00:00And as Falcons camp gets rolling, we are spotlighting the most important position battles outside of the quarterback competition.
00:07Nickel, inside linebacker and defensive tackle.
00:10Let's get into the inside linebacker battle.
00:12Who do you have your eye on with this?
00:15Well, I think it depends on how you want to structure the defense.
00:19And that's really, you know, when we have our kind of checklist, which I'm sure we'll go over at some
00:24point this week,
00:24of what we want to see when we get out there.
00:26Like the very first snap of the defense, I can't wait to see the personnel that's on the field.
00:30You're always, I mean, you have base defense, quote unquote, but then you're always basically going to run nickel a
00:36lot.
00:36And, you know, it's one of the reasons that Billy Bowman was such a huge impact player as a rookie
00:41before the injury last year.
00:42And it's one of the reasons he was getting praised so much by guys like Mike Hughes,
00:45because it's like you have to have a nickel guy in this day and age.
00:49And now there's a lot of different ways to structure that.
00:52How many defensive linemen do you have on the field?
00:54How many edge players is a 3-4 structure, a 4-3 structure?
00:57We're going to run a hybrid.
00:59And we don't need to get too deep in the weeds.
01:01But I just simply want to see on the very first snap, is Jalen Walker on the ball or is
01:04he off the ball?
01:05And I think that's going to answer a lot of the questions about what could happen.
01:09Doesn't mean that it'll stay like that throughout the length of training camp,
01:12but if he's on the ball for the first snap defensively and Christian Harris is off the ball,
01:16then I think we kind of get an idea of what exactly Jeff Ulbrich is looking forward to doing as
01:22opposed to anything else.
01:24Yes, that he's seen enough.
01:26I wonder, do you, and this is going to make no sense, but just hear me out.
01:35Do you think that Jalen will play, that he could play such a hybrid that he would be on the
01:41ball and run situations,
01:44and because of his skill set, he would be with his athleticism and that he could be the off-the
01:49-ball guy
01:52in formations that look like a passing situation?
01:55So if you bring in a personnel set that basically spreads you out, you would counter with moving Jalen there,
02:06bringing in another edge rusher, and then letting Jalen move around and do the Caten roll in those situations,
02:11or is that just too many moving parts?
02:13I think it's too many moving parts, personally.
02:16I'm just curious what you thought.
02:17No, well, it's not the moving part thing, and it could be.
02:20That could be true, but you kind of answered this question a minute ago.
02:22What's the biggest thing that they have to prove they can do?
02:24It's stop the run, right?
02:26So it's all going to depend on how sure of a tackler Christian Harris is in a lot of those
02:31moments, right?
02:31He's not getting shielded.
02:32I don't think he's going to be shielded that great up front.
02:35You know what I mean?
02:36So if Jalen Walker is more of a sure tackler and is more of a downhill player at the off
02:40-ball linebacker spot,
02:41then you'll probably see him lining up there on obvious rundowns.
02:44It's just you're going to have your best players there off the ball to try to make those tackles
02:48in those given situations until you can prove that the guys up front can make Christian Harris better.
02:52And the reason I ask is because I thought Michael Pierce was less than average in the run defense last
03:02year,
03:03and I thought Jalen Walker was better than average as a run defender, as an on-the-ball player.
03:10I thought Jalen Walker was pretty good against the run last year, and I didn't think Michael Pierce was that
03:16good.
03:17And I'm talking about when they were all – what?
03:20Who's Michael Pierce?
03:21James Pierce.
03:22I was sitting there going, dude, I don't know.
03:24I couldn't figure it out.
03:25I was like, what is he trying to say here, Michael Pierce?
03:27Who is Michael Pierce?
03:28I don't know, dude.
03:29I can't look at you.
03:30Google Michael Pierce.
03:31Sorry, I was trying to let it play out, but I was like, I don't know who that is.
03:33I can't say something because I'm like, why are you so confused?
03:35Did I not explain it right?
03:36He said it once, and I was like, I don't know what that is.
03:38Why did I say that?
03:40I don't know.
03:40Ah, hell, who cares?
03:41Yeah, but you're spot on with the way those guys played, and that's why you bring in –
03:45and we're going to have to get clarity on his name, but an Ebukam or Abukum or –
03:48I'm not really sure exactly how you say his name.
03:51Ebukam, Arch was saying the other day.
03:53And that's why you bring in a player like that, a veteran player,
03:55who is now two years removed from the Achilles and can do some different things at the edge spot
03:59and is a good run defender.
04:00I also – I mean, look, going back and watching the tape a little bit,
04:04Cam Thomas to me is another guy who is – he's listed as Jalen Walker's backup,
04:08but he's a guy who I thought was really, really good in run defense last year
04:11in the short clips that I watched of him taking on lead blockers
04:14and kind of using his length and leverage to play that spot.
04:17So there's – look, the thing is there's so many different parts of the conversation,
04:22and the odds are by the time we get midway through the season,
04:24it's going to be a different bucket of names we're talking about.
04:27I mean, we haven't even – we've been talking about nickel and outside corner.
04:30We haven't even talked about C.J. Henderson in months.
04:32And that was a guy who, at the end of the year, you were relying on to seal the game,
04:36which is crazy.
04:37Like, we don't even think of him as really a big part of that entire battle,
04:40but he definitely is.
04:41Well, that's – that's what's so, like, weird about this season is, yeah,
04:48there's been changes on – you know, but it's really more of an offensive change
04:53than anything.
04:54Yeah, I mean, the head coach has changed, the GM has changed,
04:57but the defense looks a lot like it did last year other than a couple of,
05:01you know, pieces that we've talked about.
05:03And you're going to bring back guys, and you saw them perform last year,
05:06and you're like, well, you don't even – they're not even on top of mind
05:08because of a couple of additions you have.
05:11And you're like, I think the C.J. Henderson pulls a good one.
05:14Because he did kind of – look, he played – he didn't play terrible.
05:18You know, he had some moments, but that's the nature of that position.
05:22So the depth at secondary does feel a lot more than it's felt in a long time.
05:27At what point throughout training camp do you think we'll start to see guys
05:32kind of break away and seeing these position battles won?
05:37We – preseason game one is where I think we start to get a better idea.
05:42And I think preseason game one – now, if you were a coachless in this,
05:47you're going, well, I already have a good idea.
05:48Not necessarily, because I think preseason game one forces coaches
05:52into realistic gameplay scenarios where they have to go, okay,
05:56what am I going to answer this personnel with or that personnel?
06:00And the conversation we're having right now, for instance, I mean, you might say,
06:03hey, hey, we drafted Avion, he needs to get these reps, he needs to get that reps.
06:06But in the end, if he's not ready, then all of a sudden C.J. Henderson
06:10or Natron Brooks or Mike Hughes or – you know, we haven't even mentioned
06:17Kobe Bryant or DeMarco Hellen.
06:18Clark Phillips.
06:19It's just – right, Clark Phillips.
06:21I mean, there's just – so it forces you into a situation where I think that we
06:25look at the names that are different, and a lot of times the answers remain the same.
06:29You know, hey, we drafted Ontario Thompson.
06:32With the injury he's dealt with this offseason, there's no telling that he gets reps
06:36in preseason game one or game two or game three.
06:38You don't know.
06:39So it's – we celebrate the new guys, the Tua's, the Brian Robinson's,
06:44the Christian Harris's, the Sean Hand's, but in the end, it could be the same
06:48names we're talking about after preseason game one.
06:50And not to be that guy, but we don't even know what their plan for the preseason
06:55games are with them.
06:56I mean, I would – I tend to think that this will not be like the last regime who
07:03just decides they're not going to play any starters in the preseason.
07:08I tend to believe that you are going to see starters this preseason because of the
07:12battles that you have.
07:14Yeah.
07:14But they've not told us yet.
07:17I think it's a valid question on – I don't remember.
07:21Maybe I'm just missing something.
07:22I don't remember Stefanski saying what his strategy was preseason, but maybe I'm wrong.
07:27I mean –
07:27Maybe that's a question for Wednesday.
07:29Maybe it is.
07:30And it's like – I don't – that all said, I don't buy anything into whoever is under
07:37center on that first preseason game.
07:39I don't believe that that means that that person has a leg up or not.
07:42I think you can take that – that's kind of the thought process when you see something
07:48like that, but that doesn't mean anything as long as they both play with ones.
07:52And, Ali, I'll answer that question differently by giving an example.
07:56All right?
07:56When we drafted Harold Perkins, I think everybody was excited about the upside of
08:00Harold Perkins.
08:01And, right, we look at training camp and go, oh, man, Harold Perkins is going to get
08:04these reps and could settle into this role or that role and could be the understudy
08:08of this.
08:08But I guarantee you when preseason game one starts, if he's not ready, guess what?
08:13You're going to see Troy Anderson and J.D. Bertrand and, you know, Channing, Tyndall
08:17or whoever else, Kendall, Daniel.
08:19I mean, you're going to see a lot of these names plugged in that maybe the ones that
08:23we've talked about, the ones that are new additions, maybe they're not the ones that
08:26are the center focus for these coaching – both sides of the ball on these coaching
08:29staffs.
08:30All right.
08:30What do you know about Harold Perkins?
08:32Seeing him in LSU.
08:34He's athletic.
08:35But he's 6'2", 225.
08:39Right.
08:40Is he too small, light in the rear, as some would say, to play that edge position?
08:46Because that's one of the things I've thought about, too, is would he be a guy that could
08:50kind of do what Jalen did last year there if Jalen does move inside?
08:54But I think he might be a little light to play that edge.
08:59Because remember, y'all can talk about Jalen Walker being small.
09:02He's 6'2", 245.
09:03That's not – I mean, that's not – that's not necessarily 6'5", 260 like we used to see
09:08edge players.
09:10But –
09:11It's a hard question to answer just based on – just based on height and weight because
09:16a lot of it is the make – I mean, the first thing you notice when you see Jalen Walker
09:20in a football uniform is like he's – he's got a trunk.
09:23You know what I mean?
09:24Like this – he is built very – like a tree stump in a lot of different ways.
09:29And so you look at him, you go, oh, yeah, he could take on a puller.
09:32Like there's not going to be any problem with that.
09:34Like he's going to be fine.
09:35But it's just – it's a lot of what the makeup is and where the strength really lies
09:39for a lot of those conversations.
09:40How much does the world change for the rookies once the vets move in tomorrow?
09:43Oh, a massive amount.
09:45They can't control the music anymore, right?
09:47Yeah, exactly.
09:49Yeah, a massive amount.
09:50I guess it depends on who you are.
09:51Yeah, true.
09:52No, it's – a massive amount will change.
09:55Those guys will – honestly, it will allow them to take a deeper breath because now you
09:59can look at the other guys that know what they're doing and watch them do it.
10:03Right?
10:04You're not just kind of – and good coaching staff will have already done that.
10:07They'll put on tape of what they did the year before in Cleveland or whatever else it
10:11may be, a highlight reel of things they want them to see.
10:13But once you see somebody in front of you out on the field doing what you're
10:17supposed to be doing and can get a good vision of what Chris Lindstrom is doing
10:22in this zone scheme, you know, then I think that you kind of take a deep breath
10:27and go, all right, I can try to do that.
10:29There's no daze and confuse type hazing, right?
10:31You know, where they're chasing around with paddles and stuff.
10:34Well, rookies don't room with vets, do they?
10:36It's rookies and rookies.
10:36Not for the most part.
10:37I mean, every now and then, yes.
10:39It just depends on kind of the position.
10:42Like, sometimes they'll match up all specialists together or all quarterbacks together
10:46or whatever else it may be.
10:48But for the most part, no, you won't find many rookies that will room with vets
10:51unless it's just straight up like – and I think we talked – was Xavier Watts
10:56with Jesse last year?
10:57Yeah, I'm pretty sure they did that.
10:57I feel like that was a conversation we had with one of them about who's in your room.
11:02I feel like Xavier Watts was with Jesse.
11:03We need to pull all of those and figure out what the rooming was last year
11:06compared to this year.
11:06Yeah, yeah.
11:07And I guarantee it'll be different.
11:09But that doesn't mean they won't see him in a hallway or walking across that field
11:13on the way back or the way to – and you know what?
11:16Boom.
11:16Gotcha.
11:17Gotcha, rook.
11:18I'm just saying.
11:19I don't know what this guy's talking about.
11:20I don't know what that means.
11:22Like, is this a threatening boom gotcha or –
11:24Didn't y'all see Days of Confuse?
11:25Are you talking about the hazing thing?
11:26The hazing, yeah.
11:27Do I look like I watched Days of Confuse?
11:30You should have.
11:31Yeah.
11:31It's an American –
11:32Answer that question.
11:33It's an American classic.
11:35All right?
11:36I'm going to answer that for yourself.
11:36Literally top 20 movie of all time.
11:39Welcome.
11:39Welcome.
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