00:00I think I've got a couple answers.
00:01First of all, you just mentioned it.
00:03You've only missed three kicks the last three years for Nick Folt.
00:05So we address the kicking situation, right?
00:07Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham, they can't go out and kick the ball for you.
00:10You've only missed three kicks in the last three years.
00:12The good news is that if you go by his percentages,
00:15he probably got his two misses out of the way yesterday, right?
00:18If we're moving forward from there.
00:19I also want to talk about the Cooper Rush comment
00:21because it's like, what are we practicing for?
00:23I don't think, and Cooper Rush said as much,
00:26he wasn't practicing with the ones leading up to this week.
00:30We talked about Michael Penix.
00:32Oh, man, needs to get more reps 11 on 11.
00:34Got to get those reps.
00:36Got to get Michael Penix ready.
00:37Got to get him comfortable.
00:38Tua's got to start.
00:39Got to get Tua's reps.
00:41Cooper Rush is a non-factor.
00:42So when you say Carson Wentz and you say Drew Locke,
00:44we're talking about backup quarterbacks, not third-string quarterbacks.
00:48There is a massive difference in the game plan that you saw yesterday
00:50compared to what they had going on at practice.
00:53Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned the quarterback competition
00:57because it was a competition once Penix was cleared.
01:01And it feels like he was going to be named a starter until –
01:08but when he talked to them, he's not ready from seemingly a mental aspect.
01:15And then Tua hurts his back.
01:18And there's – I mean – or oblique really, I think,
01:21is really more what it is.
01:23It feels like that side.
01:24And when you throw a football – I was talking –
01:29me and Arch talked about this.
01:30He was talking about the core, right, and how your core tenses.
01:35And it's kind of like the old oblique that Chipper –
01:38and all baseball players, I think, get it when they're swinging a bat.
01:40But remember, Chipper late in his career kept having that oblique injury
01:44because your core tightens.
01:46The offensive line thing, I do want to say that, hey,
01:49they got some special players.
01:51They got two Hall of Famers on that defensive line.
01:54Cameron Hayward's a Hall of Famer, and T.J. Watt's a Hall of Famer.
01:57I'm not – I am not letting the offensive line off the hook
02:03because for anything – and it's weird because I'm going to defend him a little bit,
02:07but that's a tough assignment.
02:09And that ball's got to come out quick.
02:10I thought Cooper was late a few times on some throws.
02:13But then again, you can't have holding penalties that just kill drives.
02:17I completely agree.
02:19And the bottom line is I went in yesterday worried about Jawan Taylor
02:24and the pre-snap penalties.
02:25And really, it was your two guards that I came out of that game really worried about.
02:30We're talking about two of the top five highest-paid guards in the league
02:32that aren't going anywhere, right?
02:34And so I came out of that game going, dude, what are we doing?
02:36Like, I agree with you.
02:38Look at Cam Hayward, you're like future Hall of Famer.
02:40We also – if we're going to have the money of top five guards in the NFL,
02:44you've got to go out there and play like it.
02:45And neither one of them played like it yesterday.
02:47And no disagreement.
02:48Let's go back out to the phone lines.
02:50Let's go out to Covington.
02:51We've got Anthony on the line.
02:53Good morning, Anthony.
02:53Thank you for calling this morning.
02:55Hey, buddy.
02:56How did you feel about yesterday?
02:57Good morning, guys.
02:58How's everybody doing?
02:59Long time no talk.
03:00How's everybody doing?
03:01Living the dream as always.
03:03You know the deal.
03:04All right.
03:05So as a Falcons fan perspective, I think we are all suffering from unrealistic expectations.
03:12And I've been hearing it on the radio on my drive home.
03:16Guys, what are we doing?
03:18Like, you are literally going in essentially with what was going to be your emergency quarterback
03:23and you're expecting him to throw it all over?
03:25He hasn't practiced.
03:27And I've heard everybody talk about Michael Penix and talking about his potential mental toughness.
03:34This man had three practices, like, of 11-on-11s.
03:38And you don't expect him to go out there and throw himself into the fire.
03:42No, that's a disaster waiting to happen, you know.
03:46So if you went into this game with the expectations that we were going to blow Pittsburgh out,
03:51we were going to win it handily or something along those lines,
03:55that's between you and God at this point because your expectations are unrealistic.
04:00Now, with something like this, there were things I was surprised with.
04:04I was surprised with, and I was really happy with the addition that Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham,
04:10and the defense made along that defensive front.
04:12But we've got some dudes up front really, really impressed and proud with Laquel London
04:17and Mason Smith, man.
04:19I thought we've improved on the run defense, and I think that's something we can look forward to.
04:23Kendall Daniels flying all over the field, I was really, really happy with that.
04:28I was also surprised, Michael, what you were saying.
04:32Two top five guards struggling mightily.
04:35I don't think it would have mattered whether we had Cooper Rush back there, Tua,
04:40or Uncle Rico throwing the football back there.
04:42When you've got that interior pressure like that, it's not going to matter,
04:45and I'd expect more out of those guards as far as that goes, man.
04:50The only other thing that's got me worried about, man, was B. John Robinson's usage rate, man.
04:55I think that's really scary, and I think that was one of the first times I've seen B. John Robinson.
05:00And he was taking some really, really hard direct hits, so something to keep in mind of.
05:05And Nick Folk, I hope and pray you got your two misses out of the way, man,
05:09because we're paying you a good bit of money.
05:11But, hey, love you guys.
05:13Miss you guys.
05:14I hope you all have a great week.
05:15Let's rebound next week.
05:16Let's go get Carolina.
05:17Talk to you guys later.
05:18Appreciate it.
05:19Yeah, I think it was out of necessity a lot with Bajon, how many times he touched football,
05:23just seeing things and trying to get it out quickly.
05:27I got to say this, because I don't want to get through the first hour of the show.
05:33That's what Cooper Rush looked like after a 17th start in the NFL
05:37and two practices with the first string and experience, right?
05:43And that's how he looked.
05:46Let's just go ahead and put it to bed that Jack Strand would have came in there
05:48and won the football game for us, because if that's what Cooper Rush looked like,
05:51I think Jack Strand has a chance to be a really good player,
05:54but he's never seen anything like that defense,
05:57some of the things they were throwing out.
06:00It would have been an unmitigated disaster, you know,
06:06unless you just ran the veer.
06:09I mean, maybe, because that would have been the best bet.
06:13But it's hard.
06:15And I think the expectations thing is a really good point by Anthony Lowe.
06:21I completely agree.
06:22We played.
06:24I think what I left was is I was frustrated we lost,
06:28but at no point did I leave there saying,
06:33God, that was brutal.
06:34We just got our heads beat in.
06:36No, we were in that game until the very end.
06:38And, yeah, I wish we could have done more,
06:39but I thought that the coaching staff had you as ready as you could be
06:43for what you were having to deal with.
06:45But that curiosity around Jack Strand, it is not going away.
06:49I don't see how we cure that situation,
06:52but there is so much feedback that people wanted Jack Strand in yesterday.
06:57Keep the comments coming.
06:58We'll get back to your calls in a bit.
07:00You can tweet us at 929MorningShip.
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