November 17, 2025 • 32 mins
The Falcons lost their 5th game in a row on Sunday afternoon, and Terrin Waack joins Will McFadden to break down everything that happened. They give you their 4 biggest observations from the Falcons' second overtime loss in a row as well as project what the road ahead looks like for Atlanta.
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):
Marrow two.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Slips.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of Final Whistle. I,
for some reason and your host tonight today this morning,
I'm tarn Walk joined by Will McFadden.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hello, what's up? Everybody? Different chair, same Will.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Everybody says, what's up? Back?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
I heard them now, all the ghosts in their car
screaming at us.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We are here at Mercedes Benz Stadium after the Falcons
lost their Week eleven game to the Carolina Panthers thirty
to twenty seven. The Falcons now dropped to three and
seven overall. And we're gonna break it down for you
with this episode. This EPPI, as I like to say
for those who don't know, it is four quarters of
information six minutes apiece.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
And yeah, should we just get right to it.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Absolutely, Let's let's start the first quarter.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I wanted to start with the fourth. Okay, first quarter?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It is this was a tale of two halves for
the Falcons, and this is a team that has been
defined by inconsistencies this season. What did you take away
from how the team performed in the first half versus
the second half?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, I mean I really think, well, when you look
at kind of the way the game even started right
and Carolina scores the first points, and I think everybody
was coming off of a thirty to nothing loss in
Carolina like then, to see the Panthers do what they did,
you could understand everybody being like, Okay, what's going on here?
We expected the Falcons to come out firing. They didn't
do that, but it quickly turned around. They rolled to
(01:39):
a twenty one to ten lead in the first half.
I mean, three rushing touchdowns. They were kind of getting
everything that they wanted. And then defensively after that opening drive,
I thought they performed really well. So it was a
strong start for Atlanta, which only kind of makes the
second half all that much more stark. In contrast, what
(02:00):
did you see what was working for Atlanta in your
opinion in the first half as well?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It was the offense that they want. They were able
to run the ball.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I think the first quarter was kind of like ideal
Atlanta Falcons. Maybe not perfect, but nothing is really perfect,
especially when they're trying to still find consistency.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But you could see they were able to, I.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Hate to use his word, consistently move the ball because
we're talking about their inconsistencies at that point and you
have the Jean Robinson scoring two touchdowns. You want that
if you are the Falcons, you have Michael Pennix jun
You're kind of sharing the love a bit with the.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Ball, and so they're kind of.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Firing, maybe not at full capacity at all cylinders, but
they're at least hitting all the different notes.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, it did feel like they came out with a
clear vision of what they wanted to do, balancing the
run and the pass, getting you know, solid plays off
of both. But when you look at this now five
game losing streak for Atlanta, I think it's been a
lot of different things, which has been partially the reason
it is so frustrating. If it's not you know, the
red zone like it was for the first couple of losses,
(03:07):
then it becomes third down. Well, the Falcons were three
for three in the red zone on Sunday, and by
and large, third downs for much of the game kind
of weren't the issue. And so when you start looking
at the totality of this five game slide, really the
most consistent part about it is the inconsistency that they're
playing with.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
That's probably one of my favorite phrases. You only think
consistent is the inconsistency.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, that is why it's you know, like Tory and
I were talking kind of this week before the game,
and I posed to it. I was like, it feels
like the Falcons are a team capable of like winning
seventy five percent of the game and still losing because
the twenty five percent that they don't win and that
the other team plays well just feel like they're the
(03:54):
most pivotal parts of the game, or that the swing
is so great in magnitude that it kind of washes
out all the seventy five percent that you do well.
And it's really the latter that I think is today's
the story of today's game, because if you look at
just the first half numbers, the Falcons had seventeen first
downs to Carolina seven. They were two of three on
third down Panthers were two of six. They had two
(04:15):
hundred and fifty seven yards Panthers had one hundred and
forty one. They were perfect in the red zone. And
then if you look at their stars Atlanta Stars, Michael
Pennix Junior maybe his most efficient start so far. He
was eleven of twelve one hundred and sixty three yards.
Drake five catches one hundred and eight yards bijon sixteen
carries for ninety three yards, two touchdowns that you mentioned,
So everything that you really wanted was rolling in the
(04:38):
first half. Defensively, you're getting sacks like you really felt
the full phase kind of play from Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah, but we did say this is the tail of
two halves. What happened in the second half. Where did
those great numbers.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Go, Well, they totally disappeared. It's you know, we'll get
into why, but I think it's very telling when you, okay,
what I just read out about the first half, let's
flip it. Falcons outscored seventeen to six in the second half.
They had six first downs to Carolina's fourteen, two of
seven on third down. Panthers were four of ten on
third down. This is crazy. Panthers had two hundred and
(05:15):
eighty five yards, Falcons had just eighty seven in the
second half. They didn't even make it to the red zone.
And then I mentioned all their superstars what they were
doing in the first half. Not the case in the
second half. Obviously. Michael Pennock Junior left the game with
an injury. We'll get to that, but he was two
of four for twelve yards. Kirk Cousins came in not
much better six to twelve forty eight. Then this is
(05:36):
is kind of the biggest thing. Drake two catches for
eleven yards and Bejean Robinson after ninety three yards two
touchdowns in the first half, only six carries for seven
yards in the second half. It's stunning to me to
kind of see offensively how much of a dip they
had from first to second half.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
It was day and night, and I feel like Night
has been more reflective of the past few losses and
kind of being like, where's Bejon Robinson? Why isn't the
run game doing what you wanted to? Drake London has
had big moments throughout each game, so I can't really
say his lack of production the second half is reflective
(06:14):
of the past few games.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
He was solid and he's been like a superstar out there.
But it's just the receiver position is so tough because
you are incumbent upon another position, right.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And yeah, it's just the numbers speak for themselves. It's
a complete flip of the coin between the two halves.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah, and obviously, like injuries are starting to take their toll.
The offensive line has been banged up. They haven't really
been fully healthy in a little while. But even still
it this is more of a loss that I think.
You look at yourself and you point at yourself, and
Raheem Morris has consistently said, you know, we got to
find a way to make those plays. They haven't done that.
They haven't found ways to make those plays yet. And
(06:54):
kind of against a team maybe like New England and Indianapolis,
you can understand because those are good teams. Nanthor's this
year are proving to be more resilient than we expected.
But I still feel like the Falcons, if you play
this game one hundred times, probably come out a majority
of the time with the win. Unfortunately, it's just twice
this season that has not been the case, and it
(07:15):
really puts them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Hey, that was the whistle in a perilous spot.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
E hold me accountable.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I know, I know, I've heard the whistle. It's trigger
The whistle waits for no one, A little triggering. As
a former lifeguard.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Well, you were the one in control of the whistle.
The whistle one controlling you as a lifeguard.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I hope true.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Anyways, second quarter, you mentioned injuries to the offense that
kind of are still lingering and affecting their performance. But
there were two big injuries on Sunday night. I want
to walk us through what happened to Michael Pennix Junior
and Drake London specifically.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I don't Teran. I'm going to toss it back to
you because this is this is your bag. You're our
beat reporter. You break it down for us what went
down with Michael Pennock Junior and Drake Lennon.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I don't like see I'm supposed to be the host.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
You are multiple hats in that chair.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Michael Pennocks Junior hurt his knee in the.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Third quarter, yes, sir, and no, I'm gonna let that
slide in. London hurt his knee I am presuming in
the end of the fourth because then he wasn't in
overtime at all. He was ruled out officially in overtime though,
So those are just two knee injuries kind of too really,
(08:26):
two key players. Raheem Morris didn't have an update post game,
so make sure you're staying up to date with both
Will and my Twitter accounts for the Monday press conference
when there hopefully will be an update if not definitely
come Wednesday when the first injury report comes out.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
But what was the impact.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I think you could feel it more with Michael Pennock
Junior because it was more time without him when he
exited and Kirk Cousins came in.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean I feel like, really the biggest impacts
may have been just on the offensive game plan in general.
You know this, even with the Miami game, you know,
it's just been a little bit of a night and
day contrast with Michael Pennix Junior. Obviously, you had the
full offseason training camp to install a version of this
offense with him as the focal point, and I think
(09:15):
when he is buying center, there is a downfield element
to this offense that when Kirk came in, I felt
like it was more shorter passes, a little bit more
of a controlled We're going to be meticulous and march
the ball down the field, which Jafer yes at times
that that worked, you know, like in a weird way
late in the fourth quarter when the Falcons had to
respond after giving up that late touchdown, there was a
(09:37):
moment where I was like, all right, hey, I'm glad
Kirk Cousins is the guy here in this game.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
He's good under two minutes.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
He really is, like he has been able to lead
them down there, and he did it again. Now we
mentioned kind of that play on third and four, he
throws the deep pass to Drake London, and presumably that
is the play that Drake gets injured on. They don't
connect on that. You can wonder about the decision to
take a deep shot on a third and four if
(10:04):
you can keep it up, but they were already in
field goal range. They take it to overtime. It more
was about I think the ripple effect on the rest
of the offense. And then maybe when we look at
Bejon's second half numbers and kind of the rushing total,
I do wonder does that play a factor when you
don't have Michael Pennox in the game. Did they kind
of crowd the box a little bit more? Do they
walk a safety down and just kind of really focus
(10:26):
on the run game. The numbers indicate that there was
something maybe there to that, But yeah, it was just
a really kind of dispiriting thing to see Michael PENNOCKX
Junior walk to the sideline in a game that suddenly
had gotten a little bit tighter. You know, you're up
twenty one to ten. Then the Panthers come and they
make it twenty one sixteen. Then you fumble and turn
the ball back. It was like, oh no, okay, and
(10:48):
then your quarterback goes out. So all in a span
of a very quick three third quarter action, things started
to kind of tilt downhill.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Yeah, and it's not even like the Panthers were out here,
come in and wearing touchdowns to catch up.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
It was inch by inch, it really was.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
The defense did what they could because it was field
goal after field goal. But I am getting off the
point and we're focusing on the injuries and what it meant.
But I do agree with you in the sense that
without Michael Penix Junior, the offense changed. And I did
think it was really interesting that Raheem Morris alluded to
as much, where he said, we'll have to figure out
what Kirk is good at or not good at, but
(11:25):
like what works with him behind center, specifically if Michael
cannot play in week twelve, And that kind of took
me as surprise because you have this backup who has
a massive contract and has so much experience that you
would think if Michael Penick Junior were to get injured
like he did today, that plugging Kirk Cousins in a
veteran would have kind of been more seamless than it
(11:49):
has been.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It is, you know, the reason that you believe Kirk
is still here, right, it is because of that value
that he offers as a backup quarterback coming right off
the bench, you know. And now this is it's interesting
to me that the Miami game and this game, it's
not like the offense has been lighting it up with
Kirk under center. And that's where I keep kind of
coming back to this scheme. And it's really tough when
(12:13):
you're putting in a game plan for one person and
it goes out the window. It's not necessarily like a
true understudy and a play where it's the same lines,
all the other parts of the exact same and you
just kind of know everything ripples out from the quarterback
position and even just the cadence somebody's like the way
they command the huddle. It can be very different, and
it really is just kind of a shame to see.
(12:35):
I feel like we didn't get a chance to see
maybe a vintage or classic Michael Pennock Junior second half
because the way he played in the first half, I
was like, Okay, if you can keep this going in
the second half, there is a chance. And we kind
of saw that awesome duel in Week eighteen between me
and Bryce Young. Maybe it was setting up for that
and we will just never know.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Yeah, I'm really curious how this knee injury is going
to impact not just week twelve.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
But possibly. Yeah, it I'm farther down the line.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Because it is it is worth noting. You know, Brahim
Morris afterwards didn't say you know which knee exactly it was,
but Michael Penick junior two ACL injuries on his right
knee in college, has the brace on his right knee.
You know, he kind of seemed like he was grabbing
at both knees when he went down, but he kind
of tossed his helmet up in the air in a
little bit of a frustration. So, you know, we'll see
(13:23):
where it goes on that. I'm curious though, It's like,
what would be if you had one guy was going
to miss the game for New Orleans? Is the offense
better off with with Kirk and Drake out there or
Michael and know Drake, Like.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
That's that's tough.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I know. It's it's like you.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Did see a little bit more of the connection between
Darnell Mooney and Michael PENNOCKX Junior tonight kind of grow.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
But I feel like I feel like Darnell is is
is Kirk's Kirk's guy to its heat. There's there's that
whistle yeah, I mean we saw Kirk like, really, you
posted such a.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Big question and then the whistle hits come on.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Now, But I do We'll keep it lingering for the
next time, but that'll be our halftime. I'm gonna handle
halftime presented by Microsoft co Pilot, and.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
We've got you can handle it.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Don't be afraid of AI. It's it's only coming for
all of our jobs. But Microsoft co Pilot has, you know,
helped us all season long compile these these podcast outlines.
And you know, we're gonna not talk a ton about
the defense today because you know, only four quarters of action.
We got a lot of topics we got to hit.
So I thought this would be a good time to
briefly mention, you know, what the Panthers were able to
(14:28):
do on offense. Bryce Young, I was shocked when I
looked to the final box score four hundred and forty
eight passing yards for the Panthers quarterback. I mean, this
is somebody that I think a lot of people are
still trying to figure out exactly who he is as
a pro. On Sunday, with everybody coming in thinking Rico
Dwell and the Panthers pass or running game was gonna
be kind of the main offensive weapon for them, that
(14:50):
was not the case. And it's actually what is that sixth?
The sixth highest passing yard total against the Falcons in
history in a single game. So that list for anybody wondering,
I'll bet nobody out there, I'm gonna pause everybody trivia
question who has the most single game passing yards against
the Atlanta Falcons? All right, time is up. It is
(15:11):
Jake Plumber for the Denver Broncos in two thousand and four,
four hundred and ninety nine.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Passing yards, so close to five hundred.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yep. Next on that list Joe Burrow. Third on that list,
Joe Montana nineteen ninety. Then you got Tommy Maddox and
Dak Prescott before Bryce Young. So that is quite the list.
And Bryce Young is the newest member of it, and
I mean he three touchdown passes zero interceptions. He also
had three touchdowns in that Week eighteen game. Bryce is
kind of sneakily becoming a boogeyman for the Falcons. He's
(15:41):
kind of creeping up that list a little bit. So
he will definitely have to be somebody the Falcons contend
with and keep circled on the calendar moving forward.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
You mean on the I eighty five rivalry.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
There you go on the I eighty five rivalry. So
that will do it. Four hour halftime brought to you
by Microsoft Copilot. Let's head on in to the third quarter.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
I didn't have a halftime snack. Okay, third quarter.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
The Falcons inability to make plays when they count, you
know that kind of speaks for itself.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
But I'm gonna let you dive into it.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, I mean, this is again it's something that Raheem
Morris has said it feels like a lot after these
games is We've got to find somebody to make a play.
We've got to find a way to make these plays.
And there were multiple times on both sides of the
ball in that second half where you could see, all right,
a sliding doors moment. If this play is made one way,
(16:33):
then you feel pretty comfortable about the outcome going in
your favor, and unfortunately there were a lot of plays
I wrote some of them down here that they just
didn't go Atlanta's way. You had in the fourth quarter,
right that final desperation drive when you had the lead
and you're kind of holding on to it after kicking
that field goal to give yourself a little bit of insurance.
They pick up ten yard catch on fourth down, and
(16:56):
then the immediate next play is that Rico Dowdle twenty
eight yard to catch and run down the left sideline
that looked like it was initially going to be a touchdown, yeah,
until they reviewed it and rule him ultimately out it
I think like the eleven uh and then two plays later,
Kate Ellis kind of slips stumbles in coverage and there's
a touchdown right over him. Like these are these are
players like Cayden is a is a guy I would
(17:18):
trust implicitly and a lot of different things, and it
just kind of was a breakdown there in the last
little bit, kind of coming off the heels against Indianapolis,
where again you have a lead late and there's a
big play that allows the other team to come back
and ultimately get you from behind, and then offensively talk
about that that third down, third and four kind of
the deep shot to Drake.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Kirk cousins to Drake London.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Yes, and just a missed opportunity to ask Kirk about
that play afterwards, and you know he said that he's
he's so maniacal is the word that he used in
kind of his review that choice. Yeah, that's why it's
stuck in my brains because I was like, okay, crazy, Okay,
he's he's a little bit uh kukoled when he's when
he's digging in and in a good way. Right. He
(18:00):
wants to stress on the He was like, it could
have been a good enough ball, but I think this
was him taking a little bit of ownership. It wasn't
a perfect ball, it wasn't a great ball, So how
could I throw that ball better? Is kind of the
answer that he gave. Ultimately, it doesn't matter because they
didn't connect and sures A Gonzalez comes on and kicks
the field goal. That was positive, right, your kicker, you
feel pretty good about right now to send it to overtime,
(18:22):
But then you had an ineligible receiver downfield on the
second play, in overtime, and that negated a nice Bajon
catch and kind of run that felt like you were
gaining some momentum. Follow that play up with Kyle Pitts
dropping a slant route that hit him kind of right
in the hands on your follow up second down play.
So really, just the moments are there, the moments are
(18:42):
there to be made, and for whatever reason, these guys
have not been able to make those plays.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
And what's really tough is, at least to us, we're
not getting a hardcore explanation as to why these moments
are being made. It's we always get the we'll find
a way. It comes down to execution. We need to
be cleaner on the little things. And I don't know,
maybe maybe it's just because I see what the fans
(19:08):
say all the time on Twitter, y'all scare me.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
You're they're not coming right up to you in the
streets and just telling you what they think. I'm me
in that all the time. People are like, will really
sit down, let me tell you everything? Not Oh.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
I was like, I hope that never happens to me.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
If you find Teraren though, no, no, no, no, no no, no.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Nor will never approached Aran in the wild, but they
want answers. I want answers like what is going wrong?
You want to find a way? What are you finding
a way from?
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Too?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Like just a little more, you know what I mean?
And because what does that exactly mean? I mean, find
a way to win? But how?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I want to know the how behind it all?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And I think that that is to your point a
little bit like of the confusing nature of it, especially
when you can look at a bunch of the different
outcomes coming in in different ways, you know, the central
problem for some of these games being totally different, and
you actually can look at clear improvement in some of
those metrics. Right. The red zone has not been an
(20:11):
issue the last couple of weeks, right, And it's usually
it's rare to see a team execute as well as
the Falcons have in the red zone kind of this week.
Last week and even in New England they were decent
in the red zone I think in that game as well,
and to emerge with zero to three in that where
you're really being efficient down there third downs. Again, they
(20:31):
weren't perfect today, they haven't been good recently, but before
that to start the season they were one of the best,
like ball possession teams in the league. And then when
it comes to kind of these critical crunch time moments,
just the individual plays, that is where I think it's
easier to maybe look and spotlight, but those happen to
every team every single week. So it really just does
(20:53):
feel puzzling to have a defense at times feel as
suffocating and the sad production, Like this team has the
second most sacks, Yeah, in Falcons history through ten games.
I'm trying to, off the top of my head think
of what the I think it's ninety seven is maybe
the number one season there. So you're getting sack production recently,
(21:15):
you've gotten the red zone production. Today. It was okay
on third down, like usually that ladders up to winning football,
and it just hasn't for the Falcons in five straight games.
And that's where it's just head scratching to be like, Okay,
you can point to some of the metrics that usually
indicate wins and they're not performing horribly in them. That's
why I keep coming back to the seventy five to
(21:35):
twenty five. It just feels like that, you know, twenty
five and sometimes it's probably like forty percent maybe sometimes
it's but the negatives are so so bad it feels
like sometimes or it outweighs the good to such a
degree that, Yeah, I get the frustration from the fans
because it is hard to pinpoint on when you're able
to wrap your head around something. I think you're able
(21:56):
to tolerate it a little bit more. But the unknownness
of all of this.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
A clear cut answer might be like, all right, I
got it right.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
I may not like that, but at least I know,
at least I have a diagnosis.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
And then I think the thing that stands out most
to me, maybely be because our entire offseason was triggered
by the word pass rush, is the fact that they
are doing really well in that regard.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And we can't even enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Tori had this tweet that the Falcons are the first
team in the Super Bowl era to have eighteen plus
defensive sacks in a three game span but lose all
three games.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Man, that right there, that that kind of body.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
But you can't celebrate the sacks.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, yeah, And it's like, how many times has this
team franchise had an offense that you feel so good
about and then the defense You're like, if we could
just get a little bit more tom Right. Yeah, now
you've got Now you've got a game where you've got
one hundred yard rusher, one hundred yard receiver, you've got
five sacks like that. Again, the metrics that you normally
point to aren't horrible or Atlanta and and they're just
(23:01):
not finding these ways to win. To Raheem's point, and again,
I think that is what is has a lot of
Falcons fans kind of pulling their hair out right now.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I'm pulling my hair out.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
No, you're not. Your hair looks great.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I pulled my hair out, though. My hair's anybody who
saw the YouTube video of a Friday flight out, well,
and that's what I told you, is that I cut it.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Fourth quarter.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Man, we're ending on this note. I mean we got to,
we have to. But what are the Falcons playoff chances now?
And where does this team go from here?
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Wolf playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs? Playoffs? Yeah, we got
to talk about New Orleans, you know like that. That's
the thing is is it this point? Now? Ee wee?
Speaker 3 (23:48):
You and I need to talk about the playoffs. The
players cannot talk about the playoffs. They need a focus
game at one game at a time.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yeah, that was my Jim More impression.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
We can talk about the playoffs. It's they're not great chances.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
They're not according to the New York Times simulator, less
than a one percent chance.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Not good.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Can I still say so you're saying there's a chance.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Or it you can't. Don't think they're living I mean technically, Yeah,
But losing this game, especially to.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
The Panthers, you're own three in the division.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
You're owned three in the division, and those come to
the two teams ahead of you, right, it helps. The
Tampa also lost today, but again at this point in time, it's.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Like it barely helps. It just makes the Panthers closer
to the Buccaneers.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, and right now, kind of going into New Orleans,
you got a road game, you may be down, Like
there's injuries that are now really kind of becoming a
factor for those team. It's in New Orleans, always a
really tough place to play rivalry games. So yeah, it's
not looking good at all. And again at this point
in time, like I feel like the playoffs, we can
(24:54):
kind of table that part of the discussion. And when
you look full circle, big picture, where this team was
in training camp kind of coming into the year, how
they finished last year and Michael Pennick junior stepping in
and kind of the Okay, if the offense really can
sustain this level and we get the defense turned around,
and then you kind of see the start that the
defense had and thinking back to that Buffalo game, Washington game, like,
(25:18):
there have been moments this team looks as good as
a playoff team out there and capable of doing it.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
I think back to Week three and how afterward the
immediate word was it's an anomaly. The thirty to zero
loss was an anomaly. Now that we're done with Week eleven,
I think the Bills game might have been the anomaly.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
It does I think a really strong case. I think
it's a great point. I think a really strong case
could be made the yeah, you know that was the
team clearly was up for that game. I thought Mercedes
Been Stadium was as loud and raucous as I've heard
it in a long long time.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So and that's with a bunch of Bills fans in attendance,
I remember.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
I think they certainly added to it. It kind of
felt like a college game, like a rivalry game, like
a Georgia Florida game where you got both of the
fan bases there and there's just cheering all of the time.
So yeah, like that that was right now the high
of the season. That that was the peak of your season.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
But you can't peak that early, No, And you can't
only peak once.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
No, you cannot. And so that's where like I kind
of want to get into with you, just like what
next do we We got to keep covering this team, Taren, Like,
we got jobs to do. We're professionals, We're going to
do it to the best of our ability. But where
does your focus shift? What what should we be focused
on now? Kind of given the way that this season
(26:36):
has come out.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Maybe I take a paternity leave. You had yours, Maybe
it's my turn.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
I don't know if it quite works that way. Go
oh my gosh, am I a puppy?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Does that count?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
You know? We can we can talk about it off, Mike, But.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Because it is tough, it's tough like that, it's a
five game losing streak. I don't even know the numbers
right now. I will tell all of you too. I
am a little doolulu. I ran a marathon yesterday and
the exhaustion is kicking in.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
But we're midway through the fourth quarter, Tarance, I know,
I know, okay, I.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Will step up in rally. But it's talking in the
locker room.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I think you're starting to kind of get different vibes
from different people you had today, at least as in Sunday.
But John Robinson was talking about keeping everyone off social media.
He called it the devil. You have Chris lynch trom
saying he's not on social media and this locker room
is as close as ever that it's not.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Even a worry.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
You have Raheem Morris talking about like not doubting this
team being able to come together and stay together, and
so that's all good and great, but it's not enough apparently,
like sure, me and my besties could be really close,
but I'm not gonna go win a football game with them.
Like I don't need you to all be buddy buddy.
(28:00):
I need you to win. They the fans need you
to win. Arthur Blank needs you to win. Raheem Moores
needs you to win. And that starts with having a
good camaraderie. I'm sure. But people are starting to ask,
is there gonna be a player's only meeting? Are y'all
gonna start having conversations to turn things around.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I don't know what that means.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
I don't know what they're doing behind closed doors as
much as people think I do, which I'm flattered. It's
tough because you can tell everyone genuinely cares about each
other and they're fighting to not let frustrations like steep
in or what not sleep No, sep seep.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
There's not an extra letter in there.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Steep so hard we could go with creep. I would
also accept that.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
That word was said, don't let the negativity creep in.
And I that was something that stood out to me
a lot in this post game locker room because before,
in the past four losses, it was never mentioned. And
so now I understand probably because playoff chances are negative
or not negative, less than one percent.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And so maybe you start thinking that way. But it's
something feels different.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Yeah, well, I mean when we were going into this game,
I had numerous conversations about like, all right, if Falcons
are going to turn it around, it starts Sunday, and
really it extends to these next three games, the three
game stretch of Carolina, New Orleans, New York Jets. It
felt like those are your three most winnable games remaining
on the schedule, but it's got to start on Sunday
and it didn't and it didn't, So now now what
(29:41):
now it's like, okay again is less?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Well what do we do?
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yeah? I wish I knew. If I knew, I wouldn't
have a microphone in front of my face.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
You would, but you'd be on the sideline.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Very true, I'd be. I'd be raising it and lowering
and raising it, lowering it as I called the players
of the play call in front of my sheet. I
think for me, I'm going to be looking at especially
at a lot of the young guys. How do they
handle this? How do they keep progressing? How do they mature?
And really just the ability to control the locker room
from the coaching staff, right, can they keep these guys
locked in? Because the moment that that frustration sets in,
(30:13):
that is really when I think everybody it kind of
really spirals downwards.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
No spiraling, no spiraling spiral.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
This podcast is the only spiraling that is allowed?
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Or is it just me? Man? But yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:29):
The next trip is to New Orleans, so another NFC
South match up. The Falcons hope to get a win
on that divisional record, because otherwise they're three and seven
and oh and three. That's just the reality of the situation.
And there's a lot of football left. There's seven games,
And I never thought I would use that cliche.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
There's there's a lot of football left. But today was
a big one. Today was a very important one, and
you know it, you let it kind of slip. And
what really stings I think the most about these last
couple is that you had the lead late in the
fourth quarter, you were kind of leaning on what has
become the strength and identity of this team, which is
(31:11):
the defense. Are we in a weirdly well, we're with
Today's game went overtime. I think we can stretch a
little bit and overtime, so to bear with us. But yeah,
it just this was a really tough one.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
You fought too of and nail with the Patriots and
the Colts.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yep. Yeah, and now this and now this, So.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
That's our overtime drive.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna wrap it up there, I
guess on a little bit of a bummer note.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
But hey, there's seven games left to win.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Sure, there definitely are seven games left to win, and
if the Falcons win them, all, then we will revisit
this playoff conversation, probably midway through that journey. I mean, look,
if they're being the Seahawks and the Rams, that will, hey.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
One game my time. Let's not look ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
We will be looking back and wondering how they lost
twice to the Panthers. But they have and that is
where we stand.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Yeah, and I guess it's Mike you.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Final Whistle.
Make sure you're looking at Atlanta Falcons dot com for
all the latest and greatest content as Week.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Twelve hits this week. We'll see you next week in
New Orleans.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Later.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Bye,
Marrow two.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Slips.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of Final Whistle. I,
for some reason and your host tonight today this morning,
I'm tarn Walk joined by Will McFadden.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Hello, what's up? Everybody? Different chair, same Will.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Everybody says, what's up? Back?
Speaker 1 (00:30):
I heard them now, all the ghosts in their car
screaming at us.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
We are here at Mercedes Benz Stadium after the Falcons
lost their Week eleven game to the Carolina Panthers thirty
to twenty seven. The Falcons now dropped to three and
seven overall. And we're gonna break it down for you
with this episode. This EPPI, as I like to say
for those who don't know, it is four quarters of
information six minutes apiece.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
And yeah, should we just get right to it.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Absolutely, Let's let's start the first quarter.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
I wanted to start with the fourth. Okay, first quarter?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
It is this was a tale of two halves for
the Falcons, and this is a team that has been
defined by inconsistencies this season. What did you take away
from how the team performed in the first half versus
the second half?
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Yeah, I mean I really think, well, when you look
at kind of the way the game even started right
and Carolina scores the first points, and I think everybody
was coming off of a thirty to nothing loss in
Carolina like then, to see the Panthers do what they did,
you could understand everybody being like, Okay, what's going on here?
We expected the Falcons to come out firing. They didn't
do that, but it quickly turned around. They rolled to
(01:39):
a twenty one to ten lead in the first half.
I mean, three rushing touchdowns. They were kind of getting
everything that they wanted. And then defensively after that opening drive,
I thought they performed really well. So it was a
strong start for Atlanta, which only kind of makes the
second half all that much more stark. In contrast, what
(02:00):
did you see what was working for Atlanta in your
opinion in the first half as well?
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It was the offense that they want. They were able
to run the ball.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I think the first quarter was kind of like ideal
Atlanta Falcons. Maybe not perfect, but nothing is really perfect,
especially when they're trying to still find consistency.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
But you could see they were able to, I.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
Hate to use his word, consistently move the ball because
we're talking about their inconsistencies at that point and you
have the Jean Robinson scoring two touchdowns. You want that
if you are the Falcons, you have Michael Pennix jun
You're kind of sharing the love a bit with the.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
Ball, and so they're kind of.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Firing, maybe not at full capacity at all cylinders, but
they're at least hitting all the different notes.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, it did feel like they came out with a
clear vision of what they wanted to do, balancing the
run and the pass, getting you know, solid plays off
of both. But when you look at this now five
game losing streak for Atlanta, I think it's been a
lot of different things, which has been partially the reason
it is so frustrating. If it's not you know, the
red zone like it was for the first couple of losses,
(03:07):
then it becomes third down. Well, the Falcons were three
for three in the red zone on Sunday, and by
and large, third downs for much of the game kind
of weren't the issue. And so when you start looking
at the totality of this five game slide, really the
most consistent part about it is the inconsistency that they're
playing with.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
That's probably one of my favorite phrases. You only think
consistent is the inconsistency.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yeah, that is why it's you know, like Tory and
I were talking kind of this week before the game,
and I posed to it. I was like, it feels
like the Falcons are a team capable of like winning
seventy five percent of the game and still losing because
the twenty five percent that they don't win and that
the other team plays well just feel like they're the
(03:54):
most pivotal parts of the game, or that the swing
is so great in magnitude that it kind of washes
out all the seventy five percent that you do well.
And it's really the latter that I think is today's
the story of today's game, because if you look at
just the first half numbers, the Falcons had seventeen first
downs to Carolina seven. They were two of three on
third down Panthers were two of six. They had two
(04:15):
hundred and fifty seven yards Panthers had one hundred and
forty one. They were perfect in the red zone. And
then if you look at their stars Atlanta Stars, Michael
Pennix Junior maybe his most efficient start so far. He
was eleven of twelve one hundred and sixty three yards.
Drake five catches one hundred and eight yards bijon sixteen
carries for ninety three yards, two touchdowns that you mentioned,
So everything that you really wanted was rolling in the
(04:38):
first half. Defensively, you're getting sacks like you really felt
the full phase kind of play from Atlanta.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah, but we did say this is the tail of
two halves. What happened in the second half. Where did
those great numbers.
Speaker 1 (04:51):
Go, Well, they totally disappeared. It's you know, we'll get
into why, but I think it's very telling when you, okay,
what I just read out about the first half, let's
flip it. Falcons outscored seventeen to six in the second half.
They had six first downs to Carolina's fourteen, two of
seven on third down. Panthers were four of ten on
third down. This is crazy. Panthers had two hundred and
(05:15):
eighty five yards, Falcons had just eighty seven in the
second half. They didn't even make it to the red zone.
And then I mentioned all their superstars what they were
doing in the first half. Not the case in the
second half. Obviously. Michael Pennock Junior left the game with
an injury. We'll get to that, but he was two
of four for twelve yards. Kirk Cousins came in not
much better six to twelve forty eight. Then this is
(05:36):
is kind of the biggest thing. Drake two catches for
eleven yards and Bejean Robinson after ninety three yards two
touchdowns in the first half, only six carries for seven
yards in the second half. It's stunning to me to
kind of see offensively how much of a dip they
had from first to second half.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
It was day and night, and I feel like Night
has been more reflective of the past few losses and
kind of being like, where's Bejon Robinson? Why isn't the
run game doing what you wanted to? Drake London has
had big moments throughout each game, so I can't really
say his lack of production the second half is reflective
(06:14):
of the past few games.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
He was solid and he's been like a superstar out there.
But it's just the receiver position is so tough because
you are incumbent upon another position, right.
Speaker 2 (06:25):
And yeah, it's just the numbers speak for themselves. It's
a complete flip of the coin between the two halves.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Yeah, and obviously, like injuries are starting to take their toll.
The offensive line has been banged up. They haven't really
been fully healthy in a little while. But even still
it this is more of a loss that I think.
You look at yourself and you point at yourself, and
Raheem Morris has consistently said, you know, we got to
find a way to make those plays. They haven't done that.
They haven't found ways to make those plays yet. And
(06:54):
kind of against a team maybe like New England and Indianapolis,
you can understand because those are good teams. Nanthor's this
year are proving to be more resilient than we expected.
But I still feel like the Falcons, if you play
this game one hundred times, probably come out a majority
of the time with the win. Unfortunately, it's just twice
this season that has not been the case, and it
(07:15):
really puts them.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Hey, that was the whistle in a perilous spot.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
E hold me accountable.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
I know, I know, I've heard the whistle. It's trigger
The whistle waits for no one, A little triggering. As
a former lifeguard.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
Well, you were the one in control of the whistle.
The whistle one controlling you as a lifeguard.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
I hope true.
Speaker 3 (07:32):
Anyways, second quarter, you mentioned injuries to the offense that
kind of are still lingering and affecting their performance. But
there were two big injuries on Sunday night. I want
to walk us through what happened to Michael Pennix Junior
and Drake London specifically.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
I don't Teran. I'm going to toss it back to
you because this is this is your bag. You're our
beat reporter. You break it down for us what went
down with Michael Pennock Junior and Drake Lennon.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
I don't like see I'm supposed to be the host.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
You are multiple hats in that chair.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Michael Pennocks Junior hurt his knee in the.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Third quarter, yes, sir, and no, I'm gonna let that
slide in. London hurt his knee I am presuming in
the end of the fourth because then he wasn't in
overtime at all. He was ruled out officially in overtime though,
So those are just two knee injuries kind of too really,
(08:26):
two key players. Raheem Morris didn't have an update post game,
so make sure you're staying up to date with both
Will and my Twitter accounts for the Monday press conference
when there hopefully will be an update if not definitely
come Wednesday when the first injury report comes out.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
But what was the impact.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
I think you could feel it more with Michael Pennock
Junior because it was more time without him when he
exited and Kirk Cousins came in.
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah, I mean I feel like, really the biggest impacts
may have been just on the offensive game plan in general.
You know this, even with the Miami game, you know,
it's just been a little bit of a night and
day contrast with Michael Pennix Junior. Obviously, you had the
full offseason training camp to install a version of this
offense with him as the focal point, and I think
(09:15):
when he is buying center, there is a downfield element
to this offense that when Kirk came in, I felt
like it was more shorter passes, a little bit more
of a controlled We're going to be meticulous and march
the ball down the field, which Jafer yes at times
that that worked, you know, like in a weird way
late in the fourth quarter when the Falcons had to
respond after giving up that late touchdown, there was a
(09:37):
moment where I was like, all right, hey, I'm glad
Kirk Cousins is the guy here in this game.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
He's good under two minutes.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
He really is, like he has been able to lead
them down there, and he did it again. Now we
mentioned kind of that play on third and four, he
throws the deep pass to Drake London, and presumably that
is the play that Drake gets injured on. They don't
connect on that. You can wonder about the decision to
take a deep shot on a third and four if
(10:04):
you can keep it up, but they were already in
field goal range. They take it to overtime. It more
was about I think the ripple effect on the rest
of the offense. And then maybe when we look at
Bejon's second half numbers and kind of the rushing total,
I do wonder does that play a factor when you
don't have Michael Pennox in the game. Did they kind
of crowd the box a little bit more? Do they
walk a safety down and just kind of really focus
(10:26):
on the run game. The numbers indicate that there was
something maybe there to that, But yeah, it was just
a really kind of dispiriting thing to see Michael PENNOCKX
Junior walk to the sideline in a game that suddenly
had gotten a little bit tighter. You know, you're up
twenty one to ten. Then the Panthers come and they
make it twenty one sixteen. Then you fumble and turn
the ball back. It was like, oh no, okay, and
(10:48):
then your quarterback goes out. So all in a span
of a very quick three third quarter action, things started
to kind of tilt downhill.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Yeah, and it's not even like the Panthers were out here,
come in and wearing touchdowns to catch up.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
It was inch by inch, it really was.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
The defense did what they could because it was field
goal after field goal. But I am getting off the
point and we're focusing on the injuries and what it meant.
But I do agree with you in the sense that
without Michael Penix Junior, the offense changed. And I did
think it was really interesting that Raheem Morris alluded to
as much, where he said, we'll have to figure out
what Kirk is good at or not good at, but
(11:25):
like what works with him behind center, specifically if Michael
cannot play in week twelve, And that kind of took
me as surprise because you have this backup who has
a massive contract and has so much experience that you
would think if Michael Penick Junior were to get injured
like he did today, that plugging Kirk Cousins in a
veteran would have kind of been more seamless than it
(11:49):
has been.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
It is, you know, the reason that you believe Kirk
is still here, right, it is because of that value
that he offers as a backup quarterback coming right off
the bench, you know. And now this is it's interesting
to me that the Miami game and this game, it's
not like the offense has been lighting it up with
Kirk under center. And that's where I keep kind of
coming back to this scheme. And it's really tough when
(12:13):
you're putting in a game plan for one person and
it goes out the window. It's not necessarily like a
true understudy and a play where it's the same lines,
all the other parts of the exact same and you
just kind of know everything ripples out from the quarterback
position and even just the cadence somebody's like the way
they command the huddle. It can be very different, and
it really is just kind of a shame to see.
(12:35):
I feel like we didn't get a chance to see
maybe a vintage or classic Michael Pennock Junior second half
because the way he played in the first half, I
was like, Okay, if you can keep this going in
the second half, there is a chance. And we kind
of saw that awesome duel in Week eighteen between me
and Bryce Young. Maybe it was setting up for that
and we will just never know.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
Yeah, I'm really curious how this knee injury is going
to impact not just week twelve.
Speaker 2 (12:58):
But possibly. Yeah, it I'm farther down the line.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Because it is it is worth noting. You know, Brahim
Morris afterwards didn't say you know which knee exactly it was,
but Michael Penick junior two ACL injuries on his right
knee in college, has the brace on his right knee.
You know, he kind of seemed like he was grabbing
at both knees when he went down, but he kind
of tossed his helmet up in the air in a
little bit of a frustration. So, you know, we'll see
(13:23):
where it goes on that. I'm curious though, It's like,
what would be if you had one guy was going
to miss the game for New Orleans? Is the offense
better off with with Kirk and Drake out there or
Michael and know Drake, Like.
Speaker 2 (13:37):
That's that's tough.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
I know. It's it's like you.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
Did see a little bit more of the connection between
Darnell Mooney and Michael PENNOCKX Junior tonight kind of grow.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
But I feel like I feel like Darnell is is
is Kirk's Kirk's guy to its heat. There's there's that
whistle yeah, I mean we saw Kirk like, really, you
posted such a.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Big question and then the whistle hits come on.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Now, But I do We'll keep it lingering for the
next time, but that'll be our halftime. I'm gonna handle
halftime presented by Microsoft co Pilot, and.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
We've got you can handle it.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
Don't be afraid of AI. It's it's only coming for
all of our jobs. But Microsoft co Pilot has, you know,
helped us all season long compile these these podcast outlines.
And you know, we're gonna not talk a ton about
the defense today because you know, only four quarters of action.
We got a lot of topics we got to hit.
So I thought this would be a good time to
briefly mention, you know, what the Panthers were able to
(14:28):
do on offense. Bryce Young, I was shocked when I
looked to the final box score four hundred and forty
eight passing yards for the Panthers quarterback. I mean, this
is somebody that I think a lot of people are
still trying to figure out exactly who he is as
a pro. On Sunday, with everybody coming in thinking Rico
Dwell and the Panthers pass or running game was gonna
be kind of the main offensive weapon for them, that
(14:50):
was not the case. And it's actually what is that sixth?
The sixth highest passing yard total against the Falcons in
history in a single game. So that list for anybody wondering,
I'll bet nobody out there, I'm gonna pause everybody trivia
question who has the most single game passing yards against
the Atlanta Falcons? All right, time is up. It is
(15:11):
Jake Plumber for the Denver Broncos in two thousand and four,
four hundred and ninety nine.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
Passing yards, so close to five hundred.
Speaker 1 (15:17):
Yep. Next on that list Joe Burrow. Third on that list,
Joe Montana nineteen ninety. Then you got Tommy Maddox and
Dak Prescott before Bryce Young. So that is quite the list.
And Bryce Young is the newest member of it, and
I mean he three touchdown passes zero interceptions. He also
had three touchdowns in that Week eighteen game. Bryce is
kind of sneakily becoming a boogeyman for the Falcons. He's
(15:41):
kind of creeping up that list a little bit. So
he will definitely have to be somebody the Falcons contend
with and keep circled on the calendar moving forward.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
You mean on the I eighty five rivalry.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
There you go on the I eighty five rivalry. So
that will do it. Four hour halftime brought to you
by Microsoft Copilot. Let's head on in to the third quarter.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
I didn't have a halftime snack. Okay, third quarter.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
The Falcons inability to make plays when they count, you
know that kind of speaks for itself.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
But I'm gonna let you dive into it.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Yeah, I mean, this is again it's something that Raheem
Morris has said it feels like a lot after these
games is We've got to find somebody to make a play.
We've got to find a way to make these plays.
And there were multiple times on both sides of the
ball in that second half where you could see, all right,
a sliding doors moment. If this play is made one way,
(16:33):
then you feel pretty comfortable about the outcome going in
your favor, and unfortunately there were a lot of plays
I wrote some of them down here that they just
didn't go Atlanta's way. You had in the fourth quarter,
right that final desperation drive when you had the lead
and you're kind of holding on to it after kicking
that field goal to give yourself a little bit of insurance.
They pick up ten yard catch on fourth down, and
(16:56):
then the immediate next play is that Rico Dowdle twenty
eight yard to catch and run down the left sideline
that looked like it was initially going to be a touchdown, yeah,
until they reviewed it and rule him ultimately out it
I think like the eleven uh and then two plays later,
Kate Ellis kind of slips stumbles in coverage and there's
a touchdown right over him. Like these are these are
players like Cayden is a is a guy I would
(17:18):
trust implicitly and a lot of different things, and it
just kind of was a breakdown there in the last
little bit, kind of coming off the heels against Indianapolis,
where again you have a lead late and there's a
big play that allows the other team to come back
and ultimately get you from behind, and then offensively talk
about that that third down, third and four kind of
the deep shot to Drake.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Kirk cousins to Drake London.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Yes, and just a missed opportunity to ask Kirk about
that play afterwards, and you know he said that he's
he's so maniacal is the word that he used in
kind of his review that choice. Yeah, that's why it's
stuck in my brains because I was like, okay, crazy, Okay,
he's he's a little bit uh kukoled when he's when
he's digging in and in a good way. Right. He
(18:00):
wants to stress on the He was like, it could
have been a good enough ball, but I think this
was him taking a little bit of ownership. It wasn't
a perfect ball, it wasn't a great ball, So how
could I throw that ball better? Is kind of the
answer that he gave. Ultimately, it doesn't matter because they
didn't connect and sures A Gonzalez comes on and kicks
the field goal. That was positive, right, your kicker, you
feel pretty good about right now to send it to overtime,
(18:22):
But then you had an ineligible receiver downfield on the
second play, in overtime, and that negated a nice Bajon
catch and kind of run that felt like you were
gaining some momentum. Follow that play up with Kyle Pitts
dropping a slant route that hit him kind of right
in the hands on your follow up second down play.
So really, just the moments are there, the moments are
(18:42):
there to be made, and for whatever reason, these guys
have not been able to make those plays.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
And what's really tough is, at least to us, we're
not getting a hardcore explanation as to why these moments
are being made. It's we always get the we'll find
a way. It comes down to execution. We need to
be cleaner on the little things. And I don't know,
maybe maybe it's just because I see what the fans
(19:08):
say all the time on Twitter, y'all scare me.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
You're they're not coming right up to you in the
streets and just telling you what they think. I'm me
in that all the time. People are like, will really
sit down, let me tell you everything? Not Oh.
Speaker 2 (19:21):
I was like, I hope that never happens to me.
Speaker 1 (19:23):
If you find Teraren though, no, no, no, no, no no, no.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
Nor will never approached Aran in the wild, but they
want answers. I want answers like what is going wrong?
You want to find a way? What are you finding
a way from?
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Too?
Speaker 3 (19:39):
Like just a little more, you know what I mean?
And because what does that exactly mean? I mean, find
a way to win? But how?
Speaker 2 (19:47):
I want to know the how behind it all?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
And I think that that is to your point a
little bit like of the confusing nature of it, especially
when you can look at a bunch of the different
outcomes coming in in different ways, you know, the central
problem for some of these games being totally different, and
you actually can look at clear improvement in some of
those metrics. Right. The red zone has not been an
(20:11):
issue the last couple of weeks, right, And it's usually
it's rare to see a team execute as well as
the Falcons have in the red zone kind of this week.
Last week and even in New England they were decent
in the red zone I think in that game as well,
and to emerge with zero to three in that where
you're really being efficient down there third downs. Again, they
(20:31):
weren't perfect today, they haven't been good recently, but before
that to start the season they were one of the best,
like ball possession teams in the league. And then when
it comes to kind of these critical crunch time moments,
just the individual plays, that is where I think it's
easier to maybe look and spotlight, but those happen to
every team every single week. So it really just does
(20:53):
feel puzzling to have a defense at times feel as
suffocating and the sad production, Like this team has the
second most sacks, Yeah, in Falcons history through ten games.
I'm trying to, off the top of my head think
of what the I think it's ninety seven is maybe
the number one season there. So you're getting sack production recently,
(21:15):
you've gotten the red zone production. Today. It was okay
on third down, like usually that ladders up to winning football,
and it just hasn't for the Falcons in five straight games.
And that's where it's just head scratching to be like, Okay,
you can point to some of the metrics that usually
indicate wins and they're not performing horribly in them. That's
why I keep coming back to the seventy five to
(21:35):
twenty five. It just feels like that, you know, twenty
five and sometimes it's probably like forty percent maybe sometimes
it's but the negatives are so so bad it feels
like sometimes or it outweighs the good to such a
degree that, Yeah, I get the frustration from the fans
because it is hard to pinpoint on when you're able
to wrap your head around something. I think you're able
(21:56):
to tolerate it a little bit more. But the unknownness
of all of this.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
A clear cut answer might be like, all right, I
got it right.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
I may not like that, but at least I know,
at least I have a diagnosis.
Speaker 2 (22:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
And then I think the thing that stands out most
to me, maybely be because our entire offseason was triggered
by the word pass rush, is the fact that they
are doing really well in that regard.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
And we can't even enjoy it.
Speaker 2 (22:21):
Tori had this tweet that the Falcons are the first
team in the Super Bowl era to have eighteen plus
defensive sacks in a three game span but lose all
three games.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
Man, that right there, that that kind of body.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
But you can't celebrate the sacks.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
Yeah, yeah, And it's like, how many times has this
team franchise had an offense that you feel so good
about and then the defense You're like, if we could
just get a little bit more tom Right. Yeah, now
you've got Now you've got a game where you've got
one hundred yard rusher, one hundred yard receiver, you've got
five sacks like that. Again, the metrics that you normally
point to aren't horrible or Atlanta and and they're just
(23:01):
not finding these ways to win. To Raheem's point, and again,
I think that is what is has a lot of
Falcons fans kind of pulling their hair out right now.
Speaker 2 (23:09):
I'm pulling my hair out.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
No, you're not. Your hair looks great.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
Oh thank you.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
I pulled my hair out, though. My hair's anybody who
saw the YouTube video of a Friday flight out, well,
and that's what I told you, is that I cut it.
Speaker 2 (23:23):
Fourth quarter.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
Man, we're ending on this note. I mean we got to,
we have to. But what are the Falcons playoff chances now?
And where does this team go from here?
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Wolf playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs? Playoffs? Yeah, we got
to talk about New Orleans, you know like that. That's
the thing is is it this point? Now? Ee wee?
Speaker 3 (23:48):
You and I need to talk about the playoffs. The
players cannot talk about the playoffs. They need a focus
game at one game at a time.
Speaker 1 (23:54):
Yeah, that was my Jim More impression.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
We can talk about the playoffs. It's they're not great chances.
Speaker 3 (24:01):
They're not according to the New York Times simulator, less
than a one percent chance.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
Not good.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Can I still say so you're saying there's a chance.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Or it you can't. Don't think they're living I mean technically, Yeah,
But losing this game, especially to.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
The Panthers, you're own three in the division.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
You're owned three in the division, and those come to
the two teams ahead of you, right, it helps. The
Tampa also lost today, but again at this point in time, it's.
Speaker 3 (24:29):
Like it barely helps. It just makes the Panthers closer
to the Buccaneers.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, and right now, kind of going into New Orleans,
you got a road game, you may be down, Like
there's injuries that are now really kind of becoming a
factor for those team. It's in New Orleans, always a
really tough place to play rivalry games. So yeah, it's
not looking good at all. And again at this point
in time, like I feel like the playoffs, we can
(24:54):
kind of table that part of the discussion. And when
you look full circle, big picture, where this team was
in training camp kind of coming into the year, how
they finished last year and Michael Pennick junior stepping in
and kind of the Okay, if the offense really can
sustain this level and we get the defense turned around,
and then you kind of see the start that the
defense had and thinking back to that Buffalo game, Washington game, like,
(25:18):
there have been moments this team looks as good as
a playoff team out there and capable of doing it.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:24):
I think back to Week three and how afterward the
immediate word was it's an anomaly. The thirty to zero
loss was an anomaly. Now that we're done with Week eleven,
I think the Bills game might have been the anomaly.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
It does I think a really strong case. I think
it's a great point. I think a really strong case
could be made the yeah, you know that was the
team clearly was up for that game. I thought Mercedes
Been Stadium was as loud and raucous as I've heard
it in a long long time.
Speaker 2 (25:53):
So and that's with a bunch of Bills fans in attendance,
I remember.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
I think they certainly added to it. It kind of
felt like a college game, like a rivalry game, like
a Georgia Florida game where you got both of the
fan bases there and there's just cheering all of the time.
So yeah, like that that was right now the high
of the season. That that was the peak of your season.
Speaker 3 (26:12):
But you can't peak that early, No, And you can't
only peak once.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
No, you cannot. And so that's where like I kind
of want to get into with you, just like what
next do we We got to keep covering this team, Taren, Like,
we got jobs to do. We're professionals, We're going to
do it to the best of our ability. But where
does your focus shift? What what should we be focused
on now? Kind of given the way that this season
(26:36):
has come out.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Maybe I take a paternity leave. You had yours, Maybe
it's my turn.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
I don't know if it quite works that way. Go
oh my gosh, am I a puppy?
Speaker 2 (26:50):
Does that count?
Speaker 1 (26:52):
You know? We can we can talk about it off, Mike, But.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
Because it is tough, it's tough like that, it's a
five game losing streak. I don't even know the numbers
right now. I will tell all of you too. I
am a little doolulu. I ran a marathon yesterday and
the exhaustion is kicking in.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
But we're midway through the fourth quarter, Tarance, I know,
I know, okay, I.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Will step up in rally. But it's talking in the
locker room.
Speaker 3 (27:17):
I think you're starting to kind of get different vibes
from different people you had today, at least as in Sunday.
But John Robinson was talking about keeping everyone off social media.
He called it the devil. You have Chris lynch trom
saying he's not on social media and this locker room
is as close as ever that it's not.
Speaker 2 (27:38):
Even a worry.
Speaker 3 (27:39):
You have Raheem Morris talking about like not doubting this
team being able to come together and stay together, and
so that's all good and great, but it's not enough apparently,
like sure, me and my besties could be really close,
but I'm not gonna go win a football game with them.
Like I don't need you to all be buddy buddy.
(28:00):
I need you to win. They the fans need you
to win. Arthur Blank needs you to win. Raheem Moores
needs you to win. And that starts with having a
good camaraderie. I'm sure. But people are starting to ask,
is there gonna be a player's only meeting? Are y'all
gonna start having conversations to turn things around.
Speaker 2 (28:23):
I don't know what that means.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
I don't know what they're doing behind closed doors as
much as people think I do, which I'm flattered. It's
tough because you can tell everyone genuinely cares about each
other and they're fighting to not let frustrations like steep
in or what not sleep No, sep seep.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
There's not an extra letter in there.
Speaker 1 (28:48):
Steep so hard we could go with creep. I would
also accept that.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
That word was said, don't let the negativity creep in.
And I that was something that stood out to me
a lot in this post game locker room because before,
in the past four losses, it was never mentioned. And
so now I understand probably because playoff chances are negative
or not negative, less than one percent.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And so maybe you start thinking that way. But it's
something feels different.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
Yeah, well, I mean when we were going into this game,
I had numerous conversations about like, all right, if Falcons
are going to turn it around, it starts Sunday, and
really it extends to these next three games, the three
game stretch of Carolina, New Orleans, New York Jets. It
felt like those are your three most winnable games remaining
on the schedule, but it's got to start on Sunday
and it didn't and it didn't, So now now what
(29:41):
now it's like, okay again is less?
Speaker 2 (29:44):
Well what do we do?
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Yeah? I wish I knew. If I knew, I wouldn't
have a microphone in front of my face.
Speaker 2 (29:50):
You would, but you'd be on the sideline.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Very true, I'd be. I'd be raising it and lowering
and raising it, lowering it as I called the players
of the play call in front of my sheet. I
think for me, I'm going to be looking at especially
at a lot of the young guys. How do they
handle this? How do they keep progressing? How do they mature?
And really just the ability to control the locker room
from the coaching staff, right, can they keep these guys
locked in? Because the moment that that frustration sets in,
(30:13):
that is really when I think everybody it kind of
really spirals downwards.
Speaker 2 (30:18):
No spiraling, no spiraling spiral.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
This podcast is the only spiraling that is allowed?
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Or is it just me? Man? But yeah?
Speaker 3 (30:29):
The next trip is to New Orleans, so another NFC
South match up. The Falcons hope to get a win
on that divisional record, because otherwise they're three and seven
and oh and three. That's just the reality of the situation.
And there's a lot of football left. There's seven games,
And I never thought I would use that cliche.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
There's there's a lot of football left. But today was
a big one. Today was a very important one, and
you know it, you let it kind of slip. And
what really stings I think the most about these last
couple is that you had the lead late in the
fourth quarter, you were kind of leaning on what has
become the strength and identity of this team, which is
(31:11):
the defense. Are we in a weirdly well, we're with
Today's game went overtime. I think we can stretch a
little bit and overtime, so to bear with us. But yeah,
it just this was a really tough one.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
You fought too of and nail with the Patriots and
the Colts.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
Yep. Yeah, and now this and now this, So.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
That's our overtime drive.
Speaker 1 (31:31):
Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna wrap it up there, I
guess on a little bit of a bummer note.
Speaker 2 (31:35):
But hey, there's seven games left to win.
Speaker 1 (31:38):
Sure, there definitely are seven games left to win, and
if the Falcons win them, all, then we will revisit
this playoff conversation, probably midway through that journey. I mean, look,
if they're being the Seahawks and the Rams, that will, hey.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
One game my time. Let's not look ahead.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
We will be looking back and wondering how they lost
twice to the Panthers. But they have and that is
where we stand.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Yeah, and I guess it's Mike you.
Speaker 3 (32:00):
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Final Whistle.
Make sure you're looking at Atlanta Falcons dot com for
all the latest and greatest content as Week.
Speaker 2 (32:10):
Twelve hits this week. We'll see you next week in
New Orleans.
Speaker 3 (32:15):
Later.
Speaker 2 (32:16):
Bye,
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.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
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