- 6 months ago
Chris Thomas and Wes Durham analyze the Atlanta Falcons' challenging schedule, focusing on a tough opening stretch of road games. They explore the NFL's shift toward more international matchups, including a trip to Spain, and evaluate how the coaching staff will manage the roster's elite offensive talent.
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00:00Wes Durham joins me now. Wes, I will say this at first blush, first of all, thanks for hopping on.
00:06If the Falcons are going to be a good football team this year, they're not going to take the easy
00:10way out.
00:11They're going to have to earn it. This schedule is not easy, my friend.
00:14Well, the interesting part, Chris, nice to be with you, is that, you know, I keep rating these metrics prior
00:22to the release of the schedule,
00:24which was saying, what, Atlanta had like one of the top five easiest schedules, right?
00:28Right. But it just goes to show you sometimes the numbers lie because the one thing they don't tell you
00:35is the order
00:36to which you're going to play what is perceived to be the easiest schedule.
00:40And I look at three of the first four being on the road and then three straight division games to
00:48end the season.
00:49Now, I know two of them are at home, which is great. Don't get me wrong.
00:52The final game is in Carolina. And I know the league has done that a lot in the last decade
00:58and change stack division games at the end.
01:01But the way I see some of this, the bye week not coming after the trip to Spain, you come
01:08home from Spain and you play the Chiefs, who I think will be better.
01:12You play Tampa before you go to Spain. You're playing San Francisco, Tampa, Cincinnati, Kansas City in order.
01:22And I don't know where Chicago is going to be. A lot of people think the Bears may slip back
01:25from where they were a year ago.
01:28But for me, that's a that's a fascinating stretch there. San Francisco could easily challenge Seattle, as we know, in
01:34the West with the Rams.
01:35Right. Tampa's, you know, been a been a team that's gone to the playoffs and had success.
01:41Cincinnati in Spain. I mean, the Bengals are when healthy, as good as anybody in the NFC North. Right.
01:48And then Kansas City, there's no possible way they'll be as bad as they were last year.
01:53And by the way, that could also be the return of Patrick Mahomes, I guess, if you want to look
01:57at it like that.
01:58Although I'm sure he'll be back before then. And then you get a bye week.
02:02So, yeah, I agree with you. I think if Atlanta is going to do this and I think they're capable,
02:06if everybody can stay healthy,
02:08they're going to have to do this the hard way because at Pittsburgh to open the season, we've done that
02:13before.
02:14Carolina week two at Green Bay on a Thursday night short week after the home game with the Panthers.
02:20And then you get an extra day or so with New Orleans the following week, obviously, on that Monday night.
02:27So it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out for sure.
02:29But it's not going to be easy for Kevin Stefanski and his team.
02:33You mentioned the division. Wes, I think people are sleeping on the South this year, my friend.
02:38I love I hate to admit it, but I love what all three other teams did this offseason. I really
02:42do.
02:44Yeah, no, I'm with you on that. I think the South is going to be really difficult.
02:49I certainly Tampa did some good things in the draft, like the Reuben Bain selection.
02:54Carolina certainly went to the playoffs a year ago. New Orleans did some good things.
03:00Travis CTN, now Travis Achan, has come over, obviously, from Jacksonville.
03:06And they did some good things. Obviously, Jordan Tyson was their first-round pick, the wide receiver.
03:11But defensively, they also helped themselves later in the draft as well.
03:15And Cade Nellis has returned.
03:17So, yeah, New Orleans is going to be good.
03:20Everybody got better. I think Atlanta got better, too, though.
03:22So, you know, we'll see how this plays out.
03:25But the South is going to be for real, no doubt.
03:27The importance, Wes, cannot be overstated, which you mentioned going to Pittsburgh,
03:32Carolina, who's had your number the last couple of years, going to Green Bay, going to New Orleans.
03:36How important is it for Jeff and his crew to get the defense tuned up and ready to go out
03:42of the chute?
03:43Oh, I think it's really important, especially when you think about, you know,
03:47who those teams are in those first four games.
03:51Pittsburgh, probably Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.
03:54You know, whether it's his final season or not, who knows.
03:57But then you're talking about not just a division game against the Panthers and Saints in week two and week
04:04four.
04:04You're also talking about playing Green Bay on a short week at Lambeau Field, right?
04:10I mean, those are tricky games.
04:14The road game on a Thursday night, I mean, it was later in the year when they went to Tampa
04:18on a Thursday night.
04:19But it's still a short week.
04:21Green Bay is a, you know, it's an unconventional trip in some ways because of the way you have to
04:27do it location-wise and so forth.
04:29But all at the same time, Stefanski's team is going to be very well tested early.
04:35And then you come back and play Baltimore on a Sunday night, and, you know,
04:40I think it'll be interesting to see how that game unfolds.
04:42And then you get Chicago at home.
04:43That three-game homestand turtle from October 11th to the 25th before you play Tampa and then you go to
04:50Spain the next week,
04:51I think that three-game homestretch of Baltimore, Chicago, and San Francisco,
04:55if you had to identify maybe one little pivot point in the season,
04:59I would certainly point to those three games there for sure.
05:02You think we're reaching an excess point with these international games?
05:05We've got nine this season, and it only seems to be growing as we're talking with Wes Durham,
05:10Voice of your Falcons going over the schedule here on 92.9 The Game.
05:13It seems like, Wes, it's going to reach a point where it starts to affect too much in terms of
05:18rest, recovery, and travel.
05:20But I guess the NFL sees different.
05:22No, Turtle, I think what you have to look at is where this ultimately lands.
05:27And it takes me to the discussion of playing 18 regular season games.
05:31Yeah.
05:31Because if you play 18 games and you add another bye week,
05:35it means it's a 20-week NFL schedule if you add it all up, right?
05:41And I honestly believe the NFL would play 16 of these if they could.
05:47I don't know that they will.
05:48I think they would, though, if they could.
05:50And that would mean every team would play at least one international game every year.
05:55And if you had two byes in the schedule, you could almost guarantee a team a bye following an international
06:01game.
06:02Now, that's got to be collectively bargained.
06:05And I think I've read some people in the last year or so that have written about a potential 18
06:11-game schedule in 20 weeks.
06:13The season would have to back up a week, and it would start essentially the week the college football season
06:18now starts.
06:20It would be interesting to see how it would play out.
06:23But in reality, I think the NFL's international schedule could even get more inventory, to be honest with you.
06:32And people say, well, how does that happen?
06:34Think about the different ways.
06:36And I know this has been talked about, and you've probably talked about it on your show.
06:39The NFL, you know, they're forcing you, what, your six different variables to watch ballgames this year?
06:44Is that right, I guess, six different ways to process the game, including some of the streaming offers?
06:50So, look, I think the international thing's here to stay, and I could equate it to fans of the Premier
06:55League
06:56who see those teams come over here and play, you know, unless it's a World Cup year like this year.
07:01Those teams come over and play a summer tour.
07:04And I know the NFL doesn't look at it like that, but that, to me, is along those same lines
07:10where the Premier League interest in this country has certainly increased because of that happening.
07:15I think the NFL marketplace, and folks who haven't been to a Falcons game internationally,
07:21I'm telling you, it's an amazing experience because, you know, England and Germany and now Spain,
07:27even though that's not the Falcons' international marketing rights because Germany is,
07:31I think it's going to be incredibly interesting to see the response Atlanta gets in Madrid.
07:37And certainly playing the Bengals won't hurt, you know, the interest level of the ballgame in Spain.
07:42But to your question, I think the NFL is going to add to it.
07:48I think nine is the number this year.
07:50I wouldn't be surprised if next year is 10, 11, or 12, to be honest with you.
07:53Yeah, that certainly seems to be the way it's going.
07:57You mentioned when it comes down to the latter half of the schedule here,
08:01you get a three-out-of-four-week, I don't want to call it a reprieve
08:06because I don't think anything's a reprieve in the NFL
08:08because three out of four of these are on the road.
08:10But, Wes, we know this team can virtually beat anybody or lose to anybody.
08:14You know better than anybody else on a week-to-week basis.
08:17But before that three-game division gauntlet to end the season,
08:21you do get Minnesota, Washington, and Cleveland in Detroit at home sandwiched in between.
08:28Those three teams, though, I feel like on paper, we can call it right now,
08:33those games that are the Falcons should be competitive in all three.
08:37Yeah, no question.
08:39You know, I think we're going to see kind of –
08:41and look, there's a long way to go in the season
08:44before anybody's playing personality is really established, right?
08:47I mean, you'd have told me in August that the Chiefs wouldn't make the playoffs.
08:53I'd have called you crazy.
08:55And they didn't.
08:56But I think you're right.
08:57I think if you're going to look at something for last year
08:59in the roster construction of where Minnesota, Cleveland, and Washington are,
09:03yeah, you certainly would say, okay, I think they have an opportunity
09:06maybe to take advantage of that.
09:08You know, where these teams are from an injury standpoint
09:11and a personnel effectiveness point I think is really the question.
09:14Is Atlanta going to be, with Tommy Reese and Kevin Stefanski,
09:19offensively what's Atlanta going to be about beside the known variables?
09:22Bajon Robinson and Drake London.
09:26You know, where's the quarterback thing going to fall?
09:28I think we're going to talk about that for a long time.
09:31Not just into August.
09:33I think we're going to talk about quarterback play probably virtually all year.
09:37But it's going to be interesting to see kind of where Atlanta's playing personality is
09:41when we get to that point in the season.
09:43And, you know, there have been many times I've looked at these schedules on a night like this, Chris,
09:48and looked about, okay, well, what's the first four?
09:51What's the first five look like?
09:53And three of the first four on the road is a pretty daunting task for a team that has some
09:58experience
09:59but not a ton of experience.
10:00You've seen a lot of regimes come and go here in your time calling games for the Atlanta Falcons.
10:05But this one, the triumvirate of Kevin Stefanski, Ian Cunningham, and Matt Ryan,
10:10I don't know how you feel, Wes, but I've been really impressed by the way that they've presented themselves,
10:15by the decisions they've made, and the tone and the tenor of their messaging to the fans.
10:20Yeah, I think the one thing that I can tell you is that you feel energy, right, Turtle?
10:25I think that's the thing that keeps coming back to me.
10:27You feel energy in what they're doing.
10:29You feel the energy to build for success.
10:34Matt brings a lot of that alone, but I think to his credit, he identified Kevin and Ian as guys
10:40that could also enforce those type thoughts and patterns,
10:44and that's going to be really important when this team gets started.
10:48Given the retirement of Caleb McGarry, the coaching is going to be really important,
10:52not just through this offseason, but also once training camp starts in late July.
10:58I know they've tagged the preseason games on now, and we've seen in the past that Atlanta may have taken
11:05a break
11:05with some preseason games and not played guys in certain prospective situations,
11:10injury and trying to stay as healthy as they can.
11:14Offseason program is important for Atlanta.
11:16I think the preseason is going to be important for Atlanta.
11:19We've got to kind of get a sense of who's going to contribute in what way
11:22and how not only offensively are they going to be built, but what has Jeff Ulbricht got now
11:27to maybe add to a unit that performed pretty well a season ago,
11:32and where is Atlanta going to be with the run defensively?
11:37I think that's something we're going to have to look at early, too,
11:40because they'll be tested in the run game, certainly defensively, in those first four for sure.
11:45Yeah, that's a great point.
11:47I was a little surprised they didn't take a big space eater in the middle in the draft.
11:51Did that surprise you as well?
11:52Right.
11:54Yeah, kind of.
11:55I mean, I understand with Avion Terrell, and you want to try and get the other side
12:00taken care of with A.J. playing that other piece corner-wise,
12:05or maybe you see Avion as a guy who can help you nickel-wise and that kind of thing.
12:10I mean, he was, when healthy, very, very good at Clemson.
12:14You know, I really like the pick of Daniels and Perkins at the linebacking spot.
12:18But I like what they did in general with the limited number of inventory they had.
12:24I'm excited about Branch.
12:25I think he's the kind of guy that can make plays in space and even make plays in a crowd.
12:30And, you know, his shiftiness and the way the ball comes out quick in the offense
12:34that Kevin and Tommy want to run, if that is, in fact, the case,
12:37then, you know, I can see where Branch can contribute early as well.
12:41But, yeah, draft-wise, I thought they were fine.
12:47On the whole, I think everybody always has some vision of something.
12:50And when it doesn't happen, you think, well, maybe they didn't see what I saw.
12:54In this particular case, I think they just elected to address the cornerback spot first
12:58and then add to those other spots that we all had concerns about.
13:02And I thought they did a good job.
13:03The sleeper for me is the Thompson kid from Washington, Chris.
13:08I think he's a guy that can come in and really plug up traffic and cause some problems.
13:13And, you know, he kind of backs up the Mason-Smith trade, if you will, of a row-row-row.
13:18Because I think that's where we were talking about run defense a moment ago.
13:21I think that's a real critical piece to how this all fits come the fall.
13:26Despite who the quarterback is, Wes, whether it's Tua or Penix, my only concern on offense
13:32is not feeding into the temptation to use seven too much.
13:36Because I think that's going to be a big thing.
13:40I think you're probably right.
13:42I think you have to, you know, that's where Tyler Algier was such a force, right?
13:47The ability to kind of, you know, give Bajon a break.
13:52And in this particular case, I think you've probably got the right mindset there
13:57in thinking, okay, you don't want to overwork seven.
14:01And that's going to be interesting to watch, certainly in the first few weeks,
14:05to see how they, you know, take one of the premier players in the league
14:08and kind of, I don't want to say keep him on a pitch count because it's far from that, right?
14:12But I thought one of the things that worked last year was their ability to get Bajon the ball
14:18in the pass game as well as what he did in the run game, right?
14:22And I'd like to see that growth continue even with Kevin Stefanski.
14:28And it'll be interesting to see how he and Tommy Reese put that together.
14:31Because, look, we know we've got a top five back in the league, top three back in the league.
14:36Here in Atlanta, we've probably got, you know, one of the five or seven best wide receivers in the league.
14:43You know, and I think those are the two guys you can lean in on.
14:47And they can carry you a long way if you can keep them healthy through the course of the campaign.
14:52Wes, really appreciate you taking some time tonight on the scheduled release show.
14:56Can't wait for another season.
14:57It will be at Flowery before you know it, my friend.
15:01Thanks, sir.
15:01It'll be well.
15:02Have a great summer.
15:03All right.
15:03Appreciate it, Wes.
15:04That is Wes Durham there, the voice of our Atlanta Falcons.