00:00And Josh, I'm going to start with asking you to do what feels like an impossible task at this point.
00:06And I'm going to ask you to calm down the Atlanta Falcons fans that were on the socials yesterday
00:11and saw all the grievances and saw all the errors and saw everything saying that the Falcons got dominated.
00:17There had to have at least been a couple of bright spots coming out. Am I right?
00:22Coming out on Friday night?
00:24All right, hang on. You should have given me some prep time for this.
00:29Let me fast forward a little bit. I think that, and this is not going to be much of a
00:33salve,
00:34I think that there have been some improvements this week.
00:37There have been some, I think that the run defense was pretty good yesterday against a good Colts rushing offense.
00:44I think if you want a bright spot, if you want to feel better, the run defense against the Broncos
00:48was really bad
00:49and pretty uninspired. It was better against the Colts. That's a plus.
00:53The Falcons internally are not as panicked as the rest of us. That's probably a good thing.
01:01Those would be my two, my two sort of back away from the ledge comments at the moment.
01:08But I, but I get it. Trust me. I get it.
01:11It did feel like, Josh, yesterday, it was just report after report, bad reports on Tua.
01:17But you had him at 8 of 13 and 11 on 11s, 3 and 3 and 7 on 7s.
01:21Give us your full perspective of Tua yesterday.
01:25Well, he completed some balls, but, you know, again, we're going to get, we're going right back the other way
01:30now, I'm afraid.
01:31A ton of it was dump off stuff. A ton of it was swing passes and screen passes.
01:35His one ball went further than 10 yards. That was the ball that Drake, you know, big boy, Justin Wiley,
01:41the Colts cornerback, and got up about 15 feet in the air, it felt like, and grabbed the ball
01:45and took it for a touchdown. So, yes, Tua is, Tua says he's getting better.
01:52The completion rate is going up. He's finding these checkdowns more.
01:56But this is still not what Kevin Stefanski and Tommy Reese hope this offense looks like
02:02at some point this season, hopefully sooner than later.
02:05All right, Josh, you saw Jawan Taylor. I've yet to see him take any snaps.
02:09I know you have. You've been at practice and you were up there.
02:12What did you think of how he looked yesterday, and did he allude to anything that,
02:18when he said he got his knee cleaned up, what was the procedure actually cleaning up?
02:25I believe it was just a scope. I think that this was sort of residual damage
02:29from a guy who's been in the NFL for a long time. He indicated it was very minor.
02:34It was something that he planned. It was something the Falcons were aware of.
02:37So he felt good about it, and I thought he looked good.
02:40Certainly after what we saw right tackle on Friday night, it was very calming to see him
02:46out there yesterday against the Colts, going against the first team, a good defensive line,
02:52just looked like a professional. So if you can get good, solid, professional right tackle play
02:56this year, that will make everything on offense look a lot better than it did Friday night.
03:01And I did think he looked good.
03:02Josh Kendall, beat writer for the Athletic for the Atlanta Falcons.
03:07Josh, I think I want to get kind of the temperature of the room here,
03:10and maybe you can tell us how people inside the organization feel.
03:13But there was a thought process, I think, early in the middle of last week,
03:17where it was like, hey, Tua is healthy. He's taking the reins.
03:21Michael Penix is not healthy. Why don't we just name him Tua the starter?
03:24And then you saw what happened Friday night and some of the reports that are coming out
03:27of practice yesterday, and it's like, well, Tua hasn't really taken the bull by the horns.
03:31I actually heard Steve Smith say this on air. He hasn't taken the bull by the horns.
03:35This is Michael Penix's job to lose. And I'm curious, not necessarily the perspective
03:40of are either of those correct, but do you think the temperature around the quarterback
03:45competition over the last week actually has changed, or is it just the perception
03:49of the fans because we can't see inside the building?
03:54I'm going to give you a convoluted answer. I think that the perception of the fans has changed.
04:00I don't think that the perception of the Falcons front office and coaching staff has changed.
04:05However, I think that their perspective the whole time was not necessarily that we're bringing
04:13Tua in here to be our starter. He's our guy. He's going to win the job.
04:17Now, these guys have got to see Michael Penix Jr. on the field this year.
04:23You've got to make a decision at the end of this year. You've got to know, is he a guy
04:29that's going to be here in the future, or do we have to figure out the quarterback position again?
04:34You've got to know it. He's halfway through a rookie contract. He's only started 12 games.
04:38At some point, he's got to play. I think that that was their belief in March, in June,
04:47and still is. The fact that Tua is not taking the reins and has not taken advantage of this time
04:57that he's got on the field by any stretch just accelerates that timeline and maybe,
05:02almost frankly, makes it an easier switch, makes it an easier transition for the Falcons.
05:09If Tua was out here lighting the world on fire and this team started the season pretty hot,
05:15then, you know, that becomes a tough switch to make. At this point, I don't think it is.
05:20Well, and you were there to see Penix yesterday in the 7-on-7s. Where are we and how he's
05:26doing?
05:26And if there was a chance he got cleared for 11-on-11s, do you think they'd put him in
05:30for
05:30a preseason game?
05:33Yes, I think that they would because I think you've got to see it. 7-on-7, he looked fine.
05:37He
05:37looks healthy. He looks good out there, but it's, you know, it's just a different world
05:43in 11-on-11. You know, Kevin Stefanski says you ought to be completing 90% of your balls in
05:487-on-7. That's sort of the standard. It's just, it's not real football by any stretch. So Mike's got
05:55to get in on 11-on-11. I think that he'll be ready to do that. You know, once he's
05:59cleared,
05:59I think he'll be ready to do that pretty quickly. I don't think you get cleared and then there's
06:04a ramp-up period. I think if you get cleared and, okay, let's knock the rust off and see
06:08where we are. He looks good, but it's just going to be, you know, he's got to play. If
06:14he played behind what Tua played on Friday night, he wouldn't have looked very good.
06:20Josh Kendall joining us here on The Morning Shift. Josh, we saw Kendall Daniels wear the green
06:25dot on Friday night, starting that position, and then yesterday you guys were reporting
06:30that he was in there next to Devon Diablo, who's obviously the green dot now when he's
06:35back. Has Kendall Daniels overtaken Christian Harris as the guy next, the other inside starting
06:41linebacker on this team?
06:43It's close. It's really close. I think that it's some of these first-team reps, you know,
06:50rookies tend to get an inordinate amount of these reps if they're promising because you kind of know
06:57what the veteran can do, and Christian Harris is sort of a veteran. He's been around. He's played
07:00for a really good Texans defense for several years. So you kind of know what he can do. So this
07:06is the
07:06time of year you want to sort of accelerate Kendall Daniels' timeline. So I'm not saying that Christian
07:11Harris won't be the week one starter, but Kendall Daniels is coming on fast.
07:16A couple minutes left here with Josh Kendall. You did mention off the top that the Falcons
07:20run defense looked much improved yesterday, and I've had questions, as have you, as have a lot
07:27of Falcons fans throughout the offseason, of what they would do to make it better. Turns out you
07:31kind of just brought in Mason Smith and traded Ruka Roro, but talk to me about some of the standout
07:36names yesterday that you might have noticed that were a part of some of those run defense drills
07:40because you look back at the film on Friday night, and you're kind of scratching. You get a lot
07:44of Chris Williams and Tui Pelotu and guys like that. I'm curious if any actual names stood out
07:51to you yesterday, or was it more of a group effort? I think it was a group effort. I will
07:56acknowledge
07:57I didn't watch the Falcons defense as closely as I watched the offense, but there are two fields
08:02out there, so they split it up, and you've got to kind of pick which one you're going to pay
08:06the
08:06closest attention to. So I didn't see who stood out, but I will tell you that the Falcons are counting
08:12on LaCale London and Cam Thomas to be significant factors in their run defense, and they didn't play
08:19on Friday. Now they played, they didn't, LaCale was not out there, I don't believe, yesterday
08:25either, unless my memory is failing me. So I do think that some of the bodies that they brought
08:31in that they thought, like Cam, that they thought would help were not there Friday night. That'll make
08:37an impact as well. Josh, I might go in the weeds on this one, but we know that Kyle Pitts
08:44and Austin Hooper are most likely on this, I mean, obviously they're on this team, and Charlie
08:49Warner, I think, has been penciled in by a lot of people, but I love Josh Simon, and I think
08:55Jack
08:56Velling has made a case as maybe a guy that could unseat Charlie Warner and add a little bit more
09:03of a
09:03dynamic there with the pass catching. Is that something we could look at? Is Charlie Warner
09:08in trouble, and is Jack Velling a guy that maybe will take his spot? I haven't seen that. I don't
09:13think Charlie Warner's in trouble. I think Charlie Warner is, you know, Kevin Stefanski, you know,
09:20goes to bed at night dreaming of tight ends like Charlie Warner. I know he's not a huge pass
09:25catching threat, but he can do everything. You can put him anywhere. You can trust him from the
09:31rep. I wondered about Charlie coming into the year from the reps I've seen. I think he's very much
09:37going to be a part of this offense. Well, I'm going to dive into the weeds a little bit too,
09:41Josh, before we let you go, and I'm going to talk about the interior of this offensive line. I think
09:44that a lot of people looked at Ryan Newsle being the second year of a two-year deal and wondered
09:48if
09:49there was an opportunity for James Brockermeyer or Corey Levin. Kyle Hinton is back once again. He looks like
09:54the incredible Hulk out there with the traps that guy's got from his shoulders to his ears. It's
09:58insane. But do you see any competition there in the interior? I think the tackle spots are their
10:04own kind of beast when you're talking about them at this point, but the interior just seems to be
10:09Corey Levin and Kyle Hinton, and that's just kind of where you're going to go with the depth.
10:13Yeah, I think you're right. Brockermeyer was a guy I was very intrigued in, and at this point,
10:18I think that they're going to try to get him, you know, try to stash him on the practice squad.
10:21I think that Corey Levin is a guy who is in the Charlie Warner mold where he plays. He's a
10:29very
10:29versatile interior offensive lineman. He can snap for them in an emergency. He can back up Ryan
10:37Newsle. So I think he's in. I wouldn't be surprised if they get Ethan Anyanwa, a little interior work
10:45soon to see what he can do in there to give you a little more depth and maybe a little
10:50more guard
10:51tackle versatility with guys who might make your roster. But no, I agree. You know, that interior
10:57group feels like it's looked the same for a long time.
11:01Josh, real quick, with the addition of Z'Darrius Smith, the edge room has seen somewhat of a makeover
11:07here in training camp as you've seen Walker and Pierce obviously leaving the suspension.
11:12What does it look like with, so is it Ojolari Smith, Ebukam, and is it Braylon Trice? I know
11:19Cameron Thomas you've mentioned earlier. What is this edge room looking like right now?
11:25I'm not sure about Braylon Trice. I'm, you know, not as optimistic as I wanted to be for a guy
11:31who's
11:31had a tough couple of training camps at this point. Not on the field at the moment. So we'll see
11:36on that.
11:37I just, I do feel like Cam Thomas is a guy who Falcons fans are going to, you know, that
11:42week four
11:42are going to wonder, who is this guy? You know, because he's going to play a lot. I think they're
11:46just going to have to be really situation specific out there in that Jalen Walker was a guy that they
11:57really love because he could play anywhere. He's a three down guy. He can play, he can play the run.
12:02He can give you some pass rush juice. They don't have a ton of either or guys. Now you've got
12:07some
12:08big ends like Cam Thomas, um, who will play, who will be your run guys. And then in clear passing
12:15situations, Ojolari, Zedarius Smith clearly comes in at this point in his career as a designated pass
12:21rusher guy. Samson Ebukam will be sort of the, the steadiest presence out there, but you know,
12:27Jeff Holbrook is going to be over on the sideline, just pulling a ton of levers all year long.
12:32Josh, no, you're busy, man. We, uh, we never take it for granted when you wake up with us,
12:36brother. We appreciate it. Thanks for having me. Good stuff.
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