00:00Got a lot of guys returning to Flyery Branch, a lot of returning Falcons, so we're focusing
00:04today on who is going to have a standout here of the returning guys.
00:09There was a video put out on Friday afternoon, captioned 9-5, clocking out for the weekend
00:14with Michael Penix playing under center.
00:17Yeah, I was speaking of low-hanging fruit, and it would be pretty low-hanging fruit to
00:21say that Michael Penix needs to take the biggest leap of anybody returning offensively.
00:25We know the situation at quarterback, and we know that there'll be a battle between
00:29him and Tua, and obviously, if he does take a leap, that's huge, not only for this particular
00:35team, but for this franchise for a lot of different reasons, so that one's almost like too easy
00:39to kind of point out, and it has to do with injuries as well.
00:42But I mean, who else is there to say of the returning starters?
00:48So he was your guy?
00:49Yeah.
00:50Okay, sorry.
00:51There's only one other guy I can think of, and that's the center, Ryan Neusel, but it's
00:57hard to judge him because you can't, like, it's hard to judge the offensive lineman unless
01:03you go down and break through the film and kind of know what you're looking at.
01:09Because it's, no, like, look, man, like, you know, I've heard Jake Matthews get crapped
01:16on for years by some people because they want to point out the one time he gives up a play.
01:22Now, is he the greatest left tackle of all time?
01:25No.
01:27But he's, is he the greatest Falcon left tackle of all time?
01:31I mean, no.
01:34Maybe in the run he was Mike Ken.
01:35Yeah, he's up there.
01:36He could get up there.
01:38But he's pretty freaking good.
01:40Yeah.
01:41And so to judge offensive lineman, I think most people get it wrong.
01:50Neusel, I thought at times, was undersized and got pushed around a little bit inside.
01:56So I'd like to see him make a leap.
01:58But other than that, I mean, what leap is Pitts going to make?
02:04Like, if Pitts goes and repeats last year, then you're going to have an issue.
02:09Then you're going to have to figure out if you want to tag him again
02:11or let him just move on to another team because you can't pay him.
02:15Yeah, I looked at three different things.
02:17And I, speaking of which, I do have an offensive lineman.
02:21And you did just mention him.
02:22But I will say my lead up and my build up to that, I consider Charlie Warner.
02:27But I think he goes under a lot of the same categories that you're talking about.
02:31It's like, unless you really go break down the film,
02:33it's not like we're going to talk about how many passes he caught.
02:35We're going to talk about what his blocking was and what his percentage was
02:37and whether or not he fit last year what they were trying to do.
02:40I didn't think he was as good last year as he was a couple of years ago.
02:44And I did think that there was some regression there.
02:46Now, a lot of that is because NFL defense started solving what Charlie Warner was
02:51and how we were going to utilize him.
02:53But nonetheless, I thought there was some regression there.
02:56I did go with Jake Matthews.
02:59And I think that there's a couple different reasons for that.
03:02And this is not, and let's make sure just in case this is cut into a 15-second clip,
03:06I'm not saying Jake Matthews is a bad player.
03:08I'm not even saying he's, there is another gear.
03:12But I think when you look at what Jake means, when Jake is good to this team,
03:16and let's go back 10 years, you know, his second, third years in the NFL,
03:202015, 2016, you know, if you really go break it down,
03:25there's a couple of years, 2020, 2021, I believe, really good.
03:29And I think his pass protection is what most people focus on.
03:32And we've had so many issues at the right tackle spot over the last few years
03:35in pass protection that I feel like a lot of people just kind of say,
03:38well, Jake's just Jake.
03:40Let me focus on the right tackle because Elijah Wilkinson won good or Caleb McGarry.
03:44My problem with Jake has been, and remember, look, Jake was,
03:48he's the last guy I played with that's actually still on the roster,
03:50and I love Jake.
03:52But I think he would tell you that the run blocking last year
03:55wasn't what it needed to be.
03:57And the run blocking for me, I would say that Jake is easily a top 20
04:02left tackle in terms of pass protection.
04:04I would be hard-pressed to make the argument that he's in the top 50 of left
04:09tackles, or tackles, I'm sorry, at run protection.
04:12How much do you make of that his health last year?
04:15Remember, he had the high ankle sprain probably like,
04:18first five or six weeks into the season?
04:21Yeah.
04:22It's hard to tell with Jake because he plays through everything.
04:24Yeah.
04:25It's hard to tell.
04:26And I think that's part of it is we get hung up on,
04:30oh, he had a bad year.
04:32And I'm like, well, you know, he did play hurt all season.
04:39Well, let me be clear.
04:40Again, I'm not saying he had a bad year.
04:42Let's just, I'm not saying Jake had a bad year.
04:45As a matter of fact, I think he had a good year in pass pro.
04:47But the run blocking to me, it almost became a complacency thing.
04:51Like, it was like, oh, we're going left.
04:53Oh, we're going right.
04:54And he climbs up and gets the block.
04:56And I just think that I know that Jake has to believe at this point in his career,
04:59even, there's another gear in the run game.
05:01And that's why I think you're right.
05:04It's, you know, Lindstrom is what Lindstrom is.
05:06He's been pretty steady.
05:08He struggles in some areas and doesn't struggle in others.
05:10But I've seen Jake, because of his longevity, play at a higher level than he played last
05:14year in the run game.
05:15And that's what I want to see.
05:16Now, could it be injury-related?
05:18Absolutely.
05:18Do I still think that you would love to see him take a step up from where that was last
05:22year?
05:22I do.
05:23And I don't think that that's not fair game to say.
05:25No, I don't think it's, I don't think it's not fair game.
05:29I'm also, believe it or not, a little bit more okay with you saying that because I know
05:35you actually went back and watched.
05:37Right.
05:37I think I get upset where people watch a game on TV and see something happen and go,
05:43he sucks.
05:45And sometimes you don't even know if it's his assignment.
05:48And look, that's part of it.
05:50I get it.
05:51And it's not that I necessarily know either.
05:53Don't get me wrong.
05:56But I've talked to enough guys that do, and it's just like, sometimes it's not always what
06:01it seems.
06:02But I do have a problem finding someone on this offense that needs to step up.
06:07Kyle Pitt stepped up last year in receiving.
06:12He's just never going to be a block in tight end.
06:16Drake London has been that dude since the day he stepped on the field.
06:22Bajon Robinson has been that dude since he stepped on the field.
06:26Jawan Taylor is new.
06:28It's Ryan Newsle or Michael Penix for me.
06:31And I'm fine with you doing Jake.
06:33That's fine.
06:34For me, you look at Michael Penix, nine games started last year, 12 in his career.
06:44Um, you know, I need to see him progress as far as being under center, using more, using
06:51the entire field more.
06:53Um, and that, that's what will happen.
06:55And if he doesn't step up, we'll be talking about a new starting quarterback in 2027.
07:03Well, you brought up Drake and Bajon and how good they are.
07:06This kind of walked in that way.
07:07And there were some career games in there last season, but with a new OC, could you see some
07:11ground being covered there?
07:13I would say that if you're looking at anything that needs to have an uptick, it's definitely
07:17the court for me, it's the coordinator position and it always has been.
07:20And I've had this conversation over the weekend.
07:22It's like, Oh, Falcons opening with Pittsburgh again.
07:24And we talked about it on Friday.
07:26I'll never forget the feeling watching Pittsburgh against Atlanta two years ago in game one
07:30of the rain Morris era and watching our game plan for TJ watt and watching the lack of boot
07:35legs and watching an immobile Kirk cousins and a Kayla McGarry that we knew would struggle
07:38in pass pro.
07:40And that was the game plan.
07:41And I remember thinking, I remember getting on here the next morning and saying, I don't
07:47know what, I don't know what was going on.
07:48So, and I don't, granted, I don't know that Tommy Reese or Kevin's fans, or whatever.
07:52I don't know that they're the answer either, but I would say things are probably going to
07:56look different in this week, one game.
07:58And I think that Michael Penix will, he should flourish given the understanding, especially
08:03with full health, that he can move around a little bit more and that can be drawn into
08:07the play design for him to move, uh, move around a little bit.
08:09I wonder if it won't help the offensive line, like Chris Lindstrom and Jake with some of
08:14this stuff.
08:15Cause I think both those guys could excel at pulling and, and, and getting up filled because
08:22of their size and the athleticism, uh, you know, I'm interested in that.
08:28You can speak on it more than me, but we've talked about it enough off the air that it's
08:33something I wouldn't be so sure they couldn't, uh, be helped from, you know, you know, what
08:37can send an offensive lineman's, uh, pass block percentage through the roof bootlegs, dude,
08:44I'm going to go this way.
08:45You take the ball and go that way.
08:47And turns out you're most of the time on, on bootlegs and things like that.
08:52It's going to be a hundred percent in protection.
08:53Now it's, you know, that's, that's just a laughing point and something that I think
08:58is obvious to everybody, but it's true.
09:00I mean, it makes the game a little bit easier.
09:02If you do, let's just call it six or eight bootlegs every game, then you're going to get
09:06more passes off.
09:07And you're probably, in my opinion, going to be due for more explosive plays.
09:11And I think it all kind of goes hand in hand.
09:13What did you guys make of the video they put out of Michael Penix?
09:16I loved it.
09:17It just makes me laugh because, you know, it's, I don't know.
09:23It look, it's nothing.
09:24He just, he took a ball in her center with, and set, was eventually going against air
09:29basically.
09:30Right.
09:30Right.
09:31Um, but just seeing him drop back.
09:34I mean, some of the read, I think for me, it's just how.
09:38Over the top people get with the conversation.
09:41Oh, he won't be ready until like October.
09:44Or he can't even bend his knee to take a snap on her center.
09:48And it's just like, where do you guys come up with this stuff?
09:51He's it.
09:52And I'm not sitting here at like, I'm as an all, you know, an all athlete, you know,
09:56all world athlete or anything.
09:57But you hear some people say stuff and you're like, did you ever step on any type of field?
10:03Even an LA fitness basketball court.
10:07Like, cause it just, it just, it's just so over the top.
10:09I mean, wouldn't you agree a little bit how over the top some of this stuff is?
10:13I think so.
10:14And the other thing I'll add to that is, you know, we had a lot of conversation and I was
10:17the believer, at least, okay, he's going to, he's going to miss some reps during OTAs.
10:20That's been my thought all along.
10:21But the variable that let's just call the omission, what it is, we haven't seen a video
10:27or a picture of Tua.
10:28Right.
10:29So the variable being that, okay, Tua is going to get snaps that maybe Penix does not.
10:33And it looks like for right now, it's the other way around.
10:35Because until I see video of Tua in a Falcons uniform at practice, I'm not going to believe
10:40he's there.
10:40There was video of Tua put out around the weekend and he was on grass, but apparently
10:51it was a golf course and he was playing golf with his wife on Friday.
10:57So look, I'm not knocking it.
11:01I don't really give a damn if he's at voluntary OTAs.
11:04You know who it's hurting?
11:05His chances, not mine.
11:07Not mine.
11:08No doubt.
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