00:00And all morning we've been weighing in on who is going to have a big impact on the Falcons this
00:07year out of the new rookies.
00:08And this is outside of Avion Terrell and Zachariah Branch.
00:12So Mike picked Ontario Thompson, Bo picked Harold Perkins.
00:17With those guys coming in though, I'm curious whose role would they be taking?
00:21Well, I think that one of the reasons I chose Ontario Thompson is because it's, to me, there's a clear
00:29path for him.
00:31He's explosive. Obviously we've talked about his speed. I think he's got heavy hands, does a good job punching the
00:37offensive linemen, being able to disengage.
00:39I just think that some of the things that can be coached up, getting off the ball, recognizing the plays
00:46in the backfield, doing things like that,
00:48I think that's where he kind of fell behind. And I think that that, to me, and this is not
00:53a shot at anybody,
00:54but to me that has a lot to do with the fact that you bounced around to what, four schools
00:58in four or five years in college?
01:00Like you never got a chance to have the same coaching year over year.
01:04And I think that that's kind of a big deal, but there's a clearer path forward to me for Ontario
01:09Thompson than a lot of these other players,
01:11because I do look at it. I mean, you know, Deshaun Hand is very new here and I think there's
01:16definitely a role for him,
01:17but you look behind, I mean, there's, we don't, we don't have a ton of those defensive linemen that are
01:24going to step in there.
01:25Mason Smith, obviously, and LaKale London, but aside from that, we're very, very thin at a lot of these spots.
01:30And I think that his explosiveness allows him to get out there and make some plays.
01:34I can't tell you who Harold Perkins' job is going to, who he's going to take.
01:39I don't, I have no clue because I don't know how they're going to use him.
01:43And that's not me taking, you know, I'm not copping out.
01:46If you want to be frank about it, Josh Kendall has the starting linebackers for this team as Devon Diablo
01:53and J.D. Bertrand.
01:57I would absolutely be blown away if that was actually what the starting linebackers were for this team come week
02:06one.
02:06If J.D. Bertrand is closer to being off the roster than he is starting.
02:12Yes, absolutely, especially because, especially, and I like him, and he's a hometown kid,
02:18but based on what we saw last year when Devon Diablo missed, and based on what you've added
02:25that can be a direct effect of special teams, I don't, I don't, I don't know, I'm a little bit
02:32clueless
02:32on why Josh Kendall wrote that other than the fact that he just, he just penciled in guys
02:38that were on the roster last year and that were, played significant time.
02:42And with Caden Ellis leaving, I understand him put pencil on that in there,
02:47but I'd put Christian Harris above J.D. Bertrand right now based on what he likes to do.
02:54But, you know, it would give you two linebackers very similar in size and skill set in a lot of
03:03ways
03:03if you put Diablo and Harold Perkins in there as your starters, but I just don't know if
03:07that's using Harold Perkins to the best of his ability.
03:11He's also got Kendall Daniels in there, too, as far as backups, and I just don't, man,
03:19I don't know where he's going to be.
03:20Like, I just don't, we don't, we don't know the evolution of this defense.
03:25I completely agree with everything you're saying, and I'll add to your point that when I look
03:30at the depth at linebacker, both outside linebacker spots, edge spots, whatever you want to call
03:34them, and both off-ball linebacker spots, I think it's almost impossible at this point
03:39to say which of these guys is actually on the team.
03:42Jalen Walker's going to be on the team.
03:43James Spears, I do think, is going to be on the team.
03:45And Divine Diablo.
03:46Outside of that, you start working back from there and trying to figure out where Harold
03:50Perkins or Kendall Daniels fits in, it's nearly impossible.
03:54We've tried our best, it feels like, around here to get rid of D'Angelo Malone.
03:57He's still around.
03:57You don't, like, think about the fact that these five guys I have right here are not
04:01here from last year.
04:02Ronnie Harrison, Khalid Kareem, Leonard Floyd, Josh Woods, and Arnold Evacati.
04:06And I still can't pick out who I think is going to be on the team at the depth at
04:10those
04:10linebacker positions.
04:11Do you feel, based on what you've seen on film, that Kendall Daniels kind of fits the way
04:20they want to use that position more than Ronnie Harrison did last year?
04:24Because I, I, and it's hard, man, because you've never seen him in the NFL, but he looks
04:30on film so fast and just so quick.
04:33And so, like, I just wonder if they look at him and say he's an, he's Ronnie Harrison,
04:38but like a younger and more athletic version of it.
04:43I truly believe when I think of Kendall Daniels, and I have no idea, no idea.
04:47I really don't.
04:48I have no clue.
04:49When I think about his skill set and what his size is, to me, he becomes the ultimate
04:54flex player.
04:55We've made a huge deal about Jeff Ulbrich saying, well, it's not three, four or four,
04:59three.
05:00We can kind of get in and out of both.
05:01We can have both options defensively.
05:03When I look at his skill set and the fact that he did, he can stick the foot in the
05:06ground
05:06and go when he needs to, but he's also a huge body.
05:09To me, that's the ultimate flex player.
05:11How do you go from three down to four down?
05:12You have a guy that can have the physicality to be up front or slide off the ball and make
05:17plays out of that slot, out of that kind of star coverage.
05:20That's what he is to me.
05:21Now, I don't know, and I'm hoping we will hear very soon from the staff as to what the
05:25plan is, but when you talk about switching back and forth between the two, a lot of times
05:29you need a body like that, and that's what body he has.
05:32He's James Pierce, size-wise.
05:35Like, they're the same size.
05:37They're both 6'5", 245-ish.
05:42I would say less Ronnie Harrison, and you're going to have to go with me here because
05:46he hasn't played that much defensively, but to me, it's a D'Angelo Malone role.
05:53He's played edge, he's played off the ball, he plays a ton of special teams, and I would
05:56be willing to bet, I don't have D'Angelo Malone in front of me, I'd be willing to bet he's
05:59probably about the same size as D'Angelo Malone.
06:01I think he's better, based on what I can tell you right now, is based on film, he's better
06:08in coverage because he knows how to play coverage, and D'Angelo Malone was never asked to do that
06:13in college, not to the level that this guy was.
06:18And, you know, Malone, he got hurt late in the year.
06:22I thought I had a flip chart with him on it.
06:25Could have possibly been.
06:26Could have possibly been.
06:28But, yeah, that's a good, I like that, I don't dislike, I think that's a pretty good
06:33one to think about, because Malone, and look, special teams-wise, Malone was really good
06:41at what they asked him to do, and so it could be a really good point.
06:46I never even really looked at Malone when it came there, I never even thought about that.
06:51No, I just think, here's the depth chart I have in front of me.
06:54All right, you've got Jalen Walker, Divine Diablo, Christian Harris, James Pierce, that's
06:58what we've got lined up.
06:59Behind that, though, a lot of newcomers.
07:01You've got Cam Thomas, Channing Tindall, Samson Aboukham, and then you sprinkle in J.D. Bertrand.
07:05But even behind that, Harold Perkins, D'Angelo Malone, Troy Anderson, Aziz Ojolari, Braylon
07:12Trice, Kendall Day, like...
07:14The country unknown is Braylon Trice.
07:18I know, and I just, for the life of me, I look at all those names.
07:20Every single one of those names you could convince me was going to be on this team.
07:24And it can't happen.
07:25There's just no...
07:26The numbers don't work out.
07:27But you could convince me that every single one of those guys would be a part of that
07:30week one roster.
07:33Aziz Ojolari, to me, is very much Arnold Aboukady.
07:37Him and Aboukham are Aboukady.
07:39Aboukham's had a better...
07:41He's had a better career year than either one of those guys, other two.
07:47But, like, Aziz Ojolari's best year was his rookie year.
07:52And that was it.
07:54Like, his rookie year was it.
07:55It was his best year.
07:56And ever since then, he's been kind of disappointing.
07:59D'Angelo Malone is 6'3", 235.
08:01So, yeah.
08:03I mean, similar.
08:04They're all...
08:05And that's an on-the-line player.
08:07That is a guy that was an edge player.
08:10But I would look at, right now, and I know he's never played it down in the NFL, and
08:14it could be, you know, it might not translate, but it feels like Kendall Daniels would be
08:18a better pass coverage defender just based on his background and based on what you've
08:24seen on tape.
08:24A hundred percent.
08:25And remember, we had that conversation with D'Angelo Malone moving off the ball, and
08:28then he gets the illegal contact a couple years ago, which will live in infamy, and
08:33it's like he has no business being out there.
08:35It's a dumb call, anyways.
08:36But, yeah, and he had no business being out there.
08:38That's the thing.
08:39It's like, why is D'Angelo Malone having an illegal contact?
08:41This guy's an edge player.
08:42That's the role I see.
08:44That's the role I see in week one.
08:46Well, and Friday is when rookie minicamp kicks off.
08:50I'm telling you, man.
08:51Those are live grenades out there, buddy.
08:53What should they be doing over the next couple days to prepare?
08:57Watching their feet, because you're going to hear a lot of coaches say, stay off the
09:02ground!
09:02Stay off the ground!
09:04I don't even know if it's legal that they're on the ground during rookie minicamp.
09:07Well, I mean, they don't go to the ground.
09:10Like live tackling is what I mean.
09:12Yeah.
09:12Yeah, they don't go to the ground.
09:13Yeah, but you're going to hear coaches yell that.
09:15But that's why they yell that.
09:15I know.
09:16Because if they go to the ground too many times and...
09:19I'm just telling you, that is one step shy of warfare at rookie minicamp, dude.
09:25You know what's funny?
09:29It's crazy.
09:29Physical goes to the player rep, you know.
09:32Oh, for sure.
09:33And then you're like, now you're being investigated.
09:35And that's the last thing this team needs.
09:37And that's...
09:38It is funny because I know you picked up...
09:41I know you and I have talked about it, Allie, like, when they're watching training camp together
09:44before.
09:44But I just laugh.
09:45I love it when they're like, stay off!
09:47Get off the ground!
09:48Like, it just cracks me up because you're like, I thought this was football.
09:54But...
09:55If I was Kevin Savansky, knowing what you just said about the player rep and somebody complaining
09:59about it being too physical, I would have a designated get off the ground yeller.
10:05Yeah.
10:05Oh, you do.
10:05I would have a designated guy that just screams at all times, get off the ground.
10:09Like, it could be a strength coach for all I care.
10:11And it's not going to be a guy that makes a team.
10:14It's going to be a guy that probably gets cut before he thought or something like that.
10:18And he's like, well, I mean, I didn't make it because those practices weren't even legal.
10:24And, you know, because everybody has this...
10:27They get informed and it's just, like, ridiculous.
10:30And the last thing we need is another issue with the league.
Comments