 We are back on the Falcons audible presented by AT&T same crew same location same story lines Maybe the story lines change a little bit each week, but we are gonna talk about the Atlanta Falcons Thanks so much for joining us on Atlanta Falcons comm Spotify YouTube iTunes However, you get your podcast. This is Dave Archer DJ Shockley. I'm Derek Rackley once again Joining you after a Falcons victory and the Atlanta Falcons keep finding ways to keep their hopes alive Keeping the postseason is is a is something that you can like grasp you can grab it out in the distance However each week they're gonna have to keep keep battling in order to make that happen. Here's what we're gonna talk about today in the show Of course, we're gonna get some quick reactions guys are gonna tell us what the win last weekends against Carolina meant in the grand scheme Of things has the Falcons identity changed. We're starting to see a run offense a defense making plays being Opportunistic and then we'll fast-forward and talk about the 49ers game guys It just seems like every week now is monumental if they want to keep their hopes alive in the postseason And then we'll talk actually a little bit about the three games after San Francisco And we'll get into it more but you know players and coaches. They always want to think one week at a time We're done. We can we can go further than that. No doubt good And so can you you guys can look further than that. So that's what we're gonna do. All right So let's let's get into a guy. So here's your quick hitter one or two sentences arch must start with you What did last would you laugh at? He's laughing like he's saying it's never gonna happen in one or two sentences remember the pressure gets on your shoulders, too It depends on what ours does ours If he goes by the rules and a if he run-ons, you're gonna run no doubt All right arch give it to us one or two sentences or more What did the Falcons win against Carolina last weekend mean in the grand scheme of things you're still in the mix I mean, that's as easy as you can. Yeah. Oh, okay. All right, what you got now. You got to keep it short and sweet You can't do that. How about how about this? How about this? The team has bought into the staff and coaching Okay, that's good. He kind of like he went Barry White, but not Barry White voice Don't like not a try to get it quiet to like to like bring some power and momentum like well I'm gonna be honest. I was throat. I did not expect that from arch. I was throat Hold on the team has bought into the staff. Yeah, cuz in my mind I was still going through it how I could break down my sentence to be a little bit less than arch But I couldn't do it. All right, so I like it guys I mean short and sweet the keeping their hopes alive team is buying into what the coaches are selling sometimes it takes longer than others and You know when you're in the broadcasting world or your former players or a combination of the both Maybe you start to see things DJ start to see a little bit that maybe the guys are starting to settle into their roles You know second week third week in December. You never know when it's gonna be but it happens So let's talk a little bit about DJ. I'm gonna come right back to you as the is the identity of this team changed, right? We thought with okay Matt Ryan, we don't know what's gonna happen with the running back situation We don't know what's gonna happen with this offensive line It's still kind of trying to find their way thought maybe it's gonna be a passing offense Maybe just put it on the shoulders of Matt Ryan, but now we're seeing balance week after week after week in the running game We're starting to see some defense being opportunistic couple straight weeks with defensive touchdowns Has the identity of this team changed is it evolving? What would the word that you would use wreck? I say is I say the the identity has not changed I think we're just starting to see what the identity is and what it should be because I think you come into this season And you look at some of the moves that Arthur Smith started with you brought a Mike Davis Mike Davis You didn't bring him here to you know, I know he has some you know had a bunch of catches in Carolina But you brought him in here to be a tough physical runner and it's similar what you had when he was in Tennessee You go in and you think about how many tight ends we brought in the camp. What do we have like eight tight ends in camp? That tells you hey, this is going to be a team that not only wants to use the run game But also you can use it in a pass game I don't think we came and expecting to be a past first team But I thought from day one you want this team to be tough physical smart some of the things that he mentioned as The season started and I think we're starting to see that identity come to fruition now And it looks like now we're finally getting identity But I think this has been what Arthur Smith has wanted it to be since day one you want to be to run the football You want to better use play action you want to be balanced and because it wasn't working at the beginning of the season It looked like you were a pass heavy because you hadn't settled into what your identity was But I think now you're starting to see it because everybody like I mentioned when we opened up has started to buy in to What this offense should look like so I think on both sides of the ball The identity has been the same think about Dean when he brought Dean peas in he's always been an Aggressive type of coach. There's always been a guy that's you know from the Baltimore days Tennessee days Whatever has been he gives you a bunch of different looks now We look at where we are right now and part latter part of the December Every time we turn the tape every time you hear Arch calling the game They got some exotic looks going on defense. You're getting pressure. You're getting turnovers You're starting to get to the quarterback You're starting to look the way that it was expected when you started this season So I think the identity has always been there But now you're starting to see it more because it's starting to come out in actual game action She talked a little he was kind of alluding to the defensive side of the ball We yeah, we mentioned the turnovers or mentioned putting points on the board with the turnovers But now stopping the run as well, which has been a big issue the last time we played Carolina It wasn't able to do it as well But they did they hold them under a hundred yards even after the first drive Cam Newton goes down and punches it in you're thinking okay Maybe he's gonna find his rhythm in a running game, but it was pretty much done after that point on Yeah, I think that the thing that sticks out to me is It kind of piggybacks with shocks talking about they want to play physical football. Okay, that means run. It stopped the run That's you you can say that but now you've got to get guys in position to do that We knew that the offensive line was kind of gonna be who they are Jalen Mayfield kind of growing to that left guard position Can Hennessy be your centers his first year starting at center and you got those two young guys on the right side How do they begin to kind of get an idea of what it is it is to be a physical offensive line? Can't practice it in the NFL. Okay, you can't hit anybody. So that it takes to develop I remember when I was playing you developed that and identity in training camp because you beat the hell out of each other Until you got it and then both sides of the ball were that it kind of develops during the year So to piggyback shock they they have been able to get there on the defensive side It's been decidedly different because they've changed personnel and now Mike Pannell and Grady Jarrett and big guys in the middle Have have created a physicality in the middle of the defense that has now allowed D on Jones And these different linebackers to run and get to the football, but it's shored up the middle of the defense I still think they need to work on the perimeter. I think their perimeter defense still gets vulnerable from time to time Sure, so it's a progress a progress scenario But there's no question that they've changed or the mentality has begun like you said is Been developed on the offensive side and it's been getting the right personality in to make it happen on the defensive side Yeah, I mean we saw early on in the season. It was Grady Jarrett was making a lot of those plays up the middle And now it's kind of complimentary defense They're starting to get the stops that they need the linebackers are flowing side to side Seems like we talked a little bit about D on Jones and he made some big hits in that game last weekend And then the secondary making plays continuing to make play so it's encouraging for them On the defensive side of the ball and I would say I would piggyback on you guys saying I don't necessarily think that the identity is changing I think that they're just playing complimentary football Some weeks your offense is going to have the advantage Some weeks the defense is going to have the advantage and also You're going to take advantage of what the other team is doing right cam newton not polished right now Made a couple mistakes. Atlanta made them pay for it, right? So I don't know if I would say either that the identity has changed They're just kind of finding ways to put points on the board get stops and get wins which is in this league That's all you need to do This episode in part brought to you by the home depot Everything you need for your next home improvement project is just a tap away on the home depot app The home depot app digital toolbox gives you access to how-to guides project calculators and image search So you'll know exactly what you need to pick up with the tap of the finger You can rent and reserve the right tools for the job Also browse through millions of items from top brands that you can have delivered right to your door Whatever your project find exactly what you need with the home depot app download the home depot app today So let's fast forward Atlanta is going to go on the road this week And they're going to face the san francisco 49ers a very important game It seems like every game at this stage of the season for Atlanta is going to be important going on the road Guys we talked about this all season long seems like Atlanta is in a better position when they go on the road They're more comfortable winning games on the road than they have been at home, which seems backwards, right? So what do dave the falcons need to do against san francisco in order to get the win as they got to travel across the country No, just what they've been doing to get wins in two of their last three games They're going to have to control The kyle shanahan running game. He wants to run the football We saw it when he was here as the offensive coordinator They want to run it play action off of it So you're going to have to be able to stop the run and that's not just the guys running the football from the backfield Debo samuels a problem because they like to hand him the football Across the formation on jet sweeps. They'll toss him the ball out of those formations George kittle is a kid. They'll a guy. They'll hand the football to you They're tight end is a guy that can carry the football So you're going to get a much more diverse look different guys carrying a football But make no mistake. It's about stopping the run. You've got to get the run stopped on the other side of the football This is a good defense. Once again, you're going to get challenged This was the number two defense in the league last sunday that you played against carolina This is the number eight defense in the league. You're coming up against in san francisco. You know, they've got some talent Uh, so you've got to be able to find a way to move them off the ball The reason this team can't just be past happy is because I think it makes the offensive line vulnerable I think they're still still trying to adjust to Past protections and and playing in concert there So you have to be able to run the football to have some effectiveness in the run game DJ what sticks out to you in this match up where atlanta can take advantage and try to come away with a win You know what? I think it's one of those ball games where The falcons have found I think what we say their identity in the last couple weeks is just being able to run the football on the road I think when you're able to run the football on the road that gives you An opportunity to one control the clock and control the ball like archmage But also you can control the atmosphere with your end and when you're pounding a team when you're When you're getting four or five six yards of chunking you're allowing You know yourself to be good on second and third down that gives you an opportunity to be One of those teams that's going to score a lot of points And I think if you can go down or go out to san francisco and do that and put more pressure on their offense To score more points. I think that that put you in a better situation I mean, this is one of those ball games where It's set up where Teams are Are pretty similar in what they want to do on both sides of the ball Obviously everybody knows cal shenan from his days here in the office of coordinator and the things he wants to do Art to mention it play action pass all that kind of stuff The file is going to have to be disciplined in what they see and I think the biggest thing is You got to slow debo down and for years. It's been about stopping the tight end We've always had issues covering tight ends For as long as I remember and now you got another guy in debo who you know I was looking at some of the numbers, you know, 33 rushes for over 200 yards seven yards A carry and then you talk about he's had 93 targets Them throwing the football to him. He's going to get the football in his ball game He could be one of those guys when you talk about a defense side be a record He could be a guy that could really hurt you every time you turn on any highlights from san francisco It looks like it's debo. Sam. You're running into an end zone So if you want to make sure you won this ball game find out where he is One of the prescriptions that's going to help you do that is and it's the old adage. Hey, stay on the field You don't have to worry about the guy. Okay, you keep debo san. You'll stand over there drinking gatorade. He's got And that's what the run game has been able to do. Okay, the last three weeks This team has run the ball for over 120 yards over the last three weeks You got to go all the way back to 2017 the playoff team where they put together three games of 120 plus yards rushing I mean, that's a big deal. You think about making changing who you are in personality It's been a long time since able to do that They put they've run for over 100 yards in four of the last five games. What's that do? Okay, that changes what third down looks like Okay, so because your success on first and second down directly relates to that in their last three games They're converting 49 percent of their third downs are the falcons The four previous games 24 percent That's what the run game is doing for them And it's freeing arthur smith up to make brilliant play calls like screen against full out blitz Getting kyle pits in the left flat and getting him the football to keep the ball and keep your four-minute Offense on the field so you can kill the clock and win the football game. It's freeing him up as a play caller That's what the run game has been able to do for them And that's why it's so important to carry it forward and guys I like that point because even again, I know we're talking about san francisco But going back to last weekend they had at least two or three third down in ones where they lined up They turned around they handed the ball off and they picked up the first down And that's the thing that's encouraging to me as somebody that's covering it Somebody that's invested it because you should be able to turn around to hand the ball off in third and one And feel comfortable about picking up the first down Early in the season. I'm not sure that was the case Well, and they were willing to let matt ryan go get it matt ryan ran three quarterback sneaks for first downs In short yarded situations. So and they weren't they didn't do that before I said, hey, why turn around? Let's get ryan. He's six five two hundred and twenty five pounds go get the first down and he did You know guys the other thing you kind of touched on it and two of the things that stick out to me because I had san francisco On a game I called on radio earlier this year and george kiddle was not in the lineup He was hurt. He was out for about a month this year And since george kiddle has been back in the game. He has been the george kiddle that everybody Has known about he's been back for six weeks He's been over a hundred yards receiving three of those times and he's coming off a 13 catch performance last weekend for 150 yards He is a very talented tight end and he's got I think he's got six or seven touchdowns Since he has come back they are going to continue to try to find him So that's that's one of those areas you talked about some issues covering up the tight end They're going to have their hands full because this kid's very talented. He's one of the top tight ends in the league So they're going to feed him the ball, but I think there's going to be opportunities Dave just like there was last weekend jimmy garoppolo is a starter in the nfl But i'm not going to say he's anywhere near a top tier quarterback I think he's got 17 touchdowns and eight picks this year There will be opportunities to either get to him deflect passes or potentially get their hands on another interception And again when you're playing on the road, you've got to find those ways to steal possessions And I think that's an opportunity where atlanta can take advantage of somebody like jimmy garoppolo Get the stops on george kittle and try to find a way to take the football away from their offense So we talked about it initially guys. Let's let's move past the san francisco game We're not going to sit here and say that hey atlanta is going to already win it But I want to talk about what is the falcon schedule stack up like after san francisco? Dave you've had a chance to take a look at it the three games. They have detroit buffalo new orleans Again, just put aside what happens in san francisco What does that schedule tell you what what kind of speaks to you when you read those three teams to close out the season? Well, two of them were at home So the first thing it speaks to me is you need to win some games at home And this is going to give you an opportunity to do that and make no mistake just because detroit's coming in here And they've got one win under their belt. That is not going to be a rollover game for them They're looking to build some momentum into their offseason. I've been on some teams like that have struggled so And detroit's got some players on and they've played a lot of close football games to think you're just going to roll your helmet out there And beat detroit the day after christmas. That's not necessarily going to happen. We know the buffalo game We say if you watch the new england game here a couple of nights ago where the wind was blowing 40 miles an hour Can you run it against that buffalo defense? Can they run it against your defense? That'll be interesting to see what the conditions are Could be a wide out for all we know we get up there and you've already beaten new orleans so The thing that tells me is you got to take care of this weekend because this is kind of a de facto playoff game this weekend You beat the niners and all of a sudden you jump into that six spot or something in the playoffs But it also tells me that it's very manageable That if you can you can negotiate this thing into some postseason play and they got to go play Yep, we're not saying that but um, but it's there for the taken I guess is probably the best saying I can use it's there for the taken if you want to go get it Yeah, and we're we're moving past it and uh the san francisco game this weekend and you mentioned detroit david That's gonna be you know dj one of the biggest things is Atlanta cannot look past detroit right as you mentioned one ten and one I believe their record is can't look past them But those three games how do you feel like that schedule stacks up similar to what arch mentioned is games that The way you play you feel like games you should be able to win And I think you're coming to the season you say all right got that buffalo game at the end of the year The first thing you think about is like arch vision. What's the weather going to be like that's a big deal obviously But now as the season progressed you think about some of the other things that are going on and I think for this falcon Seem it's going to come down to I think the falcons defense. I'll be honest because you talk about The detroit game aside you think about buffalo coming here with the quarterback Well a quarterback and josh Allen who can run can move we struggle with quarterbacks creating and making things happen Against our defense if you can find ways to do that now But this is buffalo team five of their six losses come within six points The only you know game that that was what's crushed was the the colts game when he lost 41 to 15 But then you talk about the saints Alvin Kamara coming back saw what he did. I think he had 31 touches versus the jets in their previous game So you think about guys that can control the game and be real game records for you josh Allen for the build and then alvin kamara Obviously for the saints are big issues for the falcons defense and if you can control those You got a good chance of coming out of those ball games with wind But I think the most important thing is you got to win at home Yeah, I mean you win ball games on we have struggled at home to win ball games And that's kind of been the theme of the season. Hey, you've been great on the road But now if you want to get into the playoffs Home is where you would do it and you would think that bodes well for you You got to find a way to do it one way another Yeah, it's it's funny because even back when you and I were playing dj in the early to mid 2000s and dave You know this too. It was like they always said when your games at home try to split on the road, right? So if you go in a 16 games, he's an eight no at home four and four on the road You're 12 and four. You're in the playoffs. You're in the driver's seat Obviously that's a little bit of a different scenario right now for atlanta But you're right that the winning at home has been a little bit of a struggle They have to win the detroit game obviously Buffalo as it stands right now is a playoff team and you guys talked about it Just so you guys know if you hadn't looked at the calendar that game at buffalo is on january second Okay, we could you mentioned you could have lake effect I mean you may not even be able to see anything And it could be clear you just never know when you're playing in buffalo at that time of the season A great producer sam arson said what it's going to be in the 20s and right sam's already looked up the The weather prediction two and a half weeks out somewhere like that. Yeah, that's what he says. He's looking up already He's probably very accurate He's moonlighting for us as a meteorologist. You know, there's there are some things of concern It's not all rosy with the club. I mean obviously you're in position But matt ryan is now thrown for under 200 yards in six games this year. You've got to go back Five years and add all five years up that he's thrown for under 200 yards in a game That would be five years of work this year So you need the run game because we haven't been as explosive on offense You're not getting the 15-plus yard plays. We had three this last game I think that adds up to about 65 on the year do the math in in the amount of games you played That's not a lot of explosives which means you're having to work that much harder And if you get short field opportunities like they got this weekend now defensively They played well took the football away and limited cam newton and pj walker or what they were But if you get short field opportunities, you don't cash them in That's going to come back to haunches. So those are things they have to fix and And I talked to arthur smith yesterday and I said, uh, it's always nice to fix that We talk about this all the time when you win football games That's something they have to get done the sense of urgency you have as a defense When there's a sudden change situation and I got a short field. I got to defend I got to force a field go. I got to force them out the field in three downs That has to be the same thing on offense as well. We've got short field We've got to go for the juggler right here. We got to go put points on the board and put them on right away I'm not seeing that enough. And so those are some of the concerns you continue to move forward with You know, we guys we've talked about this for the last few weeks and it's kind of to me It's continues to be the story is the margin for error is so small right now when you're in this position And granted, we're talking about playoffs, but I think it's also It's fair to state that yes, those are the three games that that they have after san francisco But right now san francisco currently ahead of atlanta in the playoff picture Washington currently ahead of atlanta because of the tiebreaker eagles currently head of atlanta, right? So that's why all of these games are so important san francisco Detroit at 110 and one you just never know because if The washington or the eagles end up winning They're always going to end up staying a pace ahead of atlanta because of the head to head Assuming nothing else crazy ends up happening throughout the course of the the division of the season Let me quantify the matt ryan stat that i threw out there by the way six six times under 200 yards And i'm not suggesting that matt can no longer throw the ball well enough to do that We know he can because he's put up by i think three 300 yard games is That is an effect like you're talking about i'm just going to get back to your point that the margin fairer is very small This is not a tremendously talented team all over the spot So you have to be hitting on all cylinders to create those opportunities to get 200 plus yards and 120 yards on the ground That doesn't happen every weekend So But it does mean that everybody is going to have to sense the sense of urgency on every drive And and so matt ryan can still get it done and we still have receivers that can go get it But you can't miss and you can't miss a block when you got a guy running a double move That's open for a touchdown and my quarterbacks getting hit in the face because he can't get the ball out Those kind of things are happening. That's what's creating this a little bit a little bit of a deficiency in the past game Not necessarily anybody's talent level. Yeah, i just want to throw that out No, no, I completely get you because you think about and and guys I was watching the green bay game on sunday night and I would say that a team like green bay Offensively they probably have a little bit more room for mistakes, right? But you watch and they try they have some longer developing routes Aaron rogers has time to let those routes develop that has not been the story For throughout the course of the season consistently for atlanta Maybe you can make up for a mistake if you get protection and have a guy like erin rogers matt ryan Is just as capable as erin rogers Maybe not the same type of weapons downfield divante adams one of the best in the game But how much confidence does an offensive line draw from what the the stretch we talked about three consecutive games of 120 plus yards No sacks on ryan this weekend now He got hit a few times But that group did not give up a sack give mike davis a ton of credit for stepping up and shortening a couple linebacker necks As they were coming on blitzes But from a confidence standpoint, what do you think shot? It's huge. It's huge I mean you think about when we came into the season there were a couple games where All the conversation was the offensive line is letting us down How many times are is matt ryan getting hit how many times he's getting sacked? How many times he's not able to get the football off and then the last three ball games There's nothing like being able to run the football for an offensive line But they live and die for those situations to put it on their back And that's where their super bowl is one where you can turn around and hand it off and they can roll great guys Or you see two guys combo block and get up on a linebacker and you see those two guys excited Those are the things that gives that offensive line confidence And I think this team is only growing in that in that fashion So I think what arch mentioned is is a huge facet of where this team is headed And I remember that exact same play archers talking about Carolina brings a six man pressure Mike david steps up in the agap and just puts his face mask right on him and guess what we do Talk about third down hits gauge on an in-cut route for a big third down completion You're going to score I mean those are the things that don't show up on the stat sheet But each offensive lineman did their particular job picked up a guy They had a edge rusher come off the edge You see me gary come off his double team and get just enough of the guy coming off the edge And mike david steps in the agap and you pick up that six man pressure gauge wins on the outside Wins the 101 we talked about that as well as we need guys to create separation when you get those 101 spots Those are those are big plays in the bulging that show up on film that not a lot of people around the country may talk about But inside that that that meeting room when they turn on the tape They're going to see each guy doing their job and they're going to see a nice pocket They're going to see the conversion and that's where the confidence is built when you get that Get an opportunity to go do it again when you you play the next ball game I love that you bring that up and we'll finish it with this because you could go back to pop Warner You can go to high school and shoot I coach softball where I coach girls softball The word confidence sometimes gets thrown around but when you have it it's dangerous Yeah, right And you start to see a little bit with the offensive line and that could that could carry over to everybody It could carry us over to matt ryan carries over to the running backs It carries over to the defense you start playing with confidence you play free You know, you're going to get the job done and not think Maybe i'm going to get the job done because when you play in maybes That's when you end up getting beat. So let's see if the atlanta falcons can continue to play confident This weekend in san francisco and to close out the season and you just never know what's going to happen All right guys, that's going to do it here for the falcons audible presented by atn t So thank you so much for joining us on all of the different platforms that you get us from atlanta falcons.com YouTube spotify itunes or any of those other ones. I don't know if there are other ones But nesting age there might be other ways to get podcasts. We appreciate you joining us. He's dj. Shockley. Dave archer. I'm derrick wrackley Thanks so much and we'll be back next week wrapping up the same old stuff and looking ahead. Thanks guys