 And we are back here on the Falcons audible presented by AT&T. I'm Derek Rackley. He's Dave Archer No DJ Shockley this week, but he will be back in studio with us next week to break down all things Atlanta Falcons And by the way, thanks for joining us on Atlanta Falcons comm YouTube Spotify itunes or wherever you end up getting your podcasts We're gonna jump right into it first. Let's talk about what we're gonna be all the rundown the agenda for today, Dave Quick reactions like we do pretty much every week to the game last weekend against Buffalo Of course, Atlanta Falcons come up short 29 to 15 One topic that I didn't think we'd ever get the chance to discuss in Matt Ryan and taunting Yeah, we'll dive into that a little bit more Falcons defense continues to take the football away. Are they becoming an elite defensive turnover unit? We'll discuss that current status and lasting impression of this team as we do know Unfortunately, the Falcons were officially eliminated from postseason contention And then we will talk about whether or not the Falcons will ruin the new year for the New Orleans Saints If there's one thing that you can have at the end of the season arch Especially when you're eliminated from the playoffs, it's a game against the Saints, right? Because it's like there's no reason to try to give the guys Motivation to get up they'll get up for the Saints game. No matter what's going on Yeah, you can bet these two fan bases will be jacked up too as well If we get an opportunity to leave a dead fish in their back seat is what I'm talking about. Oh, yeah That's really kind of a little stank face Dead fish in the back seat. All right before we get to the Saints Let's talk about last weekend arch you were there first of all before we get into quick reactions Let me just ask you this question Tell me about the conditions for the people that were watching it on television. How was it like there? Yeah, it was chilly it was chilly I think we saw it from the past catchers right especially with some of the balls thrown on both sides We're having a tough time squeezing the ball with the fingers that came it kind of gave you an idea that if you had some of your Smaller appendages were were affected by the weather the snow on the field Was a little bit choppy was probably about an inch on the field. So that wasn't significant It looked like footing was okay. It didn't look like it was it was severe in any way I walked around the field it didn't seem like it was that big a deal But it was there was a wind that always blows in Buffalo I know you've been up there that kind of swirls around that stadium and the wind is cold That wind feels like it's blown off a glacier Yeah, so that if there wasn't any wind it kind of was that 29 30 degree day But with the wind blowing that changed the dynamics were we're watching the game and it's interesting You probably played up there I actually played in Buffalo that I remember one time arch and I can't remember if you were on the call at that But we played him the first game of the year it was like 87 degrees and somehow in eight years in the NFL I escaped having to go to Buffalo with conditions like last Sunday or lake effect snow I was trying to describe to my daughter what lake effect snow is and Buffalo and how nasty it can be was not like that last weekend But let's talk about what are your quick reactions to what happened in the game last weekend Atlanta Falcons Looked like they were in a driver's seat and then things just kind of fell off in the second half Yeah, I thought that there were there were it was an ebb and flow game much like a lot of the falcon games have been this year Where there's been a big swing in things opening kickoff you got an opportunity To potentially fall in the football at the one-yard line. I thought we missed an opportunity Look like Michael Walker might have a chance to recover it there on that on that on that initial Opportunity from a special team standpoint Avery Williams gets to hit ball in the end zone you get the safety So excellent job of providing a little bit of momentum to start the game And then it kind of didn't really go anywhere and and they started to get a little bit of foothold By the way, Josh Allen can spin the football dude could throw it. He made some throws in the wind that were mind-boggling But what jumped out to me was the defense's resilience against a pretty formidable Offensive unit and it played really well coming in They were able to kind of keep that same momentum of been been been but don't break and they got a turnover down They're late in the first half with the with the Duran Harmon interception three consecutive takeaways I know we're gonna talk about that So I thought that that that mentality seems to be kind of taking shape a little bit like to be a little bit more Resistant against the run, which we were not. Yeah on the offensive side of the ball It's still kind of a mixed bag for me You'll get moments where you run the ball with a lot of effectiveness and then you'll play action off of it But then if you're forced to throw it We don't seem to be able to protect consistently. Yeah, and so the consistency on the offense is not there yet And so those are my takeaway the thing that you do get in Arthur Smith, and this is read this is Resounding these guys play for 60 minutes. Yeah, it's not one of these kind of deals. We're all here. We go. We're done No, they play you to the wall all the way through and If the thing hadn't happened to Ryan and we got the touchdown there Which you thought you got a one-score game of about seven minutes to go in the game and I think buffalo is in a real Dogfight down the stretch. Yeah, I mean we'll get into that again as well And it's it's interesting to me Dave because you get three turnovers playing on the road in bad conditions And you're thinking as a visiting team that sets up pretty well for you Then you and I wouldn't say then you but rewind back to the opening play where they're able to get the safety And get the football back right away So there's a lot of moments that you can point to that sets up perfectly for a visiting team To go get a victory, right? But the things that kind of stick out to me other than some of the missed opportunities you talked about third down conversions one Red zone conversions one it's gonna be hard to win in the National Football League when you can't extend drives And you can't punch it in in the red zone and look I know this is Atlanta Falcons audible But you bring up a good point Dave about Josh Allen though I didn't get a chance to watch him much this year But after watching that game that kids compete level is impressive And we talked about the the difficulties Atlanta has at times slowing down a running quarterback Well, he's not only a running quarterback, but he runs with physicality I mean there was the stiff arm that he had I can't remember exactly who it was on that a fallow That was that was pretty impressive defensive end outside left pass rusher that a quarterback is Stiff arm rings. That's probably a moment that he's not gonna want to watch on the tape But his ability to run the ball but like his compete level that's just what stuck out to me It wasn't so much that oh nice job picking up the first down It's just his mentality is like we're not gonna end this drive like we're gonna pick up a first down Not to say that we need to be like that that Matt Ryan needs to be like that That's not his game But that's one thing that I came away with is that his compete level is pretty strong And I I have a better appreciation for him as a starting quarterback in the NFL 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 Dave you kind of talked about it Matt Ryan huge turning point in a game scrambles Looks as if he gets into the end zone for a touchdown the play gets reviewed However, there's a taunting penalty on it which was likely just gonna end up being on the kick Play gets reviewed knee is down short of the goal line So instead of touchdown and we'll just mark it off on the extra point It gets moved back and no touchdown and of course Atlanta does not end up taking advantage Talk us through like what was going through your mind in that whole scenario Well, the first part of it is you think Matt makes a play it gets in the end zone Certainly look like it and in my thought on the rule was if he goes forward He's a runner if he doesn't slide. He's not giving himself up. He's just diving That he has to be touched down That's not the rule. It doesn't matter whether you're quarterback or a runner if you physically give yourself up Which he essentially was going to the ground Then you mark the ball where his knee touches the ground and so the mark was correct at the one half yard line, okay? Matt thinks he scores. Well, Jordan Poyer comes over and spears him as he's in the end zone Ryan gets up spikes the ball in his face. It's a taunting by the definition of the rule It's a time he spiked the ball right in his face and yelled at him official was standing right there He flagged it The problem with that is is he misses the other call? The other call is the illegal hit on a player that had given themselves up I don't care if it's a running back wide receiver Then if you give yourself up like that you can as a defender go to the ground and spear them in the back That's a personal foul penalty. So what should have happened there is Ryan still gets the penalty But the personal foul penalty they're both dead ball fouls They offset one another you go with the play and the play is on the one-foot line third and goal right instead They missed the hit on Ryan. They flag Ryan for for the The whatever you call it taunting the taunting or whatever it is and they move him back now They move the back. It's now third and goal from the 16-yard line And so that changes everything try to take a couple shots in the end zone It didn't work out. So completely blown situation there by the official They got the first and the third part of it They missed the middle part of it which would have been the roughing call on Ryan as it turns out That was a big point in the game. I don't know if that I don't think that was the turning point in the game Okay, we were talking turning points in games I thought the takeaway by foyer looking at the start of the first half yeah, or second half Yeah, the third consecutive turn over by Josh Allen If you turn that into point you score now you've scored anywhere from 16 to 20 points on three consecutive takeaways Yeah, you have seized control of the game and now Buffalo's reeling a little bit now They might come back and score But you're talking about jockeying down to the end and a one-score maybe a one Field goal type football game. I thought that was a key moment for me was not cashing in the foyer looking at Interception to start the second half Yeah, and go and going back to the taunting penalty on Matt like I know there's probably a lot of people that were thinking as soon as it happened Oh like that can't happen Matt can't do that's just a reaction from a competitor that got into the end zone That was frustrated that somebody hit him and he just got up and I'm sure he was like, you know Bam I got into the end zone type thing and maybe he was looking at him Yeah, you're right the letter of the rule it was the right call, but To what kind of how I started that the podcast is I never thought we'd be thinking about Matt Ryan getting a taunting penalty that ends up Like you said maybe doesn't change the complexion of the game But surely would have helped if they would have got seven points in that situation so to me That's just a reaction from a competitor Dave. That's not something where it's like dude He's got to be better in his head or something like that Well, I agree to it with you to a certain extent, but he can't do that Yeah, you can't let it happen. I get what you're talking about. I completely concur I've been in that situation. I've actually been flagged. I was actually thrown out of a game because I hit a guy because he hit me illegally in a game so I Understand the emotional part of it. The problem is is you hurt your team Yeah, okay, and and regardless of whether the officials blew it, which they did they blew the call You can't you can't let that happen. Just like you we'd say It about any other player and so even though Ryan is not the guy you'd put on the picture of A guy that's going to do those kind of things that's going to taunt somebody He apply it applies to him just like it would to Richie Grant Defensive line if you hit a guy out of bounds or got pissed at somebody and hit took a shot at somebody you can't let that Happen. Yeah, exactly. So you're right It was missed opportunities and and kind of moving forward here Dave We talked a little bit about these these turnovers and I guess Here's the thing as a former player and Dave I'm sure you're probably this this way as well when you come away from a loss There's only so much that you can talk about positives, right? Because at the end of the day you're get paid to win games, right? Coaches get paid to coach games and win owners want to win, right? That's just the name of the NFL But you do have to kind of find a silver lining here and there and so let's talk about this. I mean Yes, they the Falcons ended up losing Maybe they're still kind of middle of the row when you talk about defense and statistics and takeaways and all that stuff But they've shown a trend at the end of the season that when they get the opportunity to get their hands on the football They're taking advantage of it because it could be a lot worse These could be balls that are going right to defense suppliers and how many times do we see it? Bam touches the hands straight to the ground missed opportunity huge But as far as making those takeaways How are you feeling as far as the identity of this defense becoming a takeaway defense? Yeah, the ball awareness is huge with this team. What 12 consecutive games now they've taken a football away And that goes a long way. I mean, what are the what are the some of the statistics? A couple of statistics that coaches point to they talk about red zone offense defense They talk about third down offense defense. They talk about takeaways. They talk about take Can we get takeaways take care of the football? Yep. Atlanta's taking the football away at a really nice clip And what it tells you is the ball awareness. They have whether they're in zone coverage The aj hrl interception at the end of the first half where he dives intercepts the football The ability of foyer luikin to mirror the quarterback as he's trying to get out of the pocket elevate Bat the ball in diran harman to catch the tip ball. How many times do we have we've seen you and our both offensive guys You look over the defense you guys are working on the tip drill keeping the ball alive tipping it in the air The ball awareness on this team is uncanny. It's one of those things is that it's hard to teach Teams, it's hard to teach players But when they when turnovers start to come it becomes a bit of infectious where you begin to expect it You're being looking for it. I think they have that kind of awareness that bodes well that moves forward That carries with you into the offseason and into next year because it it is it's one of those It's one of those confidence It's one of those belief mechanisms if you will that Every level of this defense whether you're a defensive lineman linebacker secondary You go into a game and you're like we're going to get the football Because we've shown that we're going to do and in foyer luikin and and i'll say this about him He's kind of your more typical like middle linebacker thicker bigger pad guy like You'd think that deon jones would be the guy that's that's that's much more graceful But foyer for a big thick linebacker has shown some really good hands like i've Seen so many times in my career the ball goes right to these big middle linebackers And they're just not ready for it and it hits their hands and drops to the ground What do they always say that's the reason why they play on defense, right? But it's impressive to me because you're right, dave And we don't know what the roster is going to look like next year We don't know who's going to be back But if that's the identity if that's the belief if that's the confidence that this personnel grouping has That's a good thing to come for this unit. They're going to they're going to look back and they're going to say guys Just like we did in 2021. You saw how we took the football away. We need to do that again to start 2022 Whatever it may be those are things that can be talked about in a locker room They can be talked about right before you take the field for a game next year Because guys remember it and they have confidence that they're going to make a play So very encouraging even coming up with a loss that they're coming away with interceptions Still minus three in a turnover margin that generally not going to get it done for you in a grand scheme of things But the defense doing what they need to do to be an elite turnover unit So dave, let's kind of take a little step back here and let's look at The atlanta falcons. They still have one game to play, but So now we basically have a resume. We've got a almost a whole season under our belt What is what's to this point? What's your lasting impression of this team that you've seen in the first year under terry font? No and arthur smith they compete for 60 minutes. Yeah, I think that that's the thing that jumps out at you And and does that make me warm and fuzzy all over? No, but it wins do Um, does it equate the wins? You hear the adage culture you hear the adage of you know, we got to change Who we are and and what we think of one another part of that has to do with the turnovers I think that becomes an expectation that the defensive players have we expect to get turnovers We're going to create turnovers. That's something that carries over But I think your mentality of playing 60 minutes and knowing you and I are told it all the time by coaches And i'm sure fans have heard at times There's four or five plays maybe six plays in a game. They're going to dictate how the game will play out Well, if I play for 60 minutes, I'm going to be in pretty good position to make those plays when they come If you've got a team that's a little bit lackadaisical that doesn't play necessarily the third quarter very well Or or whatever it might be Then they miss out on maybe an opportunity to that might sway the tide or move the game in your direction I don't think this team will miss that now You know, there's a lot of work to do from a talent standpoint to to build this roster up a little bit more talent wise in a lot of different areas But the competitive part of it. You mentioned about josh allen this team competes And I think that's not you think well, they're pro football players. They should compete. That's not always built into the dna It's not always played with a lot of guys and and so this team competes and I think that's the thing it jumps out at me Yeah, it's uh, it's definitely another positive moving forward Because you're right There's certain times that you can watch a game or you can watch it on tape and you can say They gave up like they threw in the towel. They were done They stopped competing and I think that's a really good point and that's that's something that you know If any of those guys end up listening to this like that might be one of the better compliments that you can get Yeah, there's only certain things that you can do from an athletic standpoint You might not be able to jump over 48 inch box jump. You might not be able to run a 4 3 5 40 But if you can compete like it's all that the coaches always tell you you can control one thing It's your effort and your attitude right and that's what they're doing right now And and I wanted to kind of piggyback and go ask you this is kind of off script. They've there's been so many Moving roster things this year with covet right reserve covet list guys getting elevated guys coming back down The one thing that I would say that kind of goes back to your compete level is it's this season has provided So many opportunities for guys to get playing time that that normally would not play and I think Part of the reason why you're seeing that compete level is the guys that are getting a chance to play Understand that they may not get another game. They may not get another season So they're out there going and they're playing their hardest to try to earn Space to try to earn time on the field and so yeah, there you can look at the negative side of it Is that the covet reserve list is taking your stars and they can't play and this that obviously that's uncontrollable But you're getting some guys up there that are competing their tails off because they don't know when they're going to get a chance to play Again, I think it also a rack and I couldn't agree with you more. I think it also accentuates Excuse me What terry font know has done in in acquiring guys in season that's not easy to do now Especially with the expanded practice rosters and all that kind of stuff It's not like I just walking around the street. It's not a guy driving a ups truck That'd be should be playing a three technique in your defensive line. It just doesn't happen So how do you find these guys? terry's done an amazing job with his staff and then arthur smith and his staff in their development of the players when they brought them in anthony rush was not a was a guy was on this practice squad Near the beginning of the season Mike panel another guy big body dudes that they felt like Fit the mold of what they were looking for interior defensive linemen bigger bodies help with the run game Help you spell some guys whatever it might be but a little bit more of an image of what you're so you wanted to look like in the future Um, they've developed those dudes. So when they plug them in They know what they're doing It's not some guy just coming in off the street on friday and say no By the way, we're going to line you up in a three in a one technique and just do it dion tells you You know, that's not that's not the way these guys are they're developing these players And if if I hang my head on anything about this team, and I know we got another play game to play And we'll talk about the same turn a few minutes The coaching's coming back. Yeah That coaching has been happening all year long and we're seeing the development of richie grant We're just dealing the development of adai ogan daiji coming off the edge We're developing you seen the development of those players on the other side a g trell taking another step Oh, by the way, you got two of the best linebackers in the national football They get nobody knows about dion jones of boy a luke and tackling machines And then the development of some of the guys on the offensive side of the football Whether it's jail in mayfield and him coming as that left guard Or whatever that may be there the development of the of the running game to a certain extent Guys having to step up with the absence of calvin ridley and as it turned out in the second half Kyle pits here The coaching is coming back People and that's what i'm most excited about because i see guys getting coached up and being ready to go Because this is not the most talented roster in the league But when you look up your team's competing 15 14 and a halftime buffalos going to the playoffs You're right there with them, you know And yeah, you got to win those games and there's there is no You know honorary pat on the back here because this is the national football you win you lose But i like the trend and i love the coaching and the personnel people are coming back to adjust this team. Yeah, and again Next year, you know again hate to kind of transform or move forward to next year But when the team is officially eliminated you kind of think about okay, what are the prospects for the next season? You know hoping god willing that calvin ridley's back on the field for atlanta next year And we didn't even really get a chance to talk too much about kyle pits Obviously it goes down with the injury late in the first half does tries to go into second half But it ended up holding him out But the phenomenal season that he has had you get a guy like calvin ridley back You get another year with this offensive line improving maybe adding a piece that helps that group out I mean you might be talking about having a top three tight end in the national football league And again, I know we talked last week. It's not really a tight end. He's kind of just a big wide receiver He's a dude is what he is just a dude. He's a ball player. He's kind of like that prototypical He is just an athlete like he's a playmaker We don't need to put a te or a w r next to him. We just put a ball in his hands Yeah, you're right problem next to his name is what you're right So, uh, you know, he obviously not being available in the second half of the bill's game was was an issue And just take another just explosive weapon off the field Um And it's going to be tough to move the ball against a pretty good team So you talked about it Dave, let's fast forward talk about this week Final game on the schedule and this is one of the cool things about the nfl scheduling model is that they put these divisional games So ones that they anticipate are going to have meaning at the last week of the season This one doesn't necessarily have a meaning to get into the postseason for atlanta But it's got meaning because it's a rivalry game and this is a big time spoiler matchup so it's like You know, we've been a part of these saint's falcons matchups before And for a team that's not going to the postseason, I bet they have no problem getting up for this game. Do you agree? Yeah, no question about it You want to end the season on your terms on your note? And this has been a pretty good late november Through december run for atlanta trying to kind of get their foothold for 2022 Well, nothing gets a foothold in 2022 like knocking off the saints and maybe spoiling their opportunity for some postseason This was a game that the nfl was watching very closely Come come sunday. They were talking about Maybe moving the falcon saint game to saturday had atlanta beaten buffalo This was going to game that is going to have some implications for both teams from a postseason standpoint And they were looking at it very closely Now they've they've demoted to 425 eastern time It still is huge for the saints, which is lovely for us because you're not going you're not just playing You know somebody, you know a 5 and 11 team that okay, let's just roll it out there and let's play our last game This is the saints and you got a chance to really ruin their off season right here So it's you know, and again, you said saints. I love playing against these guys. I love competing I love the fans and the fan interaction. So this will be fun and mercedes been steady Yeah, it's if if we're not going to the postseason they can join us as well and watch the playoffs this year So we'll see how motivated the guys are. Dave talked about and I agree with him the compete level on his team is there Let's see it for one more week and let's see if they can go out there and spoil postseason hopes for the new Orleans saints and and end this season on a high note As you mentioned, it's always easier to go into the off season with a victory and a smile on your face Instead of that sour taste in your mouth. Well, if you look at this game real quickly rack and Really a couple of names come to mind for for the saints. Number one is cam jordan Cameron jordan, we have not blocked him since he's been in the league. Okay. He's got 22 sacks I believe in 21 games or vice versa He has been in fact matt ryan is the most sack quarterback in his career now It goes for reason because they play twice a year He he's coming off a three and a half sack performance against carolina last weekend He has seven sacks in his last three games This is a guy that now has 106 sacks in his career He's been a great saint and he's been a pain in the rear end for the falcons for a number of years So atlanta has got to get him blocked and he'll be a problem on the other side of it We just saw josh allen run for almost 100 yards and they ran for 230 in the game Well, here comes tasam hill. He's going to play this game at quarterback It was trevor simian the first time when atlanta went 27 25 down there It's going to be tasam hill at quarterback. You're going to get quarterback run And there's a dude that grew up in this area named calvin chimera that loves to come comes back home From what north cross high school You've got two guys that are going to be a problem because you just faced that problem this weekend You didn't take care of it. Yeah, so there's three names for you that you've got to take care of this weekend Yeah, and and tasam hill is you know, obviously he's not as talented as josh allen as far as throwing the football But you're right like he's going to watch that tape because tasam hill has that compete level running the football as well He's not the same type of guy that just wants to run and slide or get out of bounds like he he will initiate some contact sometimes He's a tough guy rough guy. He definitely is and so the the stopping the run is going to be a challenge and you're right cam jordan I was going to ask you and he's still playing but is he a hallfamer Cam jordan. I think he's there now. Yeah. Yeah, you go over you go triple digits on sacks And you haunt teams like he has and boy, he's haunted the fountain Well, and it's and it's impressive too that he's not as he's getting deeper into his career It's not like he's finishing a season with two sacks, right? He's still getting up there close to double digits Oh, he's an 11 and a half now. Yeah, he's he is taking care of taking over games on many of occasions So it doesn't look like he's slowing down anytime soon. I'm sure a lot of falcons fans are gonna say Ready for retirement See if you can get that cold jacket because we we would like to see somebody else So great great little preview there and we'll see if atlantic could slow down jordan on the defensive side and if they can Slow down taste some hill and alvin camara because those guys will come out ready to compete So that's going to wrap it up here in the falcons audible presented by at and t I think we did a pretty good job without dj. We're okay. We love having shock. We do So his smile is infectious and he definitely brings some good opinions, but um, you know, we we managed We got through this thing We probably look a little better without shock smile right here because he's got that golden boy smile, doesn't he? Hey, we love you shock. We'll see you next week and we'll see all of you guys next week as well Again falcons audible presented by at and t Thank you so much for joining us on alana falcons dot com youtube spotify itunes or wherever you get your podcast material See you next week everybody