 Ahead on early birds. The Falcons fall flat on Thursday night. We'll break down what went wrong and go one on one to find out about this Atlanta receivers unlikely journey plus Georgia back atop the rankings and head into cowbell country. And we've got a transatlantic story for you. You don't want to miss from Germany with love. Early birds is ahead. Couple your favorite Joe and let's talk Falcons football on early birds presented by Mercedes Benz. Oh good morning and welcome into early birds alongside our guest host for the day former Falcons land backer Chris Draft. Chris appreciate you being here man. Thank you for having me on. We're excited to do it. We'll kick things off with the opening drive and Chris we'll dive right in with the happy stuff right what happened on Thursday night. The Panthers ran all over Atlanta's defense. Marcus Mariota had an up and down evening to put it lightly. So what do you see? Well I saw a team in terms of Carolina Panthers that said we are going to come and try to enforce our wheel on the Falcons and that's what they did. And so they needed to be able to respond. It was a big game. It was for the first place and they need to be a respond. They certainly did. We saw it on both sides of the ball. It was a tough night in the rain and head coach Arthur Smith gave his thoughts on why Carolina had the advantage on Thursday night. You know we got to protect better. We got to do everything better. So you got to give Carolina credit. They came out. They got the lead. They won both lines of scrimmage. It wasn't pretty. Drives we had going. We had some pretty ugly penalties. Move us back. We were off track a lot of the night. Yeah I think Falcons fans might also use the word ugly a time or two. Alright as we continue on the opening drive. So the Falcons have this weekend off. They get kind of the benefit of the little mini buy after playing on Thursday. They go into next week though at worst to game out in the NFC South. We'll see. So let's hold off on quarterback talk for a moment Chris. Besides that we'll get there. What needs to change after this little break? Well I think the key is recognizing every game counts. I think at the beginning of the season so many people were thinking this is a rebuilding year. Is it going to count this year and where they are right now. They are playing for first place right now before the last couple of weeks. And so can they play knowing that the games actually matter. Can't a lot of games still on the schedule. Grady Jarrett says the team knows what they've got to do to get back on track. We've got to go back to work. I know that sounds cliche but it's the real deal. We've got to know every time we step on the field we've got to be sharp on all levels. We can't give here give there at the end of the game. We play catch up. We've got to be hitting on all cylinders man. So we've got a lot of work to do. So a lot of football to be played. So I'm optimistic about that. All right. And as we wrap up the opening drive Chris let's get to the question on everybody's mind. OK quarterback on Friday Arthur Smith. He didn't really give us an answer one way or another on what he's going to do. That's what we expected. So I'm going to give you the whistle. I'm going to give you the coach's office. You are in charge Chris. What do you do at quarterback. Well I tell you there's they have to have a great conversation with Marcus right now and really ask him are you ready to play in games that matter. Right. Because the games do matters. This is this season is not something we're throwing away. This is a season where every game matters. Are you ready for that. Get you some rest in these next couple of days and let us know it is a big question on the mind of a lot of Falcons fans. I'm sure Arthur Smith is going to ponder that in any downtime he gets this weekend as well. Welcome in to early birds alongside Chris draft. I'm Justin Felder. Let's talk a little bit about that Falcons defense. This is your area of expertise. What players are you looking for to really step their play up down the stretch for this defensive unit for Atlanta. Well you absolutely have to start with Grady Jarrett Grady Jarrett. That's the engine of the defense. So you want to see him make plays and really bring the energy and focus that they need from a defensive perspective but also from our linebackers. Evans made a lot of plays during the game but too many of them were down the field and we just need to be able to make impact plays. And then the other part from the DB's somebody's got to step up. We know that they've struggled in terms of playing past defense. Somebody's got to step up and make plays consistently to get off the field. You mentioned those veterans there are Sean Evans Grady Jarrett. Maybe they impart that to the younger guys as well. So Chris we appreciate we're going to get you to warm up the telestrator. We will see you in the film room in just a few. But first Olamide Zaccheus had a pair of catches for 34 yards on Thursday night. Second on the Falcons in receiving. Not bad for a guy who was a running back all the way up until he arrived at college at the University of Virginia. So far that switch has turned into a four season NFL career and counting. But the change wasn't something he planned or something that Virginia coaches were thinking about. Sometimes the right place right time and right move makes all the difference. Injuries. Injuries at receiver and fall camp and I had a little background past catching wasn't a full time receiver. Move to receiver and I've been a receiver ever since. Have you ever thought about that decision that it was injuries that it was kind of something out of your control and made the switch and now you're here. And I think about it all the time was just when I when I reflect. It's like first of all choosing Virginia and then everything that happened at Virginia in order to be able to switch positions and then we end up you know playing in NFL and still being here and driving and still have more to do. It's kind of surreal. And I'm grateful and like everything happens for a reason. Do you think you'd be in the NFL but for those injuries? Does it ever cross your mind? Yeah it does. But like I said it's like everything happens for a reason. So who would I don't even know if I would still be here or even in NFL. If I went to another school or if I just still play running back. So there's nothing that's coincidental. I remember talking to you four years ago as hey this guy keeps flashing and in training camp wonder if he's going to make the roster. Now it's your four. What's the biggest difference in you from then showing up to now where you're at? My mentality. The thing that separates those you know like the I guess the 5% from that 1% is just the mindset. And like you know we talked about a little bit before like meditation all that stuff like that helps me stay locked in stay focused and all that. But like the biggest difference from then to now is just my mindset. Got a lot of young guys in the room. Are those kind of things that you can share in addition to the finer points of route running? It's tough because I think about where I was at as a rookie. I don't think I was necessarily ready to receive that information at that time. You know I'm just constantly just throwing all the things that I know and passing the knowledge that I can. You know at some point it's going to click for like whether how long it takes is you know up to you know how long it takes. But I just reflect on my work here. I wasn't ready to receive that information but I did have a lot of influence in my room. And I was able to pick up little things and stuff like that. But it takes time. That takes time to develop that mindset and just you know just perfecting your craft. Yeah OZ a reliable guy. A tough guy on that Falcons offense. He brought it on Thursday night. Ultimately they didn't get the result they wanted. So Chris let's dive in your film room. What stood out to you the most in Thursday night's game? Well I'm going to say that before I get going on these couple of points I want to say that there was some good. There was a lot of good on the field. But when we talk about what are the changes. So when people are looking at the tape and they're saying what do we have to change. The easiest way to get beat the quickest way to get beat is turnovers right here. We saw Mario to throw the ball up very easily. Just throw the ball away. Got to protect the ball. These next couple of games that's going to be critical. You've got to protect the ball. Turnovers absolutely will kill you. The next thing how do you lose penalties penalties penalties. We saw that. Again you're watching a move around the turnovers again throwing the ball up. But protect the ball. Protect the ball. Protect the ball. That's going to give us the opportunity to be able to be in games. Now again we see the penalties right here. We've got some young guys that are in the game. You've got to be able to play the system. You see the line is turning. You've got to protect inside. Another one right here. A holding penalty. These are some young guys. Absolutely we have them in the game. But we just can't have the penalties. Here we're showing kind of a missed assignment right here. The linebackers. You either stay in your hole. You have a pressure. Or the other one. Or Walker has to get over the top. We can't have that. And then big plays. Big plays will kill you all the time. You've got to get off the blocks. You've got to go make the play. Somebody's got to find a way to tackle them so we can line up again. We can't have the big plays. Can't have turnovers. Can't have penalties. Can't have missed assignments. And can't have those big plays if we want to be able to get this thing done. It's the things you hear from every coach every year. The things you can control. Protect the ball. Penalties. Make the simple tackles. Things like that. Blocking and tackling. Alright Chris we've got much more to come. Here on Early Birds we'll be talking a little bit of college football. It is dogs on dogs. Newly meant to top ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Going to Starkville today. Plus. The angle is always important. Always making sure that your eyes are above your shoulders. What do you know? It's what we were just talking about a moment ago. The basics in making a perfect tackle. We go deep with Falcons linebacker Richon Evans next on Early Birds. Falcons fans. Score a touchdown with low tire prices at Mavis Tires and Bricks. The official tire retailer of the Atlanta Falcons. Visit MavisTire.com to find a store near you. Birds is presented by Mercedes Benz. The best or not. And bought to you by Georgia Lotter. Today could be the day. By Truist. Committed to a better future. By Home Depot. How doers get more done. Bought to you by Truist. BB&T and SunTrust are now Truist. Here again is Fox 5's Justin Felder. Alright welcome back into Early Birds. Back with Chris Draft talking a little college football. Your Stanford Cardinal they got Utah tonight with respect. You okay if we kind of skip that? We talk a little Georgia football first. We can skip it. Okay. Understandable. Alright let's start with UGA and Georgia back at number one in the rankings. They got Mississippi State today Chris. You got Mike Leach. The Pirate column plays on offense. Any chance for an offense? They're always tough to prepare for. I'll tell you I'm excited. I'm really more excited about how UGA has played with a chip on their shoulder. They're defending national champs but they are playing with a chip. So the games like this, the game against Mississippi State you're worried because are they going to take them lightly? They just had a big game against Tennessee but they seem to be coming into every game focused with something to prove. Yeah can they build off that huge win against Tennessee? Kirby Smart said always tough going on the road in the SEC. Always a challenge. Huge competitive advantage is why there's a home and a way and that's why I always say in the SEC it's greater than NFL other than the playoffs because the environment is not the same in any conference division level of football as it is in the SEC when you play on the road. And I've been in this conference for 20 something years and I've seen it. I know what it does in terms of the effect it has on pass rush, the effect it has on momentum. Alright that game tonight at 7 in Starkville. Today on the Flats, Georgia Tech things are kind of getting exciting. They had a come from behind win last week. Today they get a Miami team. They had really high expectations coming in the season but I don't know what's up with the Keynes right now I guess is the first question. Well they played a tough game against Florida State which is always a tough game but unfortunately Florida State absolutely took them to the woodshed on it. So they have this is a big game this week. Georgia Tech 4-5 if they can win this game. You have UNC and UGA afterwards but this is a big game to give you a chance to go to a bowl. Two more wins and they'd be bowl eligible. Like you said two more ranked opponents there at the end getting this one would be huge. Interim head coach Brent Key had this to say about what is the most important part of his team's success right now. Right now the most important thing for us is really our mental preparation. This time of year everyone is banged up. Everyone gets sick or banged up and has accumulated reps on their bodies. It's about how you can carry your mental intensity throughout the day throughout a two hour practice to stay locked in and focused. And we've got so we've got Georgia Tech Miami today. We've also got one a lot of college football eyes will be watching today. It's our Zaxby's indescribably good game of the week. All Texas number 18 Texas hosting the number four TCU horn frogs. Now I know a lot of folks in Knoxville are going to be watching this one. Maybe some folks out in Pac-12 country. TCU fourth in the playoff rankings. They went out. They're going to play off fans. So here's the question. Are they for real? Well they're for real. But Texas is for real. I mean they played a lot of close games almost beat Alabama. And so your TCU is going down to Texas. They have something to prove. They've been counted out for a while now. So since Vince Young they've been struggling to get back up to that high level. So this is a huge game. All right. We'll be watching that one for sure. And we got a stand for Utah real quick. Any chance of an upset from you guys today? I don't think so. Okay. All right. Well if it happens I'll be excited if they do. It'll be a great day at college football. And it's always a great day to be talking about something I know you're passionate about. Tackling. Let you take it away. How about that? It was pretty basic. Tackling someone you play defense in the NFL. There's a little bit more to it than that though. I would know as a former linebacker myself this week we chat with another fellow linebacker on how to make the perfect tackle. Here's Rashawn Evans. And this week's Going Deep. I would say it's all about angles. If you got the proper angle because you know the bags in the NFL are all elite. All of them are there for a reason to get paid to do exactly what they're supposed to do. And that's run through guys. So your angle is always important. Always making sure that your eyes are above your shoulders. You know you got to practice safety for all defenders. Any guys that's coming in for attacking. You know you want to make sure that you come in with the right leverage to be able to you know use that power to take them down. And after that just making sure you wrap up and making sure you run your feet. If you stop your feet you don't have a lot of force to be able to take the person down. So you use those things nine times out of the team and make a lot of attacks. Is there a technique to like going higher going lower or anything like that? Oh most definitely. A lot of the bigger guys we go high just because we want to you know we have more power to do that. And a lot of the lighter guys they you know they know them to go for the leg. So it just depends on your playing style. A lot of more physical guys we go up higher. A lot of guys who just don't you know who don't really like to tackle up high they go lower and it's still effective as well. So there really isn't no perfect tackle. At the same time I would say though it's all about getting the man down. That's the biggest thing. Alright well the NFL is making its debut in Germany tomorrow but here in Atlanta Germany came to us. That story is ahead. It's often an injury that happens without any contact in the NFL. An ACL tear can mean a long term recovery process for players. But what exactly happens to the knee when this kind of injury occurs? Dr. Kyle Hammond explains in this week's Emory Road to Recovery. The dreaded ACL tear, the famous ACL tear obviously in the media you hear about it you read about it. Again another season-ending injury typically. An injury that requires surgery more times than not especially at the NFL level. The ACL like I like to explain to my patients is essentially a ligament that's like a rope. I call it a rope because it basically connects your femur which is your thigh bone to your tibia which is your shin bone. And it's down deep in the center part of the knee and it's a little small ligament it's actually not that big. Well you can think of it like a rope and the ACL's function is kind of two general things. The knee kind of can shift back and forth with activity and the knee can rotate with activity. Which we need to do to be athletic. If you tear the ACL and you lose that connection point between the two bones or you lose that rope then you're going to have too much shifting. You're going to have too much rotation and so it's very difficult to feel comfortable with that to perform at a high level. And so you just really lose the ability to perform at a high level as an athlete when you tear your ACL. So what we end up doing is an ACL surgery which is referred to an ACL reconstruction. Which means we take another piece of tissue a lot of times it's a piece of the patella tendon or sometimes a piece of the quadriceps tendon and we basically make a new ACL out of that tissue and then arthroscopically go inside the knee and drill holes and then recreate the ACL that was there that tore and replace it essentially. It was a long trip but worth the wait for some Falcons fans. We introduce you to some fans of the Dirty Birds who live in Germany. Next in Early Birds. This has been presented to you by Mercedes-Benz. The best or nothing. Falcons fans score a touchdown with low tire prices that made this tires and brakes. The official tire retailer of the Atlanta Falcons. Visit mavestire.com to find a store near you. So tomorrow the division rival bucks they're going to be in Germany to face the Seahawks. We've seen the NFL in London so much but it's going to be pretty cool to see them in Germany as well. It will be. I mean that's the first time in Munich. Ton of fans over there in Germany and we actually met some fans who made the trip here to Atlanta. Three of them they came from Germany they saw the Falcons play the Chargers at the Benz. Then they drove to Charlotte watched them play the Panthers Thursday night. And they told me their fandom goes way back as far back as over two decades. The trip is amazing for me. It's my first trip to Atlanta and it's a beautiful city. I'm an Atlanta Falcons fan since 1996. My first true love I have to say it was Jamal Anderson. Atlanta Falcons drafted Michael Rieck. That's why I wear a Falcons fan. And I love David Hester and that's what the first game I saw and I love it. There are a lot of NFL fans in Germany. A huge fan. I would say that we are the biggest fan community outside the U.S. The community is a small one but it's a nice one and we are growing. That's cool to see how global a game the NFL is. Absolutely. I mean you have some fans from Germany coming over here getting a chance to just love on their team. They didn't say hey there's the Falcons. They came over to watch their team play the Chargers in the Panthers. They really loved it and they told me the number one thing how nice the people or everybody invited them to the tailgate and what they have to do. Stop by Waffle House. They did the whole thing. The whole downtown Atlanta experience. They loved it. Chris Draft we appreciate you sitting in with us today. Thanks so much for your time. Thank you all as well. That's it for Early Birds. Have a great morning and a great rest of your weekend.