 Welcome back to the Falcons audible presented by AT&T. We are back once again I'm Derek Rackley joined by my guys DJ Shockley and Dave Archer to Recap a Falcons loss a defeat 30 to 17 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home before we get into that Let's give you the quick rundown of what we got going on today I'll have the guys give us their quick reactions on what they thought about the game last week And we'll talk about some of the missed opportunities probably the biggest storyline in that game We talked all along you've got to be so sharp the margin for error is so slim Especially when you're playing up against a Tom Brady led offense and they made a couple too many mistakes What's ahead for Atlanta Falcons as they face this week? And for the final five games of the season as they are still oddly enough in a playoff mix here guys Well on the heels of a big man Falcons touchdown right before the end of the first half We'll talk a little story time about some some maybe familiar big man touchdowns big man moments across the NFL Or maybe it's across other sports I don't quite know and then we will talk about the opponent this week Who are the Panthers right now as Atlanta faces them this weekend? So guys, let's talk about this game I talked about it Atlanta Falcons come up short 30 to 17 to Tom Brady and company I say Tom Brady because he had an absolute of a delight game really no surprise from the goat Dave quick reactions on what your Synopsis was on the game a sentence or two. I'll give you two I think just the analogy his ability to adjust to what Atlanta wanted to do defensively Atlanta knew that they couldn't match up Personnel wise against that really good receiver core and back So they decided to play zone and tried to kind of bend bend bend Don't break and try to win on third down and Brady adjusted they they like explosives They had 87 explosives coming in he went ahead through the ball underneath 300 or whatever yards on 51 attempts and they came out to seven yards in attempt He adjusted the Jew are you counting sentences? Yeah It's okay see I gave him to run on and it's kind of like I knew Dave was gonna stretch it a little bit more But it's it's okay Early in the year when we did this he crushed me you talked for four or five minutes Your turn you're on the clock Dave is paying attention for periods go Let me get my timer on this I'll say the inability to sustain that run game and we talked about in the first half where you rushed for 101 yards and you were averaging over nine and a half yards to carry in the first half and You rushed for 20 more yards in the entire ballgame and obviously that was a big issue in the second half But I think that anybody I know this was a good front. Yeah We admit that but you did it fine in the first half You just weren't able to do it in a second Can I can I piggyback back on that because there was the bulletin board material this week about Bruce Arian saying nobody Runs on us. I don't care who we are Do you feel like the Falcons kind of flexed themselves like the shoulders came out chest came out a little bit and saying wait a minute We've been running the ball okay, and they kind of wanted to put it to him in the first half And then maybe Tampa got back to their style of stifling run defense in the second half Dave Do you think it was a challenge for Atlanta? Well, I think any time you hear something like that if in fact you digested that information And said wait a minute, you know, we're gonna run you ran it for 150 yards a weekend before Yeah, that was not the Tampa Bay defense the number one rush defense in the in the conference or in league really But this is a defense that had gotten touched up the last five games anyway, so I think that was a message to his guys I don't think he was talking about he was talking. We don't let anybody run us. He was talking to his own people Yeah, one of those subliminal messages if you will saying the defense that we've been showing has not been good enough So let's move on talk about some of the missed opportunities guys. There's plenty of options to choose from unfortunately in this type of game There was a fumble by Russell gauge. There was a missed opportunity deep in Tampa Bay territory. I believe at the one yard line There was a little bit of a fumble that Cordero Patterson was actually very upset about and the ball right ball It's right back up into his hands and he still picks up eight or nine yards I think that's a good thing when when a guy like that in the season that he's having was upset about that play I'm not doubt that one's gonna come to your mind, but DJ. Let me start with you. What was the most? The biggest play or biggest missed opportunity in that game where the Falcons could have taken advantage for me It goes to the situation inside the one-yard line Yeah, I say that because this is a ball game where we came into Okay, one this show talking about playing against Tom Brady you know, they're gonna score touchdowns and you need to score touchdowns you got three plays inside the one-yard line and Because of your own snap foods You don't end up getting the football in the end zone and you end up having to kick in a field goal At that time it was 13 to 7 you kick the field goal and that was 13 to 10 Well, you know what happens the next series they throw the grunt they go down and score now It's 20 to 10. So you look at We kick field goal they score touchdown That's the that's a big part of the ball game where you miss an opportunity to change the scope of it If you score a touchdown there you go up 14 13 and the feel is a little bit different that you're in the ball game It's a win for them inside the one-yard line that you only give up three points They feel good about that now They drive right back down and and get seven now you're down ten instead of being up Yeah, 100% and I think the biggest thing that you mentioned there DJ is we got three opportunities Well, it actually ended up being two right because of their own snafu a center quarterback exchange Which is like the last thing that you're thinking could happen to you in that situation if Arthur Smith is looking at it Yeah, the first play that he dials up. He's hoping that they score, but if he doesn't he's saying I've got two more chances and then all of a sudden he sees this fumble on the ground Dave And he's saying are you kidding me? All right? I mean that's kind of what coaches are saying whether it's audibly said or in in between their ears Yes, it's absolute wasted place So I'm sure you would agree that was a big missed opportunity But it was there another one that you felt like was something that they needed to capitalize on well It's probably the one you pointed out You you found a way to get the score at the end the half because Marlon Davidson makes the play to make it 20 to 17 She think okay We kind of got one back right there because you guys the thing you're talking about was happening in the first half They're kind of the snafu there So now you're gonna get your opening possession a third quarter and you're moving Ryan Strangles up in the pocket finds gauge over the middle and Dezier comes in and strips the ball out you're inside the Tampa 35 Yardline with a score 20 to 17 You're at the very worst is gonna are gonna get a young way coup a field goal up temp And you like the chances of him banging that through you may go down score touchdown and do what chocks talking about Putting the onus back on Tampa's offense up 24 to 20 But the fumble took that opportunity away from me now Tampa did not score after getting the ball But still it took an opportunity away from you and we talked about it all last week You're gonna have to play your cleanest football game to win this game Yeah, especially like you mentioned Dave They did not score off of that turnover, but if they continue to drive they put seven points on the board again It's it's all about a momentum Which is something that's hard to quantify at any stage of the game But they punch it in for a touchdown Where is the defense at when they come back on the field? Do they end up getting a stop giving it back to Atlanta? Then where does Atlanta feel after they had just driven down and scored a touchdown? Interesting too about that play Dave Pierre DeSier had just come into the game Jamel Dean went down with an injury and he that was his very first play So give him credit because it was almost like he knew exactly what to do when they showed the replay He came around and his hand went right up underneath gauge And he knew that he was trying to knock that football out You'd think a guy granted Pierre DeSier has been in the league for a little while So he's a veteran. He knows what he's doing, but maybe he's just trying to play catch up Maybe he just tries to make the tackle instead. He ends up going for the punch out and he's successful with it So definitely a big missed opportunity right there We're talking about two drives there the goal line drive and driving down on a third down Conversion with gauge that likely end up in points. Maybe even 14 that's missed from the Atlanta Falcons. So guys let's just talk about this because Again, we've mentioned on many of occasions Unfortunately after losses that the coaches and the players in that building are making adjustments right now on how they can learn from some Of those missed opportunities and imply that moving forward so let's talk about what the remainder of this season looks like as You look at it. You're talking looking at a team that has five wins right now, and they're It's almost like should we talk about playoffs the way that they're playing right now But the nature of the beast is they are still Legitimately in the hunt right the only problem is three of the teams that are ahead of them right now have The head-to-head advantage against them right now So obviously you have to put a run together no matter what the situation looks like But I think if you look at the combined record of the five teams remaining on the Falcon schedule It's 24 34 and one and only one of those teams has a winning record above 500 right now Which is the Buffalo Bills. So Dave put a prediction out or what needs to happen throughout the rest of this season These last five games to put Lana into position to maybe the last two weeks of the season They can get into the postseason. Yeah, I think you have to win the next three Right, I think you have to go out and this has been a good road team You got two in a row on the road. You're gonna go to Carolina You're gonna go to San Francisco then you get the Lions here in Atlanta the day after Christmas They just won their first game Ironically against one of those teams that had a tiebreaker over Atlanta is the Minnesota Vikings. So it can happen Do you talk about playoffs with what the way this team is going? Absolutely, because why do we play the game? Yeah, you're playing the game to get in the postseason Dance and if you can find a way to win three of the next five or four of the next five, which is very doable I get it. We just lost very doable You look up in your nine and eight eight nine whatever gets you into that seventh spot sixth spot in the playoffs Absolutely, it's it's manageable. I think that has to be the goal You want to play meaningful games in December Atlanta's doing that or is it is it pretty? No, but there's been you have a chance because you've done some things early in the year that have built The resume up to where you have an opportunity to play something play for something in december in january All they can do is play their schedule and they can you know This could be a year that they take advantage of the fact that the nfc is a little bit down as far as the middle to The bottom half of the conference. So dj is it as simple as winning the first three games? I like what you're saying dave because this is a time of the season where guys try to figure out What am I playing for? Yes, you want everybody to be a pro? Yes, you want everybody to understand their job is to go out and compete and give 110 percent each day but If you can phrase it that guys we still have playoffs in The future if we take care of our business it can happen Is that the right way to approach it? Absolutely and I think the reality of where the falcons are right now You look at the way they played this season. They play pretty good football on the road You got three of those games on the road and you're talking about you got the two games at home versus detroit in new Orleans New Orleans is a team you've already beat you went into their place and beat them So there's confidence when you play in New Orleans at the end of season in your own building But three games you have played three games you have to play on the road You should feel really good about hey, this is a squad that understands how we need to win But we've done it on the road when sometimes you think about oh, it's easy to do it at home Well, it's been easy for I'd say easy, but it's been uh Something that's been a value for the falcons when they've gone on the road to win these ball games That you know, you got to go to carolina go to go to san franc a team that you know A lot of these guys have seen before know that style of play Uh in san franc, so it's going to be interesting to see but I think this team has what it takes to go on the road And win like arch mentioned at least those three ball games when you go out and buffalo hasn't been You know world leaders. I mean they've had their time where they struggle I mean we talked about they lost to jacksonville a team that everybody Gave them no chance to so as we know at any given day Any team can go out and win three of those teams that I mentioned that currently have the head to head Of course philadelphia lost earlier this season washington as well earlier this season And carolina right so if you want to take the coach's perspective and say we worry about the next game on our schedule Yeah, you worry about the carolina panthers you beat them this weekend You kind of head to head you even that up you get yourself in a better position with the playoffs And you can't worry about what happened to washington in philadelphia, but you can do something about what happened Against carolina so that's kind of how things shake out for the last five weeks of the season But you're right you got to win one first and then like dave says if they can win the next three and continue To play well on the road like they've done all season they'll be in position when it comes down to the end of the season So we did see in the game last weekend It's not always the the fast the lean or even the big tight ends that get into the end zone sometimes the big fellas Meaning real big like marlin davin said big end up at the right place the right time And they've got just enough athleticism to get their hands on the ball and get into the end zone So we're not going to break down that play We're going to have a little story time and have the guys tell us a moment in their career or a memory that they have Where they were like big man touchdowns are so fun to watch whether it's the catch It's the run. It's the stumble into the end zone or all the above dave You got an example for us of a great big man td. Yeah, we were playing dallas In dallas had never beaten the cowboys in dallas a close football game Danny white drops the throw gets hit the ball kind of pops in the air and mike gann Catches it that falcons defensive in that another name and he's running down the field that he's carrying He doesn't even know how to tuck it away. So he's carrying it like this and he's running And there's guy kind of peels off him and he's able to get that guy off him And he's and he gets into the end zone and he's so excited He wants to spike it and when he gets ready to spike it it shoots that way This kind of squirts out of his hand. He didn't even get us. So then he did a pseudo spike He didn't have the ball, you know a fake spike He was so excited to get in the end zone. It ended up being a huge play force We ended up beating dallas 37 35 in the game and it was a huge play by mike gann But he was so excited to have the football in his hands He didn't know what to do with it and it ended up over there some place because he couldn't hold onto it to spike it But a lot of fun to watch DJ you got a good example for us. Yeah, I'm gonna go back to to the college days and I'm gonna go back to Obviously, I was thinking about like a refrigerator parry or something everybody's seen that before You know the almost touchdown by Leon left rolling and Rumbling stumbling down in zone But I'm gonna go to this year my georgia bulldogs. They gave big jordan davis a chance to run with the football They gave it to him twice and the the great thing about it was He's come on the field all year long and he's been in that role where he's you know trying to roll great a guy He's the lead black So what georgia does is they go into this this this odd little little switch of the formation And they get a shift and all of a sudden he is Died in the eye back in the middle and the entire fan base is going crazy But the crazy thing about it. He got stuffed on the first play We're inside the one yard line. He gets stuffed next play. You hear the crowd going forward again Going forward again. So it's fourth down. They go forward again The first time he actually tried to dive over all 360 pounds was going to try to dive over him And then the second play he ends up getting into the zone and you just see half the team running on the field And it was it was pretty cool to see it Especially in this senior year had that opportunity to get a touchdown. Some of you can remember forever I've always wondered if a linebacker when they see that situation and they see that guy going back there if they're like Defensive line, please help me out like I don't want to go one-on-one with this guy with a full head of steam I mean, it's it's hard enough going up against a linebacker Maybe or excuse me a running back somebody like Leonard for net, but like you said going up against somebody 360 Yeah, forget about it. That's like george come in the linebacker the green bay packer Hit the fridge the fridge hit him on a money night football and they drove him into the back of the end zone So you're exactly right linebackers Do not want that opportunity You know, it's so funny because that's like the first thing that came to my mind is the refrigerator parry because I grew up in minnesota So I grew up in the nsc north days watching Minnesota and I wouldn't say that I was a diehard fan or anything But if you were born and raised in minnesota, you're generally a vikings and a twins fan That's just what happens, right? And I used to always see those games when the fridge would come in and it was like You knew on a goal line situation And it was just like you could tell the defense the fridge is getting the ball Make the play Can you get him down on the ground? And so I had to pull it up and it's interesting because there was a day that the fridge was considered huge, right? Wikipedia take it for what it's worth says he's 62 335 There's a lot of guys that are that big now. No question, right? I mean jordan davis towers over the top of him I had 62 335 follow me in 1985 that was not good. It doesn't feel good. No So anyway, hopefully that for barlin davidson's sake that won't be his last touchdown And maybe he will end up being the subject of a big man touchdown discussion one day down the road 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 All right, so we talked about it this weekend panthers Falcons go on the road They get a little bit of revenge cam the starting quarterback. You talked about this about four or five weeks ago You said pretty good chance that cam newton is a starting quarterback when the falcons face off with him the second time so Kind of break down dave you we talked about it all right before we came on the air But who are the the panthers right now? We know there's no christian mccaffrey That obviously helps anybody that faces against them But who are they defensively key players are areas of opportunity for atlanta to win this game Well first thing to you've mentioned cam newton joe brady was just released as their offensive coordinator this week in carolina So they are now changing the guard as to who's going to be calling plays joe brady That celebrated oc or celebrated assistant that came off that 2019 national championship team He wasn't the play caller at lsu and evidently that has been part of the problem in carolina So those shift gears there cam newtons had a horrible day the last time out two two sundays ago So they're gonna have to regroup there. But as a deal when you look at the defense side of the football It's a smaller defense That has a couple of big guys in the middle. They're big most people remember derrick brown The big guy at alburn. He's playing the middle. He was the running mate with marlin davidson in the interior of that alburn defense He's a stout player. We had a tough time moving him last time But they've got edge guys that are quick the away kid from penn states outstanding off the edge brian burns out of florida state both Smallish guys that can rush the passer and then they got shack tomson who's developed into Quite a quite a linebackers a guy was a safety in college that they moved a linebacker when he arrived there much like thomas davis Remember thomas davis out of georgia. They moved him from safety to linebacker. They've done the same thing with shack He's running side on side. They've got one of my favorite players defensive guy named germy chin who plays safety That's about 215 220 pounds that can run that can come down and he will probably there's a good chance He might draw the assignment uh on kyle pits I would not be surprised if you didn't see germy chin draw some of the man-to-man coverage there But this is not a world beating group certainly not on the offensive side of the football The problem with it last time is lana didn't establish no run game Against this defense last time and they're not big enough to keep you from being able to run it on them So I would think based on what we saw in the first half of this game Shock you pointed out in what you saw last week in jackseville. This will be a much better run Effort by Atlanta. I think that arthur smith told me post game that he thinks they're improving dramatically in the run game I'll be it. They didn't run it very well in the second half of this last game Yeah, you talked about it, Dave You're not going to face against vita veya and endemic ensue and jason pierre paul every week in the nfl Not to say that carolina doesn't have some dudes as you outlined There's still some good players But if they can get cordero paterson mike davis to rip off a couple of runs like they did against tampa dj What does that do for atlanta to give them the best chance to stay balanced and win this game? Well, I think the number one thing it allows you to protect your quarterback a little bit better because now the defense is forced to Be able to have to stop the run you get a lot of maybe more guys Coming up and being more past as far as not trying to get too far a field because of the run game if you can run the football argument, I mean This was we mentioned we've said a couple times that unit was a little bit special that we played in last week and five sacks Is never acceptable But this is a ball game where I feel like the offensive line will take the onus to say we have to protect our quarterback We have any goals about us. We're going to make sure that does not happen again I expect a better performance But if we can get the run game going it just adds everything else to what author smith Wants to do it's something that we've seen all year long and author smith wants to be able to run the football Because you you have so many things that can complement the run game that helps your offense And then you're able to push the ball down the field then you're able to get the matchups you want Then you start to get the one-on-ones Where cow pits can win where you know russ russ had what 11 catches in the ball game He continued to be that guy that can you know Maybe create some separation on the outside and now you protect your quarterback So the run game is crucial to a lot of the success for this fighting's offense Dave let me ask you this question real quick out of your experience carolina coming off a buy And there's always that like oh, it's the buy week. It's a chance to get our players healthy Can you truly get anybody healthy at this point in the season when you're in december? If you got a guy a little bit nicked, you know, obviously you get by a week you you've been through that We've all been through that having played if you can get a week off you get through it But let's face it. These guys just weren't sitting at home playing on the couch. They were at the They were in the weight room. They were in training. They were Practicing even though they didn't have a game So it's not like they were just down and do anything But you can minimize some of the damage and not having to line up the following week So if you got a few guys nicked, I think you feel better that next week But that's not bringing christian mccaffrey back as you just said and he's the key guy for them He's just they're different with him on the field. He won't be on the field in this game Yeah, we talked about it's the Atlanta's not going to face the same defense They're not going to face the same offense either They're not going to face an offense that has the weapons most notably like tom brady and his ability to Just march the football down the field guys. We didn't talk about it a whole lot but 75 percent of your passes when you throw it 51 times is truly impressive Right. Here's one other thing I mean to cut you off there But when you're thinking about this game and thinking about how it's going to be different How many times have we seen number one get up for this game? Because it's the Falcons because it's his hometown and his last performance was five of 21 I mean, yeah He understands that this is his maybe his last opportunity and the nfl to show that he can be a star in this league And he's going to play against the Falcons the hometown team that hey Let's be honest. He's going to be excited to play again So you expect a totally different cam in his ball game too as well. I would agree with that. I also say Jones knocked him in tomorrow. So We'll see what happens. We'll see which memory that he He holds on to coming into this game So that'll wrap it up We will be back next week to talk about that game and for all the Falcons fans watching Hopefully it's a victory over the Carolina Panthers to help get that one of three that you talked about And to get them in better position as the post season nears as we continue through December football It feels like we got this thing started just a few weeks of guys We're in december here. Right time flies when you're having fun. All right That's going to do it here on the falcons audible presented by AT&T We thank you for watching on all the different venues that you get your podcast Atlanta Falcons.com spotify YouTube itunes all the above or wherever else you might find them. I don't know wherever else is But that's four pretty good options Hey speaking of which on behalf of shock and arch. Thanks guys. I'm Derek Rackley We'll see you next time right here on the falcons audible presented by AT&T