 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast I'm Scott Bayer alongside Chris Rimentary Macalany. We are checking in with you from Charlotte, North Carolina Bank of America Stadium after the Falcons came away victorious with a 29 to 21 result That was essential absolutely vital. Maybe even must win. I don't know But it was key to the Falcons staying relevant as we move forward through the final stretch of this 2021 season Tori Macalany. What was your biggest takeaway from what we saw here in Charlotte? I think my biggest takeaway it was actually really interesting because it was the exact It's the same takeaway that I had against when the Falcons lost at Tampa Last week at it's all about the line of scrimmage and last week the takeaway was that it wasn't good and this week The takeaway is that it was much improved Which I think is kind of funny like the juxtaposition of what it was last week to this week and I will say I thought one of the best quotes of the Postgame press conferences with Arthur Smith was when he said that he thought that there was a Physicality that the line of scrimmage played with and I think you could see that on both the offensive and Defensive lines the offensive line the way that they made holes to run the ball the defensive line the way they Affected the quarterback even though there wasn't there's only one sack They're still getting Cam Newton and PJ Walker just Uncomfortable in the pocket and that's a step in the right direction. Yeah, I thought you asked a great question of Arthur Smith in the press conferences How can you see the better play along the lines of scrimmage and he said because we're moving the line of scrimmage Yeah, he said he backwards offensively forwards. That's really positive sign. It's basic, but it makes tons of sense Yeah, he literally said it moved But it's perfectly said there's there are so many times I think people try and over complicate football and sometimes It's as simple as just moving the line of scrimmage. Yeah, absolutely And before we get to Chris rooms take away, let's just break down how this thing works five minutes on four different Topics, we are going to go over how well this How much better this defensive line and I'm sorry this defense played the fact that they took it personally We're going to talk about the run game. We're going to talk about our players of the game and as always we're going to Look forward and see what this game means and For the Falcons over the course of the final couple of games Chris rim looking back at this game What was your what was something that stood out to you? The same thing as last week for me in terms and I think it's been the same thing offseason just consistency Yeah I think after the game for me was kind of noticeable to see the difference in the way the veterans talked and the way that Kind of the younger guys talk 100 after the win Grady and Matt were kind of like It was alright One it was cool But that was it wasn't what it should have been they down. I thought they dominated the first half then the second half the Panthers Looked like they were on their way to they had the momentum and then cam trips on a center's foot and the game goes in their direction so I think again Four quarters of consistent football is something that Matt Ryan admitted. They're still chasing something that's hard to do But again consistency, but like he said also in his press conference who cares. Yeah, they won. Yeah, so So it doesn't matter right and I also think that people need to understand that there is a difference between perfection Completion and consistency. Yeah, those three words are all different and they all mean very different things for this Falcons team in 2021 breaking it down. I mean put that on the quote Line it up and it's very accurate and we're gonna get into all this. We're gonna break things down For this Falcons team and what we saw against Carolina But before we do all that a big thank you to our sponsor Microsoft Windows 11 The official operating system of the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons The all-new Windows 11 is here to bring you closer to what you love like this Falcons final whistle podcast Learn all about the awesome new features of Windows 11 at windows.com We're starting quarter number one talking about defense the Atlanta Falcons defense, which the last time they played Carolina They gave up more than 200 yards rushing on I think 47 carries. Yeah, that's a lot It's it wasn't a high per carry average necessarily But anytime that a team runs 200 on you. Yeah, that ain't good. Michael Walker said he took it personally He said the defense the defense personally. Thank you And I think that that's key that they were able to cut that rushing total in half Against this team and that was vital to What we saw with the end result Yeah, it's funny because you think back to what Dean Pease was saying during the week when he was talking about Playing a team twice and he said, you know I've been in this business long enough to know that when a team does something really well the first time you play them They're gonna of course go back to it to see if you fixed it Yeah, and that was the quote to see if you fixed it and the Falcons I think looking at this coming in they knew that Carolina was gonna want to establish the run early and the fact that they were able to cut The production in half go from two hundred and three rushing yards to giving up 91 this week I think that's a really stark difference in contrast. Yeah, and I think all week the The Falcons Defensive players didn't shy away from admitting that this that this was something that was harped on all week that Dean Pease got after them about giving up the rushing yards And I don't think I don't think that emphasis was so much on they gave up 203 rushing yards because I don't like Dean It said before that he doesn't care about the yard Right about the points and they also had 47 carries, right? So if you run the ball 50 times, you know, if you get 200, okay But I think what the big what the big deal was Sam Darnold had 66 yards on eight Carries one that came on us on a second and four He ran for 20 yards and one that came on like a third and nine in the fourth quarter That sealed the game where he scrambled for 11 yards Those were two plays that that we learned from this week players told us those were two plays that he pulled Up in the film room and said this cannot happen and then Sam Darnold's on IR and you have one of the best Russian quarterbacks You know one of the most physical Ever at the quarterback position so now you know you got to buckle up And it's really a challenge to see and they stepped up today and we saw that and I think that was the big difference here In terms of how they how they managed that yeah Carolina had some sloppy play yeah over the course of this game dot-dot-dot, but The Falcons took advantage of it that they got takeaways they they they recovered fumbles They were able to turn some of those opportunities into points and those are real positives Obviously Michael Walker was the highlight the guy had quite a week shall we say yeah new dad Michael Walker Yeah, new dad Michael Walker and Now that the proud papa had his first career interception and his first pick six That was a huge deal AJ Terrell had a pick could have had a second But it was really close and Grady Jarrett lands on a fumble. Those types of things are Really important when you're not totally perfect And I really think that that was key for them and you know, so what else can we say about this defense anybody? If you look at it they Carolina was only four for eleven on third down. I think that's good their per carry average was three point five and Cam Newton didn't get loose. There were more designed runs. Yeah, but Then like then we saw the the week before the in the previous game. I'm sorry, but nonetheless I think that they handled cam cam bounced in and out But nonetheless, they did what was required and how have you guys seen this defense? Progress over the course of the last month. Maybe not since they last played Carolina, but over the last couple of weeks We've seen a fewer points allowed from the defensive side I was just gonna say I think you know if after you know someone scores And I think after you lose the way that the team lost to to Dallas in general You know you you kind of have to look yourself in the mirror and something something has to change You have to you know You got to play with it a chip on your shoulder and I think they have done that You know today too even before the game started there on the field There were people were jumping around and dancing and you know seemed like there was a lot of energy from them and I think they're just playing with a different kind of confidence and a different kind of swagger and I think they know that they're improving but they still Are humble enough to also recognize that we can be a lot better than what we are And now we're gonna flip the side of the football talk more about offense in quarter number two It was another game Another week where the Falcons rushed for over a hundred yards It's three in a row now as this running game is really showing signs of life both along the offensive line and In the offensive backfield where we have seen Mike Davis catch a little bit of fire Patterson has done. Well, we've even seen allison who's now on the active roster Get into the mix a little bit this running game How important has it been to get this thing going as we go through the winter months? Yeah Well, I think as the running game has progressed I think the passing game has also I won't say it's it's been maybe more effective But you see the defense it keeps the defensive line and the defense honest You know guys aren't like pinning their ear back ears back and coming after Matt because they know that, you know There's a threat back there. You're not one dimension. Exactly. You're not one dimensional So it just makes everything easier. That's why Russell Gage could get 130 yards last week That's why he had you know 64 today and pits have five catches today And he was wide open on well that was third and 13 So I guess I should have expected a faster, but I think I would like to think that's why he was On that third and 13 it would have helped my point But I think the I think overall the the running backs look great today, but I think also today See, I think everyone played well, but I think today also showed from Because he had 16 carries for for 58 yards and on a lot of his usually some CP gets in there It's like a burst of energy and he just it's almost like when he gets in there He finds lanes But sometimes today there just weren't lanes and then when Mike got in there It seemed like there were sometimes and he averaged more yards per carry So I think Torrey talks about this a lot in terms of like there needs to be lanes for these guys to run through and today We saw that in terms of Mike look great CP look great and also a quadri look great too So those are great day for the backs and they're a third straight hundred yard rushing game. Yeah, I I'm gonna talk about the offensive line again, which I I feel like I talked about him last week I feel like I've talked around the week before I'm gonna talk about him again I just really think that it's really telling how I think you see with this offensive line how long sometimes it takes to install something and how long it sometimes takes for a group to understand the concept of what their Offensive coordinator or in this case head coach is trying to install and instill in them And and I think you're seeing that play out in real time because I think for a long time Perhaps they just weren't getting it. They weren't seeing the big picture of the run game Things just weren't working out and something that Arthur Smith has said over and over He commends this offensive line for just sticking with the plan and sooner or later Something's gonna shake out and I think we are actively seeing that happen because I mean Against these defensive fronts over the course of the last three weeks to run over a hundred yards Against them specifically especially the last two games has been a really really big deal And I think that it really goes to show you kind of how Much work has been put in but also kind of just like the patience of the process And I asked Matt Ryan. I was like it He even said, you know, there's a confidence being built within this offensive line You can see it happening and it almost felt like one of those things and this is what I asked him I was like is it one of those things where he just took them doing it one time for it to finally? Conceptually click and I really do think that like just watching it How how it clicked against Jacksonville and it's continuing to click I think that is so important because it almost feels like this offensive line is like wait a minute We saw we could do it now. We understand it the body motion We understand the lanes and and we understand our fit blocks and all that kind of stuff Now we see it now. We understand it now. We can do it. Yeah, and The fit blocks part of it is so key because the timing has to I don't want to get a super football nerd here But the timing of the blocking has to be Very precise to get these plays to work and the backs have to trust that it's going to happen So when they say it's all 11, that's it sounds cliche But it's really true in order to see the types of results that that we're seeing here Tori and I we were talking during the game how I think was Mike Davis He was able to get to the outside for for an 11-yard run and I said gosh He doesn't normally he's not normally able to get to the corner like that What's the deal there and you say well? Mike's not suddenly faster. It's because the blocking allowed him to get to the edge That's what I was saying. Yeah, it was just it was just there today So we can do and there was actually a run late in the game where he could have bounced to the outside And maybe gotten a bunch more yards, but he would have got pushed out of bounds So he just cut in and kind of slid and fell down. So he would have had more yards today Talk about situational football. I mean just staying in bounds. It's so simple, but but yeah No, you're absolutely right. He bounced to the outside. They sealed it. They sealed the end That's the difference and it's crazy because how often do especially falcons fans They talk about offensive balance, right that somehow the run has to get up to the level of passing volume They had 36 rushing plays 28 pass attempts. They're still unbalanced, but they've completely flipped it over I think it is a positive sign that the commitment is there and the and that the results are getting better And we're kicking off quarter number three talking about Our mvps of the game And who kind of stood out to us over the course of this one who helped them earn a victory They need more victories to get to where they want to go And we'll talk about that in quarter number four, but who wants to start here? Who was uh, torrey your mvp That was very intense right there. I wish I could have seen this because scott is legit like staring daggers And he just go he just points at me with so much fervent who wants to start sorry I blame The sweet tea and then the two cups of coffee. There's a lot of there's a lot of caffeine and sugar That was all directed That was intense. Yo, okay. All right. Um, I don't necessarily think that this is my like most valuable player But in my mind, this is somebody who I thought had a slow start, but I thought Ended the game having had a really good day and it was daunte faller And I think that's probably gonna feel a little off the wall to pick daunte when there are a lot of people I think that contributed to this win But I was just kind of why you know, I was talking about the defensive line and getting after the quarterback I thought that daunte did some things that aren't going to show up in the stat book that really caused Some incompletions or whoever was in the pocket Whether it was cam newton or pj walker to feel a little flustered I mean, I know he had the one sack and then he had I think three tackles for a loss Which that that's a big that's a big deal for for this defense to get an offense going backwards Yeah, he did three tackles for losses. Yeah, three tackles for a loss. I thought that was a big number so that to me was Again, it wasn't that he had I think an amazing like all inspiring Game it was just it felt like a pretty consistent game for daunte faller and it it it really did feel like he was doing Things to affect the game and I think that's why I when I'm thinking about players that kind of stood out in my mind He did especially kind of after halftime when it really mattered And I think that's important because if you go back to what you wrote after the tampa game It was about how they lost on both sides Scrimmage that no one was touching tom brady right the pass rush on the pass protection wasn't good enough So when you have somebody in the pass rush that's impacting the quarterback that it shows what you were talking about last week That that was lacking that was there and was a real advantage for the falcons defense Yeah, we got yeah for me. It was michael walker and I think uh, what's what's cool today Is that I think we're choosing a lot of people who we haven't chosen before because a lot a lot of people Played well today, but but for michael we talked about earlier His his pick six was the the play of the day and I think I'm also choosing him because of the situation He had a kid five days ago a son kaden who also has a I think a cool unique name like like his and the way He spells it with like k y d and he also has a lot of names kaden. I think it's kaden edward james Walker yeah, that's a pretty cool name. Yeah, so I love it So he he then he did a rock the baby Celebration on the sideline as a nod to his kid and then he kept the ball and Apparently he was at practice the day he was born mike said which he was shocked about and and he also said how'd he get away with that one? Yeah, maybe he's talking about his mother And then aj said it was a gift from god and I thought that was a really cool moment It was probably a cool moment for him and then on top of that cam newton is his favorite player ever and he grew up uh Watching lebron and cam and then to get his first pick and it was a pick six Against cam newton was probably a great feeling for him And it was the falcon second one and back to back game. So I think It was a great moment a feel-good moment and also a confidence booster for the falcon's defense Like we're making big plays and he said post game He said, you know, we believe in ourselves and he said he said we believe in ourselves And then i'm paraphrasing here, but he said, you know, we know we can do this Each week. We know we can make big plays each week. It's just about executing So I think plays like these and moments like these get the falcon's confidence And then it's also just a feel-good moment. So it's my MVP Yeah, can we talk real quick about that pick six and foyer just kind of like skirting in front of cam newton to kind of make sure that he didn't get get after all Michael walker. I thought that was hilarious. And that was a and that was big time It was it was it was so funny to me because he just Yeah, and that was a that was a moment right for a block in the back or some type of illegal block that would have changed things It was very smart. It was a very smart. Yeah, it was he went to you. He went to you Sure, uh, i'm gonna go with a guy another guy who had a great week. Mike davis Name the walter patent man of the year. Please go read chris rim story Yeah, that's right along and the man of the year presentation amazing stuff on atlanta falcons.com And also he comes back to carolina a place where he played and normally when guys get asked about extra motivation To play your former team. They say nah, it's not a big deal blah blah. He's like, yeah, it was It was a big deal He was very upfront about it. The guy ends up with Um, if my math says somehow right with 86 yards of total offense He was impactful in the run game. He had a huge screenplay excellent design by the way Huge screenplay to kind of keep things moving. I think he's been better He has thanks to the blocking. Yeah, I think that his style if he gets ahead of steam that the blocking allows And he becomes that that that that hammer that he's been good at So it is fun just like chris said i'm pointing A lot now. Sorry about that guys, but it is cool that we're that we're talking about Different players. It's not just paterson and pits and ryan, uh, that there were a lot of different guys That contributed to this game. They're going to need a lot of guys moving forward and that's what we're going to talk about next And we're starting quarter number four, uh, talking about the falcons moving forward. They have four games left They're in the hunt Which is what every highlight show graphic will say when they're looking at the nfc, right? They're not within the seven seeds They don't have a lot of tiebreakers if we're talking about You know trying to extend the season shall we say there's a word i'm trying to avoid here if you haven't noticed But nonetheless, I think that Michael walker said that the playoffs have already started right like that they have to go Five and oh or four and oh and back to chris's point about how the youth responds and how the experienced veterans respond Matt ryan comes back and says you got to make the big things little You can't think about four things when they need every ounce of effort to beat Any team to beat the panthers to beat the 49ers and I think that that perspective is going to be required moving forward but This victory keeps them in it Right tory. I mean that that this one was a gotta have it sort of a situation But there's a lot of gotta have it sort of situations moving forward Yeah, it really feels like there's everything that's left for them is a gotta have it Right, you know, you can kind you can get away I think with you know a loss here there, but you got to go the next four games and win more than you lose And I believe that Just kind of from looking at the way that things are shaking out across the league at this point in the season There there's the falcons don't necessarily control their own destiny, but they do got to win You know like which I realize is not proper English, but I'm from Chickamauga, Georgia, so I can say that Um But no, I I do think that at this point in time There's a lot that needs to happen outside of the falcons, but they got to do their part too Yeah, I think for me like like you were saying sky I think it comes with with having good leadership in these kind of situations and I think too like You know, you say one thing, but it's it's hard to not say we have to go undefeated down the stretch But but if if it's possible for you to say we need to go undefeated while still focusing on one game That's that's the importance and I think today Michael said that and then Mike Davis was asked about that and his face kind of was like well No, I think we I think you just want to focus on each game and winning each game because like you said They don't control their own destiny, but winning helps they're still in it And if you win then you did what you could with the situation that y'all are in and then You can build on it next year or you know, maybe go into the post postseason I said the word that was but But almost said it Yes, I didn't say it forward I almost said it But yeah, so I think moving forward I think having I think having guys like matt and grady really helped this team In in a in the situation that they're in right now and mike and other vets like cp and everyone Yeah, I don't know if this team is at a point where this elusive complete game that tori wrote about last week explaining The vision for offense defense and special teams Let's take complete game off the table I think the fact that that the defense is playing a little bit better that the running game is playing a little bit better That thomas morsted is such a huge factor in the field Shout out to thomas morsted. Wow. Yeah, just follow me on twitter to appreciate. He also followed me on twitter So shout out thomas morsted. I still don't have that thomas. What up? I'm sure he's a i'm sure he's a listener of the podcast for sure. Oh, yeah. I mean he's among the billions There's no doubt But you know, nonetheless, they've only won two in a row once this year But the point I was trying to make was that because all these Aspects of the falcons game have gotten a little bit better that they're More able to make up for some mistakes So I think that that's important because they're not going to play a perfect game But can they do enough to get by san francisco and detroit? And buffalo and new warlands at the end that those that that's how we have to kind of factor Whether they're going to be worthy of continuing this season and that was like my lead tonight for my story after the game I was like it wasn't perfect. It wasn't even complete, but it was enough right and that's what needs to happen moving forward Yeah, and that's going to be this this team It stays relevant. It stays interesting. It's not often pretty Right, but they they just kind of find a way to do enough to stay in it I wrote a little bit about arthur smith's role in all of this. I think he's done an expert job of From what the player saying sometimes he can be loud or passionate whatever term that you want to use Loud is an interesting adjective to to use there. I was I was gonna I was thinking like yeah I think passionate is probably the better of the two Yeah, but then he can also be really cerebral and objective and academic about it I think it's a good mix that keeps this team progressing and keeps has given them an ability to rebound now We have to see can they find some consistency in terms of Winning results and that's what we're going to take a look for as we move forward the 49ers are up next We will check in with you from Levi's stadium in Santa Clara after that So you guys know what to do at this point. You need to rate review subscribe on itunes Leave a review five stars five stars that will be rad On spotify itunes or on youtube and don't forget to do all the same nice things for falcons audible with Dave Archer dj wrackley and dj Shockley appreciate y'all talk to you again next week