- 22 hours ago
Hear Falcons stars like Bijan Robinson, Drake London and Jessie Bates talk to media after the conclusion of mandatory minicamp. They talk about development of the offense, leadership in the locker room across the board and why there's a different vibe to the current coaching staff.
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00:00Mike, let's hear from some of the guys as mandatory minicamp wrapped up with our Falcons in regards to a
00:06couple of different things.
00:07And I want to start with B. John Robinson because now this is their time.
00:11The next five, five and a half weeks, go handle your business.
00:15Stay in shape, right?
00:16Get your body right.
00:17Get prepared for the upcoming season.
00:19Take some time off.
00:20So they asked B. John about, you know, a productive offseason and what he thought about the program and even
00:25the new offense.
00:26Yeah, I mean, it feels great.
00:27Like, you know, just knowing the scheme now and really starting to be comfortable with it, you know, that's always
00:34the goal when there's a new coach and a new O.C.
00:36And I think Tommy and Kevin and Coach Petrie, all the guys, like they did such a great job with
00:42us and learning the whole aspect of the offense and the pass game, the run game.
00:46So, like, for me, you know, now I'm not really thinking about anything anymore.
00:50I'm just going out there and lining up and trying to go be special.
00:53That's great.
00:54Go be special.
00:55But, B, are we going to score points?
00:57Can we put more than 25 points a game on the board?
01:00Ooh, 25, 24.
01:01Can we be that team that scores 28 a game?
01:05That's what I want to know.
01:06You know, Mike, we've been a team over the last few years, about 17.6, 17.8 points.
01:11We can't even get to the 20-point mark.
01:13And that is part of the reason why we've not been successful.
01:16We've had those games, guys.
01:17Of course, we've scored 30.
01:18But to be consistently dangerous in this offense, there are going to be those weeks.
01:23And you've got to find a way.
01:24But, Mike, those big plays and how this offense looks, it's got to look better than it did last year.
01:29Right.
01:30And if you go back and you look at it, and again, we're not talking total points.
01:32Because, you know, for instance, we won the Saints game a couple years ago with a special team's fumble recovery
01:38at an interception.
01:39Ironically, from Troy Anderson.
01:40Remember that?
01:41Taking it to the house.
01:41The team, that was like the 24th.
01:43The team didn't really do anything offensively.
01:44So, sometimes when you look at overall points, it can be a little bit misleading.
01:49But no big surprise.
01:50Who was at most points last year?
01:52L.A. Rams.
01:53That's what we aspire to be.
01:54You're right.
01:54It's so true.
01:56Let me hear Drake London talk about leadership.
01:58Because, again, if your team is player-led, more likely you're going to have a really good team.
02:04Coaches can do a lot.
02:05But, ultimately, you need guys in the locker room to lead the way.
02:08Here's what Drake had to say about that.
02:10I mean, it's very, very important.
02:11And it's easy to follow along when you have guys like Chris Lindstrom, Jesse Bates, AJ, older vets who have
02:18been here, KP, who really, really work hard.
02:21And don't let anything get in their way, whether it's the money, the status, whatever it is.
02:26And we take that to heart.
02:27And then you have guys like me, Bijan.
02:29You could go down the list.
02:30O.Z.
02:31Just people who really, really want to work on everybody.
02:34So, I think it's really, really dope that we have that culture.
02:38Are we sleeping on Jahan, by the way?
02:39Well, he's mentioned him a couple of different times.
02:41Yeah, we just don't know what he is.
02:42Because, again, he was looking up at so many big dudes.
02:44You know, obviously, AJ.
02:46Look, AJ Brown couldn't get the rock, let alone what Jahan Dotson was.
02:49AJ and Turino.
02:51And who is it?
02:52Devontae Smith both going for 1,000 yards.
02:53And tight end gets a lot in that offense, too.
02:56But Dallas Goddard.
02:57So, yeah, he may be a breakout guy for us.
03:00Generally, a guy who's on his third team that's a former first-round pick.
03:03That's kind of wishful thinking.
03:04But maybe with Stefanski, they get some more out of him.
03:08One other thing from Drake talking about Tua and Penix.
03:12You want to know what he thinks about him?
03:14Yeah, I think it's really, really dope.
03:16Two guys who can really just flat-out play.
03:19A little bit different styles.
03:20But at the same time, they're two dogs.
03:23And I'm just happy to have them on my team regardless of anything.
03:25Okay.
03:26Two dogs.
03:27Different styles.
03:28All right.
03:29Two dogs.
03:30Are we going to let the dogs out like the Knicks?
03:32There are different styles.
03:33I see Carl, by the way, for you Penix heads.
03:36He's much cooler today.
03:37He's mellowed out on this.
03:38You realize that in five weeks, Penix will be good to go.
03:40Okay, wait a minute.
03:42Time out.
03:42He is not going to be good to go.
03:45Would you stop with the ventriloquist thing that you're doing over there?
03:48Again, that's Orrin hitting buttons.
03:49I have no idea what you're talking about.
03:50You're saying one thing, and then your mouth doesn't move, and then you say,
03:53Knott!
03:54Penix is going to be fine.
03:56Knott!
03:56Says who?
03:58Everyone.
03:59Top men.
04:01Top men.
04:02Top men.
04:02What top men?
04:03No, you heard Stefanski.
04:04He should be ready.
04:05We've got five weeks.
04:06Five weeks to get healed up.
04:07Coach couldn't even, he couldn't even put his stamp of approval on that.
04:11Now, again, you heard Jesse, but different styles.
04:13I don't have that in front of me today.
04:16Yes.
04:17Different styles.
04:17One guy can move, one guy can't yet.
04:19But eventually, he will be able to do everything.
04:21All right.
04:22We'll see when we get there.
04:23Thank you, Coach.
04:24But that's dated audio, Carl.
04:25What do you mean?
04:26He said, we'll see.
04:27Five weeks from now, we will see.
04:30I just wish you could be as confident, Michael Penix Jr., as I am.
04:34The human beings that we got in there.
04:36I know, Tua.
04:37Right on.
04:37I know.
04:38Let's hear from Jesse Bates.
04:39One of our favorite dudes, man.
04:41Jesse's just a baller.
04:42Mike, he thinks, and he's not the only one, how excited he is about seeing Jalen Walker take
04:48another step this upcoming season.
04:49Yeah, I got to see it a little bit last year, but it's definitely more normalized now.
04:55I think people expect big things from Jalen, not just as a player, but as a leader and a
05:04person on this team.
05:05We need Jay Walker to take another step, and I know he's capable of that, for sure.
05:10All right.
05:10I want to just add this for a second, because when we drafted him, I said, where does he
05:15line up?
05:15It's very similar to what I asked about Avion Terrell.
05:18Now, where do you put him?
05:19And I thought the comment from Jeff Ulbrich was pretty brilliant when he said, look, we
05:25didn't feature him as much as we should have last year.
05:28So now, with no Caden Ellis, you can do maybe a little bit more of that, and I'm not saying
05:33he's going to take Caden Ellis' place.
05:36But Mike, the pressures, the coming off the edge, the being in coverage, he can do all of
05:43those things.
05:43Right.
05:44But can he be great at one of them?
05:46Well, that was the, see, that was the knock on, you know, Jalen was, he's got like the
05:50Swiss Army knife, but do you want one specific skill set, you know, for your guy?
05:54I think you can walk him up, because, you know, is he as big as some of the other guys
05:57that
05:57are the outside linebacker, edge rusher?
05:59No, but you saw him do it at Georgia, and one of the games where they kind of really released
06:02the house, that game up in Minnesota, now granted, J.J. McCarthy was terrible, but they
06:05were throwing him around like a rag doll.
06:07They were.
06:07You know, in that game, him and James Pierce Jr.
06:09Look, I've seen Jalen take on much bigger tackles.
06:12And get there.
06:13And destroy guys.
06:14Right.
06:14So you're right.
06:15I mean, like, but I just, that's my only thing, and maybe we'll talk to Jeff Ulbrich
06:19about this down the road, but can he be great at one of those things?
06:22And when I say one of those things, it's great to have versatility.
06:25But the reason why James Pierce Jr. got 10 and a half sacks is because that's what he
06:28does.
06:28Right.
06:28But I think Jalen, I think in my mind, Jalen can be Caden Ellis.
06:32You know, and now the way things are looking right now, D, I said Divine Diablo will take
06:37Caden's job.
06:38And could Jalen swing it over to what?
06:40Divine.
06:40We're going to find out.
06:41The good news is Ulbrich's got a lot of pieces to work with.
06:43He does.
06:44None of this works, though, as far as those guys in the middle, if you don't get pressure
06:47from the down linemen and the defensive tackles.
06:49And we picked up some dudes from the UFL, from the D.C., whatever the hell they are.
06:54And so we got more dudes.
06:56But yeah, Devontae Maxwell is now listed as the third of the three guys down linemen.
07:01Doorless is great.
07:03Deshaun Hand.
07:03We told you about those comments earlier in the previous minicamp where Deshaun Hand
07:07is a boss, to quote Rick Ross, that apparently this dude is showing out.
07:12And then we got Mason Smith, who you're not that familiar with, but he was looking up at
07:15again, depth chart in Jacksonville.
07:18That's sort of that nose tackle.
07:19And one of the things we'll be talking with Jalen about when we get to camp weeks away,
07:24he worked on pass rush this season, this offseason.
07:26So my guess is, Mike, he knows that is something he wanted to work on and get better at.
07:31It is a skill set.
07:32And we know that from our old buddy and good friend Chuck Smith, who, you know,
07:37taught pass rush in the professional ranks and certainly college and has all these different
07:41clients.
07:42It's a skill.
07:43And Jalen was wanting to work on that.
07:45So that's something he did work on this offseason.
07:47It's Dukes and Bell Sports Radio, 92.9 The Game.
07:49One other thing from Jesse Bates.
07:50Talking about this defense, does he love the defense where it's at, where they're going,
07:54and what about the D.C.?
07:55I've always loved this defense.
07:57And, you know, Brick, you can't ask for a better leader in what he does and, you know,
08:03his presence in the meeting rooms.
08:05I think he has some of the best meetings that I've ever been around.
08:08And we're talking about things that we were talking about in week four last year during
08:14OTAs that we are really digging deep and really figuring out problems, not just, you
08:20know, worrying about what your job is, but what everyone around you is doing as well.
08:26So what's going to separate us is our connection as well.
08:29And that's what Brick talks about that.
08:32He lives it.
08:33And we have to do the same thing, for sure.
08:35I said to you earlier, I think fans in their cars, Falcon fans, you just assume that every
08:39coaching staff thinks this way.
08:41Sure.
08:41If that was the case, no one would ever get fired.
08:44Some guys come in with an approach that, you know, maybe it's a little more laissez-faire,
08:48a little more, I don't know, you handle your stuff and whatever you focus on.
08:50And I like it, whatever it was, it didn't work.
08:53And I think now you see why.
08:54And you've heard players kind of, you and I hear these, our eyebrows go up because you
08:57hear players talking about more accountability, more attention to detail, things that you
09:02just heard right there, you know, knowing everybody's job because you may be asked to
09:05do it.
09:05You know, and that wasn't the case recently.
09:07No.
09:08And on the defensive side, look, as good as we were with the sacks, we do got to be
09:11better at stopping the run.
09:12Okay.
09:13Oh, yeah.
09:13That's why I mentioned those DTs, man.
09:15Who's stepping up?
09:16And the whole connection thing is real because that matters when you have a connected group.
09:21But we're going to see, man.
09:23I love the fact that Jesse's talking in that way.
09:25Like, we're ahead of the game.
09:26We're not just, this isn't basic stuff we're installing.
09:29Like, we're already thinking about things that we did last year and games where we weren't
09:33our best, Mike.
09:34And there are a lot of returning guys on this defense.
09:36That's the other part about it.
09:37I mean, I know we lost a couple of guys, but there are a lot of guys who made plays
09:40on this defense for us last year.
09:41And look, I think the secondary is our strength right now.
09:44When you talk about Watts and Bates and A.J. and the guys we have coming back, we're not
09:49even talking about Billy Bowman and the playmaking ability he has.
09:52I think the secondary is one of the strengths.
09:54Right.
09:54And, you know, I've talked about it for years.
09:56I mean, we've got guys that, you know, Troy Anderson is still on this team.
09:59You know, think about that.
10:00I mean, I don't know what he can do.
10:02I don't know if this simply just was contract manipulation and just, since you didn't have to,
10:06you know, he was off the books last year, but you still have to pay him.
10:09Yes.
10:09They restructured it.
10:10Or maybe can he resurrect himself?
10:13Can Avion Terrell start as your nickel this year on the defensive side?
10:17Or is he going to get a shot?
10:18Will he battle with Mike Hughes?
10:20Even, I mean, why not?
10:21You know, he was projected to be on the cusp of the first round.
10:24Why not?
10:24You know, maybe win the starting job.
10:25And have two brothers for the first time starting a corner opposite each other.
10:28That's a cool story.
10:29I mean, obviously we want picks and playmaking, but that's a cool story.
10:33Falcons have also signed today, by the way, a punter named Matthew Hayball.
10:40Where's he from?
10:42Australia.
10:43Good on you, Mike.
10:44An Australian, and he has been designated as the team's international exempt player.
10:51This was Lenny Craig.
10:53Yeah.
10:53We remember we had those guys.
10:54Right?
10:54Lenny Craig.
10:55The guys were hitting us up.
10:56Man, Lenny Craig looks amazing, man.
10:58Yeah, he can hit it 80 yards.
10:59I don't know where it's going, but I mean, like, everybody in college now has like a 30-year-old
11:04punter.
11:04So Matthew Hayball from down under, he wouldn't be the first to make his way to the NFL,
11:08but until we picked up Jake Bailey to upgrade over what we had.
11:12We did address the worst, you know, field goal kicking situation in the league with Nick Falk, too.
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