00:00Let's stay on the topic of the Falcons.
00:01Let's talk about some of these defensive rankings.
00:03We're doing five all the way down to one of the defensive position groups.
00:07We kind of broke everything apart in terms of the front seven.
00:11We're doing corners.
00:12We're doing safeties.
00:13We're doing inside linebackers, edge players, and defensive tackles.
00:16I had defensive tackles at number five on my list.
00:19To me, there's a lot of unproven players, names, whatever you want to call them.
00:23You had inside linebackers at number five for the exact same reason.
00:27Yeah.
00:27The exact same reason.
00:28And look, I'll go ahead and start with four because it was your five.
00:34I had interior defensive line.
00:36And for many of the same reasons that I think about the performance of the group
00:41at times last year, not against the run, and I think, well.
00:44And then I was like, well, you know what?
00:45They did have moments against the run.
00:47You go back and think about it.
00:48They were gashed at times, but it wasn't every week.
00:51You know what I mean?
00:52Like it was some weeks it was way worse than others.
00:55It felt like when teams made a real effort and when they could control the game
01:02and when your offense was struggling, that's when the other team decided
01:05would expose you more of your small.
01:09I agree with you on that.
01:10So, I mean, there's really not a lot that we've already really talked about it,
01:14but like you look at Harrison, Smith, Dorliss, that's kind of the group that you can run
01:20out there, especially in the first couple of downs.
01:25I don't think Smith is on the field if it's a passing situation.
01:28Or if the personnel looks of one, you know, like if it's third and two, Smith's going to
01:33be in there.
01:34If it's third and seven or third and maybe five, even though they maybe could run it,
01:39I think Smith will be out and you would put somebody, you know, maybe Ontario Thompson.
01:45I don't know where he's at.
01:46Maybe LaKellan.
01:47But, you know, Deshaun Hand also works in there too as a guy that can kind of play
01:51a couple of different positions on the line.
01:53Yeah, I think that the reason that, because I did, I flipped from where you're at.
01:57And I had interior linebackers at number four instead of at number five where I had to
02:02even tackle.
02:03So, we're just flipped on five and four.
02:04And I think the reason is, is that yes, there's unproven commodities at both, but I have, I
02:10have a better inkling about what I feel like Divine Diablo is as opposed to what would
02:19be the key player for the defensive line right now and Brandon Dorlis.
02:23Now, you mentioned they were not always bad last year, but you don't have David Onyemata
02:29and you don't have Condavious Street anymore.
02:31And you don't have some of the other players, Ruka Rororo, for whatever you thought of him.
02:35You don't have some of the players that were even in that group.
02:37So, I, I notched them a little bit ahead at the interior linebacker position based off
02:43Divine Diablo, based off essentially just how bad I feel like the defensive tackle group
02:48can or possibly will be when I look at the season.
02:51Yeah, I think, um, Condavious Street only played about five or six games, maybe.
02:57Yeah.
02:58Seven, I mean, I think we think of that, I like Lakelle London.
03:01I thought Lakelle London's absence for a few games last year was greatly, um, seen and
03:08he was greatly missed when he wasn't in there.
03:10Lakelle London played a lot better than people were there.
03:12And that's a guy that's been here.
03:13That was a, talk about Terry Fontenot.
03:15That was kind of a Terry Fontenot, uh, free agent draft, uh, not, excuse me, not draft,
03:20but free agent guy that just kind of, you, you had on the roster, you didn't, you had
03:27found a home and I think he fits kind of what they want to do.
03:30I'm interested in seeing if Elijah Garcia can maybe play kind of the Rucororo role in some
03:35ways and fill one of those voids for not having him.
03:38You definitely needed to get bigger.
03:40I think you did get bigger a little bit with Hand and, and, uh, Mason Smith.
03:44And I'm not sure you're done because, you know, this is that second wave where you can
03:49still sign guys and Ian's talked about it.
03:51They have money.
03:52So I'm interested to see if they still add to that group.
03:55Yeah.
03:55I'm with you.
03:56I think the one kind of X factor between these two for me is definitely the reemergence.
04:03Well, both, honestly, when, you know, when you talk about, uh, Brandon Dorliss and Zach
04:07Harrison coming off injuries, whatever you, you know, whatever happened with Dorliss,
04:11obviously hamstring, I think is what they finally went with.
04:13And the Zach Harrison injury as well.
04:15And now I, I'm a bigger Zach Harrison fan than most.
04:18And I think I have been since he was drafted where it was like, oh, he's going to do the
04:21Calais role.
04:21And then you switch defensive coordinators.
04:23Now all of a sudden he's learning another new position, but I think his, his length on
04:27the interior absolutely, absolutely gives you something that nobody else kind of gives
04:31you inside this lineup.
04:32But I do, man.
04:34I just look at divine Diablo and I think, okay, I know what he is.
04:37And I know that he is a multidimensional player and everybody else could be just a jag,
04:43but nonetheless, I know what he is.
04:44And I'm not sure that I can say that about any of them, the defense tackle room.
04:47Who'd you have at three?
04:48Cause we probably need to get the three.
04:50So at three, I actually had edge.
04:53Hey, perfect.
04:55There you go.
04:55That's where I had edge.
04:56Okay.
04:56Perfect.
04:57Um, that's where I had edge as well.
04:58And, and, and, and it was mainly because I went and looked and you know how many sacks
05:07Aziz Ojalari had last year?
05:09I have no idea.
05:10I'm pretty sure it was zero.
05:11Okay.
05:12I was going to say, I looked it up Friday that popped out at me when I remember looking
05:15up, uh, to see what was going on with him.
05:17You know what I mean?
05:17Samson at Bukum had, uh, I'm just going to take a shot in the dark here.
05:23Three and a half.
05:24Two.
05:24Okay.
05:25And then you have five and a half and 10 and a half from Walker Pierce combo.
05:29Yeah.
05:30Um, now you didn't get all your sacks from the edge last year, but basically that is,
05:37I mean, that's what?
05:3816 sacks.
05:39Yeah.
05:40Uh, that you had last year.
05:41And, and then you have Braylon Trice.
05:43I don't know.
05:44D'Angelo Malone.
05:45Yeah.
05:45Again, it feels like the same story at a lot of these different positions.
05:50Now, will Harold Perkins be playing edge?
05:52Maybe.
05:54Maybe Kendall Daniels be playing edge.
05:57Maybe.
05:58I mean, maybe Troy Anderson could be.
06:01Yeah.
06:02But right now the edge is kind of, I know that they have some, they have some production
06:08out of the, in that, in that group, but what is the level of it?
06:12You know what actually pushed the edge over the top for me in terms of making sure it didn't
06:16fall worse than three?
06:18Uh, Cam Thomas.
06:20I went, I went back and considered Cam Thomas's film.
06:23Now, is it just, is it just the craziest film ever?
06:26No, but it's better than, um, Morgan Fox's film from last year, who ended up being a casualty.
06:31You know what I mean?
06:32So I went and watched him a little bit.
06:34It's a lot of the same.
06:35Like, I almost feel like this is a conversation that you have about the defensive tackles,
06:39but then you add, for me, you added Cam Thomas.
06:42And Jalen Walker could be very Brandon Dorliss-esque.
06:45We don't, we don't really know the full picture of what he is.
06:48And it's confusing because you talked about him being used in more, in more ways this year.
06:54And then you went out and drafted, to me, a guy that could take him out of that job of
06:59doing more things, which is Harold Perkins, or even maybe Kendall Daniels.
07:02Yeah.
07:02So I'm confused a little bit on what they want to do with him, how they're going to use him.
07:06One thing I will say real quick, Jalen Walker is very good against the run.
07:10That is why I think he, you're going to see a lot of him, uh, in that rotation this year.
07:15Questions about Braylon Trice.
07:17Questions, obviously, about James Pierce Jr.
07:19But Jalen Walker and the mix-in of Cam Thomas actually, uh, yeah, made me feel pretty good
07:25about that unit.
07:26Hey, guys, we got to go to break.
07:27When we come back, we're going to do the weekend wraparound.
07:31I got a crazy story that happened out in Colorado over the weekend.
07:34I know Bo's got something cooking as well.
07:36You don't want to miss it.
07:36Stick with us.
07:37It's the Meathead edition of the Morning Shift Sports Radio, 92.9 The Game.
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