00:00Question is, Atlanta Falcons' most important player on each side of the ball?
00:04I mean, I think you probably know the answer to that one on offense, right?
00:08Well, I said besides quarterback.
00:10Oh, besides?
00:11There's a tab there.
00:13Because, yes, that is the obvious answer.
00:15That's the one.
00:16So I thought I'd make it slightly more difficult for you besides quarterback.
00:19But the good news is we don't know who that quarterback is,
00:22so that conversation is a little bit open.
00:25I think the fact that the answer to the question besides quarterback
00:29is also fairly obvious to me because it's B. John Robinson.
00:32That makes the job of whoever is the quarterback a little bit easier.
00:36And you would have to hope that, and I would think that this would be true,
00:41the offensive play caller this year and the offensive philosophy this year
00:45will revolve as much around B. John Robinson as possible.
00:49It felt like last year they got a little sidetracked from that at times.
00:54He's the best player you've got.
00:55Get him the ball as much as you possibly can.
00:57Can I interest you in some alternate possibilities here?
01:00Yes.
01:01And I obviously think that B. John is incredibly important,
01:04and you are basing your offense around him.
01:08I have talked myself into – I had a discussion with myself.
01:12Okay.
01:12I have talked myself into the key to actually fully unlocking Kevin Stefanski's offense
01:17might be Kyle Pitts.
01:21I'm not overly confident in wide receiver two and things being opened up beyond Drake London
01:29in the pass game.
01:30I also think Kyle Pitts is probably a type of guy who's going to fit,
01:35if it is to a quicker pass, middle of the field, short yards,
01:41try and get some yards after the reception type of performance.
01:47And I just think – B. John is obviously incredible.
01:51He's great.
01:52I don't know to what extent he opens up the offense for others.
01:56Now, to some extent, obviously having a good run game, but –
02:00Yeah.
02:01Now, we'll see.
02:01Play action because we haven't really done that.
02:03But that's how it is.
02:04That'll be part of the discussion.
02:05If they get the run game going consistently and they use play action –
02:09Key.
02:10Which –
02:10Try it out.
02:11Again, it's a key.
02:12You had a quarterback who made his entire career based on the play action passing game
02:16and didn't use it all that much with a great running back.
02:21And one of the many reasons why Zach Robinson and those guys aren't here anymore.
02:24Yes.
02:25But yeah, I mean, that's what it is, right?
02:27Like, you lean on B. John as much as you can, assuming that it's effective on a week-in,
02:31week-out basis, and then you use play action to loosen up the defense and let –
02:36Whether it's Tua or Penix, pick them apart.
02:39Yeah.
02:39I just – That's definitely a thing.
02:42It better be a thing.
02:44It definitely better be a thing.
02:45It's got to be a thing.
02:46I do wonder, though, I still in my brain, like, how Pitts is the key to unlocking everything
02:50else.
02:51Just because I think taking pressure off of Drake, someone else has to step up.
02:56And who is that guy going to be?
02:59I think Kyle Pitts feels like in terms of potential, contract year, like, all of those
03:07things.
03:08I think you're right.
03:09Don't get me wrong.
03:10It's definitely Bajon.
03:11I think you're right.
03:12But I think there's something to the offense will go if Kyle Pitts goes as well.
03:20Yeah.
03:21I think that – I get what you're saying.
03:24And it's just hard because we're, like, in year six now with Kyle Pitts, and every
03:28single summer we do this thing where we're like, this is the year where Kyle Pitts gets
03:31unlocked.
03:32And then some weeks it is, kind of.
03:34Yeah.
03:34And then other weeks it isn't.
03:35And you see flashes of it.
03:37And obviously at the end of the year last year, he had a couple of performances that
03:40were the best that he's ever had.
03:42Can we talk about that for a second, too?
03:44Sure.
03:44In a second.
03:45In a second.
03:46And I agree that that is entirely possible.
03:50But I also know that, you know, at a certain point, like, you're either going to do that
03:54consistently or you're not.
03:56I think that there – I mean, there's just a lot of options on this offense.
04:00And that's what's crazy about analyzing this football team because I still kind of sit
04:05around the expectation of 500-ish.
04:09If stuff breaks in their direction, maybe nine, maybe ten, top end, it wouldn't surprise
04:15me if it's somewhere around seven or eight, and that's where it's been now for five years.
04:18But then you start digging further into it, and it's like, well, they got better guys
04:22at a lot of places than they have had.
04:24And I understand they've had Pitts for a while, but he's another year and hopefully better
04:29in this offense.
04:30Drake London, hopefully healthy.
04:31B. John Robinson in what is now going to be – what is his fourth year?
04:35It'll be his fourth year.
04:36And he's gotten better every single year.
04:37Or, again, it comes down to quarterback play.
04:40The reason they've been at seven and eight wins for the last five years is because they've
04:43had inconsistent, mediocre quarterback play.
04:46They have to get better than that.
04:48And, again, that's what it all boils down to.
04:49But it's not that crazy to start talking yourself into this offense having really good
04:53weapons, and then you get beyond those guys.
04:56And who knows with Jahan Dotson.
04:58Olamide Zaccheaus is a really nice third or fourth option.
05:01Zachariah Branch is going to be a rookie, but you know the explosive capability that he has.
05:04There's just like – there's a lot of fun parts that if you're being – if you're in
05:09an optimistic mood and you're looking at the Falcons' offensive depth chart, you can
05:12be like, I don't know.
05:14But it all circles back to –
05:15If you get good quarterback play, this could be a good group.
05:18Yeah.
05:19It can.
05:20I absolutely do that.
05:21And any other discussion is just the offensive line needs to be a little bit better than
05:24it was last year.
05:25I know you lost McGarry.
05:26You made some moves.
05:27Juwan Taylor.
05:28We'll see what that's all about.
05:30What were you going to say about the Kyle Pitts big game?
05:32There's like a small discussion about like Kyle Pitts' best games coming when Drake
05:37London was hurt.
05:38I don't think that's a small discussion at all.
05:39I think that's a real thing.
05:40So are we concerned heading into the year about their ability to be on the field together
05:44and produce together?
05:46Is it more of a, it's okay if one day it's Pitts game, one day it's – can we get
05:51games
05:52where Drake is, let's say, 10 catches for a buck 30 and a touchdown and Pitts is eight
05:58for 94 and a touchdown?
06:00Like, is that –
06:01That would be phenomenal.
06:02But you see what I'm saying?
06:03Yeah.
06:04Can it exist in the offense between those two?
06:06I don't know.
06:08That's on this offensive staff to come up with ways to do that.
06:12Obviously, last year they couldn't.
06:13Yeah.
06:14They couldn't figure it out.
06:15Yeah.
06:15When Drake London was healthy, he was going to be the number one guy and they were going
06:19to feed him the ball.
06:20And then we complained about Pitts' target.
06:21It's a disappearing act and inconsistencies.
06:24And then Drake London got hurt.
06:24And a lot of it is they do a lot of the same stuff.
06:26Like, they're similarly built guys that obviously one's a tight end and one's a wide receiver.
06:30But, like, Drake London, when he's in there, is in the spot that Randy's said for years
06:35and is right because when Drake London isn't in there, Kyle Pitts is, that Pitts could be
06:39populating.
06:40Like, Drake London's part of the field.
06:41He's doing –
06:42He's the part of the field.
06:42He's in the part of the field that Kyle Pitts would be best at.
06:45So, I mean, maybe they can find ways to get Drake in other places and get Kyle over there.
06:50Maybe they can find ways to get Kyle in other places where he can be productive as well.
06:54But I also think, like, what happened yesterday plays into that.
06:58Drake London's got a $100 million contract.
07:00Kyle Pitts is on a franchise tag.
07:02Drake London's going to get fed.
07:04Kyle Pitts is going to get what's left.
07:06You know what I mean?
07:07Like, that's why I have a hard tag, just in terms of the distribution.
07:11Like, there's only so many in a game where you're, you know, even if you're throwing
07:16a lot, there's only 40 passes.
07:18You know what I mean?
07:20So –
07:20Well, I would love, and I know it's not necessarily –
07:24Drake's getting 12 of them.
07:25Well, and this is why I say this.
07:28I don't view Drake London as this type of player, but I would love for less targets,
07:33less receptions, bigger chunks.
07:36Yeah, but that's not –
07:37But that would –
07:38You'd have to have someone else step up to pick up the additional targets, the
07:43additional catches, the additional – and so could that be Pitts or not?
07:47Less targets for Drake or less targets in general?
07:51Less targets for Drake.
07:53Okay.
07:53Like, can he become a little bit more explosive down the field?
07:56That's not really his game.
07:57I don't think he's going to.
07:58Like, I think he's –
08:00So can Kyle?
08:01Maybe.
08:01It's possible.
08:02But I think the down-the-field threat is more likely going to be Jahan Dotson or
08:06Zachariah Branch, like someone with that top-end speed.
08:09Like, the thing that makes Drake London great is he doesn't have to get that crazy
08:13separation in order to make great catches.
08:15He can contest.
08:16I've always said he's a different type of wide receiver one than many of those in
08:19the league.
08:20He's not Jefferson Chase, C.D. Lamb.
08:22But he's a dude that, at the end of the day, 12 catches, 114 yards, and a touchdown.
08:28And those are wide receiver one numbers for anyone in the league.
08:32It just looks a little bit different.
08:35That kind of goes back to why I'm like, man, if we can ever get these two guys together,
08:41like Drake and Kyle.
08:42What would you guess that Drake London's career-long reception is in his now four-year,
08:47going-on five-year NFL career?
08:49I don't remember anything super long.
08:51I don't want to say, like, awkwardly short, like nine yards, but this is after a run
08:57included?
08:59I don't know.
09:0041.
09:0045.
09:01Good guess.
09:01Good guess.
09:03His rookie year, he had a 40-yard catch.
09:05Year two, Desmond Ritter year, he had a 45-yard reception.
09:11Somehow that's his record.
09:1339 and 24 at 43 last year.
09:16So, yeah, that's what it is.
09:17He's not going to be the home run hit.
09:19He's not going to be the home run hit.
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