 Ahead on early birds the Falcons have had their fill of Starbucks turn down the nirvana It's time to cap a week in Seattle with a win over the Seahawks We'll break it down and rev our engines with Atlanta's big man who's picking up speed plus An eye-opening eardrum shattering visit to a military base you've got to see that much more ahead on early birds Falcons football on early birds presented by Mercedes Benz Good morning and welcome into a Transcontinental edition of early birds we got DJ Shockley back in Atlanta I'm with the Falcons here in Seattle and let's kick things off with the opening drive and shock We got the Falcons and the seahawks tomorrow afternoon right here on fox 5 and we'll start things off with where I am right now Seattle the Falcons have spent the entire week here They actually made the trip up to Washington state right after the game against the Rams in la and I'll tell you They've been practicing all week at the University of Washington and my ears are still ringing They were cranking pearl jam getting ready for the 12th man and hey shock nothing like a road trip to bring everybody together, right? Yeah, no doubt it's happening early in the season twos because there's a lot of new faces on his team So it takes time to get to know each other not just on the field but off the field as well They got dinners they got playing cars. They can really jump in the room. No no kids. No, you know families to worry about So this is a great bonding time for all these guys and hopefully it translates onto the field Yeah shock everybody else's remote working the Falcons hoping it works for them There's a lot of benefit especially early in the season Uh, I think it's you know kind of where we're at the timing couldn't be better We're not to eat when they're shopping and seeing a few views so but yeah Close give us opportunity, you know to continue to burn as a group a lot of guys their families are back home You know, you're going out to dinner you're hanging out a change in scenery a change in routine I think guys kind of have to adjust and being able to do that all together I think is where that is going to build that chemistry that we need As we continue on the opening drive finish finish finish Two close losses in the first two games of the season for the Falcons They happen in different ways though the common denominator a chance to win at the end That just falls short. So DJ, what do you see similarities in these two losses? You know what I I think it comes down to you mentioned something that happened in the ball game I think it's turnovers, but also execution The guys are not finishing off what they think what should be good plays or bad plays and not finishing the right way And turn the ball over is always a big deal Especially in the ball game gives the team the extra confidence going forward So you have to make sure you do that and then play together and execute when no times matter Marcus Mario is optimistic that the script is ready to change for the Falcons in these close games We do our best to simulate it out here. I think when we put ourselves in practice situations that are tough I think when we get to the game guys feel very comfortable in the situation So it's just continue to line up and do those things repetitions I think is the mother of learning and when we're able to do that guys will feel comfortable and those those points were coming And as we wrap up the opening drive It's time to let Gino cook. Yeah for the first time in a decade It's not going to be Russell Wilson under center for the seahawks. It's gino smith now russ of course Sent to denver in the offseason gino smith off to a pretty good start. He's completing 80 percent or so of his passes Mostly short game those shots. So what have you seen out of the sea isle quarterback? Yeah, that's kind of been his mo is he wants to take care of the football Give his offense give his team a chance to win the ball game He's only thrown one interception in 58 attempts. So that tells you he's careful with it He's very methodical about how he runs this offense So it's going to be interesting to see if the falcus can one get to him But also rattle him because you know doesn't take many mistakes and this is his kind of second Opportunity to be the guy here. So he's going to be excited and make sure he does that the right way Yeah, both teams now with veteran quarterbacks trying to steady these new look offenses Well, good morning and welcome into early birds. We've got the big map out here to show you It's transcontinental today shock back in atlanta I'm here in seattle and dj one things for sure. Whatever time zone you're in Nobody wants to start oh and three. No doubt about it. Oh and three is not where you're going to be And especially early in the season it kind of is a downer for your team So try to get a win here early But get the momentum the confidence going so that hey you can finish this season and start going in the right direction Not oh and three Yeah shock, you know, it's a breezy day out here in seattle, but what's that odor? It smells like film room. I see you over there in just a few you like that one I do I do that's good See you there in just a few minutes But first the falcons d-line right now is off to a pretty Not so bad start to the season Just look at the numbers right now The team is in the middle of the pack in the nfl in both sacks and rushing yards allowed Nothing too much to brag about but an improvement in both areas on last season One reason is second-year player taquan graham We spoke one-on-one with tq out here in seattle and as much as he's loved getting his engine going with this season There's one other thing he loves going fast in as much as he does love getting to the quarterback And that's with cars. Here's our one-on-one interview starting with a little auto talk Probably my older brother, you know, he just said god, you know, this is dodge charger rt You know the 5.7 hymny And you know, it got me interested in cars and now I had a hill cat now. I got a track car I sold my hill cat Definitely definitely like the speed a little bit. So are you following it or how do you kind of like geek out about it? Um, you know how dodge just came out with you know, they're new models of electric vehicles I've seen that I kind of watched it when you hit a big get that Grady contract one day. What is that dream car on the ultimate down the line bucket list? I necessarily don't even have a dream car right now because you know dream contract I definitely say buying, you know, my brother his dream car and buying my mom her dream car That definitely something I look forward to one day The defensive line has shown some horsepower to start the season How do you look at how your group has done through the first two games? I feel like we play pretty solid I feel like we definitely got to the qb a few times and for sure I've gotten qb hits and pressures and all that other stuff We've heard from grady We've heard from coach peas they've they've named you as a guy that they're looking to take a big step forward this year Were there anything specifically you changed training or eating like cut out any foods add some kind of different, you know pilates Something like that. Uh, definitely did a little bit of pilates. I always got throwing yoga in there And stop eating water burger, man. Oh, how's that been? It was hard, but you know in Atlanta There's no water burger. So I'm pretty good on that two real close games How do you wrap your head around that right both those games you had such good stretches But ultimately didn't get the finish. How do you look at those games? um, honestly Breaking it down simple two of them in the l column But I feel like we can learn from both of those losses And there's good and bad to everything in life, you know, I mean, I feel like just looking at our team We definitely have the team that we thought we did And looking ahead to the seahawks, it's a different quarterback under center for the first time And it seems like forever what stands out when you pop in the seattle tape I feel like they're definitely going to try to establish the run game penny and uh, you know, kenneth walker I feel like they're definitely like, you know, two great backs and they're young And they're definitely made made lean on them. You know, just upcoming game All the conversation this week has been about can we get cow piss to football? Where is cow piss? Why is he not involved in the offense? Well, I'm gonna show you why he is exactly where he should be and is involved in his office Now, of course, we're gonna give him the football everybody wants to do that That's gonna happen But this is the touchdown here by drake london I'm gonna show you and it's an interesting play that happened here and it's because of number eight It's because of cow pits that drake london is able to get his first career touchdown Let's talk about what happens on this particular play here from the falcons day That's a great design by author smith now the most important thing is cow piss He comes out and he attacks this defensive back and then he gets vertical He has him and man coverage. This safety over the top has cow pits and man coverage Now, this is only just a one step slant by drake because he goes take one step and he's gonna attack it right now But the reason that this works so good is because Cow goes at this defensive back and when he goes at him It forces this guy to go over the top or he has to go underneath He has to make that decision So i'm gonna let it run to see show you exactly what he does at the snap He goes at him now. You see the way he goes at him here now this defensive is at a disadvantage already He has to go over the top here or underneath but because he's behind him Now he already has him beat and he beats him to the front of this Touchdown here and it's a nice job here of coming across and it's an easy touchdown for drake london This all came about because cow piss ran his route correctly and drake london was able to get under him And now you get the first career touchdown and how about this his quarterback get him in the football Late and you can see him say thank you. This is what it's all about creating those memories But cow piss is the big reason why drake london got his first career touchdown Thanks shock. I know falcons fans begging for some more targets But pit's doing more than meets the eyes still to come big college football saturday Including the question of how hot is the coaching seat getting down on the flats plus Just extend my arms out in front of me and squeeze the ball Hey, we were just talking about kyle pit's and he's talking about catching tough passes with defenders closing in We'll explore how he does it coming up next in going deep Falcons fans score a touchdown with low tire prices at mavestyre's embrace the official tire retailer of the elana falcons Visit mavestyre.com to find a store near you Then if i'ma say these bends Ports you by georgia lotter The sky fox drone flew over lake washington This is right next to huskies stayed in with the falcons practice all week Just a wee back with more from seattle in just a minute Ports you by truist bb and c and suntrust are now truist And welcome back to early birds i'm myles garrett here with dj to talk a little college ball shock Your dogs huge matchup today against kent state no disrespect against them Barring something absolutely miraculous or disastrous if you're a dogs fan. Yeah, they're gonna stand defeated today, right? Yeah, I think they will this is a game that you expect the dogs to handle their business and come out on top of it And be a team that continues to play the level that they've been playing Now it's fun to watch your team and it's been interesting to see what they can do But I think they come out on top miles now. I've been around this team. I've been around them for a year You're gonna have now I love for you to give me your take Do you think this team is better than it was last year if possible now? I think it's a really interesting question. You bring it up because going into this season I thought there was no way that georgia could repeat the success they had with all the losses you see on defense Jordan davis and a kobe dean all these guys It's kind of weird to to figure out that they are able to repeat that production almost to a better degree You have stetson benet playing like a heisman candidate. I don't think anyone saw that coming People thought that stetson benet might not be quarterback one He's a walk on beating out all these guys But here he is throwing a brock bowers that tight end room looks like it's Pretty much unstoppable at this point darnell washington all those guys. They're doing all this without eric gilbert even talent all over the board It's crazy. So in that regard, they do look better It looks like the top monkey offense has taken that next step for the dogs And they might be on their way for another national championship I'm with you man It's gonna be an interesting season and they could put up better numbers in a day last year But I think a more pressing topic appears to be on a lot of minds of the people around here in the 404 area with the guys down on a plane with the yellow jackets It's jeff collins on the proverbial hot seat after losing 42 to nothing. Oh miss. I think a more telling Discussion about this whole jeff collin situation is the fact that their last four FBS opponents we're not going to count western carolina because that was an fcs opponent But their last four fbs opponents georgie tech has gone 183 And 10 oh wow that can't be acceptable if you're a georgie tech fan losing in that fashion to those opponents It's okay if you lose this was going to be a rebuilding program from the start Moving from the triple option to a more pro style offense But now are you getting to the point where georgia state and georgia southern are blowing past you now? This was never a reality for georgie tech football So in that regard you have to ask some questions. Well, let's be real I mean this is a program that he's done a great job of marketing He did a great job of talking about the waffa house in the 404. We talked about that But now it's time to produce you have to go out and you have to win ball games And I think that's what matters the most is you got to go out and you got to Try to win these ball games against some quality opponents in this and it's going to be it's going to be fun But I appreciate you're doing a man. Love you inside miles and uh, hopefully can't get you back on here Man talk to your college football. All right. Well, it's been pretty quiet so far But everyone knows it's only a matter of time before the unicorn breaks out this season We're talking of course about cow pits and how he makes those tough catches in traffic He shows us how this week's going deep Just extend my arms out in front of me and squeeze the ball How tough is that how satisfying is that when there is a guy who's got good coverage making the catch It's just something you you do during the week and you get those contested catchers during the week And you try and you know get their repetition to try and make your body just acquainted to it So it's it's easy in the game. How do you practice that? I mean because it's not like guys are constantly draped all over your practice A lot of time you're open. I mean are there drills for that? Uh, it's different drills you make on a drug machine. Just have somebody push you or Pull the arm down different things like that. No, a lot of Falcons fans want to see more of that from Kyle Pitts this week We've got more to come here on early birds There were some Falcons players earlier this week who thought they were just going to be shaking hands and signing autographs They did not know there would be machine guns and hand grenades in their future That story you're going to want to see it next on early birds Great view of the Seattle skyline from the Sky Fox drone. We got the space needle in there We're in the queen and neighborhood a little north of downtown Seattle in shock Falcons players only got one full day off here in Seattle I don't know if it was me out of slept in gone to pike place. What about you? I'm in the room. I'm chilling. I'm finding something to watch on tv I may go see a little sightseeing or something every now and then, but I'm enjoying my little relaxation time. I'll be honest I hear you DJ, but one group of Falcons players did something about as different as you can get. Take a look Hi Two strong we swear That I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States On board a c-17 transport aircraft atlanta falcons and seattle seahawks players watched as new service members took their oath of enlistment starting their military careers and starting the football stars tour of joint base luis mccore Please join me in a round of applause for our newest It's pretty cool, man. This stuff is heavy. Yeah, I can see it running back avry. Williams and his teammates dove right in Or should I say climbed right in like to this apache helicopter? Wow, this is cool. God, it's awesome. Hey, this is too cool Get yourself in the base is about an hour south of seattle where the falcons are spending the week before facing the seahawks and Serves multiple branches of the military mostly army and air force. I'm from a london, georgia I've been a falcons fan since I was six. This is a great experience. I got chills and everything running down It really does boost everybody's morale here and they're making a lot of money It really does boost everybody's morale here and then being able to come see what we do Us being able to get to talk to them part of what I love about being in the military autographs photos a stop for some camouflage face paint if it looks cool, you're doing it wrong Then a ride in striker armed vehicles to the interactive part of the day NFL players are used to coming under fire from coaches or critics in the media, but not like this Get down prep your grenade. Look make sure your target's still there hop up and throw What's going to be your big takeaway from this experience? I mean just to be grateful, you know these people, you know, like us have a team atmosphere But you know, they're putting their lives on the line. Just getting a chance to be hands on with stuff like this It was awesome, man I'm definitely thankful for them and you know, it's an honor to have them guys on our side Falcon players we spoke to said they didn't know what they're in for on the trip to joint base Louis McCord and they left the base with quite a few new experiences and a new appreciation for our country's military Yeah, that was such a fun day And I'll tell you what we met a lot of falcons fans on the base Especially among the army service members the men and women because many of them trained at fort benning in columbus Georgia a lot of falcons fans more to come from seattle more early birds after the break It's been presented to you by Mercedes Benz the best or nothing Welcome back to early birds from a beautiful breezy day in seattle Well, the falcons are hoping that none of their players bring an injury back with them when they travel to the east coast Tomorrow night if someone does get hurt There's a very specific process in place from the moment the player hits the turf Falcon's team doctor. Dr. Kyle Hammond takes you behind the scenes in this week's emory road to recovery If somebody gets hurt we have to come off the field You know, sometimes it's in a cart If it's a little more substantial injury or sometimes we can walk off the field There's going to be usually myself or and or another one of the physicians helping me And then usually at least one of our training staff and then You know coming back here, whether we need to go to the x-ray machine or whether we can go straight for an evaluation We'll be determined based off of the type of injury that there is And then at that point time we kind of just take our time and make sure we're doing a nice safe methodical Evaluation to evaluate the player and the athlete and get them you know to the point of seeing if it's an injury that's Something we can try to manage treat and reassess and then go back out and play or if it's not safe Well shock i'm looking forward to being back in the same state as you next week This has been a fun transcontinental edition falcons looking forward to hopefully their first win of the season What's a matchup you're watching? Shortest week age day to reel lockdown DK Metcalf Big ass there for aj torel team's been going after him. He'll get an opportunity for sure tomorrow. All right for dj Shockley in atlanta. I'm justin fielder in seattle. Thanks for joining us here on early birds See you back here next week. Have a good rest of your day and a great weekend