August 2, 2022 • 31 mins
Scott, Tori and new Falcons digital reporter Ashton Edmunds break down the early portions of training camp, including top standouts, updates on position battles and, of course, how quarterbacks Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder have done over the first stretch of camp practices. We also discuss the Falcons’ desire to prove expectations wrong as they work to usher in a period of sustained success Timecodes: (00:00:20): Introducing Ashton Edmunds, our new Falcons features reporter!! (00:06:20): Kyle Pitts, A.J. Terrell and other camp standouts (00:13:20): Updating position battles along Falcons offensive line (00:19:26): Competition driving intensity up in Falcons camp (00:26:12): First impressions of Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder in camp
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:20):
What's up everybody, and welcome to another edition of the
Falcons Final Whistle Podcast. I'm Scott Bear alongside Tory mclaney
and drum roll. Please to actually what you want me
to do? It was just like a pause for dramatic affect.
But I feel it's better, he said, I gave you
(00:41):
that a good yeah. And and that that voice that
you just heard that you don't recognize is the one
of Ashton Edmonds, third and brand new member of the
Falcons Digital slash editorial team. He's going to be right in,
tons of big features for us, lots of great beat coverage, yes,
and is graduating from North freaking Western yet a couple
(01:04):
more weeks. So, so we have a couple big announcements
on this podcast and now, and the first one is
the fact that Ashton's joining us full time. We're so stoked.
Tell Falcons fans kind of where you come from and
how you ended up here. Yeah, man, I'm from So,
I'm from Florida, Pensacola, Florida born and raised. UM moved
to Pittsburgh for a few years and then moved back
to Florida to Tallahassee, and UM then my undergrad years
(01:27):
at Clark Atlanta, So I'm very familiar with the Atlanta area,
literally walking distance from Mercedes Been So, um, this is
truly a full circle moment for me. Um. And just
to be back here in Atlanta. You know, I grew
up watching Michael Vick, Roddy White, Um, you know, Matt Ryan,
all of them guys, and and just to be back
here in this space is truly a blessing. So I'm
happy to be here. Man. Yeah, well, and now you're
(01:48):
getting ready to tell stories about Marcus Mariota d Terrell
and uh, what are your first initial impressions of how
this Falcons team kind of looks now that you've got
a chance to meet Terry Fonton now and Arthur Smiths. Yes,
those guys. Now, I think this team is really great.
I think the new pieces that they added on this
roster is going to be amazing. It's a relatively young team,
(02:09):
so they have a lot of potential to grow to
build around these guys. And um, you know, I think
the defense is probably like one of the biggest stands
out to me, especially the secondary room with you know,
Casey Hayward and A. J. Turrell and Richie Grant and
all of them, guys. Um, I think the defense is
going to do really good this season. So and Terry,
he's amazing, He's amazing, all all of Arthur Um, just
(02:30):
the whole just the whole team. Man. I'm you know,
they're really great. Please find the Man on Twitter and
Instagram at a eleven ye, a couple underscores, two underscores,
two Underscores's key follow the man. Gosh, you've already got
three hundred plus followers. Man. Every day, every day it's
like five new followers shout out to Falcons fans. Man, yeah, man,
(02:53):
keep it coming. And something else that's super exciting that's
coming down the pike. Tory mcelhaney is going to be
co hosting. Oh yeah, I didn't know where you were
going with this. I was like, there's nothing going yeah,
I like to keep you in the dark, I say
on our toes. But nonetheless, Fridays at midnight throughout the
course of the season, Tory maclaney Kelly Price are going
to be hosting Rise Up Tonight. There's tons of exclusive
(03:14):
Falcons content. I'm staring at Tory mclaney right now. You
can't see her, but she's like seriously giddy with excitement.
We're also stoked for her big announcement came on Good
Day Atlanta. Yeah, this morning, tell us some more about it. Yeah,
I'm really excited. We are the first, i think and
only female lad sports show it in the Atlanta market,
(03:38):
and that is something that is very very It's something
that I never really thought that I would do. TV
was never something that I really wanted to thought that
I wanted to venture into it all. But Kelly has
always been someone who's very much been in my corner
and she presented this opportunity to me, and she's like,
I think it would be great, and she's like, we're
(03:58):
kind of breaking ground the little bit here, and that
was something that was very very near and dear to
my heart. So I think I'm really excited. I'm like
sixty percent or sixty percent excited, forty percent nervous. I
feel like that's a good ratio. It's a great ratio.
It keeps you on your toes a little bit, like
you know, but I am really excited. And yes, um,
(04:19):
Friday nights at midnight, Kelly and I are gonna be
We're gonna be doing some hot takes, which is something
that Arthur Smith hates and that's kind of why we're
doing it like it right like, And then we're gonna
be going over some Falcons fits, which if y'll follow
me on Instagram, y'all know, y'all know how much I
love a good fit session, fit check, should I say?
(04:40):
And yeah, we're also going to get into like some
scheme stuff too. I mean, shoot, it's a football show,
so definitely gonna I think it's gonna be fun and
I'm really excited about it. So she's gonna be We're
all gonna be busy over the course of this football season,
righting the big long form features that you like, This
Falcon's final whistle is going to keep rolling throughout the
course of the seas in the offseason, you're gonna be
(05:02):
hearing and reading and seeing us quite a bit in
this market, I think it's fair to say. And with
lots of kind of hot takes, instant reaction. And now
that we're into training camp, we're into our second week
at training camp to flies when you're having fun and
I don't know what day it is. Yeah, Like that's
a thing with training camp that I don't think many
(05:23):
people like realize is like we actually have no idea
like what day of the week it is. We have
no concept of it, right, it's only because there's a
literal calendar in front of Yeah, Scott's cheating, don't let
employ that. I do know that it's Tuesday because it
says the word podcast on top of it. So that's
my clue. So over the course of the next twenty
(05:44):
five or so minutes, we're gonna break down our early
impressions of the Falcons in what is a very intriguing
training camp. Because there's so many position battles and so
many new faces around here, We're going to take a
look at some early camp standouts. We're obviously gonna have
to look at the line of scrimmage, most notably the
offensive line. We're also going to talk about a word
(06:05):
that Arthur Smith uses a lot that sounds like coachbeak,
but in this case is really really real, and that's competition.
I mean it's the competition is fierce and is heavy.
And of course we're gonna end up talking about quarterbacks
because you know, we gotta. It does seem essential. So
let's just hop right into it here. Let's talk a
little football and go with early impressions. Who's really stood
(06:28):
out to you, Tory over the course of this early
portion of training camp. I was going to be like
really off the wall and say somebody that like, no
one's really heard of, But then that would be wrong
of me, because no one has caught my eye like
Kyle Pitts has ye and I really truly think that
we are watching a We're watching a player that I
(06:51):
think is we always talk about Arthur smith saying that
he's always scratching the surface of what he can be
in this league, and I really do think, like just
watching him out there right now and just kind of
tearing some dbs up left and right on occasion some
linebackers up, I think that we are seeing something really
special in Kyle Pits. It's something that I think we
saw in year one that now I honestly feel like
(07:13):
we know Kyle Pits a lot better in year two.
I just feel like just looking at the guy that
we talked to like a couple of weeks into camp
last year versus the guy that we talked to now,
it is night and day with this guy, and I
think he understands that he is one of the primary
phases of this franchise in a year that is very,
(07:35):
very transitional in a lot of different ways, and just
seeing him out on the field and kind of being
a leader and seeing the physical attributes of which he has.
It was funny. My dad came to practice on Monday.
It was the first day of pads and the coach
mac out and so in the first one of the
first things he says, Kyle Pitts was working with Justin Peel,
who's the tight ends coach, and he said, he's like, man,
(07:58):
he's like he's a specimen and he's like, he just
look He's like, he just looks different. And it's true.
I think a lot of people, like we talk about
Cole Pits a lot being such an important part of
this offense, but to just see him go out there
and do some of the physical things that he can
do on the field, it's really it's really stands out
in my mind. Yeah. I think the way he carries
(08:19):
himself too, that there's an air of confidence that definitely
isn't cocky now. He just has a real belief in himself.
And his last press conference, which I thought was really good,
he talked about finding his voice as a leader, maybe
not as a raw, raw guy, but just as a
way to encourage those under him. And I think he
understands and accepts the responsibility that's coming to him. He
(08:40):
knows he's gonna see double teams, he knows he's gonna
have to produce and score more than one touchdown. Maybe
he might be a good thing. Yeah, and maybe do
it on us soil. That's just I'm just throwing it
out there, right. Maybe Pro Bowl doesn't count. No, no,
it does not. And I will I will throw hands
with anybody who says differently. No, I won't. I'm scared.
But I do think though that all these things that
(09:00):
we're talking about with Kyle, um this it's it's fine
to bring him up as a standout here because he
looks he had Yeah, it looks comfortable. Yeah, And that's
really the key thing and the most fun matchup which
leads to Ashton standout is when Kyle Pitts goes up
against a cornerback that Ashton. Just being here for the
(09:22):
last two weeks, you're starting to see aj Terrell. Yes,
what are your thoughts kind of seeing this guy work
in practice and every day? Yeah, no, he this is
his third year. Um he looks very much confident, very
much comfortable in this defense. You can tell he's always
in the right place at the right time, and you
can tell he's starting to step up into that leadership role. UM,
and I think, you know, DMPs is looking towards him
(09:43):
to be a leader on this defense and especially in
the secondary UM and just playing alongside Casey Hayward, that's
going to develop his game tremendously. You know, Casey is
a veteran in the NFL, and you know, just playing
alongside him, UM, it's gonna be amazing. So AJ Terrell
has really been doing good and you know in training
camp and I'm super excited for him this season. Yeah,
he just doesn't he just doesn't make mistakes. Here's the
(10:04):
thing about AJ is I think it's you talk about
him being in the right place at the right time.
That was something that I thought was very evident. On
Tuesday's practice. It was like this, there's there was a
play where Marcus Mariota launches the ball. I don't even
know who it was too bird, Yes, and it should
have been a touchdown. It should have been it should
(10:26):
have been a touchdown, and AJ just comes out of
the air and just barely second last second, barely tips it,
and it made it looked like this. It looked like
the easiest play that ever was. But to be able
to do that, like in that moment and to recognize
where he is and to have like the body control
(10:47):
to do what he did to make that play, I
was just like, dang, yeah, like the he's he's gonna
get his recognition this year. I really And his size
is amazing, Like he's a perfect size cornerback. I think
he can match up against smaller receivers, he can match
up against really tall receivers. And I think that's the
age that that ajorl has over a lot of people. Yeah,
and he's just he's so consistent. Yeah, never too high,
(11:08):
too low. Always a tough test for Kyle Pittson, for um,
somebody that I want to bring up. Despite the fact
that Arthur Smith does not like complimenting rookies who haven't
done anything in the in the NFL at all, I
generally follow that same Fredo And I'm gonna go ahead
and break my own rule here and talk about Drake
London because over the course of this early training camp
(11:31):
period one, he looks physically bigger in person just standing
next to him. He's a big dude. He's a tough dude.
And the thing that impresses me the most is not
that he doesn't drop the ball or that he's made
plays downfield. He seems to have like a bag of
tricks to create separation. Yes, um, he'll he'll do a
small hesitation, or his footwork is precise enough where it
(11:53):
will it will get a defensive back to bite just
enough to create space for him to make the catch.
And him being consistent. I think him being dynamic in
that way is something that is really intriguing to me.
First year wide receivers, they don't all produce at the
level that they will eventually. Not everybody's justin Jefferson, right,
(12:13):
Who's going to come into the league and just do amazing.
But I really think that there's a good foundation here.
I don't know if he's gonna have a thousand yards.
I don't know if he's gonna be get votes for
Offensive Rookie of the Year, but I like what I'm
seeing now. I think he's an impressive player. And you
and we talk about Pits, right, he needs somebody to
(12:34):
take pressure off of him, And you talk about AJ,
and Drake needs to go up against AJ. AJ's still
win in most of those battles, right, but you need
him to be tested in that way. I think AJ's
being tested. I think that's a good thing. I think
Drake London is showing up early and it's at least
a positive sign that maybe he can show up in
September and October and be a force for this team
(12:57):
and really fit in with the scheme as well as
the Falcons think he can be. He was the first
receiver off the board. How many draftnicks were like, well,
they should have taken X, Y or Z, Garrett Wilson
or Chris literally anyone else. There are a lot of
people that are like, what in the world, Like this
doesn't make any sense, And it's like, but it makes
sense for what the Falcons want and need right now?
(13:19):
Thank you. You're welcome point for Tory right there. Um,
But the only way that these guys can operate is
if the line of scrimmage does its thing. Heyo, right,
how about that for a transition? I loved it, honestly.
But there are position battles across the offensive line. We
talk a lot about right tackle, center, left guard, right tackle.
(13:42):
We've seen Caleb McGarry be with the first team all
the time, Jermaine Nafetti be with the second team all
the time. The other two have not been that way.
Now we've seen Drew Dalman and Matt Hennessy rotate. They
and I will say this, they are rotating daily. Like
Arthur Smith made the comment on the very very first
day of practice that they wanted to get a fair
assessment of those two and that they were going to
(14:05):
be getting as equal reps as they possibly could. And
sometimes I'm like, yeah, sure, okay, but no, they are
tracking this and they don't. I really believe that they
are looking at it like this is Drew Damon's day,
this is Matt Hennessy's day, and they are legit going
back and forth every day. Then let's let's talk more
about that. Because you asked Arthur Smith during his Tuesday
(14:27):
press conference kind of what differentiates them. What was his
answer there? Yeah, I asked him, you know, at some
point you're going to have to make a decision as
to who you want to be the starting center. And
I was like, so, what do you need to see
over the course of the next three to four weeks
from both of these guys in order to make that
decision come week one of the season, and he said
(14:48):
he was like, you know, the physical stuff obviously goes
without saying. He was like, but I really want to
see their command. And I thought that was really important,
Like can they come and this offensive line? Can they
help out Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ritter when they need to?
And that was something that I asked both Drew Dalmont
(15:09):
and Matt Hennessey about after practice. I was like, what
does that look like for you? And both of them
said something similar in that, like they want to be
the people that others come to when they have a
question about the offense, and they want to be able
to command in the meeting rooms as much as they
want to be able to command on the field. And
(15:30):
I thought that was a really interesting point that Arthur
Smith made about really wanting to see that command happen
and how Drew Domon and Matt Henessey are kind of
enacting that in and of themselves day in and day out.
And think about how spoiled this franchise has been at
that center spot. Yes, going from Todd McClure essentially to
(15:50):
Alex Mack I'm not saying, you know, but there were
some missteps along the way, right, But they've had two
generational type centers are looking for that next player, and
I think intellectually, center, you just have to have it.
Elijah Wilkinson, he's got some starting experience, He's played lots
of right tackle. Right, he's kind of like asserting himself
(16:13):
in that spot as they try to find the front
five that they can run with all season. Yeah, I mean,
I think it's really interesting because when it comes to
Elijah Wilkinson and Jalen Mayfield, because that's what we essentially
believe the competition to be. I think that it was
interesting that we have seen so much of Elijah Wilkinson.
(16:35):
I'm not saying that I'm willing to call the left
guard position now and that it's, you know, Elijah Wilkinson's spot.
Can I foresee him being the starter absolutely at that spot,
But am I willing to call it yet? Not necessarily
because I just I need to see more and right now.
I think a big misconception of training camp is that
(16:55):
we can see so much and we learn so much.
And while we do learn a lot, I really don't
think you learn as much as you do until you
get to those like live preseason games, especially for the
line of scrimmage. And I'm talking offensive line and I'm
talking defensive line too, and so I'm really interested to
see how Elijah Wilkinson works with that collective five whatever
(17:20):
five that is. That's something that I'm very interested to
see in the preseason games because I think right now
it's a little bit like, oh okay, like we're seeing them,
you know, bump pads every now and again, but there's
no live tackling right now. Guys are not going one
hundred percent right now. So to get to that point,
I'll be very, very interested to watch the offensive line,
(17:42):
but particularly that left guard spot. And there's gonna be
plenty of good opportunities for it, not only over the
course of the three game preseason slate, but they have
joint practices against the Jets and the Jaguars, so we're
gonna see some guys differentiate themselves. I still think Jermaine
if Fetti's going to have an impact on this line somewhere.
Do you think that we'll see him at all over
(18:02):
the course of the next couple weeks rotate in there
with the first team. He hasn't at all, not yet
at right tackle. I talked to Caleb earlier Tuesday. He
seems very confident and where he is physically, where he
is mentally, in the fact that he's grown each and
every year. I think he looks at this as a
big year, and he doesn't look at them not picking
up his fifth year option as like a mortal insult.
(18:24):
He seems to take it as like, yes, it's a
piece of motivation, but he's not going to let that
cloud his judgment or his emotions or get in the
way of his work. And I think that's a really
good outlook to have as he tries to really establish
himself there. He's going to compete like heck, that's just
in his nature, and I think it's going to be
interesting to see how that shakes out. The reason why
I brought up Jermaine is that he's played inside too,
(18:49):
so I think that at some point he could factor in.
But we do need to see more. You know, the
one thing we talk about this offensive line, Ashton has
to get the running game going, yeah a little bit.
You know, you got Patterson back there, like those like
those two things have to work hand in hand. That's true.
That's very true. Man. Um, this offensive you know, Matt
Ryan was set forty times last year. This offensive line
(19:11):
has to improve, you know, not only in the past
passing game, but in the Russian game. Um. Cordell Patterson,
he's he's a veteran, you know, and you have some
young guys back there. But you know, I think that's
gonna be a focal point going into this season. Is
the running game. I think that needs to improve drastically.
And um, you know, I think that right tackle spot
and the left tackle spot is going to be something
(19:32):
that Arthur Smith is going to focus on for this
offensive line. Yeah. And when you look at it across
the board, right, we're talking about position battles up front,
there's some sorting to be done in the running back
room and everywhere else. Competition, competition, competition, Right, we keep
hearing it. It's often coach speak, but it's kind of
real right at this point, and we've definitely seen it
(19:54):
play out, and it's pretty intense practices for being this
early point in camp. Yeah, the actice on Saturday so awesome,
Oh so great. It was, without question, one of the
most fun practices that I feel like I have gotten
a chance to watch in a long time now. Granted
I add a little asterisk to the side because COVID
(20:14):
protocols makes things made things so difficult over the course
of the last two years to like I don't know,
but it was. So I'm trying to like accurately explain
like that practice and how competitive I felt like it was,
because there were so many moments that really stuck out
to me. I know everybody's gonna everybody already knows about
there were two fads and someone got kicked out, blah
(20:36):
blah blah. I know, I know that. But outside of that,
it was a very competitive practice. And there was one
moment in particular where they were running some dbs versus
receivers and it was Drake London versus d Alfred and
d got Drake just went up over him in the
(20:58):
end zone and it was it was a fantastic play.
Is one of those that you're like, oh, that's why
they got Drake London. Well, then de Alfred goes over
to John Hook who's the secondaries coach, and they're talking.
They're talking, and then two plays later, same play, not
with Drake London, but same exact play, same ball, placement,
same route and de Alfred goes out there and knocks
(21:19):
the ball down. It was it was back and forth
the whole practice, but it was it was a super
clean practice. Like it was intense, but like you can tell,
all all of the players were in the right positions.
Everybody knew what they were doing. And I think, you know,
if this that Falcons team or this Falcons team can
go into the season with that mindset, with that intensity
and aggressiveness, I think they can really be good. Yeah.
(21:39):
You see Marcus Mariota, who isn't a super emotional guy,
he runs the ball in which they're allowing him to
run in practice because they want the defense to get
used to it, and he chucks the ball a lot
sixty yards onto the hill into a crowd of twenty
five people. If the person who dove for the ball
and then missed it and then didn't end up getting
(22:01):
it back, there were some there were some people rolling
down the hill. Yeah, there were some squabbles. Yeah, someone
got it. Yeah, but I love seeing that from Marcus.
There was another touchdown pass that he threw to Drakelin
and where he gave like an uppercut, like he was
really into it, and I think that it feeds into
that level of intensity that that you need. And not
(22:22):
only is it competition between this team, but we're also
hearing a lot about low expectations, right, And those low expectations.
I mean, when you have this much turnover and this
much dead money, the low expectations come with it. But
the coaching staff and this team want to give a
giant middle finger to those expectations, and I think are
using it as motivation. But they also are kind of
(22:45):
sick of hearing about it. And I think that's the
that's a fine attitude to have, right, they know it exists.
You can act like they don't hear it. They know
that it exists. They're they're getting act They're getting asked
about it all the time, and they don't have any
they don't have any interest in it. I think that
there's everybody talks about prove it, prove it competition. They
(23:05):
want to go out there and compete, improve people wrong.
They're better than what they think. Whether it turns out
the truth or not. I think it's definitely fueling them.
And they got that big chip on their shoulder for sure. Yeah.
I mean, I think it's something that we talked about
when even when we're talking about this draft class, and
how a theme of the draft class was that they
all have something to prove, and they all have a
chip on their shoulder, and they all have a chance
(23:27):
to go out and play, which I think is something
that doesn't always happen. But I think you set me
up perfectly to talk about what Dean Peas was talking about.
And I know everybody's like, no, Tori, don't, but I'm
going there. I thought his if you haven't listened to
his speech from over the weekend about wanting to change
(23:47):
the mindset and the culture of defenses in Atlanta and
the way that you think about defenses in Atlanta, go
listen to it. I don't want to like put words
in his mouth or anything like that, but just go
listen to it. And I think his sentiment about how
he knows that this defense is perceived from the outside
looking in and how he wants to change that I
(24:10):
thought was very It was a very riveting conversation I
think overall, and it's one that it's like Okay, yeah,
like we all can say that, they all can say
this and everything, and I still believe that this is
something that's gonna be a two three year transition, not
just like one year. But they no one on the
field wants to hear that. No, Casey Hayward doesn't didn't
(24:32):
come to Atlanta to lose games and to be like, oh,
like you're on You're on Atlanta's defense, Like that's not
what Casey Hayward came to do. And I think like
that's the point that this coaching staff is trying to make.
It's like you keep telling them like, oh, they're bad,
they're bad, like they'll start to believe it. Casey Hayward
didn't come here to play on a bad defense. Casey
(24:54):
Hayward came in here to lead a team and lead
a secondary. So I think that is kind of where
the conversation is right now. Yeah, And I think Marlon
Davidson he talked a lot about that. Um he said
he sees the headlines, he sees things on social media,
but his coaches tell them, you know, don't pay attention
to those things because they could really mess up their mind.
(25:15):
So I think everybody on defense has that mindset of,
you know, just blocking out the noise and focusing on
what they can control and improving upon that. And um
you know, I think what DMPs said in a press conference,
you know you could tell he really wanted to get
that out and he really wanted to address that for
a long time. So, um man, I'm excited for this defense,
like it's so many great pieces, and you know, I
(25:38):
really have a good feeling about what they're going to
do this season. Yeah, I think Dean has done it
a couple of times now. Or he's right, He's clearly
been thinking about something beforehand, has an opportunity to talk
about it, and really takes advantage of the fact, and
he just why why would you accept mediocrity? Why would
you accept anything less? Um And I think that that's
(25:58):
a good attitude to have. They continue to build this
thing and change the culture and all that kind of stuff.
So much of their competitive success is going to depend
upon the guy's under center throwing the football. Going back
to the first day, Charles London and kind of mentioned
that Marcus Mariota was the quote unquote starter. I think
he sort of meant was the starter maybe dot dot
(26:21):
dot right now or if you were to go into
the season right now, I think it is Marcus Mariota
is It's kind of the clear and obvious QB one here,
Tory and I have been saying that for months. Yep,
now that that was the expectation, and I think it
still is the expectation. But I guess I'll just open
it up impressions of Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ritter, and
(26:44):
it's really just two quarterbacks throwing a lot of passes.
Kind of a what are everybody's thoughts about how these
guys are doing as we progress through the summer. Yeah,
I think again it goes back to I just want
to see more. I think I think that from watching them,
I think they have a we talk about the command
of this center position, and Arthur Smith has talked a
(27:06):
lot about the command of the quarterbacks, and that was
something that Charles London when we're talking to him, he
was like, I want to He was like, I want
to be able to see that the install is there
and they just go out and do it, and that
there is no and if or butts. They do it,
they perform and we can see them perform. And I
think like in that regard, I feel pretty confident in
saying that they're at a good spot that Marcus Mariota
(27:28):
and Desmond Ritter are understanding the playbook, understanding why they're
running certain things. I feel good about saying that. Now,
I still need to see so much more from these guys,
because again, we're not seeing a lot of like hundred
percent eleven on eleven series. I think today was the
first day we're talking on Tuesday. Today was the first
(27:50):
day that we actually got to see a hurry up session,
like a two minute drill like. Today was the first
day that we got to actually see that. And so
I think the more that I'll be able to see that,
the more I'll be able to give a better answer
as to where I think they are and how I
think they're doing. But for right now, I do think
they have a good understanding of the scheme and what
(28:12):
Arthur Smith wants them to do. I think there are
still times when I'll watch a play and I'll think,
was that a bad throw or was that a bad break?
Or are they not a yeah, or are they working
on something that they're not quite in sync with and
they're working on new things that That's why it's tough
to judge over the course of a couple of practices
with They've only had two in pads to say exactly
(28:34):
where everybody is. I will say that I think Marcus
Mariota looks very comfortable in what he's being asked to do,
and I think that's a good thing for this point,
being in command, hearing some of the offensive line talk
about the fact he's taken him out the dinner, he's
playing golf with with with Kyle Pitts, he's getting to
know this team, he's being a good leader, and all
(28:55):
these other types of things. I think all those things
are important as he tries to re establish himself as
an as an NFL starter. So I feel comfortable at
least saying that that he seems comfortable. He seems like
a good not a raw, raw guy, but somebody who
is capable of leading this offense. You know, so um,
you know how it all turns out, you know, we
(29:17):
don't know, but tbd, Yeah, yeah, tbd. But what are
your initial impressions of Ritter or yeah, Mariota definite. I
want to go back to what you said earlier about
when he threw the ball in the crowd. I think
you could tell that Marcus Mariota is starting to feel confident,
really confident in getting to and get into his element. Um,
and I think, you know, if he continues to carry
that same passion, that same confidence, um, you know, he
(29:39):
can be really great this season. You know, like there
were there are some low expectations for this offense, but UM,
I think Marcus Mariota is is truly tunnel vision going
into this season. And you know, in these couple of
weeks of training camp, and UM, I think the more
he continues to learn this offense, the more he continues
to learn this scheme, and um, just to put the
pieces that are around him, He's I think he can
(30:00):
be really great. Yeah. And he was talking in his
Monday press conference that he doesn't take this opportunity lately,
that he understands what's at stake here. I think he
knows that times running out to re establish yourself as
a starting quarterback in this league. Yeah, there's definitely that
that hourglass because he was a strictly a number two
in Vegas and that's two years. Yeah, if you don't
(30:22):
take advantage of the next opportunity, will you get the
next one? Yeah? Will you get another one? He seems
to understand the gravity of all that. I think he
ended up in a pretty good position to be able
to take advantage of this chance. So it's all going
to be interesting to see and watch as we continue
to march through this training camp. We have a bunch
(30:43):
more time to go in a bunch more podcasts to
discuss everything that's going on. Welcome again, Ashton joining the crew.
Were so excited and again Rate Review, subscribe all that
fun stuff and we're going to come back and talk
to you again next week.
What's up everybody, and welcome to another edition of the
Falcons Final Whistle Podcast. I'm Scott Bear alongside Tory mclaney
and drum roll. Please to actually what you want me
to do? It was just like a pause for dramatic affect.
But I feel it's better, he said, I gave you
(00:41):
that a good yeah. And and that that voice that
you just heard that you don't recognize is the one
of Ashton Edmonds, third and brand new member of the
Falcons Digital slash editorial team. He's going to be right in,
tons of big features for us, lots of great beat coverage, yes,
and is graduating from North freaking Western yet a couple
(01:04):
more weeks. So, so we have a couple big announcements
on this podcast and now, and the first one is
the fact that Ashton's joining us full time. We're so stoked.
Tell Falcons fans kind of where you come from and
how you ended up here. Yeah, man, I'm from So,
I'm from Florida, Pensacola, Florida born and raised. UM moved
to Pittsburgh for a few years and then moved back
to Florida to Tallahassee, and UM then my undergrad years
(01:27):
at Clark Atlanta, So I'm very familiar with the Atlanta area,
literally walking distance from Mercedes Been So, um, this is
truly a full circle moment for me. Um. And just
to be back here in Atlanta. You know, I grew
up watching Michael Vick, Roddy White, Um, you know, Matt Ryan,
all of them guys, and and just to be back
here in this space is truly a blessing. So I'm
happy to be here. Man. Yeah, well, and now you're
(01:48):
getting ready to tell stories about Marcus Mariota d Terrell
and uh, what are your first initial impressions of how
this Falcons team kind of looks now that you've got
a chance to meet Terry Fonton now and Arthur Smiths. Yes,
those guys. Now, I think this team is really great.
I think the new pieces that they added on this
roster is going to be amazing. It's a relatively young team,
(02:09):
so they have a lot of potential to grow to
build around these guys. And um, you know, I think
the defense is probably like one of the biggest stands
out to me, especially the secondary room with you know,
Casey Hayward and A. J. Turrell and Richie Grant and
all of them, guys. Um, I think the defense is
going to do really good this season. So and Terry,
he's amazing, He's amazing, all all of Arthur Um, just
(02:30):
the whole just the whole team. Man. I'm you know,
they're really great. Please find the Man on Twitter and
Instagram at a eleven ye, a couple underscores, two underscores,
two Underscores's key follow the man. Gosh, you've already got
three hundred plus followers. Man. Every day, every day it's
like five new followers shout out to Falcons fans. Man, yeah, man,
(02:53):
keep it coming. And something else that's super exciting that's
coming down the pike. Tory mcelhaney is going to be
co hosting. Oh yeah, I didn't know where you were
going with this. I was like, there's nothing going yeah,
I like to keep you in the dark, I say
on our toes. But nonetheless, Fridays at midnight throughout the
course of the season, Tory maclaney Kelly Price are going
to be hosting Rise Up Tonight. There's tons of exclusive
(03:14):
Falcons content. I'm staring at Tory mclaney right now. You
can't see her, but she's like seriously giddy with excitement.
We're also stoked for her big announcement came on Good
Day Atlanta. Yeah, this morning, tell us some more about it. Yeah,
I'm really excited. We are the first, i think and
only female lad sports show it in the Atlanta market,
(03:38):
and that is something that is very very It's something
that I never really thought that I would do. TV
was never something that I really wanted to thought that
I wanted to venture into it all. But Kelly has
always been someone who's very much been in my corner
and she presented this opportunity to me, and she's like,
I think it would be great, and she's like, we're
(03:58):
kind of breaking ground the little bit here, and that
was something that was very very near and dear to
my heart. So I think I'm really excited. I'm like
sixty percent or sixty percent excited, forty percent nervous. I
feel like that's a good ratio. It's a great ratio.
It keeps you on your toes a little bit, like
you know, but I am really excited. And yes, um,
(04:19):
Friday nights at midnight, Kelly and I are gonna be
We're gonna be doing some hot takes, which is something
that Arthur Smith hates and that's kind of why we're
doing it like it right like, And then we're gonna
be going over some Falcons fits, which if y'll follow
me on Instagram, y'all know, y'all know how much I
love a good fit session, fit check, should I say?
(04:40):
And yeah, we're also going to get into like some
scheme stuff too. I mean, shoot, it's a football show,
so definitely gonna I think it's gonna be fun and
I'm really excited about it. So she's gonna be We're
all gonna be busy over the course of this football season,
righting the big long form features that you like, This
Falcon's final whistle is going to keep rolling throughout the
course of the seas in the offseason, you're gonna be
(05:02):
hearing and reading and seeing us quite a bit in
this market, I think it's fair to say. And with
lots of kind of hot takes, instant reaction. And now
that we're into training camp, we're into our second week
at training camp to flies when you're having fun and
I don't know what day it is. Yeah, Like that's
a thing with training camp that I don't think many
(05:23):
people like realize is like we actually have no idea
like what day of the week it is. We have
no concept of it, right, it's only because there's a
literal calendar in front of Yeah, Scott's cheating, don't let
employ that. I do know that it's Tuesday because it
says the word podcast on top of it. So that's
my clue. So over the course of the next twenty
(05:44):
five or so minutes, we're gonna break down our early
impressions of the Falcons in what is a very intriguing
training camp. Because there's so many position battles and so
many new faces around here, We're going to take a
look at some early camp standouts. We're obviously gonna have
to look at the line of scrimmage, most notably the
offensive line. We're also going to talk about a word
(06:05):
that Arthur Smith uses a lot that sounds like coachbeak,
but in this case is really really real, and that's competition.
I mean it's the competition is fierce and is heavy.
And of course we're gonna end up talking about quarterbacks
because you know, we gotta. It does seem essential. So
let's just hop right into it here. Let's talk a
little football and go with early impressions. Who's really stood
(06:28):
out to you, Tory over the course of this early
portion of training camp. I was going to be like
really off the wall and say somebody that like, no
one's really heard of, But then that would be wrong
of me, because no one has caught my eye like
Kyle Pitts has ye and I really truly think that
we are watching a We're watching a player that I
(06:51):
think is we always talk about Arthur smith saying that
he's always scratching the surface of what he can be
in this league, and I really do think, like just
watching him out there right now and just kind of
tearing some dbs up left and right on occasion some
linebackers up, I think that we are seeing something really
special in Kyle Pits. It's something that I think we
saw in year one that now I honestly feel like
(07:13):
we know Kyle Pits a lot better in year two.
I just feel like just looking at the guy that
we talked to like a couple of weeks into camp
last year versus the guy that we talked to now,
it is night and day with this guy, and I
think he understands that he is one of the primary
phases of this franchise in a year that is very,
(07:35):
very transitional in a lot of different ways, and just
seeing him out on the field and kind of being
a leader and seeing the physical attributes of which he has.
It was funny. My dad came to practice on Monday.
It was the first day of pads and the coach
mac out and so in the first one of the
first things he says, Kyle Pitts was working with Justin Peel,
who's the tight ends coach, and he said, he's like, man,
(07:58):
he's like he's a specimen and he's like, he just
look He's like, he just looks different. And it's true.
I think a lot of people, like we talk about
Cole Pits a lot being such an important part of
this offense, but to just see him go out there
and do some of the physical things that he can
do on the field, it's really it's really stands out
in my mind. Yeah. I think the way he carries
(08:19):
himself too, that there's an air of confidence that definitely
isn't cocky now. He just has a real belief in himself.
And his last press conference, which I thought was really good,
he talked about finding his voice as a leader, maybe
not as a raw, raw guy, but just as a
way to encourage those under him. And I think he
understands and accepts the responsibility that's coming to him. He
(08:40):
knows he's gonna see double teams, he knows he's gonna
have to produce and score more than one touchdown. Maybe
he might be a good thing. Yeah, and maybe do
it on us soil. That's just I'm just throwing it
out there, right. Maybe Pro Bowl doesn't count. No, no,
it does not. And I will I will throw hands
with anybody who says differently. No, I won't. I'm scared.
But I do think though that all these things that
(09:00):
we're talking about with Kyle, um this it's it's fine
to bring him up as a standout here because he
looks he had Yeah, it looks comfortable. Yeah, And that's
really the key thing and the most fun matchup which
leads to Ashton standout is when Kyle Pitts goes up
against a cornerback that Ashton. Just being here for the
(09:22):
last two weeks, you're starting to see aj Terrell. Yes,
what are your thoughts kind of seeing this guy work
in practice and every day? Yeah, no, he this is
his third year. Um he looks very much confident, very
much comfortable in this defense. You can tell he's always
in the right place at the right time, and you
can tell he's starting to step up into that leadership role. UM,
and I think, you know, DMPs is looking towards him
(09:43):
to be a leader on this defense and especially in
the secondary UM and just playing alongside Casey Hayward, that's
going to develop his game tremendously. You know, Casey is
a veteran in the NFL, and you know, just playing
alongside him, UM, it's gonna be amazing. So AJ Terrell
has really been doing good and you know in training
camp and I'm super excited for him this season. Yeah,
he just doesn't he just doesn't make mistakes. Here's the
(10:04):
thing about AJ is I think it's you talk about
him being in the right place at the right time.
That was something that I thought was very evident. On
Tuesday's practice. It was like this, there's there was a
play where Marcus Mariota launches the ball. I don't even
know who it was too bird, Yes, and it should
have been a touchdown. It should have been it should
(10:26):
have been a touchdown, and AJ just comes out of
the air and just barely second last second, barely tips it,
and it made it looked like this. It looked like
the easiest play that ever was. But to be able
to do that, like in that moment and to recognize
where he is and to have like the body control
(10:47):
to do what he did to make that play, I
was just like, dang, yeah, like the he's he's gonna
get his recognition this year. I really And his size
is amazing, Like he's a perfect size cornerback. I think
he can match up against smaller receivers, he can match
up against really tall receivers. And I think that's the
age that that ajorl has over a lot of people. Yeah,
and he's just he's so consistent. Yeah, never too high,
(11:08):
too low. Always a tough test for Kyle Pittson, for um,
somebody that I want to bring up. Despite the fact
that Arthur Smith does not like complimenting rookies who haven't
done anything in the in the NFL at all, I
generally follow that same Fredo And I'm gonna go ahead
and break my own rule here and talk about Drake
London because over the course of this early training camp
(11:31):
period one, he looks physically bigger in person just standing
next to him. He's a big dude. He's a tough dude.
And the thing that impresses me the most is not
that he doesn't drop the ball or that he's made
plays downfield. He seems to have like a bag of
tricks to create separation. Yes, um, he'll he'll do a
small hesitation, or his footwork is precise enough where it
(11:53):
will it will get a defensive back to bite just
enough to create space for him to make the catch.
And him being consistent. I think him being dynamic in
that way is something that is really intriguing to me.
First year wide receivers, they don't all produce at the
level that they will eventually. Not everybody's justin Jefferson, right,
(12:13):
Who's going to come into the league and just do amazing.
But I really think that there's a good foundation here.
I don't know if he's gonna have a thousand yards.
I don't know if he's gonna be get votes for
Offensive Rookie of the Year, but I like what I'm
seeing now. I think he's an impressive player. And you
and we talk about Pits, right, he needs somebody to
(12:34):
take pressure off of him, And you talk about AJ,
and Drake needs to go up against AJ. AJ's still
win in most of those battles, right, but you need
him to be tested in that way. I think AJ's
being tested. I think that's a good thing. I think
Drake London is showing up early and it's at least
a positive sign that maybe he can show up in
September and October and be a force for this team
(12:57):
and really fit in with the scheme as well as
the Falcons think he can be. He was the first
receiver off the board. How many draftnicks were like, well,
they should have taken X, Y or Z, Garrett Wilson
or Chris literally anyone else. There are a lot of
people that are like, what in the world, Like this
doesn't make any sense, And it's like, but it makes
sense for what the Falcons want and need right now?
(13:19):
Thank you. You're welcome point for Tory right there. Um,
But the only way that these guys can operate is
if the line of scrimmage does its thing. Heyo, right,
how about that for a transition? I loved it, honestly.
But there are position battles across the offensive line. We
talk a lot about right tackle, center, left guard, right tackle.
(13:42):
We've seen Caleb McGarry be with the first team all
the time, Jermaine Nafetti be with the second team all
the time. The other two have not been that way.
Now we've seen Drew Dalman and Matt Hennessy rotate. They
and I will say this, they are rotating daily. Like
Arthur Smith made the comment on the very very first
day of practice that they wanted to get a fair
assessment of those two and that they were going to
(14:05):
be getting as equal reps as they possibly could. And
sometimes I'm like, yeah, sure, okay, but no, they are
tracking this and they don't. I really believe that they
are looking at it like this is Drew Damon's day,
this is Matt Hennessy's day, and they are legit going
back and forth every day. Then let's let's talk more
about that. Because you asked Arthur Smith during his Tuesday
(14:27):
press conference kind of what differentiates them. What was his
answer there? Yeah, I asked him, you know, at some
point you're going to have to make a decision as
to who you want to be the starting center. And
I was like, so, what do you need to see
over the course of the next three to four weeks
from both of these guys in order to make that
decision come week one of the season, and he said
(14:48):
he was like, you know, the physical stuff obviously goes
without saying. He was like, but I really want to
see their command. And I thought that was really important,
Like can they come and this offensive line? Can they
help out Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ritter when they need to?
And that was something that I asked both Drew Dalmont
(15:09):
and Matt Hennessey about after practice. I was like, what
does that look like for you? And both of them
said something similar in that, like they want to be
the people that others come to when they have a
question about the offense, and they want to be able
to command in the meeting rooms as much as they
want to be able to command on the field. And
(15:30):
I thought that was a really interesting point that Arthur
Smith made about really wanting to see that command happen
and how Drew Domon and Matt Henessey are kind of
enacting that in and of themselves day in and day out.
And think about how spoiled this franchise has been at
that center spot. Yes, going from Todd McClure essentially to
(15:50):
Alex Mack I'm not saying, you know, but there were
some missteps along the way, right, But they've had two
generational type centers are looking for that next player, and
I think intellectually, center, you just have to have it.
Elijah Wilkinson, he's got some starting experience, He's played lots
of right tackle. Right, he's kind of like asserting himself
(16:13):
in that spot as they try to find the front
five that they can run with all season. Yeah, I mean,
I think it's really interesting because when it comes to
Elijah Wilkinson and Jalen Mayfield, because that's what we essentially
believe the competition to be. I think that it was
interesting that we have seen so much of Elijah Wilkinson.
(16:35):
I'm not saying that I'm willing to call the left
guard position now and that it's, you know, Elijah Wilkinson's spot.
Can I foresee him being the starter absolutely at that spot,
But am I willing to call it yet? Not necessarily
because I just I need to see more and right now.
I think a big misconception of training camp is that
(16:55):
we can see so much and we learn so much.
And while we do learn a lot, I really don't
think you learn as much as you do until you
get to those like live preseason games, especially for the
line of scrimmage. And I'm talking offensive line and I'm
talking defensive line too, and so I'm really interested to
see how Elijah Wilkinson works with that collective five whatever
(17:20):
five that is. That's something that I'm very interested to
see in the preseason games because I think right now
it's a little bit like, oh okay, like we're seeing them,
you know, bump pads every now and again, but there's
no live tackling right now. Guys are not going one
hundred percent right now. So to get to that point,
I'll be very, very interested to watch the offensive line,
(17:42):
but particularly that left guard spot. And there's gonna be
plenty of good opportunities for it, not only over the
course of the three game preseason slate, but they have
joint practices against the Jets and the Jaguars, so we're
gonna see some guys differentiate themselves. I still think Jermaine
if Fetti's going to have an impact on this line somewhere.
Do you think that we'll see him at all over
(18:02):
the course of the next couple weeks rotate in there
with the first team. He hasn't at all, not yet
at right tackle. I talked to Caleb earlier Tuesday. He
seems very confident and where he is physically, where he
is mentally, in the fact that he's grown each and
every year. I think he looks at this as a
big year, and he doesn't look at them not picking
up his fifth year option as like a mortal insult.
(18:24):
He seems to take it as like, yes, it's a
piece of motivation, but he's not going to let that
cloud his judgment or his emotions or get in the
way of his work. And I think that's a really
good outlook to have as he tries to really establish
himself there. He's going to compete like heck, that's just
in his nature, and I think it's going to be
interesting to see how that shakes out. The reason why
I brought up Jermaine is that he's played inside too,
(18:49):
so I think that at some point he could factor in.
But we do need to see more. You know, the
one thing we talk about this offensive line, Ashton has
to get the running game going, yeah a little bit.
You know, you got Patterson back there, like those like
those two things have to work hand in hand. That's true.
That's very true. Man. Um, this offensive you know, Matt
Ryan was set forty times last year. This offensive line
(19:11):
has to improve, you know, not only in the past
passing game, but in the Russian game. Um. Cordell Patterson,
he's he's a veteran, you know, and you have some
young guys back there. But you know, I think that's
gonna be a focal point going into this season. Is
the running game. I think that needs to improve drastically.
And um, you know, I think that right tackle spot
and the left tackle spot is going to be something
(19:32):
that Arthur Smith is going to focus on for this
offensive line. Yeah. And when you look at it across
the board, right, we're talking about position battles up front,
there's some sorting to be done in the running back
room and everywhere else. Competition, competition, competition, Right, we keep
hearing it. It's often coach speak, but it's kind of
real right at this point, and we've definitely seen it
(19:54):
play out, and it's pretty intense practices for being this
early point in camp. Yeah, the actice on Saturday so awesome,
Oh so great. It was, without question, one of the
most fun practices that I feel like I have gotten
a chance to watch in a long time now. Granted
I add a little asterisk to the side because COVID
(20:14):
protocols makes things made things so difficult over the course
of the last two years to like I don't know,
but it was. So I'm trying to like accurately explain
like that practice and how competitive I felt like it was,
because there were so many moments that really stuck out
to me. I know everybody's gonna everybody already knows about
there were two fads and someone got kicked out, blah
(20:36):
blah blah. I know, I know that. But outside of that,
it was a very competitive practice. And there was one
moment in particular where they were running some dbs versus
receivers and it was Drake London versus d Alfred and
d got Drake just went up over him in the
(20:58):
end zone and it was it was a fantastic play.
Is one of those that you're like, oh, that's why
they got Drake London. Well, then de Alfred goes over
to John Hook who's the secondaries coach, and they're talking.
They're talking, and then two plays later, same play, not
with Drake London, but same exact play, same ball, placement,
same route and de Alfred goes out there and knocks
(21:19):
the ball down. It was it was back and forth
the whole practice, but it was it was a super
clean practice. Like it was intense, but like you can tell,
all all of the players were in the right positions.
Everybody knew what they were doing. And I think, you know,
if this that Falcons team or this Falcons team can
go into the season with that mindset, with that intensity
and aggressiveness, I think they can really be good. Yeah.
(21:39):
You see Marcus Mariota, who isn't a super emotional guy,
he runs the ball in which they're allowing him to
run in practice because they want the defense to get
used to it, and he chucks the ball a lot
sixty yards onto the hill into a crowd of twenty
five people. If the person who dove for the ball
and then missed it and then didn't end up getting
(22:01):
it back, there were some there were some people rolling
down the hill. Yeah, there were some squabbles. Yeah, someone
got it. Yeah, but I love seeing that from Marcus.
There was another touchdown pass that he threw to Drakelin
and where he gave like an uppercut, like he was
really into it, and I think that it feeds into
that level of intensity that that you need. And not
(22:22):
only is it competition between this team, but we're also
hearing a lot about low expectations, right, And those low expectations.
I mean, when you have this much turnover and this
much dead money, the low expectations come with it. But
the coaching staff and this team want to give a
giant middle finger to those expectations, and I think are
using it as motivation. But they also are kind of
(22:45):
sick of hearing about it. And I think that's the
that's a fine attitude to have, right, they know it exists.
You can act like they don't hear it. They know
that it exists. They're they're getting act They're getting asked
about it all the time, and they don't have any
they don't have any interest in it. I think that
there's everybody talks about prove it, prove it competition. They
(23:05):
want to go out there and compete, improve people wrong.
They're better than what they think. Whether it turns out
the truth or not. I think it's definitely fueling them.
And they got that big chip on their shoulder for sure. Yeah.
I mean, I think it's something that we talked about
when even when we're talking about this draft class, and
how a theme of the draft class was that they
all have something to prove, and they all have a
chip on their shoulder, and they all have a chance
(23:27):
to go out and play, which I think is something
that doesn't always happen. But I think you set me
up perfectly to talk about what Dean Peas was talking about.
And I know everybody's like, no, Tori, don't, but I'm
going there. I thought his if you haven't listened to
his speech from over the weekend about wanting to change
(23:47):
the mindset and the culture of defenses in Atlanta and
the way that you think about defenses in Atlanta, go
listen to it. I don't want to like put words
in his mouth or anything like that, but just go
listen to it. And I think his sentiment about how
he knows that this defense is perceived from the outside
looking in and how he wants to change that I
(24:10):
thought was very It was a very riveting conversation I
think overall, and it's one that it's like Okay, yeah,
like we all can say that, they all can say
this and everything, and I still believe that this is
something that's gonna be a two three year transition, not
just like one year. But they no one on the
field wants to hear that. No, Casey Hayward doesn't didn't
(24:32):
come to Atlanta to lose games and to be like, oh,
like you're on You're on Atlanta's defense, Like that's not
what Casey Hayward came to do. And I think like
that's the point that this coaching staff is trying to make.
It's like you keep telling them like, oh, they're bad,
they're bad, like they'll start to believe it. Casey Hayward
didn't come here to play on a bad defense. Casey
(24:54):
Hayward came in here to lead a team and lead
a secondary. So I think that is kind of where
the conversation is right now. Yeah, And I think Marlon
Davidson he talked a lot about that. Um he said
he sees the headlines, he sees things on social media,
but his coaches tell them, you know, don't pay attention
to those things because they could really mess up their mind.
(25:15):
So I think everybody on defense has that mindset of,
you know, just blocking out the noise and focusing on
what they can control and improving upon that. And um
you know, I think what DMPs said in a press conference,
you know you could tell he really wanted to get
that out and he really wanted to address that for
a long time. So, um man, I'm excited for this defense,
like it's so many great pieces, and you know, I
(25:38):
really have a good feeling about what they're going to
do this season. Yeah, I think Dean has done it
a couple of times now. Or he's right, He's clearly
been thinking about something beforehand, has an opportunity to talk
about it, and really takes advantage of the fact, and
he just why why would you accept mediocrity? Why would
you accept anything less? Um And I think that that's
(25:58):
a good attitude to have. They continue to build this
thing and change the culture and all that kind of stuff.
So much of their competitive success is going to depend
upon the guy's under center throwing the football. Going back
to the first day, Charles London and kind of mentioned
that Marcus Mariota was the quote unquote starter. I think
he sort of meant was the starter maybe dot dot
(26:21):
dot right now or if you were to go into
the season right now, I think it is Marcus Mariota
is It's kind of the clear and obvious QB one here,
Tory and I have been saying that for months. Yep,
now that that was the expectation, and I think it
still is the expectation. But I guess I'll just open
it up impressions of Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ritter, and
(26:44):
it's really just two quarterbacks throwing a lot of passes.
Kind of a what are everybody's thoughts about how these
guys are doing as we progress through the summer. Yeah,
I think again it goes back to I just want
to see more. I think I think that from watching them,
I think they have a we talk about the command
of this center position, and Arthur Smith has talked a
(27:06):
lot about the command of the quarterbacks, and that was
something that Charles London when we're talking to him, he
was like, I want to He was like, I want
to be able to see that the install is there
and they just go out and do it, and that
there is no and if or butts. They do it,
they perform and we can see them perform. And I
think like in that regard, I feel pretty confident in
saying that they're at a good spot that Marcus Mariota
(27:28):
and Desmond Ritter are understanding the playbook, understanding why they're
running certain things. I feel good about saying that. Now,
I still need to see so much more from these guys,
because again, we're not seeing a lot of like hundred
percent eleven on eleven series. I think today was the
first day we're talking on Tuesday. Today was the first
(27:50):
day that we actually got to see a hurry up session,
like a two minute drill like. Today was the first
day that we got to actually see that. And so
I think the more that I'll be able to see that,
the more I'll be able to give a better answer
as to where I think they are and how I
think they're doing. But for right now, I do think
they have a good understanding of the scheme and what
(28:12):
Arthur Smith wants them to do. I think there are
still times when I'll watch a play and I'll think,
was that a bad throw or was that a bad break?
Or are they not a yeah, or are they working
on something that they're not quite in sync with and
they're working on new things that That's why it's tough
to judge over the course of a couple of practices
with They've only had two in pads to say exactly
(28:34):
where everybody is. I will say that I think Marcus
Mariota looks very comfortable in what he's being asked to do,
and I think that's a good thing for this point,
being in command, hearing some of the offensive line talk
about the fact he's taken him out the dinner, he's
playing golf with with with Kyle Pitts, he's getting to
know this team, he's being a good leader, and all
(28:55):
these other types of things. I think all those things
are important as he tries to re establish himself as
an as an NFL starter. So I feel comfortable at
least saying that that he seems comfortable. He seems like
a good not a raw, raw guy, but somebody who
is capable of leading this offense. You know, so um,
you know how it all turns out, you know, we
(29:17):
don't know, but tbd, Yeah, yeah, tbd. But what are
your initial impressions of Ritter or yeah, Mariota definite. I
want to go back to what you said earlier about
when he threw the ball in the crowd. I think
you could tell that Marcus Mariota is starting to feel confident,
really confident in getting to and get into his element. Um,
and I think, you know, if he continues to carry
that same passion, that same confidence, um, you know, he
(29:39):
can be really great this season. You know, like there
were there are some low expectations for this offense, but UM,
I think Marcus Mariota is is truly tunnel vision going
into this season. And you know, in these couple of
weeks of training camp, and UM, I think the more
he continues to learn this offense, the more he continues
to learn this scheme, and um, just to put the
pieces that are around him, He's I think he can
(30:00):
be really great. Yeah. And he was talking in his
Monday press conference that he doesn't take this opportunity lately,
that he understands what's at stake here. I think he
knows that times running out to re establish yourself as
a starting quarterback in this league. Yeah, there's definitely that
that hourglass because he was a strictly a number two
in Vegas and that's two years. Yeah, if you don't
(30:22):
take advantage of the next opportunity, will you get the
next one? Yeah? Will you get another one? He seems
to understand the gravity of all that. I think he
ended up in a pretty good position to be able
to take advantage of this chance. So it's all going
to be interesting to see and watch as we continue
to march through this training camp. We have a bunch
(30:43):
more time to go in a bunch more podcasts to
discuss everything that's going on. Welcome again, Ashton joining the crew.
Were so excited and again Rate Review, subscribe all that
fun stuff and we're going to come back and talk
to you again next week.
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