00:00Hawks, we'll get into that with him and the promotion for Ansi Soleil, our general manager, who gets a nice
00:05long-term extension.
00:06That's on the way in the 4 o'clock hour. Mike's got some guy talk, but right now let's talk
00:10to our man Josh Kendall, and he is the Falcon senior writer for The Athletic.
00:14He's on the Sweet James Accident Attorney's Hotline. I want to start with what everybody's talking about, Josh, and just
00:19get your take.
00:20Do you feel like Tua has an advantage right now over Michael Penix, even though Penix has been limited to
00:26just 7-on-7?
00:30Well, I feel like we'd be ignoring the elephant in the room if we didn't think that, and it's just
00:37accuracy.
00:37I wrote about it yesterday, two days ago, and it's kind of blurred together.
00:42Kevin Stefanski's made no secret. He thinks that accuracy is the number one trade quarterback can have.
00:47Tua is a 69% career passer. Accuracy is kind of his calling card.
00:53A lot of other things people have questions about. His accuracy is not one of them.
00:57And Penix is a career 59% passer.
01:01Not saying he can't make it up. Not saying that that's the preferred outcome for Atlanta,
01:05because I think Penix winning the job is the preferred outcome. It's the better outcome for the Falcons.
01:10Right.
01:10But if we're handicapping it right now, Michael's injury, Tua's accuracy, yeah, I think he's the frontrunner.
01:16It's a long way to see.
01:18Right. And both guys, Josh, have to learn.
01:19I mean, it wasn't like you saw Tua doing a lot of stuff under center with play action in Miami,
01:24so both guys kind of have to learn to do the mechanics of that too, right?
01:27Yeah, I think that they'll both be fine there.
01:32You know, I think Michael Penix has insisted to us, you know, throughout his time here,
01:37even when he was never under center, that he was fine going under center.
01:39He'd be happy to do it.
01:41That Kevin Stefanski publicly and privately has no concerns about Michael's ability to be under center
01:48and operate that way.
01:50So I think they'll both be fine there.
01:52Will perhaps, you know, it put Michael in a situation where he's more comfortable
01:58and he's not having to make such difficult throws, which could be leading to that 59% completion percentage?
02:04Maybe so.
02:05Maybe it's a boon for Michael Penix.
02:06Some Michael Penix, I don't mind shaking things up after an uneven first two years of my career.
02:14It's going to be interesting.
02:15Josh Kendall, again, from The Athletic.
02:18As we talk about Drake London, what's the situation with the contract extension for him?
02:21Do you think that happens before camp?
02:24Yeah, I think so.
02:25There's no reason not to get it done.
02:27You know, as far ago, long ago as the owners' meetings,
02:31Ian Cunningham was saying it was at the top of his mind.
02:33It was something he was very much on his plate.
02:36There's no reason to let it linger.
02:38Drake is a guy that you want.
02:40Drake is a fantastic wide receiver.
02:42He's a guy you want in your building.
02:44You know, does everything the right way, stays out of trouble.
02:48You know, it checks every box.
02:50You pay Drake London 100%.
02:52You know, near the top five, I think it's fair.
02:58And the longer you wait, the higher the price goes.
03:01Nobody's signing for less.
03:03You know, you don't want to wait.
03:04I don't think Puka's going to re-sign this summer simply because he's had kind of a rough offseason.
03:09But you don't want another guy to jump in there and set the bar even higher,
03:13and then you're chasing that number.
03:14So I think Atlanta gets it done before the season.
03:16Yeah, the Colts paid their wide receiver, and I thought 34 to 35 sounded like a nice round number.
03:21Talking with Josh Kettle from The Athletic here, guys,
03:23on the Sweet James Accident Attorney Hotline.
03:25How is Jahan Watson, Jahan Dotson, going to have an impact this year?
03:29Josh, he's on his third team.
03:31It's a two-year deal.
03:32Can he be a solid number two with Drake?
03:36Yeah, he can be.
03:38He's got to prove it, though.
03:39I mean, you know, two teams have let him walk out the door.
03:41That's not a great sign, but he's still a young player.
03:44And he's a first-round draft pick.
03:45He's got the talent.
03:46He's not a big guy.
03:48So I'll be interested.
03:50This wide receiving core has got a lot of little guys.
03:53Right.
03:53You know, I don't know that they have a lot.
03:55They have a lot of guys who I could see being really effective in the slot and in those kind
03:59of roles.
04:00In terms of a pure, you know, whether you want to call it a Z or how much Drake plays
04:05a Z versus the X.
04:07You know, I would like to see a sort of a well-rounded wide receiver step up in that number
04:12two role.
04:13Not to say Jahan Dodson can't be that, but he's not a big guy.
04:17Right.
04:17And Zachariah Branch, can you see him having a breakout as a rookie?
04:22Breakout is, you know, it would depend on how you define breakout.
04:26Yeah, it's tough to expect him to, you know, have a 60-catch season.
04:32It's tough to expect that.
04:33Is that possible?
04:34That's 1,000% possible because you can get him some easy touches every game if you decide that that's
04:40how you want to use him.
04:41But 60 catches is a ton.
04:43So if you're saying, is that a breakout season?
04:46Would I expect that?
04:46No.
04:47If you're saying, does he get 45 or 40 catches and maybe five touchdowns if he's in the right position?
04:54I think that's a great year for Zachariah Branch, a great year.
04:57Josh, what's your concern as we head towards camp?
05:00And, you know, we got, what, mandatory minicamp and then we'll get to camp in July.
05:03But what is, like, something you feel like maybe people are not focused on that you think is a concern
05:08for this football team?
05:11Well, I think that the defense lost David Onyemata and Caden Ellis, who are really good veteran football players and
05:16guys that you could plug and play and not have to think about.
05:19Um, so I think that that's, um, that's an issue.
05:24I think that Jeff Ulbrich is a really good defensive coordinator and he has got, and he's doing a lot
05:30of tinkering and he's gonna, um, who was it that said, uh, Christian Harris, a linebacker from, came over from
05:37Houston.
05:38Now, Houston is kind of famous for, A, a really good defense, but their defense is pretty simple.
05:42It's a bunch of dudes with their hair on fire who do the right thing every time and do it
05:47at a really high level.
05:49Christian was saying there's a lot more here.
05:51There's a lot more in this defense that we've got to learn.
05:54And the reason that Jeff Ulbrich has to play that way is he's got to manufacture some stuff.
06:00He doesn't have 11 dudes.
06:03Um, so, you know, he's a smart guy.
06:06He can manufacture stuff, but every defensive coordinator would like to play the way that D'Amico Rimes plays, which
06:12is just 11 monsters coming after you every, you know, coming after you every snap.
06:17So it's defense.
06:18It's losing guys.
06:19It's having to manufacture something every week.
06:23Josh Kendall from the Athletic Guys here on Dukes and Belt.
06:25So does Jalen Walker take over the Caden Ellis job?
06:29I don't think so.
06:30I think he's still more, I think he will be more multiple than he was a year ago, but I
06:34still think he trends toward an edge rusher, um, an outside linebacker and doesn't get in, you know, Caden did
06:41so much.
06:42I think the vine with a little sprinkle of Christian Harris, maybe, but mostly the vine will try to take
06:48up some of those snaps or those, um, those pieces, but nobody's going to replace.
06:54And Jalen Walker is not going to replace Caden Ellis' versatility.
06:57He's just not.
06:58What about James Pierce Jr.?
07:00Um, look, I think we all kind of know right now where this is at, but are you hearing anything
07:06out there, uh, Josh being around the team and in this one year intervention program that he's agreed to?
07:13No, uh, the Falcons don't.
07:15I mean, I think if you ask the Falcons right now, they would say, we don't know, um, that they'll
07:21probably wait for the league to step in.
07:24Um, or at least for the league to let them know through back channels, this is our plan.
07:30Um, the options would be, you know, with Rasheed Rice, it's totally different situations when he had the traffic situation.
07:36They let Rasheed Rice play, let that whole thing play out and suspended him basically the following year.
07:44At that, you know, could the NFL wait an entire season, wait out this whole 12 month thing and act
07:51as if James Pierce is in completely good standing and then suspended for 2027?
07:55I guess anything is possible.
07:57I find that hard to believe.
07:59I find it more likely that the NFL steps in when the season begins and, and puts you on the
08:05commissioner's exempt list.
08:07I'm not predicting, I'm not saying that's what's going to happen.
08:09I'm just saying of the scenarios, I think that one is more likely.
08:12If they don't do that, um, then the Falcons themselves will have to make a decision.
08:16They don't have to wait for the league.
08:17They are, you know, they have free, the Falcons have free will.
08:21They could do something.
08:22Will they?
08:23I don't know because you get into NFLPA, um, issues there.
08:27If a guy has, you know, is not legally, you know, forbidden from playing for you.
08:33If you say you can't play for us, maybe you, you know, you're getting some legal issues, but I don't,
08:38I don't think there's an answer right now.
08:39It's just a giant gray area because the, you know, the state of Florida said six months wasn't enough.
08:44It's got to be a year of like probation.
08:45But while he's under probation, can he be active?
08:49Yeah, again, we've been dancing in circles on this one.
08:52It's Josh Kendall from The Athletic talking about the Falcons.
08:54Hey, back to the draft.
08:55What did Falcon fans expect from Avion Terrell?
08:58And where does he fit in his rookie season?
09:02Jeff Obelka addressed that this week.
09:04And he said he could play him, uh, inside or outside.
09:07Um, and he wasn't willing to commit to anything until he got them into training camp and saw everybody with
09:13pads on and how they reacted.
09:14Um, I think that Billy Bowman's health.
09:17I thought Billy Bowman was on a really good trajectory prior to his injury last year, but he did have
09:24an Achilles injury.
09:25And, you know, if, if that slows you down a half a second, that's a big deal at the nickel
09:32position.
09:33So, if he's not fully healthy, does Avion Terrell start at nickel for this team?
09:37I think that's, you know, possible.
09:40I'm not saying it's likely.
09:41I'm saying it's possible.
09:41I just, there's so many questions that the Falcons don't have answers for right now that it's hard to say.
09:48But I think he'll play.
09:49I don't think he'll, I don't necessarily think he'll start, but he'll play.
09:51He'll be a contributor.
09:52Yeah, I'm with you.
09:53That was my question when they drafted him.
09:55I was like, okay, great talent.
09:56Where is he playing?
09:57Because you got to have a plan for this as you're moving forward.
10:00Josh, always a pleasure to talk with you, man.
10:02Again, the next time, June 8th, 9th, and June 11th, that's OTAs.
10:07And then they get mandatory minicamp June 16th through the 18th.
10:09And then they're off until camp starts.
10:11That's right.
10:12Josh, appreciate you, man.
10:13Make sure you read him in the athletic, guys.
10:15Have a great weekend, Josh.
10:17Thanks for having me, guys.
10:18Yeah, man.
10:19Mike, and that's what's crazy.
10:21He brings up the defense.
10:22It's funny because we've been so focused, and rightfully so, on the quarterback stuff.
10:25But he brings up a lot of good points about the defense and answering some of these things
10:28that Jeff Ulbricht's going to have to figure out.
10:30Right.
10:30And, you know, we talked about, you know, Ulbricht saying there's a lot of things that he'd
10:33like to do with Jalen Walker.
10:34And there you hear, you know, there's versatility there.
10:36But you're going to have guys basically openly auditioning to replace Divine Diablo because
10:40Divine's going to be replacing Caden, basically.
10:42And that probably plays well for Christian Harris.
10:44I think so.
10:44Right.
10:44I think so.
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