 It's Friday night in the A. You know what that means. Kelly Price and Troy McElhady coming at you on Rise Up Tonight. Presented by AT&T. I know it is really early on Saturday morning at this point, but let's get the energy up. Let's get hyped because it is red helmet week. Once again, Tori. Oh, I love it so much. And look, we have the red with the red helmet. I'm in blue for Team USA, of course. Of course. Hopefully we can get another World Cup dub. That'd be nice. Yeah, can't get any better than that. I'm here for that. Well, the Falcons want to get another dub as well. With the up and down Steelers coming into town, they have an opportunity to bounce back and build back. Let's huddle up about it, y'all. Let's huddle up with Kelly and Tori on the world of Falcons football. Well, no, I always want to keep it real around here. And I got to say that first half Sunday was pretty boring. Tied 10-10 at the half. Neither team was really doing anything splashy. And I say that to say this. The Falcons need more splash plays on both sides of the ball. We've seen them rally around some galvanizing moments in their close wins. And they just didn't capitalize even on the sparse moments that they did have on Sunday. Right. And you make a really good point about capitalizing on those splash plays. And two actually come to my mind the most from the most recent game. The first being Michael Walker's interception right before the half. Then there was the 44-yard Alameda Zacchaeus explosive ket in the Falcons' final drive of the game. And well, we all know how that drive ended. I won't belabor the outcome here. But all this to say, those are two splash moments the Falcons had last week that resulted in actually no points on the board. Yeah, you've got to capitalize in those moments. And we now know that Kyle Pitts is officially ruled out for the rest of the year after having a procedure on his knee this week. He's the kind of guy, as Marcus Mariota said, you need multiple people to really step up and replace what he does on this offense. Michael Pruitt, Parker Hesse stepped up, and shouted to all the D-Liemen filling in for Tequan Graham as well. Do you think that this team is faring well with all these injuries? Yeah, I've been fairly impressed with what I've seen from Michael Pruitt at Titan and Abdullah Anderson alongside Grady Jarrett within that defensive interior, because you're right that you're not going to replace Kyle Pitts or Tequan Graham either with just one person, but we've seen both Pruitt and Anderson play quite well for themselves considering that. But on top of that, if we're just looking at this offense, we're actually seeing Cordero Patterson's role as a pass catcher expand just a little bit too in the absence of Kyle Pitts. I think it's really important to remind defense is that he can be a vertical threat when he needs to be too. I like to see maybe more of that, maybe even some CP Tyler Alger lining up together with CP moving out wide every now and a half. I would like to see that, that would be fun. This week is also huge because the Falcons will be heading into their bye week after Sunday's game, win or lose. And that bye is a lot better when you're basking in the glory of a win, especially knowing when you emerge from that time off, you're still in the thick of a division race if you do win. How much do they really need this win right here and right now? They have to, they have to have it. I mean, there are no ifs ands or buts about it. You need to beat the Steelers on Sunday period because if you don't, the way that you feel about the final season's look and feel very differently for you, Marcus Mariota said after finding out about Tampa Bay's overtime loss to the Browns last week that you want to control your own destiny, not wishing for another team to decide it. And that's kind of how I feel about where the NFC South stands right now because if the Falcons do what they're supposed to do, it'll only help them. Right. The first place in our hearts are the Falcons Fitz. Always. We are walking in presented by Wells Fargo. First up, Cordero Patterson giving Starburst vibes. That's all I can really think of when I see this color combination. But you know, I love to see a fun fit, especially knowing how nasty it was on Sunday. And I can say I was there. Can confirm it was nasty, but this fit, not nasty. I mean, even look at those pink cargo type pants. I love it. I love it. Bringing the fun vibes even in dreary weather. Now for Isaiah Oliver, who's in clear agreement with me that not only is it sweater weather, it is leather weather as well here. That's the thing. I mean, don't you think that this kind of looks like the pants version of the leather shorts ensemble that Casey Hayward wore at the beginning of the season? Yes, yes, yes. I think so. I mean, the light blue, the leather, everything. Yeah, we go from shorts to pants here in this season as well. There's been some fun in the locker room around college football bets, but let's be real. Lorenzo Carter has the biggest bragging rights as the dog in the house. And we know how much word red and black means for him, not only in Athens, but now as well. So shout out to Carter for the dapper dogs, dirty bird suit here. So as a fellow dog myself, I respect this fit immensely and we've got an SEC championship coming up that I'd imagine Lorenzo will be keeping tabs on. He might even be able to go to this one. Well, finally, I feel like we talk about Grady Jarrett every week here, but like I said before, we have no choice but to stand a leather fit. Look, he could not look any cooler with the custom ice in the fabulous shades. Here's the thing. I think this is the second or third time that Grady has incorporated some type of shades into his fit. And let's be honest, I think they only bring the fit up. Gotta elevate it. And because the glorious red helmets are upon us again, let's elevate these to get a little commotion for the throwback merch that the Falcons have going on. Check this out, guys. You guys can get this on atlantafalcons.com, in this team store, in the stadium. I mean, come on, how fresh is this? I mean, don't you just love the throwback? I will say, I feel like the Falcons have really upped their swag game. I agree, I agree. We've been covering that all year. You know, we have only the hard-hitting stories for you here on Rise Up Today. Well, now is normally the time when we air our question of the week. We show you guys a little bit more of the insight into these personalities on the team. But this week, we went even deeper under the surface narrative, as Coach likes to call them, asking the Dirty Birds about their hidden talents in our question of the week. My hidden talent. I'm a pretty good whistler. You think you're some? Nah, I save it for my dog. Oh, so it's like a high fan? Yeah, he has a special whistle that he knows, yeah. I'm very base level with the piano. I used to play really good growing up. In instrument, I played saxophone in the band growing up. I don't know a lot of people don't know that. And I was an all-park basketball player in middle school. So, but I can't do nothing about it. So, that's my old hidden very talent. I guess, try to record others, like other things that people felt usually, I guess. All right, so we'll get Lorenzo Carter to, I guess, whistle while Grady Jarrett plays the sax. And we have a whole jazz band. Yeah, I didn't know that about Grady. Yeah. I had no idea, but we could also get Dean Pease to play piano. Then you basically have a whole band together. Now we have a Christmas concert. I'm ready for it. All right, well, coming up later in the show, we're pumped to welcome the Queen of Falcons Twitter on the show. Gina Kelly joins us in the nest, and you won't wanna miss it. Plus, Grady Jarrett is on a roll, giving back this time with a my cause, my cleat surprise. That story is coming up next on Rise Up Tonight. Rise Up Tonight is presented by AT&T and brought to you by Georgia Lottery. Today could be the day. By Home Depot, how doers get more done? By Mercedes Benz, the best of nothing, and by Truist, committed to a better future. Well, in addition to Red Helmet Week, it's also my cause, my cleats week. Victor Prieto has more on a heartwarming surprise for one pair of cleats as we Rise Up for Atlanta brought to you by Truist. Writing helps him to just release that emotion and that energy that could be drained at a time. Writing about it, you know, you get to express how you feel. It also helps me fall in the hospital, you know, take my mind off of the pain and stuff, so, yeah. Pion McMiche was born with sickle cell anemia, a non-curable disease which can cause episodes of severe pain known as crises. It's not easy. It's a lot of emotional turmoil. This last crisis that he had was very scary for him because it limited his mobility. It took him maybe two and a half weeks before he could get back to his regular stride. Sometimes it's been weeks, a long time in the hospital. That's the mission you love. For Pion, he turns to his journal where he writes and draws. Pion is a really good artist that he didn't need. Falcon's defense attack on Grady Jarrett seems to agree with Ian. Choosing design, Pion drew while in the hospital to be on his cleats this week during the NFL's annual My Cause, My Cleats initiative. Grady decided to surprise Pion at his house with the news. What's up, Pion? So you appreciate your design of my cleats for the game this Sunday? Oh. Yeah, that's right. So I'm gonna be rocking your design on the field, all right? Yes, sir. Yes sir, he's not talked about a lot, you know, so for me, it was important to use my platform to bring awareness to a cause that people, you know, sometimes can look over. To spread awareness about the secret cell and have a little bit of his team on the cleats still, so I designed them in love. I would say that. Pion and his family will be able to see Grady wearing his design in person on Sunday when he attends his first ever football. In Atlanta, Victor Pantel, Fox Five Sports. I'm just getting a little dusty in here after that one. I know, leave it to my house, my Cleats, to get me all misty-eyed. Ditch in the field, great story there, Victor, thank you. Well, the Falcons squandered a chance at taking over sole possession of the NFC South, getting back to 500 as well, and I was nodding my head in agreement so hard at your notebook this week that I almost gave myself some whiplash. You wrote, at what point does unfortunate become unacceptable? And that's exactly where I need to see this team take another step as well. Yes, exactly, and I know we have this clip coming up that we're about to play, but it really stems from a quote by Tyler Algier that planted the seed in my head where he's talking about how good teams are competitive, but great teams finish, and I wrote this, and I'll say it here. Good teams have unfortunate things happen to them. Great teams consider those unfortunate circumstances unacceptable, and they don't let them happen again if we're being honest. There have been too many unfortunate moments for the Falcons this year. Don't believe me, just go read the story on AtlantaFalcons.com. That is so true, and let's take a listen to that insight. You alluded to from Tyler Algier after Sunday's loss. It's so insane, especially like a rookie coming in, it's just, it's so insane. It's just, like, we are a good team, but in order to be a great team, just need to finish. But like, good teams all over the, but then just the ones that end up just finishing, like whoever wants it more and stuff, but I think all of our effort is there. We just end up coming short. And with the Falcons still in the thick of it, I have a message for the Rurakis coming up later during our hot takes, plus a very fun conversation about the Falcons. And yes, their progress as the Falcoholic's Gina Kelly joins us in the Nests just ahead. Rise Up Tonight is presented by AT&T and brought to you by Georgia Lottery. Today could be the day. By Home Depot, how doers get more done? By Mercedes Benz, the best of nothing, and by Truiz, committed to a better future. Welcome back to Rise Up Tonight. Let's head in the Nests with Kelly Torri and this week's special guest, she's brought to you by Mercedes Benz. So excited for this in the Nests, as Gina Kelly is with us here. She is a deputy NFL editor over at SB Nation, a huge Falcons fan. I like to call her the queen of Falcons Twitter. For me, on Sundays, you're one of my favorite follows. You know, that community is wild in a lot of ways. Wild, I think is probably the best attitude to describe it, but what does it mean to be kind of like a part of that community on Sundays that we're all kind of watching this game together and kind of going through these emotions every Sunday? You know, it's been one of the most special things about my time at the Falcoholic. I've been there for 13 years now and you know, we've seen a lot of, interesting I think is the nicest way that I could call it, making the Falcons over that span and what's stayed consistent throughout that time has been that community. And because this team has had so many ups and downs the lows are really, really low. It's essentially like a support group. I think that it means a lot to the entire community to know that, you know, yes, we are suffering through yet another terrible Falcons' blown lead loss, but we are doing it together as a family. And so I think that that's what, that's part of what makes it so special. How do you kind of reconcile, like being too hard on the team or realizing, hey, this is kind of a little bit of a rebuild going on here and how do you kind of find yourself towing that line of being too tough but also being fair and not being maybe as much a fan but also having that fair perspective? Yeah, and I think that the Falcons honestly have helped me with that quite a bit because if you asked me this question in 2016 before the Super Bowl loss, my answer might have been very different. I think that that experience kind of forced me to take a step back emotionally and to be more analytical when I look at the team. And yeah, I mean, I think just being realistic about it too, like I think that a really good example right now is the Marriota versus Ritter conversation. And yeah, there are a lot of, I mean, we've all seen Marriota being inaccurate from week to week. Yes, we would love to see what we have in Ritter but the team really is still in playoff contention. Is it the best idea to throw a rookie out here behind this particular offensive line and take that risk with his health and that sort of thing? So yeah, I just think that thinking more, thinking about it more comprehensively and not just like knee-jerk reactions. Like when I tweet every week, I hate this team during the games. Like that's not real analysis, but so if I'm actually doing analysis, I try to put some more thought into it than I do. But valid, then the less. Now I'm glad that you kind of shifted the conversation to this actual team because that was gonna be my next question. Just what are your overall thoughts on what Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot have done throughout the last year and a half, almost to two years now being in Atlanta? So far I am sincerely impressed. What Terry Fontenot inherited was a cap disaster and he has really been able to rework that and to a huge opportunity for the team in 2023 and beyond. Obviously, I was not thrilled with the way that the whole attempt to trade for Shawn Watson went down. I wrote and tweeted extensively about that so I'm not gonna re-litigate it. But I didn't like the fact that the team was essentially forced to trade away Matt Ryan then. I think that they've done the best that they can. I think that Mario does a really good stop gap. I think that he's a really good leader and a good person for Desmond Ritter to be around while he develops. And I think that with the amount of cap space that they have and the picks that they have in their arsenal, I think that there are ways to actually be competitive next year. Like obviously they're still in playoff contention, but this team's had some pretty significant ups and downs. I'm skeptical about how far they could go if they do make it in this year, but next year I think that there's real potential there. And I think that it's a real testament to the work that Smith and Fontenot have done since they came to Atlanta. That being said, is this team better than you thought they would be this year? And what maybe specifically has surprised you or impressed you? I think that, yes, I think that we've definitely seen some growth on the defensive side of the ball, which is something that we have always been looking for. It seems like every single year that this offense team. And offensively, I've been genuinely impressed with the run game. I think that they have just done a phenomenal job of putting everybody on that depth chart in positions to succeed. Corderole Patterson is my favorite player in the National Football League. Seeing him experience this kind of a career resurgence at this point at his age, I've heard an old lady like me, like it feels really good to see. So yeah, they really have pleasantly surprised me. I've been genuinely impressed with the growth that we've seen from this team and it makes me really excited for the future. Kelly and I talk all the time about when was the last time that we could say that the Falcons were a run-first, run-heavy offense? Like, it's been well over a day. Successfully. Yeah, I mean, I think that there was a period of time where it was kind of close to that with Devonte and Tevin Coleman. But really, I think that run first was way back with Michael Turner. I, you know, because no matter what, I mean, the passing game was still a huge, huge part of those offenses with Devonte Freeman and Tevin. So yeah, that's, yeah, it's been a very long time. You mentioned Redder a couple of times and I know Tori likes to call the Ritter-Ruckus on Twitter. There's these people who are pining for their favorite player on this team, which is the backup quarterback. I love the Ritter-Ruckus. Love, love to you guys out there. But, you know, realistically, what do you think they should do there? I think looking at their picture and being realistic about the fact that I do not expect the Falcons to make a lot of noise in the postseason if they get there, I think that it makes sense because you have to give him some playing time because you have to know if this is your guy going forward. And I don't know how you know that unless you actually see him. Well, thank you so much. You know, we really appreciate your time. Anyone who wants to catch a full conversation, make sure you head to Fox5Atlanta.com. You can find the full thing there and we'll be right back on Rise Up Tonight. This is Ed Crack talking and you're watching Rise Up Tonight presented by AT&T. It's like I don't get caught up in whatever narrative is after four weeks of the daily narratives. You can almost write some of these narratives and live and die every week by narratives because it sets up bad narratives. You can frame the narrative. You can write narratives. Those are easy narratives. Well, whether Arthur Smith likes our narratives or not, we're gonna just keep taking ones where we can get them right. I like to think that Arthur Smith secretly enjoys our hot takes. Now we're pretty tame in comparison, but I agree. And I think he's been listening to us. I think he's with me on this one as well. Falcons fans meet me on camera one. Let's be honest with ourselves. Like it or not, Marcus Mariota is doing just enough. So y'all are not gonna be seeing Desmond Ritter any time soon. And by the way, if you ask Arthur Smith, this is not a hot take. This is what makes the most sense, as we talked about earlier in the show as well. Three of the Falcons next four games are against losing record teams. So there is a legitimate chance they win those games, stay alive, and the NFC South comes down to the season finale against the Bucks on January 8th. And I'm not sure we see Ritter at all this season if that's the case, which is not ideal in my opinion, but I just don't see a scenario where Mariota is able to play or Ritter will be tapping in. Ooh, the Ritter Ruckus is not gonna like that, but nonetheless it makes sense. But we run the show, not that. Exactly, now my hot take is less hot take-y and just more what actually needs to happen. The Falcons need a decisive win. And I'm not talking about a game they win at the last second. I'm talking about a multi-score win, one that is never close, one that never lets the Steelers stick around. For the Falcons to feel good about going into the bye week next week, my hot take is that is what needs to happen. Nothing less. I think we'll all feel good about that. It'll be a lot less stressful as well. Well, the Falcons head into that bye and so do we. No rides up tonight next week, but catch us again on December 16th. Staying up late with us tonight. Thank you for doing that. Good night.