 Our next guest is ready to take a huge leap in his second NFL season in a wide-open division He has never lost a game at home as a starting quarterback in either college or the NFL And we are thrilled to have in our home here. Please welcome Falcons quarterback Desmond Ritter How's it going? Thank you for having me It's great having you remember having you on before the draft and now here We are a year later and change and you're the man in Atlanta You know Lamar Jackson was out there as a free agent your organization said nope We're going with Desmond Ritter there are multiple quarterbacks on the board at number eight in the draft It's a nope sticking with Desmond Ritter free agency sticking with Desmond Ritter How's it feel to know that not only you're the quarterback and leader of the team But that's your coach your general manager and your owner have your back and backed it up with their actions this offseason You know it feels good You know knowing that you know that they have the trust in me that they seen the that I've put in the work And the effort as long as everyone else to go out there and lead the team So you know obviously throughout this offseason you hear all the the talks and everything But you know just knowing from them that they have my full trust and respect That they know that I can go out here and lead our team. You know it means everything to me Yeah, there's been a ton going on in the offseason for your Atlanta Falcons made a ton of moves getting different guys in there The biggest one might have been at the running back position you guys drafting Bijan Robinson already having Drake London Kyle Pitts Tyler Jere CP Cordero Patterson What was your reaction when you learned that you guys were drafting Bijan Robinson? How do you think he can help you and this roster this year? Yeah, obviously, you know as often as you look for explosive plays and get them any way you can whether that's to Drake Whether that's the Kyle I'm a guy like John new Mack Collins. It doesn't matter But then you know when you can just hand the ball off and give it to a guy like Tyler Algera Bijan or CP and let them go, you know, it just makes my job a lot easier So, you know when they drop to Bijan, I just knew that you know, this offense has some to be explosive You know, we're able to go out there and you know, whether it's in the run game pass game play action doesn't matter You know, we think that we're gonna be pretty explosive Desmond I want to go back to the way that Peter introduced you when he brought up that stat that you've never lost at home In college or in the NFL is a starting quarterback because all the guys on the desk when Peter said that they all went Hmm, like I mean it's sort of it's an unusual and surprising set to know last year at home with the Falcons 26 and oh in games played at Cincinnati in college. That's insane When you hear that stat, what do you attribute that incredible run to? Yeah, obviously, you know, that's not a one-man stat, you know, that's a whole team stat as a whole so You know at Cincinnati it wasn't just myself but everyone around there with me and then you know That's not something that you like work towards or you know, that just comes it's something that that builds Through culture of the program of the city, you know having your your whole city behind you building the stadium out filling the fans You know, it's just something that comes along with you know a winning culture and what comes along with it So, you know, we're excited here in Atlanta. Obviously for this upcoming season, you know Hopefully fill out Mercedes-Benz and get it packing. Hey Desmond your first home game 2023 we won against Bryce Young and my Carolina Panthers You saw Bryce in 2021 when the Cincinnati played Alabama Cotton Bowl Now that you got to go against Bryce Young you know that you guys are gonna be a rival to years to come What are you looking forward to and what do you see in Bryce that you believe is gonna make him a great competitor for you? Yeah, obviously he's a great player. You know both on and off the field. He's a great person. He's just smart You know, he does he has the intangibles and then you know, you talk about on the field stuff He's just able to deliver every ball, you know that there can be And then obviously the way he manages his game is great And you know for us, obviously we get to see the check see each other twice a year So, you know, it's gonna be a fun matchup. Obviously, he's one up on me So I got to get one back on them. We'll look to do that first week Hey There's um, I know when you get drafted one of the things you love to see is your teammates get drafted as well And you always get excited to see where your teammate goes and to see them live out their dream But if you guys do not land on the same team and you land on the opposite team You always look forward to playing your teammate I had a teammate in Sam Bradford who was a quarterback who got drafted So I always look forward to the opportunity to play him You have a teammate who you played with who's made a lot of noise in this league and sauce gardener Have you guys kept in touch? Have y'all talked noise about week 13? Because this year you will have to face your boy sauce Is there been a little back and forth? Do you have that circle on the calendar? Like how do you think that week is gonna go? No, we stay in touch, but we know what it is as soon as we hit the field, you know, it's just strap it up and let's go But now, you know, that's my good buddy a mod, you know, we've been through a lot together And obviously, you know, we saw we played each other last year preseason So, you know, we was talking here and there during practice and everything But no, you know when the lights come on, you know, it's gonna be a phone up there in New York All right, so you got that one week 13 you got the Panthers week one I think viewers watching at home are looking at this offense that Jason laid out and you've got Bijan Robinson Who has been described as you know everything from the next Edger and James to the next Matt Forte, whatever it is And then you also have these towers that wide receiver in London and then of course at tight end and pit I think everyone's waiting to see this major. Do you think this Atlanta offense could be one of these? Explosive offenses where we're talking about the Falcons in the same breath as we talk about maybe the chiefs Some of these other big offenses that we saw this past season Yeah, like I said, however that comes, you know, we just want to be explosive Like I said, whether it's in the run game the pass game, whatever it may be Obviously, this is a game where you got to put points up on the board and that's something that we want to do is offense All while taking care of the ball controlling the game Just you know doing we have to do to go out there and win So, you know from from the Falcons offense, you know, we can just go out there and just you know play our hardest and You know just expect to be explosive I Appreciate you saying that I was hoping you'd come on the good morning football show and just kind of say yeah We're gonna be better than the chiefs this year on offense. Like what are we talking about? But no, okay, Desmond you do your thing Hey Desmond, you know, you talk about all the offensive guys I want you to talk about one of the rookie guys that I know you guys drafted you talk kid Clark Phillips, how has he been doing in practice? You know, I know he's going against rookies But now you guys are heading into veterans and rookies all integrated together. How's that been going for a young guy like him so far? Yeah, obviously, we're just about to start phase three today OTA so you know to get against each other offense verse defense Other than that, you know, we've been kind of split O&D So obviously he's been in here been lifting with us been in meetings obviously on the defense side of the ball But you know after practice, you know, I go with receivers and the receivers and DB's are working releases versus each other I mean you just kind of watch this technique and watch how he goes and watch how he learns You know, he's gonna be a good player. So, you know, I'm excited to see what he does and what he asked for us Good rookie class here for the Falcons Desmond good luck with everything this season your QB one in the NFL There's only 32 of them we're wishing you the best of luck even if it's against the Panthers and the Buccaneers I am done For retired don't worry about old guys Thank y'all for having me