- 5 days ago
James Pearce Jr.'s suspension status remains up in the air as Falcons camp kicks off this week, leaving the talented edge defender eligible to practice, and in theory, play regular season games until the NFL decides to levy a suspension. How will Kevin Stefanski and the Falcons brass handle that situation? Dukes and Bell break that down, and more Falcons talking points as camp opens this week.
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00:00But one of the things that we're looking at with the vets reporting tomorrow
00:05is there's still no word on James Pierce Jr.
00:08Now, guys, I don't believe there's going to be.
00:11I think the NFL is just going to wait, play, take its time,
00:15and let this play out.
00:16But what that means for us as Falcon fans is we're going to get a chance
00:20to probably see James Pierce play, and he's going to be on the field.
00:23If you're saying, well, why would they do that?
00:25The only way that would happen, and maybe Kevin Stefanski announces this
00:28on Wednesday, Mike, to say, well, you know what?
00:32He's going to start the season on the pup list.
00:34Like, he's a guy that's going to be here just like he was at mandatory minicamp,
00:39but he'll be working on the side, and therefore he's here.
00:42We're not breaking any rules.
00:44But why?
00:45And that would be my question, especially with where he's at
00:49in this whole situation.
00:50So we are waiting to see.
00:53But I know it's one of the questions that Falcon fans are wondering about, Mike,
00:55as we get ready for camp on Wednesday.
00:57It's like, okay, cool.
00:57I know we've got to figure out the quarterback stuff.
00:59There's other things we'll be watching, and we will talk about some of this stuff
01:02leading into not only the next few days but throughout the course of the next few weeks.
01:07But the James Pierce Jr. thing is right here front and center.
01:09I mean, if the NFL, like, they have all the information,
01:12and it's just a matter now.
01:13I think the state of Florida maybe threw a monkey with a wrench in this deal
01:16because it was going to be a six-month probation period as part of the pre-trial
01:21intervention, whatever they called it, down there in South Florida
01:23with his situation.
01:24And then the state of Florida says it's got to be a year-long probation.
01:26So is the NFL going to wait for him to complete a year long,
01:29and then they're going to hit him with a suspension?
01:31I mean, a lot of fans would say common sense.
01:33They want you to hit him with a suspension now because the optics,
01:35regardless of how it was adjudicated,
01:38were still pretty awful for the league and for the Falcons.
01:40So hit him with an eight-game.
01:42He can appeal it down to a four-game suspension.
01:45And then the Falcons down.
01:46Maybe the Falcons do know, and we just were not privy to it.
01:48But if he is eligible to play, then he plays.
01:52If I'm Stefanski, if I'm Matt Ryan, if I'm Ian Cunningham,
01:54if the NFL has not dropped anything on him, he plays.
01:57And hopefully we're in their assisting in whatever counseling
02:00and everything else he's doing to keep him on point and on track
02:04and leading the life he should be leading.
02:06But if that's the case, the man's got a right to earn the paycheck.
02:09And he's already under contract, so let's get him out there.
02:10That's how I feel.
02:11404-726-0929.
02:13It's one of the things we're going to be watching, okay?
02:16And certainly keeping you guys updated as nobody will cover camp
02:19like Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
02:20All the shows, Morning Ships, Steakhouse, Andy Randy.
02:22Everybody will be up there, and you'll hear exclusive interviews
02:25that you won't hear anywhere else.
02:26So make sure you tune in to stay up on the latest, guys.
02:29Look, I'm excited, Mike, for various reasons.
02:33One, new season, new hope, new opportunity.
02:37Everybody's talking about repeat, repeat, right?
02:38We just talked about the Knicks.
02:40Guys, the Seahawks, the odds of them repeating are slim to none.
02:43And slim just left town.
02:45Eight teams have done it.
02:46It's hard in the NFL.
02:49So when you're talking about all things going right
02:52with what they already lost, right?
02:55Clint Kubiak, their OC, gone.
02:57He's now the Raiders coach.
02:58Kenneth Walker was the Super Bowl MVP.
03:01He's now in Kansas City.
03:03So you start talking about these things, Mike, and you go,
03:05are they going to be able to replace all of this?
03:07They got a first-time play caller in their new OC.
03:11I'm not buying that the Seahawks are going to fly through.
03:14They still got a good team.
03:15Do not get me wrong.
03:16And Coach McDonald's really good.
03:17But this idea like, okay, season starts and Seahawks are back in this,
03:20there's just too many variables.
03:21They're 12-1 right now.
03:23I mean, think about that.
03:24Defending Super Bowl champions, 12-1.
03:26You just laid out the changes in the staff.
03:28But this is a team that's going to start the season on a Wednesday night,
03:31hosting the Patriots.
03:32That's right.
03:32That's the story.
03:33The Rams are 5-1, by the way.
03:35Bills are 10-1.
03:36How much do you like the Rams?
03:37I really like the Rams, especially if Aaron –
03:39now this is going to be – all eyes on Aaron Donald now.
03:42Is he going to show up?
03:43Is he going to play with Miles Garrett?
03:45I mean, that's like the X-Men playing defense, right?
03:48It really is.
03:49They can both go out there with their shirts off and not have a problem.
03:52That is one where, I mean, this is something –
03:54and look, they've played it close to the vest.
03:56A lot of folks in Los Angeles think he is going to play,
03:58and they'll work around.
04:00I think you accommodate, and whatever he needs, you let him have, right,
04:03to be ready to go.
04:04I like the Rams a lot.
04:05I mean, like, it's an easy – it's easy to say that.
04:08They got the best play caller in Sean McVay.
04:10If they do add Aaron Donald, guys, I mean, like,
04:13you're talking about two future Hall of Famers.
04:15Donald, because he's taking this break, is still in his prime.
04:18Right.
04:18I mean, he played – he said, I'm going to play 10 years, and I'm out.
04:20He played 10 years, got his Super Bowl, and he's out.
04:23But, Mike, he could have easily been playing these last few years,
04:26so I'm with you on that.
04:27I think they got a really good – and, you know, you had Puka Nakua
04:29and Matthew Stafford.
04:31Like, they're loaded.
04:31They added Jalen Watson, signed that three-year deal,
04:34so they needed help because they couldn't stop –
04:36but why aren't they in the Super Bowl?
04:37They couldn't stop Jackson Smith and Jigba.
04:38But as part of it, they gave McDuffie an extension.
04:41Higby's back.
04:42They got a force, man.
04:43It's a machine.
04:44It is.
04:44And I think McVay is one of the sharpest guys in football.
04:47But getting back to the Falcons, you know, with Pierce Jr.,
04:49I still think if I'm the Falcons – and a lot of guys agree with us on the text line,
04:54he's got – he should be out there.
04:56And, look, it is what it is.
04:58There's going to be people that will never give him a second chance
05:01from what they saw in that video.
05:02And that's their prerogative.
05:03But the guy's still, you know, got a chance to turn his life around.
05:06And while he's doing that, to do something he's really good at,
05:09which is stomping the quarterback.
05:10The other question, I guess, we were talking off the air,
05:12how concerned – and do you think it's going to be –
05:15will they be fixable, replaceable?
05:17He wasn't like the perennial pro bowler,
05:19but Caden Ellis meant so much to what Jeff Albrecht's trying to do in this defense.
05:23And how did the LA get that production from that spot?
05:25I said this to you.
05:26I don't want to disrespect what Caden Ellis did.
05:29But he was a really good player on an average defense.
05:32Yes, we were second in stacks in the league.
05:34We were not the Houston Texans last year.
05:38Okay?
05:38They are stout.
05:39They were bad run defense, but we could get the quarterback on the ground.
05:43A lot of sacks, but a good player on an average defense.
05:46That's what that was last year.
05:47Mike, I want to believe that we can replace that production.
05:51Now, does it come from one guy, is the question for me.
05:54Is it Harold Perkins, who they have a lot of high hopes from, right?
05:59We're talking about the linebacker position.
06:01Christian Harris.
06:01Is it Christian Harris?
06:02Are you getting that production from various guys,
06:05or is there one guy that just steps up and, you know, rules the roost,
06:09and all of a sudden he's that guy?
06:10Well, why can't Jalen Walker be that guy?
06:12He was that versatile with Georgia.
06:14Why can't Jalen Walker take over, right?
06:17For – I said, for divine Diablo!
06:19Diablo swings over and does what Caden does,
06:21and you've got super athletic guys in the middle of the field at linebacker.
06:24Yeah, I just don't know if that's the plan for him.
06:27Look, he's listed as an edge guy, okay?
06:30That doesn't mean he can't play linebacker, but, Mike, we've got one, two, three,
06:33four, five, six, seven, eight.
06:35We've got ten linebackers, and I'm not even talking about Troy Anderson
06:38or Malone or J.D. Bertrand, Channing Tindall.
06:43I'm not even talking about all these guys.
06:45I'm talking about the top guys that we've signed
06:47and the guy that we know is going to be there is Divine Diablo.
06:50So Jalen Walker is listed as an edge guy.
06:53I don't think that that's what he's going to do, but we'll see
06:55because I don't know what Jeff Ulbrich's plan is right now.
06:58That's what camp is for.
06:59You could argue that Christian Harris, you know,
07:01he had some injury issues with the Texans,
07:03but he was a guy that was highly touted.
07:04He's had a 100-tackle season.
07:06He got hurt.
07:07But he's on a one-year deal.
07:08All these guys are all motivated.
07:09They're all on prove-it deals.
07:10All these guys we've added to add depth to the defensive rotation.
07:14But Christian Harris with Diablo, and to your point,
07:17last year Ulbrich said Jalen Walker is a guy that can line up,
07:21and the size isn't an issue.
07:23He can play off the edge.
07:24He can walk up to the line.
07:25But one thing about Cade Nellis, and remember,
07:27we talked about it when it went down.
07:28Ulbrich, this is right before free agency started.
07:30He goes, man, I hate to lose him.
07:31He does the work of two men.
07:32He did.
07:33But, I mean, the one thing about Cade Nellis,
07:35he'd still get seven or eight sacks.
07:37He could walk up and boom.
07:39And you know that Ulbrich is generally all gas, no brakes.
07:42So he wants that kind of aggressiveness.
07:44Here's what I would say, and again, there's no disrespect.
07:49Diablo got hurt.
07:50We lost five games.
07:50Because nobody could cover the middle.
07:53J.D. Bertrand could not do that,
07:54and we got burned on stuff after the catch.
07:56But Cade Nellis was on the field.
07:58True.
07:58If that was Cade Nellis who got hurt,
08:00I don't know if we lose those five games.
08:02Because I think Divine Diablo could do those things.
08:07So you were going to have a mismatch regardless
08:08because you were down a dude who, again,
08:11we weren't that athletic when you talk about going sideline to sideline,
08:14and you've got to go with what you've got.
08:15But at the end of the day, and that's what I would tell you, Mike,
08:17we lost five games because that dude got hurt.
08:19Zero.
08:20Right.
08:21I want to believe that if he is on the field and Cade Nellis wasn't,
08:25I don't know if that would have happened.
08:27And that's kind of how I look at this.
08:28I'm hoping.
08:29But I told you from day one, like this linebacker room,
08:30I've been saying this all offseason.
08:33Who's stepping up?
08:34Right.
08:34I mean, like, it's really a wide-open competition in some cases.
08:37We already talked about all the major players.
08:39I mean, like, if Troy Anderson gets on the field,
08:41that'll be one of the great comeback stories in recent history
08:43because, look, we all know what he's capable of,
08:45and, unfortunately, he's never able to stay on the field.
08:48That's what it is.
08:49But I'm looking forward to seeing Brandon Dorlis.
08:51I think Brandon Dorlis got overlooked because we were talking so much about Pierce.
08:54Dorlis is a stud.
08:55Some of these other pieces.
08:57And he played, oh, two years, right?
08:58Right.
08:59It's been two years.
09:00And Terry, oh, you're talking about Ontario Thompson's injured right now.
09:03But there's other dudes that are going to have to step up to the plate.
09:08I know the guy you're talking about that we always use to joke around about.
09:11I'd always bring him up.
09:12And D-Lead would go, oh, he's nothing, Mike, from Washington.
09:16Trice.
09:16Trice.
09:16Braylon Trice.
09:17Yeah.
09:17He can't do it, Mike.
09:19Oh, yeah.
09:19Dorlis is good.
09:20I'm talking about Trice.
09:21Right on.
09:22So that's where it's at.
09:22And then on the flip side of the ball, one of the things I can't know,
09:25granted, Wednesday is not like contact, but they're doing stuff,
09:27and we'll see him.
09:28Can't wait to see Zachariah Branch.
09:30Can't wait to see what he's going to be on this offense.
09:32No, I think he's going to be a scat back, man.
09:34Like that quick twitch stuff that we talk about, his ability to get open,
09:37it's going to be a lot of fun.
09:38It's Dukes and Bells, Sports Radio 92.9, the game.
09:40Before we get to Braves and talk about Acuna's return,
09:43the countdown continues.
09:46Come on.
09:47It's Dukes and Bells, Falcons camp countdown.
09:50Two days until Falcons training camp,
09:52and Penix is still not cleared.
09:56Oh, all right.
09:58Why is he laughing?
09:59That's the Mr. Voice we know.
10:01I didn't tell him to laugh.
10:02I mean, sorry, what's he laughing for?
10:04You didn't, really?
10:07It's Dukes and Bells, Falcons camp countdown.
10:10Two days until Falcons training camp,
10:12and Penix is still not cleared.
10:17That's excessive.
10:18Now you're going to trigger some people,
10:20and we've got a couple guys going to lose their minds.
10:22I never told him to laugh.
10:23I said, dramatic pause, and then, you know.
10:25Oh, okay.
10:27Anyway.
10:28And by the way, Carl laid it out earlier.
10:32Now, if Indiana Jones, Daniel Jones,
10:36could play well off an Achilles,
10:37and not look as bad as,
10:38he's also younger than Kirk Cousins,
10:40but Kirk was, you know, let's be honest,
10:41he looked like Mr. Glass at times in his first few games.
10:43He was able, though, as we said,
10:45to give you an unbelievable,
10:46that's another hell of a,
10:47that's what made the Kirk Cousins conundrum.
10:49You came from behind to beat the Eagles
10:51in Philadelphia with a two-minute drill
10:53on a guy with basically one good leg.
10:55One leg.
10:55We didn't know.
10:56But you know what?
10:57The season play, as the season went on,
11:00he wasn't, the leg lost strength.
11:03Yeah, but he, he.
11:04That's what happened.
11:05It was, like, Mike,
11:05he probably had strength at the beginning
11:07because he had worked up to that point.
11:08But as the season moved forward,
11:10that's probably when he started to lose
11:12that strength in his leg.
11:13But then, of course,
11:14the shoulder was the problem, you know,
11:16and then he couldn't throw the football
11:17like he needed to
11:18after he got dumped on his arm.
11:19And then the coaching staff, you know,
11:20didn't have the foresight to say,
11:22you know what?
11:22Maybe he's all healed up
11:23and we'll have a quarterback competition.
11:25They annoyed you like the guy.
11:26Yeah, that was a bit of a clerical error.
11:28Oh, he was trying to cover that.
11:29I hear that.
11:29But anyway, so now we,
11:31we have seen Patrick Mahomes cleared.
11:33Daniel Jones says he's cleared.
11:35And we're, and to Carl's point,
11:36I mean, now a lot of our,
11:37it's funny, now guys have changed the argument.
11:39Now the guys that were getting on us
11:40about Penn is saying,
11:41well, I knew he wasn't going to be ready.
11:42Oh, really?
11:43Oh, okay.
11:45Okay.
11:45Oh, come on.
11:48Really?
11:49Because if Pennix can't compete,
11:51he can't win the job.
11:52And if Tua balls out,
11:54then he's not giving up the job.
11:55That's a fact.
11:56I mean, that's, that's not hype.
11:58That's the reality of the quarterback dynamic.
12:00And then he may get a contract.
12:01He may get a,
12:02we say Sam Darnold.
12:03I mean, if Tua put,
12:04I mean, I don't know.
12:05If Tua really balls out,
12:06you know, I mean,
12:07it's a bad situation for Pennix.
12:08Here's what we don't know.
12:10I mean, I don't want to get over my skis yet.
12:13What's the leash?
12:15What's the leash?
12:17Like, I hear you.
12:19But week three,
12:20he throws three picks.
12:22We lose it.
12:23What's the leash?
12:24That's kind of his MO with the Dolphins
12:25the last three years.
12:26He's going to have good weeks and bad weeks.
12:27So we're going to week four
12:28with a new quarterback?
12:29Well, that's just,
12:29that's up for the house.
12:31Does the fans want to have this yo-yo routine?
12:33I don't think you want to do that.
12:34I don't either.
12:34But I'm just saying,
12:35like, it's easy to say
12:36he's not coming off the job.
12:37And like, look,
12:38the perfect thing for Falcon fans,
12:40Falcon Nation,
12:41would be to have one guy
12:43and we know what to expect.
12:46But we're not in that situation, Mike.
12:50We're not.
12:51And that's what we're battling against right now.
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