup and
mentality from this group, and so far, I think they've
done a decent job of cultivating that. Again, it's spilled
(02:22):
over a little bit into some intense moments, but I
think they'll they'll take that to get you ultimately where
you want to go. One thing that you never really
want to see, in addition to fights out there on
the fielder are injuries. And we did get a little
bit of an injury update from Raheem Morris about Darnell
Mooney today tour. You want to walk us through that.
Speaker 5 (02:38):
Yeah, So, as we noted in podcasts previously, Darnell Mooney
on the very first day of practice goes down pretty
hard with a deep ball from Michael Pennix, lands on
his shoulder, walks off on his own with the trainer
and it was a shoulder injury, going to be out
for a.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Few weeks, and that was kind of where things landed.
Speaker 5 (02:58):
Well. Today was the first day that we really got
to talk to Raheem Moore specifically about that injury and
about what the prognosis is. And I and this is
funny because this is where I was. And I was like,
I even said to Will and Tara before we started recording,
I was like, am.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I reading too much into this?
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Because he was asked or he Morris was asked today
during his press are like what is the prognosist for
Darnal Mooney? Like are you concerned at all about him
potentially being ready for week one? And instead of being like, no,
we're not worried about him not being ready for week one,
it was like, well, it's a few weeks and we'll
reevaluate at that point. And in my head I was
like like, because you're.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Such a pessimists, such a worry work.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I know, I truly am, like, have you been talking
to my therapist?
Speaker 1 (03:41):
But they're all gone.
Speaker 5 (03:43):
I've broken two nails literally today, I have two boy
nails and three girl nails, and so I, I, honest
to goodness, was just sitting there and and I was like, oh,
this mean this is not good, Like this means that
potentially Darnel Mooney, Like are we really talking about not
having Darnell Mooney for week one? And it kind of
(04:04):
led to my question that I presented to Raheem, like
a couple of bit and later like, hey, going back
to Darnell Mooney, like who's kind of the replacement now?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Who who is more? Who's value on.
Speaker 5 (04:16):
This roster kind of increased with the more with more
opportunity to see the field. And he answered it pretty well,
talking about like Darnell being the X and like how
you have clones.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Of guys which is not right. There is interesting Darnell
being the because I think body type wise, you look
at Drake and be like that's that's your ex.
Speaker 5 (04:32):
Yeah, but but no that Raheem was very adamant that, like, Nope,
that's Darnell's spot and.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
So and you see a lot more of Ray Rumcloud.
You've seen a lot more of like the like the
duos of.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
Instead of it being kind of a Ray Ray McCloud
Darnell Mooney, Drake London lineup, it's more Drake London, Ray
rym McCloud. And then a couple of tight ends like
Hodge has been in there, so it's been interesting. But
I say all that to ultimately say, like I took
it as, oh, like it was like.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
A little bit of a worrying show.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah I was.
Speaker 5 (05:04):
I took it as being like the fact that Rahem
didn't come out and just be like, well, like we're
trying to be overly cautious. It's training camp, like it'll
be a few weeks like and then, but we're not
worried about him not being there for week one. It
was it was no, it was like, well, it's a
few weeks and we'll reevaluate after those few weeks.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
Did y'all take it out? Did you take that turn?
Speaker 4 (05:22):
It didn't ring any bells in my head.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I just I'm just care.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
I kind of just took it as.
Speaker 3 (05:28):
A few weeks and then we'll figure it out. Like
I took it as they're not worried because it was
said so las fair.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
That's I kind of took it that way too, where
it was more just we we don't necessarily have any specifics.
It's still early and there is no real urgency to
get Darnell out there for preseason, like even if he
was healthy, let's say he comes back before that first
preseason game, I would probably be of the opinion that, like, hey,
that's all well and good for him, put him in
(05:56):
bubble wrap, and then we'll see week one Darnell. So like,
even given that that is kind of the case, I
took it as like a few weeks, we'll re evaluate
where we are and then kind of give an update
from there. Yeah, okay, so hopefully hopefully that's the case.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
I do also think because we've seen him at practice
and it's not like he has a sling or.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
Like, yeah, he's walking shoulder before.
Speaker 1 (06:18):
If it's that is.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
True, Will has hurt his shoulder before he has, he
told us about it.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
What was it? Wakeboarding?
Speaker 1 (06:24):
That was That was the second time. The first time
was motorbiking, which makes me sound way cooler than I
actually am. Like maybe that's why I don't actually do
action sports because like the two times I've done him, So, uh,
don't don't run away with that too. I'm not that cool.
But let's real quick before we kind of get to
a bit of a shorter episode today up top because
(06:44):
of the Dan Grausiano conversation in the back end. So
we're gonna get to Camp Champion in just a second
and kind of use that as an avenue to talk
about a couple of other players. But before we do,
we have seen a little bit of kicking battle kind
of take place over the last couple of practices, Taren,
I know you have been eagle eye on that. I
guess falcon I would be the better place better than
to say, but what have you seen from the kicking battle?
Speaker 3 (07:07):
Well, the first time we saw them kick any field
goals and them as in Young Wayku and Lenny Creek.
I always want to say Kenny because Lenny the kicker, right,
but it's Lenny Kreeg was on Sunday and on Sunday
Kreig hit all five of his and Coup was four
or five. And today they both kicked five apiece again
and they were both four or five. Lenny Kreig missed
(07:31):
from around fifty five yards out and Young Way did
the same. We noted his as fifty four yards out.
So it's a really like tight battle at the moment.
I do think this is a really big position battle
for this off season.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Yep.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
So yeah, special teams.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Yeah, ars sitting around like finally other people are going
to pour as much attention into Special teams as.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Me our resident beat reporter for special teams.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
And so yeah, they're both kicking. Well, they both look strong.
I mean you're off by one at this point. It
has only been two practices, but it is something worth
monitoring and seeing what kind of reps they get as
time goes on.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yeah, I do. I just kind of like visually, kriegs
kicks seem almost a little bit more like a wedge
in golf where there's a little more air under it,
and I think Young Ways are kind of more of
a driving kick.
Speaker 4 (08:20):
They look so different.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
I have no idea what what to do with that information,
but I'm just giving it to you, Like that's so
my eye, that's what we've seen.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah, it's one with kickers.
Speaker 5 (08:30):
It's one of those things that you're just like, I mean,
I'll let them do what they do as long as
they're making the kicks, Like, I really don't care how
they get personal preference.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Yeah, it's like it doesn't matter if you got a
high arcing drop or you just kicking going through the
upright and true.
Speaker 6 (08:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
It has been really cool though, is because we have
seen Young Wayku so much in Atlanta already to finally
get a look up close and personal of Lenny Creek,
and he can kick. I remember he's like fifty five
yarder on Sunday we were like the media members and
I were all like that could have gone another.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Ten yards, like he's got a leg.
Speaker 3 (09:03):
And so it really is a competition for I'm not
gonna say for lack of a better word, because that
it is the word.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
The word. Yeah, and especially when you kind of saw
the contract that they signed Creed two initially with three. Yeah,
So like that that gave you this is a legitimate competition,
like they're they're truly going to battle it out.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
UK special teams, special players, special players.
Speaker 1 (09:24):
There you go. But let's go ahead and talk about
a couple of special players in the Camp Champ segment
Camp Champ working on my segways. You see that, I'm
say Taren will start with you defensively.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Who you got, Well, you set me up. You gave
away that it's going to be a defensive player.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
So there's like forty eight people.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
I'm going to go with James Pierce juniorj He is
just everywhere on that field right now, like you can
see him working his butt off to show I don't
even want to say to prove himself, but to show
what he's capable of. He is being lined up on
both sides, so you see him when he's with the
second team defense going against the first team offensive line.
(10:10):
So he's lining up against Cale McGary and Jake Matthews
and then he's also going up against Charlie Warner and
Tigan Quittoriano.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Yeah, you got it.
Speaker 4 (10:19):
I was nervous about that present.
Speaker 5 (10:21):
No pronunciation, that couldn't have been.
Speaker 2 (10:29):
That couldn't have been better.
Speaker 5 (10:30):
Diming And on that note, JPJ No, he has he's
So that was my story from today was really talking
about James Feast Senior and the infectious passion.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
That I feel like he is bringing.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
And I say that because that is something that has
come up in every conversation that I feel like we
were in today. Is James Pearce Junior setting the tone
for physicality, for energy.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
Uh.
Speaker 5 (11:00):
And I was talking to Leonard Floyd and we were
talking to him about Sunday's practice when James Fears Junior
was in the middle of a few little skirmishes and
I remember thinking on Sunday like, that's what you want.
You have a defensive coordinator in Jeff Wholbrick, who says,
we want to be a violent defense. We want to
(11:20):
dictate terms on our terms, and so you challenge your
defense to do that, regardless if there's pads on or not.
If you challenge someone like James Fears Junior to go
and knock ups on somebody, like that's what he's gonna do.
And he was doing that, And it was funny because
Leonard Floyd was like, hey, like at one point, I
turn around and I see a bunch of white jerseys
(11:42):
just kind of scatter around this one little black jersey
of James Pearson. I'm going in, like I'm going to
check in on my guy, whether he's right or whether
he's wrong. And I'm sitting there kind of laughing. But
I do think it's indicative of you know what.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Leonard Floyd is saying. He's like he was ready to work.
He's ready to work.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
That was the thing that stood out was too. It
was like, yeah, we're it's like a rider die defense.
I'm jumping in no matter what. But also like he's
done the right things, which makes me want to jump
in for him.
Speaker 5 (12:10):
Yeah, and I'm like keep doing it, like and that
was the theme of today is like the defense is
playing with some edge and no pun intended. James Fears
Junior has a lot of edge. He has a lot
of juice. It's something that we talked to area scouts
about immediately after the draft and what he brings in
terms of his level of juice and just getting after
the quarterback. And he's not gonna slow up or stop
(12:31):
for anyone. And you talk about wanting to prove yourself
or maybe even not maybe just showing up. But Jockey's Smith,
who is the outside linebackers coach for the Falcons, he
was very much like, yeah, it is a little bit
of like, hey, I am the rookie, but and you
are the vetch Jake Matthews, You've been here for twelve
freaking years. Like, but I'm gonna show you what I've
(12:52):
got and to prove that you know I got something too.
And I think, like that's been fun for me to watch.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
I mean, how many times have we.
Speaker 5 (12:58):
Been able to kind of say that there is that
juice coming off of the edge this early in training camp,
before the pads even went on.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
Now the pads are on and he's doing.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
He's backing it up right exactly, And I like what
you said about like, I'm going to show you what
I got because we know James Pearce's is not, you know,
the biggest talker. And although wouldn't it be so funny
if just like in practice, he's running his mouth NonStop,
it's just the biggest chattermouth in the right.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, that wouldn't surprise me.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
That would be an amazing aspect of his game, Like
I would want to know. I would want him micd
up week one for sure.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
For sure.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Yes, absolutely, I'm going to flip over to the other
side of the ball for my Camp Champion because one
thing that's just stuck out so clearly to me, and
it's the aspect of the offense we thought was maybe
going to be the most clear cut the same because
it's worked. I kind of think there's going to be
some changes to the run game this year. And I
don't mean like it personnel or anything like that. Obviously,
Jean and Tyler are going to be out there maybe
(13:53):
at the same time. You know, I would love to
see that, but I do. I feel like I've just
noticed some more gap influence in this and I'll obviously
they've been a big outside zone team ever since Dwayne
Ledford has been here, and it fits the personnel. But
now that you're changing center a little bit, you do
have have Tyler and they have talked about one and
he gets more explosive plays for Bijon. If you listen
to the podcast with Ben Solak a few weeks ago,
(14:15):
you know north south is the quickest way to get
those explosive plays. So just again file that away, I
think getting that run game going. So the premier benefactor
of that so far to me has been Tyler all year,
which is why he's my camp chip.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Okay, great, because that was the thing is I was like,
why are you.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Looking at me? But I realized I literally never said
I know.
Speaker 2 (14:34):
I was like I was, I was going to help
you out. I was going to be like and champions Tyler.
Speaker 1 (14:38):
Yes, good, good points Tyler Alger talk about.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Was your clincher.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:45):
So with all of this, it's something that Will and
I have actually talked a lot about in the last
in the four practices that we've been able to see.
Is this this gap style influence and the evolution of
the run game and.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
How much do you even though this out zone is your.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
Bread and butter just Havingajon Robinson jump it to the outside,
run behind Chris Lynstrom, Kayler McGary down the right side
of this line. That is what works from something, Why.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
To get away from something that's working.
Speaker 5 (15:14):
But today, and to your point about Tayler Algier, today,
there was this one moment specifically where they started to
it looked like kind of an outside zone to the
right with Tyler Algier, but instead of continuing behind Chris
Slistrum and Kayla McGary, you had Matthew Bergron pulling up
beside Chris Lynstrom through that a gap, and then Tyler
(15:37):
Argier running behind Matthew Bergron. And that was the one
that it was the one time that I felt like
today it truly felt like something broke open, and not
in a manufactured way, in a way that really was
beautifully blocked.
Speaker 2 (15:51):
And schemed in that way.
Speaker 5 (15:52):
And it was it was the one time that I
felt like with Tyler Algier, I was like, there he is,
like that's it, that's the one. So I I love
this this Camchamp specifically for that moment, but also to
what we're seeing in scheme and influence and also a
little bit something about Robert Mays is gonna be on
the podcast really soon. And something that I talked to
him a lot about was the RAMS influence and how
(16:15):
the RAMS also you know, you think back to like
twenty seventeen, twenty eighteen, and you know, being an outside zone.
Speaker 1 (16:22):
I mean, Tod, you just get him to the outside,
get him around the defense, and let him turn on
the field.
Speaker 5 (16:27):
Yeah, let him turn a corner and get gone. But
there to a certain extent, good defenses pick up on that.
So it's I almost wonder if, to your point, if
this is Zach Robinson trying to get ahead of that
to be like, hey, teams, know how good we are
running the ball behind like just bouncing it to the
outside down the right side of this this field. Let's
(16:48):
maybe not do that as much, Let's not go to
it as much. And so it's it's interesting to see
how much this is evolving within the context too of
you now have Michael PENNOCKX and the pocket. He's going
to stretch the ball way downfield, as we've seen time
and time again. I don't know, it's an interesting conversation.
It's one that I'm like, let's put a pin in
(17:10):
and come back to it in week seven to see
how much of this is actually showing up in real games.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Well, and you brought up Robert Is. They recently just
had a show on The Athletic Football Show, a great
podcast recommended to everybody, but really recommend It was what
lessons can we learn from the league's best offenses last year?
And kind of the point I'll make about this is
the continuity of Atlanta's offensive line I do think allows
them to kind of work on something like this. And
the point they made on that show using a team
(17:36):
like Buffalo, Right, Buffalo used a lot of like six
offensive linemen sets last year, which is a weird thing.
So the more like nuances and wrinkles you can have
as an offense, the more that teams like, the menu
of what they have to prepare for and a given
a week expands. So for the Falcons having an offensive
line that's been together and Ryan Neusel starting eight games
last year, they know how to run outside zone. Yeah,
(17:56):
they know how to run outside zone in their sleep
with their eyes closed. So now that affords you the opportunity,
I think to maybe work on some other things where
for another team, maybe in your one with their offensive
coordinator or their offensive line or one they're still installing
what would otherwise be maybe a more simple type of philosophy,
but here you get to build on it because of
what that continuity affords you.
Speaker 4 (18:16):
I like it.
Speaker 5 (18:16):
And let's just be real too. I you know, I
think that to your point about having Ryan Neuzl in there,
I think people are sleeping on Rye Noozle right now
because I have been very impressed. I know they're not
running at one hundred percent capacity.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
They're snoozling there.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
They're snooze.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, they're snooze.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
They're snoozing on Noozle.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yeah, snoozles snoop.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
The snoozles I got were offt that one in We're
off the rills.
Speaker 5 (18:41):
I I think that what he has been over the
four practices and what I feel like, you know, I'll
be honest. I was the first one to say like
I wasn't one hundred percent sold on the Falcons decision
to go full like no holds bar on Ryan Noozle
being the starting center. I'm like, this is an undrafted
free agent you're not even gonna bring in like.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
Some veteran competition.
Speaker 5 (19:05):
And he has pleasantly surprised me in his role, I
think even within that as well, and having this more
like gap style run game.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
His piece of this matters too. And I wanted, I
just wanted to give Ryan Noozle his flowers.
Speaker 5 (19:19):
And Rucuroro said, and I quote that he is stump
like like a tree stump, and it has become my
favorite quote of training camp so far.
Speaker 1 (19:27):
Yeah, we got stumps, we got Snoozles. He's just endearing
himself left and right. He's like just the best. Yeah,
my favorite center in the NFL by far. All right,
well we have talked for a long time. Let's let's
keep talking. But let's do so with Dan Grasiano of ESPN.
So again, thank you guys so much for listening today.
Our next show will come Friday, So for anybody you
(19:49):
know following along marking their calendars, be on the lookout
for that. It'll be after the third padded practice. But
for now, let's go ahead and get to Dan Graziano,
NFL insider. Dan Graziano joins me works fre ESPN does
an incredible job over there. Dan, thank you for taking
the time. My pleasure will so we are talking on Saturday.
The Falcons just wrapped up their second open training camp practice.
(20:10):
A lot of fans out on the hill. Yeah, pretty
hot out there. What was kind of your initial impression
of the team.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
Well, I think watching practice on this particular day, it
seemed like the defense was making a lot of plays.
Seemed like there was some pass breakups, there were some
forced fumbles, and and that's you know, I think it's
early in training camps that that tends to happen, but
it's got to be a good sign because there's so
much new on that side of the ball for Atlanta
this year. So I think that, you know, the more
(20:36):
you see from them in terms of the ability to
grasp the system and make place, I think that's got
to be encouraging. And then talking to Raheem Morris after practice,
he said he was really happy with the way that
Michael Pennox handled the fact that the defense got the
better of the offense today, that the way when he
gathered his guys that he was you know, he was
sending the right message, he was he was communicating the
(20:59):
right things. So I think that's the other thing that
you have to be happy about is seeing his leadership
ability as he enters this year where he's the unquestioned
QB one to start and obviously, you know, this is
a player that, as we all know, six years of
college football, has all this experience. But one of the
reasons that they liked him pre draft was that he
has natural leadership abilities. So I think they've been very
(21:20):
happy with what they've seen from that, and based on
you know, what was told to me after practice today,
it seemed like he was doing a good job of that.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, it is. It was something that really stood out
to us after kind of the first practice as well,
was when he spoke to the media, just the level
of confidence that he had, the command of kind of
the room, and it was a little bit of a
not a full departure, but in year one, you know,
you heard about how kind of quiet he is, right,
And I do think leadership is different for every single person,
but it is interesting to kind of hear you say
(21:49):
that the way he handled maybe a down day for
the offense is just as important as when everything is
going right and being able to galvanize everybody.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
I think. So I was talking to DJ Williams, the
quarterbacks coaching he said he's authentic. So when you're a
leader like that's the trick. You have to be your
authentic self, and he always is that. And another word
I heard today a lot about him was consistent. So
I think that that's the kind of thing if you
have that and he's you know, he's a guy that
(22:17):
has you know, again, twenty five years old, so older
than a lot of second year players, the oldest of
three brothers. I believe like he's sort of been in
this sort of leadership role for a while. So I
think that's the that's the cool. So whatever your message is, right,
if if it's a positive or if it's a negative,
or if you've got to get on guys, at least
they know who they're talking to, who they're hearing from,
(22:38):
and they trust it and they believe in it. So yeah,
I think, you know, he's a he's a young player,
and I think we saw a lot of good stuff
at the end of last year. Some stuff he needs
to work on, uh, but you know, I think he's
got that. From what I can tell, he's got those
characteristics you look for in that position.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Yeah, and the physical tools are are apparent. We saw
those in three starts. We saw him at Washington. But
he's already dealing with a little bit of adversity here.
Darnel Mooney is going to be missing some time after
banging up his shoulder in that first open practice. DJ
Shark signed by the team. We'll start maybe with DJ Shark.
What does he bring to this Atlanta offense.
Speaker 6 (23:12):
Well, a veteran, I think in a room that if
if Mooney's not a part of it is fairly young, right,
so I think that that's key. And you know, earlier
in his career he was he was known for his speed.
Is that still there? I mean, he's so. I guess
we'll see. They liked what they saw in the workout,
and I guess they felt an urgency to sign someone
after Mooney went down. But it sounds like there's a
(23:34):
couple of young guys they wanted to get a look
at on the roster in terms of, you know, if
they have to fill in. I don't. They're not saying,
but I don't. I didn't. I don't get the sense
that they're worried about it being something long term that
bleeds into the season. Obviously you can never know, but
if it were that then and even if it's not,
then at least you now have an opportunity to see
some of these younger guys in maybe an expanded role
(23:56):
throughout camp and throughout the preseason. So if DJ Shark
can be a helper, that's great. But I think, you know,
having just met him, right, the team is probably not
sure what and they don't want to put that on him.
So maybe some guys who have been here throughout the
offseason might be you know, might might get a little
bit of a longer look.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Yeah, because I mean there were some games last year
where you could argue that Darnel Mooney was the number
one receiver for Atlanta. I mean, like the the immediate
connection he had with Kirk Cousins was a parent and
Tampa Bay game to touch that, Like, he definitely was
a huge asset for this offense. And I think they
have high hopes for him in year two as well.
But what about Drake London? I think it was and
correct me if I'm wrong. Jeremy Fowler did the the
(24:33):
top ten position rankings, I believe for y'all, and Drake's
not on that. I understand why when you look at
kind of the national perception, but here in Atlanta, like
he has done everything. Yeah, it's been asked of him,
what do you think of Drake?
Speaker 6 (24:44):
Well, I think he's awesome. You know, you see him
out there and you see why. You know, he looks
like a number one wide receiver. He's built like a
and we've seen the things he can do going back
to college in terms of contested catches in the end
zone everything. So there hasn't been as you well know,
you know, a lot of consistency or stability at the
quarterback position here since he's been here, so you kind
(25:06):
of give him a break on that. But I think
he's a guy that heading into year four now, right,
so they pick up the option and and maybe he's
in line for an extension at some point. But I think,
you know, he has to have that number one wide
receiver season in terms of productivity, in terms of you know,
consistent week to week and then piling up yards and touchdowns.
(25:29):
And I don't see any reason why he should. I mean,
if if if Michael Pennix can play quarterback in the NFL,
then I think Drake London should be something like a
star receiver.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Let's put to the defensive side of the ball. And obviously,
the Falcons, like all off season talk is the pass rush.
Falcons say, hey, we hear you. We're going for a reason,
two first round picks on pass rushers. We can table
the first round pick part of it that in that
trade maybe, But now that we're here, now that they're
on the field, what do you expect to see from
James Pearson Jail Walker.
Speaker 6 (25:57):
I always feel like the pass rush sure is a
spot where rookies can contribute right away because there are
third down situations where you just say, go get the
quarterback and they don't how to do that.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
See quarterback hit quarterback.
Speaker 6 (26:08):
Yeah, And I asked Jeff Olbrick about that and he said,
you know, both those guys can set the edge too,
so it will work with them on the run game
knowing that the pass rush is there. And I think
they see them as kind of different kind of players
in terms of what their role can ultimately be, but
helpers in the pass rush that needs help. And then
the Leonard Floyd signing is very interesting because this is
a guy going into now his tenth season in the league.
(26:30):
He's he's been placed very many places, He's one big
and it sounds like he is embracing the veteran leader
role with those two rookies, which is fantastic. I mean,
it's not necessarily why you signed Leonard Floyd. You want
him to help you sack quarterbacks, but the fact that
he sees himself that way at this point in his
career is only going to be a benefit to those
(26:51):
young guys. So, yeah, the pass rush has to be better.
They obviously know that based on the offseason moves that
they made, and we'll see a lot of resource is
obviously into that position. And it's it's a big one
because if you're talking about late season games, if you're
talking about ideally playoff games, Yep, you know that's what
you need. You need closers, you need guys that can finish,
you can get the opposing quarterback on the ground in
(27:12):
the fourth quarter, and and obviously this is a team
that has, you know, struggled to do that.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
And when you're looking at kind of the overall makeup
of this team, you have an offense that if if
Michael Pennix can can step in and play the way
they expect them to, all the pieces are there for
this to be a very good offense. You could be
looking at some high scoring games, games you are leading
in the fourth quarter. You want closers on the other
side of the.
Speaker 6 (27:34):
Ball ideally, right, I mean all those top ten picks
on the offense, so you feel like it's and you know,
if you can if you can get the run game
going with b John Robinson and Tyler ale Year, then yeah,
you can build some leads and and and work on that.
I think that's that's what they would like to be.
You know, the shootout with Washington end of last year
was fun, but you'd certainly rather be the only one
(27:54):
shooting right, So and that was you know, so I
think that's it. The defense. This is going to be interesting.
I I get this sense it's going to change more
than maybe some people might think. So we'll see. Scheme wise.
I think it'll be interesting to see what they come
up with.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
What was kind of your initial reaction to Jeff Ulbrick
coming back here in Atlanta. We saw, obviously in an
interim capacity, these two guys working hand in hand, and
they're the pros of that immediate kind of reliability and
communication that they've developed. But you know, some people could say,
all right, doing it again. You know, where did you
land on that?
Speaker 6 (28:29):
I think they know each other what we're talking about
him and Raheem Morris. They know each other well, they know,
they know how to how the each knows how the
other works, what the expectations are, and relationships are very
important in this business and life in general. But I think,
you know, after what Jeff went through last year, I think,
you know, finding a comfortable landing spot is probably good.
(28:50):
But also I mean, look, he's he's well regarded, he
is he's somebody that knows the place, he's been here,
he knows Raheem, and he knows again he knows what
the expectations are. So it made a lot of sense
to me what happened with the Jets last year. I
don't think should be held against Jeff Ulbrick. I think
he was put in an impossible situation and you know,
(29:11):
sort of did the best he could. But he's obviously
a talented and an intelligent defensive coordinator who should be
who should his addition should be a benefit.
Speaker 1 (29:20):
Yeah, I do think the interim head coach roll is
one of the toughest spots to be in, probably in
all of space.
Speaker 6 (29:26):
I haven't seen too many too many guys ye hold
the job.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
Not many two two more for you one I want
to talk about Jean. We kind of have talked about
Michael Pennis talks about Drake, talked about Darnell Bjean Robinson.
I mean, it feels like he's already in that kind
of rarefied era of the running backs in the league.
Like how much more do you think we have left
to see from him?
Speaker 6 (29:47):
When you get picked where he got picked, you have
to be special because that is not something teams like
to generally do, is pick running backs that high. So
you see, you know a Saquon Barkley has picked two
and Jamier Gibbs I think was same year as Bijon
right twelve, So he should be a guy who can
play on all three downs, give the ball to as
much as you want, and expect magic and when we've
(30:08):
seen it in flashes for sure. But I think what's
cool is they have Algier too that they that they
really like, and the ability to put him in there
to either you know, be a complimentary piece or to
spell Bijon if he needs a rest. I think that's
that's great. So Bijon seems like the kind of guy
when he's going well, you would never take him off
the field, Like he's that level of weapon, but the
(30:31):
fact that they have depth there I think is only
going to help him as well. So yeah, this is
exciting this roster. I mean it is. You look at
these players, you look at these names, you watch them
walking and running around out there, and it could really
be something here. And obviously, I know it felt like
that last year and didn't work out, but you know,
you're pretty close and you beat the division champion twice,
(30:53):
so it feels like, you know, if things really do
come together, if Pennix is what they hope he is,
and if the defense improves, especially up front, yeah, it
could be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (31:02):
So let's let's wrap up right there. Tampa Bay, obviously
we know what they are. They are a consistent team.
They're a good team. Has Atlanta, in your opinion, kind
of done enough to really really challenge for this division?
Speaker 6 (31:12):
I say yes, but I would have said yes last
year as well, and they did challenge for the I
mean right, So, uh, Tampa Bay's wont at four years
in a row, and the year before that they won
the Super Bowl, So they're on quite a run that
doesn't get talked about very much because they other than
that one year, they don't make a lot of nice
when they get to the playoffs. So to me, if
you're looking at these two teams, their roster looks pretty
(31:33):
strong too. They're gonna be without their starting left tackle
for the start of the season. It sounds like Tristan
Wurfs and it'd be interesting to see how they handle that.
And they don't want to get too far behind U, certainly,
But I don't see any reason why this team doesn't
have enough to compete with and beat them out for
the division. You're talking about making picks at the end
of July beginning of August. That's tricky, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Tell me.
Speaker 6 (31:55):
I always say, tell me who's gonna get hurt, and
I'll tell you who's gonna win. But I think you would.
I would look at it from this standpoint as a
close race. Probably favor Tampa just because of that track record.
They know how to do it, and we haven't seen
Atlanta breakthrough yet. But yeah, I don't see any good
reason why. Again, they beat them twice head to head
(32:16):
there obviously can compete with them, so I think there's
there's no reason not to expect it to be a
good race at the very.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
Least hopefully it's a fun season, and yeah, hopefully it
comes down. No, hopefully it doesn't come down to the wire.
Jargons hopefully.
Speaker 6 (32:27):
We just want to be Buffalo. Last year they clinched
their division with five weeks left. That's who you want
to be. Yeah, so yeah, I think big.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
I'm just thinking about the content. But yeah, all right, Dan.
Speaker 6 (32:39):
Five weeks of playoff previews. Wouldn't you love that?
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Yeah? That would be great. Dan, Thank you so much
for taking the time pleasure to join us. This as
a blast. Everybody, please go check out all this great
work at ESPN.
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