 It's Friday night in the A, and you know what that means. Kelly Price and Tori McElhady coming at you on Rise Up Tonight, presented by AT&T. Well, happy Friday night to you all from the Atlanta studio. I'm Kelly Price, and on the West Coast with the team, Tori McElhady joining us. I know it's Seattle hate week, but how is the coffee up there, my gal? Have we had any goodies from Pike Place? Kelly, I have spent more time in coffee shops than I care to admit on television right now. That's a good thing. Well, in week one, we saw a great start from the Atlanta Falcons. In week two, we saw a late surge, but still lacking that finish. Now the Falcons prepare for birds of a different feather, the Seahawks. Let's huddle up about it, y'all. You don't have to stop me if you've heard this one before. Because I know that you have, we've quite literally discussed this exact issue last week. It's now two weeks in a row that the Falcons went two of four in the red zone. It's a problem, but even more so, Marcus Mariota is not taking care of the football in those critical situations. Those moments that the Falcons need to score. Tori, how do Arthur Smith and Mariota himself go about fixing this? Yeah, Kelly. I mean, it's really one of those things that this has been something that's bit them in the bud for the last two weeks now. And you look at the problems in the red zone, particularly not just Marcus Mariota turning the ball over against the Saints, that fumble inside the 10, but also that interception against the Rams. And then you talk about procedural penalties as well that have really put the Falcons off schedule. And that's really something that we're talking about a lot here is that when you're looking at these scenarios, especially those two turnovers in the red zone, those are very discouraging because you consider how much time was on the Falcons side in those moments. It's really cleaning up that operation inside the 20. That's going to mean a lot as the Falcons move forward into the coming weeks of the season. Well, let's think positive here. The future was on display on Sunday and it looked pretty bright. Think back to the Troy Anderson blocked punt, Michael Walker and Darren Hall creating turnovers on defense. And of course, Drake London's big homecoming performance. They continue to trend we saw in week one as well. These young guys are eaten, Tori. Yeah, Kelly, I continue to tell people like there is a lot to be excited about with this group, especially what we are seeing from this young collection of Falcons players. And I'll tell you this, I was actually talking to Marcus Mariota a little bit over the course of this week about what we have seen from Drake London. And I asked him, I was like, that connection between you and Drake, it feels like it's really there. And I was like, what do you attribute that to? And Marcus said point blank that that's all Drake. He was talking about how Drake is wise beyond his years and really feels comfortable as a player in this league and almost has the mental fortitude of a veteran player, not just a rookie. So to keep this thing moving forward, I think the one thing you like to see from this team is that it didn't roll over once things looked like they were slipping away in Los Angeles. This never say die mentality is something we heard a lot of players talk about this week. Of course, just wanting it doesn't translate to doing it and winning games, but that's the foundation they're looking to build on to get those wins. What have you heard guys say is that next step that they need to take to really get over that pump and turn that disposition into execution? Yeah, Kelly, when you think about where this team is at 0-2, it feels very different as an 0-2 team than it did last year. And I know we are talking about an 0-2 team, but I was talking to Lorenzo Carter and I was asking him about what he thinks this defense looks like in the last two games. And he made the comment, he was like, we've seen flashes of the team that we know we can be. It's turning those flashes into four consistent quarters of play. I know I've said that a lot over the course of the last two weeks, but it really means a lot to where the Falcons team is going to go because they're in these games. They just got to finish it out. Consistency is key. Well, the Falcons and our girl Tori had to check a bag this week for the Long West Coast trip. That's a good thing for us because the drip was in full supply. Let's review in this week's edition of Falcons Fits. We had to start with Cordero Patterson, who number one I think stole Tori's infamous bucket hat and number two is serving us a green ombre moment that I love here. Here's the thing, Kelly, I did it first. I'm going to go on the record that I did the white bucket hat first and CP is just merely copying me. I'm not going to tell him that to his face, but if he sees this, you know, maybe let's hide this, kill it from him. Absolutely stealing. Copping your look there. Well, so the not so proud version of the CP photos reveals Kyle Pitts, who looks like he time traveled back from the 70s with these flare pants that led Zeppelin T as a fellow Gator of respect when he wears orange, of course, but give him some psychedelic glasses, a peace necklace. He is straight out of Woodstock with this look, Tori. Oh my gosh, I love an on themed fit. Like that's what this is. It's on theme. It's very 70s. It's so cool. And I will say those pants, their flare pants in the shoes he was wearing, they had these little rainbow tassels on them. Oh, he was looking good on Sunday. Big fan of that fit. So by now, you know that Tori and I are big fans of animal print. I mean, hello, do you see what we are wearing today? We didn't even coordinate this and it happened. Obviously we are big fans of the animal prints here. Last week, it was Take One Grams cheetah print. This week, the snake print sleigh from Young Way Coo, matching Tori a little bit today. This is an LA look. And even the white pants just ate with this one, Tori. Look at us. We're matching. I mean, I love it. And this wasn't planned at all. I mean, honestly, the Coo, the look is really great. I love it. All right. Well, on a long trip like this West Coast one, you got to make sure you've got your podcasts, your playlists downloaded for those travel hours. But once the guys get into that locker room, who do they trust with the ox court? That's our question of the week. I'd probably give it to myself. I mean, I mix it up. Like you get a lot of the same stuff every day. So if you could mix in a little classic rock or even some country, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. CP. Yeah. Cordeaux. CP, he's a variety of different things. You know, who throws some country in there? I'm not a big fan of country. But for the masses, he's a good DJ. I would say that. Definitely Chris one's trouble. Definitely, definitely Chris. Yeah. Very even kill, very, I like it. Very, very much my kind of music. Frank Darby. Darby. Yeah. I give a shout out to Frank Darby. I like the idea of Cordeaux of Patterson rocking some hockey talk jams. We also know he's a man of the people. So you got to put the cowboy hat on for that one, Tori. I mean, we know CP loves his country music as much as anyone from Tennessee should. I love it. Well, still to come here on Rise Up Tonight, a great conversation about tech, culture, and journalism in the social media age. Brandon Butler from At Butter ATL joins me to nerd out about all that and more in the nest. Plus, the Dirty Birds make the most of their off day in Seattle with a trip to Joint Base, Lewis McCord. That story 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, the Falcons stayed out on the West Coast and were in Seattle all week. And on the player's day off, a handful of them took a trip to a local military base. As we Rise Up for Atlanta, brought to you by Truist. On board a C-17 transport aircraft, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks players watched as new service members took their oath of enlistment, starting their military careers and starting the Football Stars Tour of Joint Base, Lewis McCord. It's pretty cool, man. Hey, this stuff is heavy. Yeah, I can see it. Running back Avery Williams and his teammates dove right in. Or should I say, climbed right in, like to this Apache helicopter. Wow, this is cool. Good, it's awesome. Hey, this is so cool. Woo! Let me get a selfie in here. The base is about an hour south of Seattle where the Falcons are spending the week before facing the Seahawks and serves multiple branches of the military, mostly Army and Air Force. I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. I've been a Falcons fan since I was six. This is a great experience. I got chills and everything running down. It really does boost everybody's morale here. Them being able to come see what we do, us being able to get to talk to them, part of what I love about being in the military. Autographs, photos, a stop for some camouflage face paint. If it looks cool, you're doing it wrong. A ride in striker armed vehicles to the interactive part of the day. Woo! Yes, sir! NFL players are used to coming under fire from coaches and critics in the media, but not like this. Get down, prep your grenade. Look, make sure your target's still there. Hop up and throw. Ow! What's gonna be your big takeaway from this experience? I mean, just to be grateful. You know, these people, you know, like us, have a team atmosphere, but you know, they're putting their lives on the line. The chance to be hands-on with stuff like this, it was awesome, man. I'm definitely thankful for them, and you know it's an honor to have them guys on our side. Falcon players we spoke to said they didn't know what they're in for on the trip to Joint Base Lewis McCord, and they left the base with quite a few new experiences and a new appreciation for our country's military. At Joint Base Lewis McCord, I'm Justin Felder for Rise Up Tonight. I love that story. That's awesome. Well, Tori, I think I speak for a lot of Falcons fans and I say I know that there's a need to keep Kyle Pitts alive. I know him and Marcus Marrota have actually met, but please blink twice to confirm that the unicorn is indeed sighted in the Pacific Northwest this week. Please let us know. Kelly, I'm blinking. Can you tell? I'm glad to know that he is there, because I know you wrote in your notebook this week that it's not time to freak out about his usage or lack thereof. Yet, I get defenses are keying in on him. He's affecting the game in ways that don't always show up in the box score. But I think I speak for a lot of Falcons fans, like I said, when this man needs to get the ball, whether you scheme him open or just let him win those matchups because he is such a unique talent. And after all, that's why you drafted him, isn't it? Yeah, Kelly, I completely understand everyone's frustrations with Kyle Pitts' lack of targets over, especially this last game. But I'm here to tell you that I stand by what I said that this is not a time to really freak out yet. I've really been looking at stats a lot recently. And if you look at Kyle Pitts' 10, if you're looking at 10 targets, that Kyle Pitts has had eight of the 10 have come with one to three yards of separation. I think Kyle Pitts is better when he has less than a yard of separation, when you're tossing him that 50-50 ball. But there's some things that go into that. Is Marcus Mario to comfortable to give Kyle Pitts the ball in those situations? Or are other people more open? It may be something as simple as that. So yes, Kelly, I'm not ready to pull the ripcord just yet. I want to see what else Kyle Pitts has in store for us this season. It's a long season after all. Some good points there for sure. Yeah, still waiting on my week one hot take to come true, which was that Kyle Pitts would get a touchdown U.S. soil. Maybe this is the week speaking of hot takes. You've got some fresh ones coming your way. And the man behind one of our favorite Atlanta Instagram accounts at Butter ATL joins us next on Rise Up Tonight. 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 Truitts, committed to a better future. Welcome back to Rise Up Tonight. Let's head in the nest with Kelly Tory and this week's special guest. Brought to you by Mercedes Benz. Joining us in the nest today, Brandon Butler, CEO and executive director of Butter ATL, which is an awesome cultural channel and social account that you guys can find on social media. First, I got to ask what's the story behind Butter and why did you call it that? Yeah. Well, everybody thinks I named it after myself because my last name is Butler and I like to be clear. I did not. You know, the name actually just kind of came out of a brainstorm kind of thinking about, you know, unique ways and unique names and things that kind of represent the city. And I don't remember exactly who threw the name out, but Butter just felt like it made sense. You know, Butter goes on everything. It's Southern and makes stuff better. It spreads. I literally became an expert on, you know, the background of Butter. Like, you know, when you churn Butter, the cream rises to the top and, you know, we like to say when we kind of, you know, shake up the city and the city does its thing, the best things always kind of come out the top. And so it was a name that just made sense. I don't really remember what the second place name was and it just stuck and it's been Butter ATL ever since. Why do you think that it resonates with so many different people who are, you know, native Italians and people like myself who's a transplant who's been here for three years? I mean, I still find it hilarious. I still relate to it. Why do you think it resonates with so many different people? Yeah, you know, in Atlanta, there's always this like really weird battle between like old Atlanta and new Atlanta as we kind of call it. You know, people love to remind you they were born at Grady and you weren't. I mean, people love to talk about like what high schools they went to. But here's the thing, you know, Atlanta, you know, I've grown up out here. I've been out here pretty much my whole life. And, you know, the city has changed so much over the years. I think it's great to talk about the past and it's great to, you know, highlight the things that made Atlanta special. But what's also great is what's making Atlanta special today. Right. Like who are the modern people, places and things that are shaping the current city? And as much as Atlanta's culture is, you know, is memorable and super important, we find ways to kind of bring that up. But we always like to talk about kind of what's going on now. And I think it's that tension between old and new to where, you know, the people that have been here their whole lives, they see things, they see content that represents them and that speaks to them. But at the same time, people that maybe didn't go to high school here, maybe they came here in college or came here to get their first job. Right. Like it still gives them things they can feel, you know, connected to for the city. So, you know, just we try to balance our content in that way and really kind of try to serve, kind of be something for a little bit everybody. Is there a moment that or maybe an experience you shared with someone that, you know, you realize you've built something special with this company? Yeah. I mean, you know, there've been lots of moments. I think, you know, the first moment that I can, that I really remember was killer Mike, you know, reached out to us. And, you know, again, I've grown up outcast, huge outcast fan, huge killer Mike fan, you know, and I never would have imagined that, like, these guys that I used to, like, look up to and stuff would be, like, hitting us up one day. But we had just made a post about, like, the most ATL shoe or something like that, like the most ATL tennis shoe. And, like, we let the audience vote on it. And, you know, killer Mike had ended up DMing us and saying, hey, man, look, like, I get what they said, but, like, this is what I actually think the best shoe is. And it just kind of created a relationship and a conversation. And, you know, I knew we were kind of on to something special there. And another part of the culture in Atlanta obviously is the sports side. You talked a little bit about the music side, but you guys have done some funny videos, like reacting to Atlanta Falcons games and stuff like that. Where is that kind of intersection for you guys as far as sports being a part of Atlanta culture? Part of Atlanta's origin story is sports in so many ways. Again, I grew up out here. I remember all those years the Braves were going to the World Series and losing, which is why when they finally won it was important, but it was also while when they won last year it was important, right? So when you had that historical context, again, I was, you know, I remember the Falcons from when, you know, Morton Anderson kicked that field goal against Minnesota and them going to the Super Bowl. You know what I mean? I remember when I was in Houston when they went the last time and it didn't go that well. And again, I just think, like, as a fan, those are just, you know, authentic stories and kind of, again, explain why things matter now. I mean, even beyond the Falcons, Atlanta United, again, sports is just such a big, and that's just professional sports. We're not even talking about high school sports and like what Friday night means. Again, growing up out here, going to Friday night football games and watching the bands come out to the success that, like, colleges would have. Again, a long time ago it was just UGA. Now you have, you know, Georgia State actually making some waves right here in the city, right? So, again, I think what you kind of see, you know, you can always kind of connect the dots looking backwards. And I think, you know, like all those moments just kind of, again, speak to why sports is such an important part of Atlanta's culture right now and then we'll be in the future as well. That's all I got. Thank you so much for joining us in the nest today. Anyone who wants to catch a full conversation, head to boxdiveatlanta.com. We'll post the full thing on there and we'll be back on Rise Up Tonight. 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, this week the Falcons nearly turned the biggest narrative hanging over this franchise on its head. Tori being here, I haven't been around the team to really know the current vibe, but after what I've seen week in one and two, I feel like they're really ready to take that next step and that would be a win. My hot take this week is that the Falcons will get their first win on the season and even though the Legion of Boom isn't what it once was, that 12th man in Seattle is the real deal, so it will be tough. Don't get me wrong, but I think that it's finally time for the week, it's finally time this week that the Dirty Birds get over that hump. Just put together quarters one through three from week one and parts of that second half in LA and you'll have a full solid football game, Tori, and I think the subject of your hot take has a big role in helping those Falcons succeed. No, you're absolutely right, Kelly. I'm going to go back to Kyle Pitts. I feel like I have to. Do y'all remember almost a year to the day last year? We were actually having the exact same conversation about Kyle Pitts. He had three targets, two catches for about 30 yards in that New York Giants win last year. What are we doing now? We're asking the same questions about Kyle Pitts. Why is he not getting targeted? However, look, he goes two weeks later to London another long trip and has his first 100 receiving yard game. That's so important for the Falcons to see that from him. So I'm not saying that's going to happen for Kyle Pitts in Seattle, but that's exactly what I think should. Hey, week one me would be happy to see that hot take come true, which would be Kyle Pitts first U.S. touchdown. Well, thanks for staying up late with us here on Rise Up Tonight for Tori McElhaney. I'm Kelly Price. We'll see you again right back here next Friday night. Good night.