00:00um we've all been through a lot of preseasons i'm the first to tell you that training camps
00:04and spring trainings and all that there's very little learned but i i don't feel there was
00:08little to learn i feel like um in a very simple manner i'll let you guys go from there
00:13that the personnel on the atlanta falcons on the defensive side of the ball our personnel
00:20that you know we were second in the league in sacks last year um but we've lost really
00:25the three anchors of our defense james pierce jr jalen walker cayden ellis and the start with that
00:31and what at the uphill battle like i don't see any players over there and that scares the hell out
00:36of me well and you definitely didn't see them on friday night you didn't have divine diablo playing
00:41or jesse bates or javier watts by design obviously yeah and and i'll say this i mentioned this in
00:46the post game only one returning player in the front seven when that game kicked off the other
00:50night only one on brandon doorless that was it divine diablo i mean so you're you know you're
00:54dealing with an uphill battle there but i think it goes back to a conversation you guys and i had
00:58a week ago out of training camp it's like what are your expectations and i mentioned as we signed off
01:02the morning shift a minute ago sean payton was eight nine in his first year at denver he's built that
01:06thing into a juggernaut at this point but back then when he signed on in denver that team was in
01:11transition and there's people learning his system so it's all about what your expectations were and um
01:16so what do you tell my first question is this jeff olbrick obviously having the success that the defense
01:22had a year ago second in the league in sacks a lot of those guys returning they essentially had
01:27the luxury of being able to sit out that first preseason game because on the offensive side of
01:31the ball for the first time in what seems like forever falcon starters at least got two series in
01:36new coordinator new head coach new quarterback those guys had to play maybe the defense got the
01:41benefit of the doubt and olbrick said you know what you guys can chill i don't well no and not
01:46necessarily i mean jake played one series uh john didn't play drake played two plays okay
01:52uh juan taylor still not up to speed and playing right tackle so i mean it's it's hit or miss
01:56it's
01:57hard to say um but i don't think anybody look i'm not sitting here i did not leave friday night
02:01with
02:02the warm fuzzies and we said as much on the post game show it's like dude no matter what you
02:05thought
02:05was going to happen it was probably uglier than you had you know that's fair nobody in the national
02:10football league looked worse nobody that's also fair that's probably true maybe maybe side from
02:16cleveland i don't know they've they've well they had jeshaun watson played okay right
02:21did you not i don't know maybe i maybe i was focused maybe i was wasn't focused on the stats
02:26went on and on about him some of the throws he made were dust well let me just say this
02:30though
02:30um if you watch preseason football it was pretty crisp around the league i mean there were rookies
02:36making plays there were quarterbacks that were efficient i i don't remember more exciting games when
02:41you turn them on now not just because you got seattle and dallas in one game and then you know
02:46watching the rams and tie sympathy stealers packers yeah i mean not to mention it all started with a
02:51hall of fame game that was pretty good with custom beck and haynes king so like people looked fairly
02:56crisp yeah and then you watch us those first two possessions and then you watch to his look on his
03:03face
03:03after the game and i go dude you know maybe you are literally being sold a bill of goods again
03:08and i said
03:09i'm so easy right now you know like he convinced me that well we got drake and we got kyle
03:15and we
03:15got bajon and two or two years ago but don't fall for it man don't fall for it i've been
03:21trying to
03:22say this the whole offseason don't fall for it it's it's it's a farce to sit here and act like
03:27this is
03:27because raheem did this when he took over it's like well you know if the quarterback played a little
03:31bit better i'm not sitting here and desmond ritter by the way was still on the roster at that point
03:35and
03:35then you overreact and you sign quarterbacks you draft quarterbacks and you were led to believe
03:39that that team was going to compete and go to the playoffs i'm not there right now with this squad
03:43dude i will not be told that about what we did in free agency 15 one-year deals and then
03:49you and
03:49jalen walker tears his acl right you're not going to convince me that's the goal of this front office
03:53right no i i totally agree i mean i said it on this very show a couple of weeks ago
03:58obviously with
03:59the season a couple of weeks away every falcons fan is optimistic hey we're going to be better than we
04:04think hey we have a chance to get to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 but when you
04:09look
04:09at the roster and when you break down the specific quarterback situation which is two guys that
04:15can't stay healthy to uh hopefully you can have a bounce back will michael pennix jr be ready i don't
04:20know however with this new staff with this new leadership president of football matt ryan i mean there
04:27is a legitimate scenario where this team wins three or four games this year and you have a top five
04:33pick
04:33in a very quarterback heavy draft where now the falcons franchise and the fan base can be sold
04:40here is your bill of goods a la an arch manning or a trinidad chambliss or a dante moore whoever
04:46it may
04:46be moving forward with guys like bijon drake kyle pitts in the fold already yeah and look like that's a
04:53legitimate situation that falcons fans could be looking at we asked a three-way which one wednesday
04:57last week and it was like hey in 2027 is it who was the quarterback is michael pennix or is
05:02it a
05:03draft pick and i think overwhelmingly you'd say the draft pick at this point most guys that cover
05:08the league have us between 26 and 30 in terms of talent not much higher than that about you know
05:14you saw any higher than that 24 no i think that's 26 and 32 i don't think this roster is
05:20as talented
05:20now as it was last year which is a massive indictment on what it is but then again matt ryan
05:25talking
05:25with ian cunningham closed door meetings with kevin stefanski what are we what are we in 2026
05:30they're having very vulnerable conversations as leadership of the football team and saying
05:37guys what are we mike johnson just said are we a nine-win team your 15 one-year deals you
05:44lost a
05:45the best you lost the best rookie pass rusher in the history of a 60-year franchise you lost your
05:51leader on defense and jalen you let caden ellis go to new orleans just start with how are you
05:56supposed to overcome that when you weren't that good to begin with well let me throw out the worst
06:00part of that is you didn't have a first round pick and you didn't have a first round pick yes
06:03thank you
06:03i mean that's you have no number one pick at the top of the draft which remember what it's been
06:08like
06:09the last five years now we i we got a level set there because if james pierce jr didn't have
06:13an
06:13eight-game suspension we'd be like okay that's pretty good with that 100 but now you're screwed because
06:18we talked about this on friday in the pregame show bo and i did where denver also didn't have
06:23a first round pick but they traded that one for jalen waddle right and he didn't play friday night
06:28which is you know neither did bo dinks and like this but they're in a completely different place
06:32than us and i said in the postgame that that that is a team that has super bowl aspirations and
06:37we are
06:37a team under a first year head coach and a new quarterback in a completely new system
06:41denver would have been in the super bowl last year i think they would have beaten new england in the
06:47afc championship game if bo they actually might be my super bowl pick they are unbelievably good
06:52when you studied them what'd you see the most their offensive liners they're bullies absolutely
06:56quinn miners like they are absolute bullies they it does not matter who lines up in front of them i
07:01it was almost not even fair to say oh let's see mason smith in a falcon jersey he was going
07:07to get
07:07steamrolled by whoever was lined up in front of them they also their their skill positions right now
07:12the depth are is as good as anybody in the nfl it's insane the guys they can roll out i
07:18would
07:18tell matt ryan and kevin stefanski uh get you uh to quote bobach take your get ready pill because um
07:26you got to be thick-skinned you are going to pay for the um last eight years you're going to
07:32pay for it
07:33because folks are already angry the other night and it's not your fault that you're in this situation
07:37signing 15 one-year guys not your fault you don't have a quarterback because that was bungled by the
07:42group before you yeah and you just better be thick-skinned because they will be empty
07:46if if they are a 5 and 12 4 and 13 team it is going to be brutal okay one
07:53question for my johnson
07:55guessing two of plays in preseason game two against indianapolis this week i would assume
07:59so if pennix isn't ready to go here's my ultimate question if pennix is not cleared after this game
08:05could the falcons do something at the quarterback position before the start of the season
08:08or are they locked in i don't i don't know who that who that is yes i would say yes
08:13i mean
08:13garoppolo is still like halfway retired but i just don't i just don't know who it is i don't know
08:18who it is that gives you a better chance and i think at this point the number one goal is
08:22to find
08:22out what michael pennix is this season that's got to be the number one goal he's under contract he's
08:27not cleared to play find out but but i'm saying if you sign somebody else you put another hurdle in
08:32four months so if it takes a month and a half before you go hey it's your it's your falcons
08:36fans
08:36don't lose sight of the goal the goal is to figure out michael pennix is stop worrying about everything
08:41else that's the goal
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