 What's up everybody and welcome to a summer school edition of the falcons final whistle podcast I'm Scott Bayer alongside my partner in crime Tori McElaney. How's it going? It's good. How's your summer? You know, it's nice that we're keeping in touch This is the first time that we've seen each other in a solid 10 days, which may be a record That it probably is joined forces last camp. Um, but yeah, and this is like our 30 34,000th podcast is it 34,000? Yeah. Yeah, it's congratulations everyone. If you've been listening Congrats on 34,000 to all of those and as we're kind of moving through the summer heading towards training camp We learned a lot over the course of the off-season program and the mandatory minicamp We know because Tori McElaney wrote 2,500 or so words about it at my request Here's the thing if anyone read the so Scott and I like switched up and did like five Uh, like story lines observations from camp and I wrote in that I was like, I don't think Scott wrote or read the other 2,500 words that I've already previously written on this and then Scott text me was like, um Just so we're clear, uh We're desperate for stories. We're desperate for stories right now and, uh, we're just trying to make it through the summer and, uh Everything's fine. Yeah. Yeah, everything's fine. We're good. Uh, and so after what is now probably more like 4,000 words between your minicamp notebooks and our top five OTA observations. Yes um It's time to move forward because we've taken a look at all those notes And we've decided that there are some lingering questions beyond All those words that we've written down on atlantafalcons.com And there are some lingering questions because there's a lot of things we That just can't be accomplished with the practice rules of minicamp and there's a lot of um roster movement that may happen between now and training camp So as everyone across the atlanta falcons fan base is wondering What are they going to do with this and they submit mail bag questions and i'm sure you get questions on social media What about this what's going to happen here? Well, let's go through Four or five of them shall we uh and of course we're going to talk about quarterbacks because that's what we do around here When you have an uncertain quarterback situation There's going to be some roster movement as we head into training camp There's some questions about inside linebacker d on jones. We're going to address all that We're going to talk about rookies that may make an an instant impact And also nobody's worn pads yet Nobody's more excited about wearing pads than tyler algear by the way Every time he has a press conference. He says how geeky is to hit someone Does he use that geek? Probably I wish that sounds like a scott term. That's definitely a scott term But I love it nonetheless. Thank you about tyler saying geeked. Yeah, I feel like that would be good for him You would be like my brother. I know he's always so like relaxed and calm But yeah, clearly ready to hit someone. What did you call him a bowling ball with spikes? Uh bowling ball covered in butcher knives yet. Um Anyway, so we're going to talk about all that and There's a couple of position groups that haven't been able to do what they really do Well, and that's the linemen because you can't put pads on and you really can't have that full physical contact So we can identify what we saw in seven on sevens and then talk about When they start playing rough and tumble football. So we're going to get to all that stuff, right? Um, let's go back to a story Tori Hey, I can't believe I've never done that before Surely it'll be a segment on something that we write at some point. We gotta get it sponsored now I mean, uh, tori stories. Tori's takeaways. Tori's notebook. It's all right there for the taking Um, you wrote an interesting story that was well received. Thank you everyone for reading it about the falcons roster Ah, yes How it's how it's disproportioned, right? There's I think now there's 12 wide receivers seven tight ends That's a lot even on a 90 man roster and arthur smith and you talked about a why do that now and then transition To make things more evened out I I guess give us kind of an an explanation of that and would you expect to see More more big boys join the team. Yes and yes So essentially this was something that arthur smith talked about Within one of the very first like open otas that we had he made the comment He was like you see a lot of receivers you see that we've signed a lot of receivers But just know that that's going to change this roster is going to turn over We're going to add more to the line both offensively and defensively as you get closer to training camp because it goes back to What you're talking about they get to put the pads on they actually get to hit each other There's actual pre-season games in which they're going against Competition right now or I guess the last month or so You haven't been able to do that so a lot of seven on seven a lot of seven on sevens a lot of kind of just walk Throughs um and and when you do that it's more of an opportunity to see your skill guys And that was kind of what arthur smith was saying is that this is a chance for us to really get in the work with Your receivers your tight ends Quote unquote running backs even though even running backs you don't get to see all that much at this point in time in the off season In the connection that they have with desmond redder and marcus mariota and so now What I think we're going to see over the next six weeks is we're going to see those wide receiver and tight end numbers dwindling down While they're dwindling down I imagine that the offensive and defensive lines are going to start trending upwards You're going to get more linemen in here for training camps specifically in the pre-season So to answer your question that's kind of the overall gist of what they're doing in terms of the idea of roster construction And also yes, there will be more more linemen come The end of july on this roster. So for everybody who's freaking out about it. Don't it's fine. Yeah, we already Started to see that happen that they signed a veteran senator jonathan harrison and uh and a defensive lineman from the saints and bears What a shock um as well In exchange for a wide receiver and a running back So we're starting to see that flip one Player that there are question marks surrounding Is deon jones? Yes, if you go back to terry fontanose Combine press conference. I believe they all kind of run together. They really do I have no idea when I was going to say pre-draft at some point during this long Eventful off season terry was talking about The big contracts right matt ryan's contract has been moved That's going to help them salary cap wise in a major way next year. They have 62 million dollars in dead money right now So they they dealt with that contract grady jaret and jake matthews. They dealt with those contracts calvin ridley obviously is Unavailable all season. So that contract is kind of let's put that off to the side, right? The other one is deon jones, right? That one hasn't been touched yet So there are a lot of questions about Are they going to move him my mailbag is full of these questions? Are they going to move them? What are they going to do with deon jones going into it? He makes a ton of money. He has a cap hit over 20 million There isn't a ton of savings, but now that we're after june 1st You get the designation where you split that cap hit in half, right? So there is an opportunity to say some cash. There's also an opportunity to gain even more cap space next year Um, as we know arthur smith said that he missed the off season program the on field portions of the off season program While recovering from a procedure. I think was the term that he used So he's not healthy. You can't trade a guy who's not healthy But as you evaluate how do you evaluate the prospect of moving deon or not moving deon? You know kind of pros and cons list this thing for us Yeah, goodness. I could write a whole story about it, which i'm sure I will at some point this off season I think when I look at it, it's You kind of go both ways You can look at it in terms of the money in terms of the cap in terms of the dead money All of those things you can look at it as a financial business decision And then also look at it as to what you need on the field My question in this is How much do you need? What's how do you weigh how much you need deon on the field versus how much you need that relief And or opportunity that moving him provides in 2023, right? Those are what I weigh when I'm looking at this I guess scenario and when I think about Where the inside linebacker room is right now Yeah, that's a good point. I I don't know if I can weigh that they have to have deon Out there and I know that's crazy to say Because deon jones has been such an integral part of this defense Since he's been here But I do think, you know, there can come a time where that's not necessarily like one person isn't is no longer I don't want to say needed But I just see that you do have rashaun evans You do have michael walker that I think those two specifically and then you go out and get Troy anderson and you you sign some free agents and and all those kind of things But those two specifically I feel like can do what needs to be done to get you through 2022 and if deon's not Healthy fully healthy and and I know that also plays into okay. What does a trade market look like for him? These are all like moving pieces, right? But I do think like the main the main things that I weigh is Financial business Decision versus how much do you really need him physically on this defense, right? and that's a crazy thing to say because he is A modern NFL linebacker with elite talent and we've seen that For with him representing this franchise you go back to 2020 his stat line was Unbelievable, but ultimately you're right It's about weighing all these pros and cons and the fact that draft capital for a team that is building Trying to build a young foundation even if it's a day three pick Yeah, that's a kind of a big deal. Maybe you could go out I mean you saw what they were able to do on day three Yeah, that's what I was going to say is like even if it is a day three pick You look at the guys that they were able to get I think that someone like tyler algear Is an important day three pick 100 and that he's actually going to be a An important part of this running back rotation. I'm not saying that he's going to go out and be starter day one That's not at all what I'm saying, but what I am saying is I think that they saw this guy Slide to that third day and they really valued that pick because you have to bring someone in who is going to be able to help Cordial lighten the load of what cordial Patterson does For the offense in the backfield mainly Cordial Patterson does a lot of other things for this offense, but let's just talk about that You know, and I think when you're thinking about deon jones, and it's like How much do you value that day three value pick? And what that pick could potentially be later on? I mean you even think about I don't know grady jarrett was a Fifth round pick. He was a day three pick. I mean even going back to um foyer aluekin who is now with the the jags. He was a Third day pick. Yeah russ gauge was a day three pick. Yes a lot of there's a lot of good play exactly and so I know there's a lot of not good players probably that have come from that But don't you want to roll the dice? Right, exactly And if you get draft capital and you want to bring in guys into your system that you Want to mold and you really believe in ade o gendagi A guy who is probably going to be a starter at outside linebacker this year in his second year fifth round pick fifth round pick Yeah These are all guys that at this point in time in this organization are going to make an impact How much do we weigh that in terms of how much you value dion jones and his future within the organization? Right, and those are all difficult questions that terry fawn know in the front office have to evaluate and we do not And we do not we can just talk about it and that is There's a lot less pressure. Right. I would say But nonetheless, I I do think that there's going to be some pre Uh training camp movement Deon jones is obviously one that everybody is keeping an eye on if he's still on the team You just have a really really really good linebacker on the team either way. That's not the world's worst thing either So they've got options. I think that's a good place for terry fawn know to operate from Um, especially when you look at the depth at linebacker There's a lot of different ways that you can move pieces around to try to be as competitive as possible again While setting up your cap situation in the best possible way Which would be to touch all those contracts make them a little bit more palatable or ship them As we move Through it right you you mentioned tyler algear right as a guy who could Come in And make that quote-unquote instant impact that fans desperately want and coaches want to say Hey, let's chill. Right. So obviously kyle pits had a massive one. Richie grant was on a different Um track a different development plan jays a jail in mayfield was forced into one So ultimately you you look at this rookie class and the state of the falcons roster Suggests that some of these higher picks are going to play a lot that not everybody will have the luxury of coming along slowly I would put drake london in that class Almost as much as anybody. I would put arnold ebacate in that class I think he could play a lot right away and sometimes it's unfair. Here's a guy who Spent six months in a job at interview and the previous four months in a football season And now he's gonna he's going pro and then you're like, okay, just just play three downs You're the 38th pick but play three downs or you're the 180 second pick play all three downs That's a tough expectation puts a lot of pressure on these guys And I think arthur smith does a good job of alleviating that pressure That's important to him and I think that it should be important to put these guys in the best position to succeed At the track where they can do it because how many times and i'll get off my soapbox here How many times do we see young players in bad situations or young players who buckle under The pressure of trying to be a franchise savior In week one you don't want that but you have to look at this draft class and wonder Who could be the guys and we're going to find out during training camp? This is lingering questions. This is not bold predictions time, but you look at this draft class and you think Okay, there could be quite a few guys here who are going to play lots of snaps Yeah, and I think we almost knew that when we were going into the draft I think I remember saying maybe on this podcast But saying this Group whoever it is that they bring in Has an opportunity to do something that a lot of rookie classes across the league won't be able to do Simply because of how many needs The falcons had On the roster. I mean, I know we don't want to say like oh drafting for need etc etc I think that you're always drafting for a need That's a that's a secret Secret sauce is that you're always drafting for need. Um, whether it's this year next year that you're after that and so with that considering that I think This rookie class has an opportunity to make their rookie year what they want it to be I think that they are going I think every single one of them is going to have an opportunity to play Some type of role on this 53 man roster And when we get to that cut down I think that even I even think about like the two Georgia guys Justin Schaefer and John Fitzpatrick just going to bring them up Yeah, I know that they're I don't foresee them. They're not going to come out and be day one starters Absolutely not but they're going to push the guys who are and I think that is just as important when arthur smith talks about competition competition competition Bringing in guys who can push guys and play a different type of role I think those two specifically Justin Schaefer can push Jalen Mayfield at that interior guard position. I think john Fitzpatrick provides a different type of tied in He's not Kyle Pitts. He's never going to be Kyle Pitts But he could be lee smith. He could be lee smith exactly and that's why I think We have to think about this overall scope of these rookies and how many opportunities that they have At their disposal you could see guys be you talk about Drake London, Arnold Aberkette, Troy Anderson, Tyler Algier, and then we not even getting into Desmond Ritter yet I mean these guys have the opportunity to play starting roles and heavy rotational roles Yeah, absolutely. And we're kind of getting towards the end of this podcast So I was going to dive into a lot of the position battles coming up We've got all summer to do that So let's just get right to the quarterbacks here and wrap it on that note because we and we're going to talk about quarterbacks Every time too. Yeah, but nonetheless, this is another one of those things that I go back to the mail bag It's kind of like a pulse of where the fan base is and I get so much of that Scott. You keep saying it's marcus mariota He's gonna start. He's leader in the clubhouse. He's the clear number one at this point I think that they want me to say something else. They want you to say it's desmond ridder Or this is gonna be a showdown in it flowery branch. I'm not ready to say that now that we get our Our our movie trailer voice going Yeah, but nonetheless, I think that they want some big showdown Maybe that will develop over the course of the preseason. Maybe desmond ridder will generate some buzz and some enthusiasm With a preseason performance or two But nonetheless, I still think it's marcus mariota early and I don't think that's bad for desmond ridder either No, I don't think that's bad for him. No, I mean I think the reason why you bring marcus mariota in here Is to be to have this other chance at starting arthur smith wouldn't have brought in just anyone off the street He wanted marcus mariota because of the history that they have because of the chance that they have to Kind of resurrect his career. So in saying all of that I think it's really good to have marcus mariota in here for you know, two years Maybe more maybe less. We don't know Because I don't think if desmond ridder was the number eight pick. I think this is a completely different conversation 100 he was not he was the 74th overall pick that changes I think the vision that you have for someone at that position. So I think this is all good. I think they work really well together in that quarterback room I think they're learning alongside each other. I think they're gonna push each other I I don't mind that That it's gonna be I don't I don't mind that it's not going to be desmond or it is going to be marcus I mean, I think this is Okay, overall you don't have matt ryan anymore like I know you're looking for a franchise quarterback, but I just don't know at this point in time You don't have a matt ryan on the roster matt ryan was drafted third right third right desmond was drafted 74th And I think there's some confusion because desmond was the second quarterback taken that maybe that that he's giving some Some kind of falsely elevated status, but nonetheless I think we need to go into it With this lingering with the understanding that we're not gonna know who the long-term solution is at at quarterback in camp Nope, or in week one. Nope, or heading into the 2023 draft exactly. Maybe not even then Like this is such a long process. It's a slow burn. I want people to get that through their heads Yeah, and I and and and I think that that's okay. You want if you're arthur smith You want options if marcus mariota. I'm sorry marcus mariota takes this job stranglehold style And runs with it. He's 28 years old. You have a good quarterback. Your offense is fun and entertaining Which is what falcons fans like entertaining and winning together, right? And don't we all? Yeah, that's true. That's why we all go see top gun more than once. Um, nonetheless, you look at that Um, and that's a good thing And if desmond rudder develops on a slower path or a quick one and he Earns the job or steals it. That's not a bad thing either if you come out of this and you say we don't have any After 12 months or a couple years you say we don't have any long-term solution go back into the draft You're not committed to anything long term because the investment is not great So we're probably going to talk about quarterbacks again I would assume on a future installment and you can make sure it goes Straight to your phone by subscribing On itunes, look at that transition. How about just the falcons channel on youtube? Have you seen what they're pumping out these days? Oh, it's good stuff. It's good stuff. Uh, nonetheless, do all those types of things Um, I think we're gonna do like a mail bag podcast. I just came up with that right now So, uh, we'll ask for questions on social media at that time, but get them ready Even if they're quarterbacks, that's fine. We like talking about them too Even if you're wondering what starbucks drink i'm drinking right now. Yeah, it's uh, I'm reading it and there are so many instructions. I can't possibly something about light ice and 28 pumps of vanilla 28 seems excessive. Yeah. Well, that's what I said when I ordered you one one time Anyway, we got to get out of here Thank you guys so much for joining us. We're gonna talk to you again real real soon. I promise you go find a white sand beach That's what all the falcons players are doing. They're running and staying in shape on like on the white sand beach And then they're laying on a chase lounge under the sun. Do what you gotta do Yeah, I'm We all need to do that from time to time because we got training camp coming up way It's pretty soon. So nonetheless, enjoy your time off. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you again real real soon