00:00All right, let's talk about the Falcons real quick.
00:02A couple of guys we have not spent time on, Mike,
00:04but we are interested in not necessarily Devon Diablo.
00:08I said Devon Diablo.
00:11Sorry, I let you down.
00:12I was reading a text.
00:13Say it again.
00:14Say it again.
00:15Devon Diablo.
00:16Because we know what he can do.
00:18But he is going to take on a different role this year.
00:20He is going to wear the green dot, guys.
00:22He's going to be the captain on the defense.
00:23He'll be making most of the calls on the defense.
00:25But a guy like Christian Harris, who we picked up
00:28and basically got from the Houston Texans,
00:30he was out there.
00:30And, you know, if he can play at the level
00:33in which they think he can, he can contribute.
00:36And then we've got these young linebackers
00:37that we drafted, Mike, that are going to be in the fold as well.
00:40But let's hear from Devon Diablo.
00:42Because last year, the ironing of what happened last year,
00:45and look, I don't know if Ra would ever admit it,
00:46maybe Jeff Ulbrich will say it,
00:49we don't make the playoffs because this guy got hurt.
00:50And I know that's hard to put on one guy.
00:53But that was how important he was to the defense.
00:56Right.
00:56Look, we talked about, you know,
00:58think about the intermediate stuff
01:00and the stuff across the middle of the field
01:02that J.D. Bertrand just could not catch up
01:05to the guys with the football.
01:06Devon Diablo's got those big arms.
01:08He's that hybrid sort of safety linebacker guy.
01:11And we actually just, we drafted one,
01:13and we've got a couple of guys
01:13that maybe can play that role too.
01:15But he's a stud.
01:16And we lost, we had a five-game losing streak.
01:18That's why, you know, you can't put it all on Pennix.
01:20You know, granted, Pennix needs to be better.
01:21But on the defensive side, that was a huge year point.
01:24Massive hole.
01:25Massive hole.
01:26And look, Caden did a great job,
01:28but they could not find a guy to play next to him.
01:30No, not at all.
01:31Here's Diablo talking about being the field general
01:34on the defense.
01:35For sure, for sure.
01:36Just taking care of the body, first of all.
01:38Extra supplements, extra team.
01:40And then I want to be able to be the field general,
01:43like the quarterback of the defense.
01:44So I study extra just to make sure
01:46they know what I'm talking about.
01:47They know that I know what I'm talking about.
01:49I don't get to hesitate with the calls, none of that.
01:51I got to be fast.
01:52I got to be on it.
01:53And by the way, I just thought of something.
01:54You know, with Ulbrich, guys are always like,
01:56oh, we can't lose Ulbrich.
01:57Well, you know, slow your roll.
01:58Why didn't Ulbrich pivot to Jalen Walker
02:00last year in that situation?
02:02I don't know if he was ready to do it.
02:05He couldn't have been any worse than J.D. Bertrand.
02:07Yeah, but remember the offseason,
02:08they were putting him in position to do certain things.
02:11This is a different offseason for Jalen.
02:13I think now they can get him adapted
02:15to those things you're talking about.
02:16But I just felt like that was like,
02:17oof, oof.
02:18That was just running somebody out there
02:20that just was overwhelmed and outmanned.
02:23But getting back to Divine Diablo,
02:25he's a huge piece.
02:27And now, again, this is a contract year
02:29for him, whether it's with us or somewhere else.
02:30No doubt.
02:31It's Dukes and Bell.
02:32Let's hear what Divine Diablo had to say
02:34about what he learned from Caden Ellis.
02:36To be completely honest, it was Caden Ellis.
02:38Really?
02:39I watched him last year, just know everybody's position.
02:42Obviously, he was the green dot.
02:43He had to put everybody in position.
02:44But he was also calm with it.
02:46And I just took a lot of notes from him.
02:48Just in case, you know.
02:49And now I'm in that spot.
02:51That's good, man.
02:52I mean, look, they got along well.
02:54Caden, we like Caden Ellis.
02:55I thought that was, again, one of those decisions
02:57where, all right, are we signing him?
02:59By the time this deal gets done,
03:00he'll be 33, 34 years old.
03:02What's the production level?
03:04You get a new GM.
03:05And whatever his philosophy is,
03:06and again, I'm not quite sure what Ian's philosophy
03:08totally is across the board.
03:09Like, hey, this is what I do.
03:11Like, we're not going to put ourselves
03:12in those positions.
03:13But I think it's a player-by-player situation, Mike.
03:15But they also, they knew they needed to fill
03:18the depth of a lot of spots.
03:20And if you paid Caden Ellis,
03:21well, you might not have been able to do
03:22some of the things that they wanted to do,
03:23even though you might not think these guys are stars.
03:26As Mike said, there's a lot of depth on this team
03:28from guys that have played.
03:29Now, again, Christian Harris is a guy
03:31that had high hopes and just, you know,
03:32kind of got injured and, you know,
03:33lost his spot with the Texans.
03:35But he's certainly got an upside.
03:36And then you've got guys that have been around the league
03:38like Ebu Kam and Ojolari, you know.
03:41And again, whatever Troy Anderson will be,
03:42he will be.
03:43But I have no expectations there.
03:45You know, it's a team that didn't really commit
03:47to anything this year other than a two-year deal
03:49for Jahan Dotson.
03:51Yes.
03:51That was it.
03:52You know, so it is kind of a...
03:54I'm not saying they're going to tell the fans this club.
03:56It's kind of a wait-and-see attitude.
03:57And do you really want to have that investment?
03:59Troy, as you said,
04:00a guy that will be on the wrong side of 30
04:01despite all the great things Caden did.
04:03I think one of the things they tried to do
04:06was the JIC thing.
04:08Just in case.
04:09If we don't have James Pierce Jr.,
04:10what's this look like?
04:11Just in case.
04:12What if we have injuries?
04:14Which every team is.
04:15Just in case.
04:16What are we going to look like
04:17and who are we throwing out there?
04:18That's why you see, I think,
04:20the redundancy, Mike,
04:21at some of these positions.
04:22Again, not that anybody is just going to kill it
04:25and all of a sudden, you know,
04:26we're going to have 10 and a half stacks by one guy.
04:28But I think you have multiple guys
04:29that can jump in there.
04:30Let's hear from Divine Diablo
04:32on the Terrell brothers
04:33because this is going to be a story
04:34from here on out, guys.
04:35AV and AJ, you know,
04:38and how this looks,
04:40those guys playing together on the field.
04:42Here's what Divine Diablo said about them.
04:43Oh, no, they're, obviously,
04:45they got a brotherly chemistry,
04:47so I can't even speak on that.
04:49But they've been awesome.
04:51AJ is always going to be AJ.
04:52Avion, you know,
04:53Ricky's always got growing pains,
04:55but he's going to be great as well.
04:56I'm excited to see what he can do.
04:57Me too.
04:57And he's a ball hawk, by the way.
04:59I mean, for those who didn't watch him at Clemson,
05:00I mean, he's a guy that makes plays on the ball.
05:03We've talked about AJ.
05:04Maybe that's one area, Mike,
05:05I'd like to see the interceptions go up.
05:07But he's got the respect of around the league
05:09where teams don't necessarily go at him.
05:11They don't try him.
05:12You know, and that's been something we've,
05:13you know, debated over the years
05:14and when sometimes he does match up
05:15with elite wide receivers,
05:16sometimes it's not the greatest outcome.
05:18So I think he's got to learn on that one.
05:20But he's still a veteran.
05:21He's established himself in the league.
05:23Mike Hughes,
05:24we've been trying to write him off for years
05:25and he just keeps coming back
05:26and he's playing solid.
05:27But Avion, I mean,
05:29is he able to get on the field as the nickel?
05:33Because Billy Bowman,
05:34that would be his gig, right?
05:35Yes.
05:35And once Billy gets healthy,
05:36and again,
05:37we hadn't even talked about his impact,
05:39but Billy Bowman was balling out
05:40before that injury last year.
05:41And now that Olbrich is back,
05:43he knows exactly how to use him.
05:45Let's hear a couple of things
05:46from Christian Harris.
05:47You brought him up
05:47before we get to the top of the hour here.
05:49More NFL news and notes to come your way
05:51and more on the Braves as well
05:52as they start a new series
05:53against Cincinnati tonight.
05:55Harris, again,
05:56coming over from the Texans.
05:57He's looking for a starting spot.
06:00Yeah.
06:00And I mean,
06:01you know,
06:01you got to earn it
06:02at the end of the day.
06:03Got to learn the defense.
06:04Like I said,
06:04learn the language
06:05and try and lead these guys
06:06the best that I can.
06:07You can't just come in
06:08and expect to be given to you.
06:10Now, he was a third-round pick
06:12out of Alabama,
06:13but there were high expectations.
06:14101 tackles two years ago
06:16in 2023.
06:18Yeah.
06:19As far as sacks,
06:20that's not really his game,
06:21but, you know,
06:22he'll have a chance.
06:23Again, all these guys,
06:24and that's the good news.
06:25I mean,
06:25you talk about,
06:26like,
06:26it's the NFL.
06:26I mean,
06:27these guys are all
06:28putting tape out there
06:28and they're trying to either
06:29get hooked up with the Falcons
06:30for a multi-year deal
06:31or they're going to get
06:32signed by somebody else.
06:33Same thing goes for Divine Diablo.
06:34Here's what's funny.
06:35Harris was asked about
06:35the biggest challenge for him,
06:37and he talked about,
06:38ironically,
06:39Caden Ellis.
06:42I mean,
06:43all around,
06:44you know,
06:44there's more multiplicity
06:45in this defense,
06:46more packages.
06:47So,
06:48just moving around
06:49on the line a little bit
06:49off the ball,
06:50you know,
06:51I'm familiar with that,
06:51obviously.
06:52So,
06:52in space,
06:53I'm used to that also.
06:54So,
06:55I think here I really just get
06:56to hit a,
06:57get like a start
06:59on every piece of my game
07:01that I really haven't had
07:02anywhere else.
07:04I think even since college,
07:05like,
07:05I probably hadn't been up,
07:07I wasn't up on the line
07:07that much in Houston.
07:08And that's like,
07:09you know,
07:09you've seen a lot of
07:10Caden Ellis last year.
07:11So,
07:12just trying to get me,
07:13you know,
07:13grown for that role.
07:14And that means
07:15maybe he'll get to
07:16increase those sack numbers
07:17he didn't get in Houston.
07:19The other guy,
07:20and I know it's a rookie,
07:21but he's not a free agent,
07:22Harold Perkins is intriguing.
07:24If he can stay,
07:24you know,
07:25healthy because he,
07:26you know,
07:26he fits in what Ulbrick wants.
07:27And I think I'm getting
07:28back to Christian Harris.
07:29Ulbrick has done great work
07:30with linebackers.
07:31Everywhere he's been.
07:33Certainly developing linebackers
07:34and maybe getting these guys,
07:35you know,
07:36to kind of reinvent themselves.
07:37Like Christian Harris.
07:38Yeah,
07:39it's a great point.
07:39Man,
07:40the rookie class,
07:41I do think there'll be
07:42some opportunities there.
07:43A.V.'s going to start.
07:44He's going to play a lot.
07:45The other guys,
07:46as far as the linebackers
07:47we drafted,
07:48Mike,
07:48I mean,
07:48they got to work their way
07:49into this thing.
07:50And I don't know
07:50what that's going to look like.
07:51That's why camp is going to be
07:52so intriguing on the defensive side.
07:53And I've been saying from day one,
07:55what's this linebacker room look like?
07:56Because we can take it for granted
07:58about the D-line.
07:59If you think it's beefed up
08:00and Olbrich believes it is,
08:02you've still got to get great play
08:03behind those guys.
08:04And that's going to be
08:05one of the main concerns, Mike.
08:07The one thing is
08:08all these guys can run.
08:09They're all fast.
08:10But, you know,
08:12as far as playmaking,
08:12that's what it's about.
08:13But you make plays as a linebacker
08:15because nobody's in your face.
08:16And that starts with the defense
08:17not allowing the offensive line,
08:19the guards,
08:20whoever,
08:20to get outside to that next level
08:21and keep you out of making a play.
08:24So we're talking about
08:24Brandon Dorlis I love,
08:26Deshaun Hand.
08:26Not only Deshaun Hand
08:27is an household name,
08:28but he's listed
08:29as the No. 1 nose tackle.
08:31Mason,
08:32two A's,
08:32Smith,
08:33that's the guy we traded Rook
08:34for straight up.
08:35He's a bigger body.
08:36And then Ontario Thompson's
08:37a guy that has played
08:38on multiple teams in college.
08:40So it's still kind of a,
08:41you know,
08:42it's a mixed bag, Carl,
08:44as far as the front, okay?
08:45The three on the down,
08:47the down lineman
08:47of our 3-4.
08:48How about that?
08:49Look,
08:49Zach Harrison out there too.
08:51Yes,
08:51it's what I thought
08:52they needed to address.
08:53They really didn't.
08:55That's why,
08:55like,
08:56good news,
08:56bad news.
08:57I'm talking about the draft.
08:57Yeah,
08:58good news,
08:58bad news.
08:58Avion Terrell is a great pickup,
09:00you know,
09:00and he was never supposed
09:01to be there where we selected.
09:02The bad news is
09:03there was some really good
09:04defensive tackles
09:05that,
09:05you know,
09:05were universally expected
09:07to have some impact
09:08in the second round
09:09and we just decided
09:09not to do that.
09:10good news.
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