 What's up everybody and welcome to another special edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast Recorded right here in the ticket master studios and We have 17 little news nuggets to talk about Tori. Why? Because it's schedule release day and as you put it on Twitter Happy schedule release day to all who observe and there are lots of you. Yeah and celebrate. Yeah Who are super into it because we've known the opponents and who the foul the teams the Falcons are going to play I just had that battle of is it who or whom so I'm right teams instead I'm not sure of my own grammar and my English teacher from the 12th grade would be really disappointed if I mess that up non sequitur over We have the Falcons schedule. We've known the opponents for a long time now. They're in an order and They have the lowest in the NFL strength of schedule, which can mean something sometimes because it what it technically means is that the The combined record in 2022 of the opponents on the 23 slate lowest in the league Which kind of makes you think if the order is good Then it's quite possible that the Falcons have a chance to make hay in a wide-open NFC self Right, we're gonna go through this in segments, right, but it's kind of boring podcast You know yeah strategy, right if I just read a bunch of names. Yeah, so we're not gonna do that But how about this everybody have like a two-screen experience? Load up this podcast on YouTube open a separate browser or if you're listening in your car Don't mess with your phone and then we can read it to you, but nonetheless Just real quick kind of highlights. They open up week one against Carolina. They obviously play Jacksonville in London They have on they have an 11 week a week 11 by they actually play every team that took the top four quarterbacks So so there's a lot of interesting things for us to discuss before we get into this thing Chronologically Tori their buy is also in week 11 not after the London game. There are no Thursday games on this slate So the rest is pretty even yeah now when you first looked at the schedule. What did you make of it? What kind of themes did you extract? from what you saw yeah, I think first things first was just from a You know 5,000 foot view you were talking about the strength of schedule And I think there was something that we were reading where it's like, you know when you this is the Easiest strength of schedule of any team since 2018 Wow And since that time four of the six teams that have had the easiest strength of schedule during that time made it to the playoffs Not saying that this is like track record for you know The Falcons or anything like that but when you that's just the facts of it Those are the statistics of it when you have a strength of schedule that looks like this And I think that that was something that more than where they're playing who they're playing the totality of this was where I kind of zeroed in on but just to kind of like Go go into it. I think This was something that I said and I kind of laughed about I was like, you know There's no such thing as a perfect buy, but thereby we can week 11. I think is very Good Especially considering, you know two years ago They had the earliest buy because you at that time you had to take your buy after a London game And they played the Jets in 21 in London and had to take the buy in week six It was the earliest by week last year. They had the latest by week in week 14. Yeah, and that was late Yeah, the guys were you could tell we're feeling it and I was 12 and 13. Yeah, I mean it was that was tough Like and having it early in the season in 21 was tough But now they finally have a buy week that sandwiched in a really good spot kind of right before The Thanksgiving week, which I think is you know that that time in the middle of November That's where you would want it. All right, so let's break this thing down not in quadrants I mean 17 is an odd number anyway, but let's break this schedule down into three segments. Let's start with the first four games I want to highlight A couple of them week one at home against Carolina week two at home is starting with a two-game road trip Against a Roger List Green Bay Packers, and then they go on a two-game road trip and it's there's a lot of Frequent flyer miles being collected there week three they play at Detroit week four They play quote-unquote at Jacksonville, but it's really at London's Wembley Stadium So that's our first segment that I want to dive into. Yeah London is an attraction. We're gonna get to that But let's go to week one here because this is super fascinating Oh, I love this game air of mystery Surrounding this game. Yeah is palatable and that's what that's why I think it's gonna be so entertaining to watch How this plays out because there's so much mystery it really is I mean you think about it, you know Just in and of itself the Panthers have gone through a coaching change this offseason and then they you know send Bukus of draft capital and you know They really the break the break the bank to get Bryce young and they get him They get the number he is the number one overall draft pick in 23 in the 2023 draft and he is a Carolina Panther He's gonna be their starting quarterback week one, you know, that's just gonna happen barring anything absolutely crazy happening You have no if you're the Falcons you have no earthly idea what that means for Carolina You don't know what it means you don't know what type of Carolina team you're getting you don't know You don't have anything to go off of because preseason don't even get me started on preseason preseason doesn't matter I don't care about the preseason. I mean I do care But not really like in terms of being able to discern who a team is in week one, right? You're not gonna know you're not gonna know and so for this the fact that You have no idea what the Panthers are gonna do offensively. It's kind of cool I mean, it's kind of I think this is when things are it's most fun, but the other layer to this There's another side of this coin in that the Falcons defense specifically looks so different than it did in 21 or 22 they have so much more I mean, I'll say at firepower more money has been pumped into more resources has been pumped into this defense a new defensive coordinator and Ryan Nielsen who you have no idea really what his game day play calling is because Didn't do that with the Saints And so there are so many layers of mystery in this one game Happening in week one that I think it is the best opportunity to really see like a true chess match Yeah, in in real time and there's no way Arthur Smith is gonna throw out any offensive scouted looks either he likes to add layers of the unknown to it and Seeing Bryce Young in week one probably the best possible thing because there will be nerves And maybe they won't be as reliant on his Magician-like capabilities as they might be when they play Carolina later in the year and in week 15 So to catch the Panthers and their new dynamic quarterback in week one Probably a plus for Atlanta, especially with the Smith Nielsen uncertainty of it all Green Bay is kind of in a team in transition Detroit is a team that used to used to be able to just like write a big green W right right there not any more Yeah, this is a fun up-and-coming team that plays like the Falcons built up front I'm skipping past these because we have to get to facing a real upstart franchise in Jacksonville And going across the pond to do it combined with not getting a buy on the other end All that stuff break that down for us because it's gonna be a challenge for the Falcons Especially Jacksonville is also of note is gonna go set up shop in London for two consecutive weeks So they're gonna go make a home base Atlanta has to go in there play an AFC playoff team and come back and get ready for week five Yeah, and I think that's it's pretty difficult to do when you really think about it And I but the thing is is I understand not having the bye week after the London game because at this It's the right thing for the Falcons right at this point I especially looking at the totality of the the schedule. I mean, it's not to me It's not a necessity to have it and especially because of the way that I think I don't know these London games have become More of the norm, you know going overseas the Falcons did it in 2021 and at that time I didn't think they needed a bye week after that. I mean you get home after the game It's just like it's like a West Coast trip, you know, it's in I think it's not It's not as big of a deal I think and here I'm saying that not suiting up not playing not really having to like to have the whole time change and Affecting that but this is a 9 30 a.m. Body clock game though, right? That's the one and that's the way Yeah, I wish that it was later in the afternoon and not a 1 o'clock kickoff like in eastern time You know, I think that that kind of I don't like but I will say I think that where it is and Looking at okay. You have Carolina. You have Green Bay. You have Detroit I think those three teams get you to a good place to where you're ready to face a team like Jacksonville who like what you said is Up and coming there, right? I mean they were in the playoffs last year and they made a run, you know And I think they they're a team that has done a lot via the draft in in recent years That's they're a fun team to watch Rebuild as well. So I I don't know. I think but in terms of like breaking this up It's not that's not the hardest part of the schedule in my mind and especially started with two home games I think can be a real advantage and that leads us into segment two, which I'll call the trap section Yeah, because you can we don't do W's and L's here But you could look at Houston Washington Tampa with a new quarterback Tennessee in a bit of a rebuild mode Minnesota when a lot of one-score games in Arizona is seems to be Really rebuilding and you could look at that and say oh They say if I can pronounce that correctly that they're gonna come out of that with a lot But I'm calling it trap section meaning that you got to be healthy. You're a long way from the buy Yeah, you it's possible possible to surge during that section and build some confidence Or you could also look back and be like we didn't take that seriously enough We didn't take enough advantage of this part in the schedule and maybe you're maybe you're Regretful when you get to that week 11 by right and that's what you don't want if you're the Falcons you want it I have called it, you know, you're calling it like the trap part of the the schedule I've been calling it the October grind because you start October in London playing the Jags And then you have four more games in October against the Texans the commanders the Bucks and Tennessee and that two-game road trip Against the Bucks and then you'd come home and then you immediately go up to Tennessee to play a pretty good Titans team. I mean That that's a really that part of it when you have now gone. That's in week Seven and week eight. You've gone that many weeks without, you know a break or anything like that I think that's the part of the the season that I think is kind of the grind That's the grind of the season is is from week Seven to to the buy right and that's what you how you want to be able to like grind through it and get the winds And I think this is where the Falcons run game You would hope is like fully established and you are just like firing on all cylinders And at this point in the season, but if they're not that's a different story and it what happens in October greatly impacts How you go into week 12 after the buy? Yeah, and when you look at this buy We're talking about placement in terms of in terms of time on the calendar It also comes after their only West Coast trip wet They're only Western trip and then you come back and you play the rival Saints at home with an extra week That's a huge swing there But if you look at the third segment of the year four of the last seven are against the NFC South Which that's all the Falcons should care about yeah is can you win the division? What will it take to win the division? And I think winning the division is gonna come down to two games against New Orleans a home game against Tampa a road game Against Carolina. Yeah, and this is the point in the season where you are 100% the word playoffs should be in the back of your head Honestly in the forefront of your mind You are playing to get a playoff birth and Arthur Smith has said it before too He said it last year, you know the easiest way to get into the playoffs is to win your division the Falcons Could win the division if you go and beat the Saints and you beat Carolina and you beat Tampa Bay in This chunk of time at the end of the season Yeah, and that's why it's gonna be interesting and you'd think coming off of that buy They would have had a chance to tinker with some things But the these Vic not like any game is more or less important than any but they're also gonna have to Play well in close games. That's something that we always talk about. They never travels between seasons Two years ago. They were really good in close games in 2022 they weren't and that impacted their record. Now. This is a better overall team a deeper That's a huge word a deeper overall team that they're gonna need to withstand Especially Saints at New York Jets talk about strength of schedule being sort of misleading That that that low Jets number included Zach Wilson and not Aaron Rogers a little bit different team now So I think when you look at that section in totality I think it's definitely a very crucial section But you've had the buy you've had an opportunity to gain some momentum or to figure out what all these new pieces can do And when playing together now as we wrap this thing up Tori And this is kind of the big question when it comes to the schedule when you look at this schedule It seems maybe not advantageous, but I don't think it's disadvantageous in terms of how it's structured When you look at this schedule and you consider the parity within the NFC South is there a path to the NFC No, they have to play well and execute But is there a path or are or are there any obstacles standing in their way to winning the NFC South? I mean, of course, there's obstacles are always are but I do think that when you're looking at the team that the Falcons have put together In 2023, I mean, we're we're near a complete team at this point You know, you got to go through OTA's and you got to go through training camp and you'll cut down to a 53 man roster But I feel like if I were to go out and make a depth chart right now It'd be pretty dang close to what it'll be in week one barring any injuries or any major reconstructions So all of that to say I Think it's really important to remember that over the last two years This Falcons team this organization has been pieced together with rookies who were asked to start their careers and in to be Playmakers and to be important pieces really really early in their careers and A lot of veterans on one-year deals because the Falcons just didn't have any money to pay anybody in the long term That's what they had for these last two years and they were seven and ten both years in 21 and 22 I think the Falcons outplayed expectations I think they they did more than what I think a lot of people gave them credit for and that was with the team That was put together with rookies and vets on one-year deals That's not the team that you're looking at right now You're looking at a team that has been meticulously put together Those rookies are now better for the two years that they have had to be relied upon There are a lot of them are you're in area in year two year three, then you got and get Jesse Bates, David Onumata, Caden Ellis Colise Campbell, Bud DePri, and those are all just guys on the defense Then you get Bajon Robinson. I Mean this is a team that When I'm looking at this schedule Knowing what Arthur Smith and Terry Fano and the whole football staff was able to do with what they had the last two years and go seven and ten I Mean it's hard for me not to to feel Very different going into this season than I had the last two years and I think when you look at how it's broken down You need to start well not hot You need to start well come out of that 500 of the first four you probably feeling okay And then you talk about the October grind so so start well Don't dig yourself a hole grind through the middle of the season and find your footing to finish strong post by I think if you can somehow do those three things over the course of those three segments of this schedule The Falcons can at least put themselves in position maybe to play for all the marbles in week 11 against the New Orleans Saints So did we come up with any absolute answers here? No, we can't because it's the spring and I refuse to But I do think that there's a lot of insight to be gleaned and there's ways to understand how the Falcons depth can play into it It's gonna be fascinating to watch it play out. We're gonna start actually watching some version of football pretty soon We have rookie minicamp coming up on the weekend of Friday, May 12th They were gonna lead into OTAs and minicamp Everybody's gonna go find a white sand beach and a Mai Tai and we're gonna come back and we're gonna Attack this season. I think it's gonna be so much fun guys. Thank you so much for joining us here on Falcons final whistle Recorder right here in the Ticketmaster studios and we will talk to you again really soon probably post OTAs post minicamp Something where we can bring in more football Falcons Falcons football analysis. Yeah, rate review subscribe all that fun stuff Appreciate you guys for joining as always. We will talk to you again soon. See ya