 What's up everybody and welcome to a special edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast We are here at Mercedes Benz Stadium in the Delta Sky Club Recording this podcast live. I'm Scott Bear with me is my tag team partner Tori McElaney And also here a very special guest cornerback AJ Terrell AJ Terrell is here everybody Yeah now a Couple quick things about the format right so we're gonna have 12 minutes or so with our main man here and then after that we're gonna open it up for Questions from you guys to ask me and to ask Tori so get those questions ready We are gonna have that mic circulating around this is gonna be a really great time to get to know AJ and get to know This Falcons team better so with all that AJ first question to you You see all these people jacked up to see a guy from their hometown Playing for the Atlanta Falcons. What's it like to interact with these people? Appreciate it. Uh, it's just it's different. You know, I mean just a bigger platform And I just got a lot to you know give and just out there playing on the field just gave me a lot of motivation AJ, it's funny. You have been at the Braves you throughout the first pitch Then you were at Laney United. You were the Golden Spike hitter. I'm pretty sure that's the name of what you were Of those two, what's the more difficult? I thought the pitch was gonna be sweet, but it wasn't sweet Yeah, I had ended up spiking that one in the ground up. The spike was easy though Yeah, you know, but there's both great experiences and just something that I Definitely loved doing so it was just giving back in my way Yeah, how much did it mean to kind of see other Atlanta fan bases kind of take to you the way that they do It mean a lot that mean, you know, I'm just growing You know year after year just out there just off my play and just a presence of me being on the field and playing with my teammates and just get everybody, you know Tighten it and just the fan base and everybody. I just appreciate everybody just locking in with us and riding along This this this path that we going on and just try to get to the playoffs get some W You grew up playing youth football right down the road basically at Ben Hill Park, right? You were there for the oomph squad if I got that right For the oomph squad. What's it like playing professional football so close to where you grow up and how important this area is to you? So surreal just being able to like right now just being down the street from Camberton Road, right? Ben Hill is and just being on the big stage right now just putting on for the city It's just like amazing. Like it's so surreal Now Scott, I know wanted to ask about your brother, right? Is it nice to see him? I mean you get to see him kind of go through what you went through not too long ago You're not that old man. How does it feel seeing him kind of go through that what you did? just It's no surprise, you know just all the work We don't put in him just watching me as I you know went through all my phases and him now being himself and Just locking in with football and becoming a player He is is it's make me proud You know just setting up setting away and paving in his way, you know to college is definitely amazing and and you're kind of paving your way into this league and In year one you had a really good year or two it seemed like I mean second team all-pro, right? Second team all-pro that says a lot. How are you able to make that jump in year two to be one of the NFL's elite? defensive backs Just locking in, you know taking care of my body Just being ahead of everybody in the film room and just trusting my ability just going out there and just playing calm free And just having fun with the game. I think recently you were named one of the league's most Underappreciated players and the word I know right and then underrated is a word that I think has come up a few times Do you like that moniker? Do you like kind of having that moniker? Or is it kind of a sign of like, you know what like underappreciated undervalued like how do you feel hearing that? Controlling me. Yeah, I ain't really worried about what they talking about. You know, I know where I stand. So really just Like I said just going to tacking every day in the way Um in the weight room film room just with the team and just doing my job and everybody else do their job And you know everybody get they shine. So that's how I feel about it And there are a lot of new faces on this defense including Casey Hayward who said a lot of nice things about you What's it gonna be like playing opposite him having that veteran a guy who's done it a guy that can still really do it at a very high level Like you said just experience, you know, Casey definitely a he had all pro himself and he got so much experience under his belt And just me being on the opposite side of him is like a blessing Just having an older brother and just getting some knowledge from it, you know, we can't week out and in practice and all that So just having him as an outlet is something I appreciate. I think it's funny because I'm pretty sure on the last like five Podcasts whenever we talk about what we're excited to see in 2022 I have said you're pairing with Casey Hayward every single time now that you've gotten to know him a little bit I know it's only been a short amount of time, but what do you like about I know you just said experience But what do you like about who he is as a guy as a player? No, you know, we got the same agent So I know him outside of outside of football. So we already had a relationship but uh just Just a the bond we have being able to relate, you know, you've got somebody that you talk to you You know, some people don't can't relate with what you done been in But like I said, he got so much experience Anything I asked that he could tap in with me and understand what I'm saying You're just starting to get to know this 2022 falcon squad. What can these fans expect from this group? Trying to a we're gonna get some Ws this year. Um, we gotta go to the playoffs and that's that's the main thing Just just thinking a big picture. Um Gotta gotta take it one game at a time, you know, just going in Uh going in practice the way we prepare Everybody just being on the same page And uh just going out there and winning that one game each week is the main thing Okay, this is the fun part of the podcast. We're gonna have a little bit fun Even though we've already we've already been having fun. I mean But this is gonna be a little bit different. We're gonna do a lightning round I'm gonna have like a few questions for you and you're gonna go We're gonna go real quick and you're gonna answer these questions some are funny some are not so you ready Let's go. We're ready. Okay Fave artist or song that you're playing right now Little baby there we go memorable play as a falcon your most memorable play as a falcon There are a few to choose from there are a few Uh, my first pick here last year against the Patriots. There you go. Your biggest pet peeve I got a lot of those Uh, I'll say See I have a problem with like slow drivers. Yeah, the main one is smacking I hate when somebody eating next to me. They smack it like okay, no to sell see him out at a restaurant Close your mouth for sure. Close your mouth. I'm gonna call you out Your fave of fashion trend fashion You got some game day fits. I've seen those going right. It's a lot you I don't think you that that one I'm gonna have to just keep you gonna keep okay. We'll save it for during the season Right. Yeah, we'll tap back in with that one. All right. If you're choosing text call or FaceTime text The fam is like, oh it's text all the way if we ain't tight if we ain't tight just text me like I'm not gonna answer. No phone call or FaceTime You're left. Okay. The last movie you watched life Good one. Y'all know what life is. Is that the one with eddie murphy? Ah, yeah, yeah Good one Um, the teammate that you spend the most time with teammate Mm-hmm I feel like me being here I got so much range where I can like just go have fun. Yeah I I tap in with all my teammates when I step out but Um The easy way I could say is kasey kasey. Okay. I like it. I like it. Um, your favorite Atlanta restaurant Come on Waffle house Hey, honestly, the quick one is always gonna be american deli. Okay. All right. I can get behind that There you go. Um, now I have seen on instagram your son has some serious style I honestly, I'm gonna say this. I think you may have better style than you know, I'm just saying It's close. It's really close. I'll try. What's your favorite outfit of his? Uh I like his shoes, man. Yeah, I ain't really post a lot of pictures of him on there But the one I like the most is him and it's a central fear of god fit. Okay sbs. Yeah, I like that one All right, last one and honestly, we'll get you out of here But one word to describe 2022 for you It's a marathon, you know, just keep going. Um, like I said, we got so much going This year a lot a lot of new faces. I feel like it's it's a marathon where we trying to go like I said with one game at a time and uh If anybody don't know the marathon definitely from nipsey hustle, so I like that word and it's just always just going to be a marathon Awesome. Love it. I think that's pretty much it. We got that's awesome. AJ Terrell. Thank you so much the crowd Thank you guys so much Better than we ever could have hoped for AJ. Thank you so much man. Appreciate the time now We're going to enter into phase two of this podcast There's going to be a microphone circulating around if you guys have any questions about AJ about the 2022 Falcons We're going to stick around for 10 15 minutes something like that ask her anything that's you anything that's on your mind We can definitely talk about and tori There's uh, uh, so anybody who who wants to ask a question raise your hand We can get you a microphone and we can get this thing going but tori As we head through this ota's right where about halfway through it We're just getting to know a lot of these new players What are your impressions of this team kind of as you're getting to know a new quarterback A new quarterback so many new faces molding molding together with so many uh young players Well, I think that's it exactly is it's new. I feel like right now We are in a new era of falcons football and I think I've said that it's like Guys like AJ guys like cal pits. These are the new faces of this organization But it's not what it once was and we're still trying to figure out What exactly this team is and how they're going to operate and not just in 2022 but beyond into 23 24 25, I mean we're looking at AJ was talking about the Marathon that this is and I thought that was the perfect word to describe Where this falcons organization is and where it's wanting to go. This is not a sprint This is a marathon and it's a marathon over this season where they're going to try to win as many games as they possibly can It's a marathon over several seasons as they get right with the cap They continue to build up this roster around guys like AJ guys like kyle There's going to be a new leadership core here guys that are engaged with these fans signing autographs. How cool is this? Yeah, love it. AJ could have just bounced. He didn't he's sticking around. He's signing autographs He's mingling with people from neighborhoods where he grew up. I love that. I mean that's so great That's what's so cool, too Is there are a few guys from not just the Atlanta area But the state of georgia at large who are a part of this team and I think that is Something really special that not every NFL team has and to be able to be a part of the culture of Atlanta I think is very very important. I know you're you're a west coast guy I'm georgia girl. Like I've been here. I've seen this organization Throughout the years and it does feel different. It feels newer It feels fresher and it it does feel like this is the the foundation of what terry font note Arthur Smith what they actually want to build here And that's why I think events like this Are so key because fans can come out and interact and meet all these new personalities and these young players Because for so long it was matt ryan. It was really jones, right? It was tony Gonzalez if you want to go way back and when you have these new people you want to get out and meet them You want to see that they're real folks who like american deli? That was a good choice, by the way Yeah, and and I think that those things are important now Now that they're kind of building this culture, right? I was actually going to ask him this But so much of that chip on your shoulder conversation. Yeah is going on, right? I can feel that Yes, and one thing that I like that that grady jarrett said is he said it's not just with the players Arthur smith wants to prove himself as a good head coach terry font note wants to prove he's a good gm These guys are new to their jobs and their job titles So it's a big prove it thing the entire way and I think how these guys do they all want to prove people wrong So when they see vegas say, okay four and a half wins, right? Or they say vegas say five and a half They want to be above that and I think that that's the right attitude to have as we move forward here now There's a lot of talk about aj obviously aj was just sitting here You're going to write something for the website about about what arthur smith said about kyle pits entering his second year I thought it was a very interesting way to to a look at it because Look the guy had a thousand yard season. Yeah, but the expectations are higher Yeah, the fact that arthur smith has said on so many occasions Kyle pits is only scratching the surface of who he is As a player in this league that is To say that after you have the rookie season that you do as a rookie titan in this league I mean that's that's hard to do But what you're doing is you are having an opportunity to see what more he can be in this league And that's exactly what arthur smith was talking about as they were getting ready to go out and practice today Yeah, and I think it's it kind of lets your imagination wander because if you think he had the second best tight end Second best season by a rookie tight end in history Right and we're talking about scratching the surface And I think that we're going to see him move around the formation more and we're going to see him more actively involved because We don't know what we're going to get from drake london yet. He's big He has a huge catch radius. He did great things at usc, which as you see they ruin paints me to say But nonetheless, I really think that it'll be interesting to see kyle pits is the number one pass catcher Doesn't matter what he plays and I think to see what he can do next is going to be one of the most fascinating things that we That we deal with um before we get to anything else Forgot to thank microsoft windows. Oh, yeah, that's a big thank you to them the official operating sponsor of the NFL and the atlanta falcons the all new windows 11 is here to bring you closer to what you love Like aj terrell being a feature guest on this falcons final whistle podcast honestly love it Awesome, and we do have a question. That is so great. Thank you so much. We might have a couple Let's do it. Listen. My question is this Given that most of our receivers if julio was still here, he would probably be like one of the smallest receivers Just this being a talk for real. That's true. But having said that the question I have is Usually when you deal with a team like tambourine, you have one mic evidence you have to deal with You can kind of change a corner switch a corner do all that but dealing with us this year No matter where you go one through three It's going to be six four six three large catch radius yak And then you can have a chance an opportunity to Put cordial patterns in that like six two and a half in the back And I'm just kind of feeling like how do you what do you see our offense actually doing this year? Just with that setup, you know what I mean regardless of who the quarterback is and one last thing Ritter has tied in in college. It's like six five six six and it kind of like a match here. So What you thinking brother? Well before we get to that, maybe we need like a guest analyst maybe next week That was a pretty good breakdown. I'm trying to think of ways that I could do it better But I think the reason why I like this group of drake london brian edwards ought and tape That's a basketball team right kyle pits. Maybe the tallest one in the group Yep, I like the athleticism that goes with it These aren't big guys who can plod downfield and just out jump you right that these are guys who are athletic Who can go get the ball and I think it's going to be fascinating tory How do you I mean it should be fun to see how they're going to mix paterson into all this That's the thing is I was so glad you brought that up because I'm like I honestly don't say Receivers anymore when I'm talking about yeah, you can't do that I I say cordial paterson and kyle pits and drake london and odd and tape and brian edwards These are these aren't wide receivers. These are receiving weapons. These aren't the cordial paterson isn't a running back He's a weapon kyle pits isn't a tight end. He's a weapon that to me Makes if you're looking at this Honestly this group When you're looking at it in your arthur smith and you're being you're able to scheme for these guys You want to have you want to confuse the heck out of defenses? And I think that's exactly what they're going to be able to provide In this offense that I think a lot of times exactly like what you're saying in your question a lot of times You have one big guy now They have a lot of versatility it is something that arthur smith has valued since he got here in atlanta So where do you bring help and I think when you have two quarterbacks that are new to the system It's going to help them because at some point they're moving they're outside the pocket They're in trouble Throw it up see what happens the old 50-50 ball. Well the 50-50 ball drake london's probably going to come down with that Right and kyle pits we we saw in miami and in buffalo and in tampa, right? So many examples of that type of thing happening So I think that it's going to be a fun group to watch Here's the other crazy thing tori if you go back Even a couple months pre-draft this wide receiver core was like capital All caps major need, right? It was kyle pits and not a whole lot It was I think the only one because at the time alamedes akias hadn't yet signed his tender So it was like the only person that had even caught a pass in at that wide receiver core was frank darby Who was a rookie last year? I and then they go out and they rebuild This whole not just room but like what I was saying the weapons around it you re-signed cordial You have kyle pits coming back you get some other tight ends too. I think that's important as well So there was a lot that had to be done this off season Across the offense. All right. It sounds like we have another question from the crowd Thank how do you how do you think drake london will fit into our offensive scheme? I think he's tailor made for it. Yeah, I think that the really cool thing was that the falcons took the first wide receiver available so They had the pick of the litter and he chose their scheme fit Which is a big guy who can move around down who can move downfield a guy with a huge catch radius I don't like comparing rookies to guys who are established But I think aj brown types like a big physical dude who's going to run you He's going to run around you and then over you, right? So I think it's pretty exciting I keep I can't wait till training camp because we're going to see these guys with pads on so We know how physical they can be at the line. That's a that's another drake london asset And I think being able to see him work downfield to be physical and go at full speed All these ota practices about three-quarter speed maybe but to really see him get into it I think is going to be pretty exciting. Yeah, we got another question over here. What's what do we got man? You know frank darby. Yeah, you think that he's gonna make a leap this year I think he has to I think it's gonna For frank darby I'm just excited to see his role expand and I do think that he has an opportunity this year That maybe he didn't have last year I think when you're looking at at a wide receiver pick sometimes it takes them a minute Especially when you had you at the time you had calvin ridley you had wrestle gauge you had cal pits It was a very different looking group So I think that the door is open for a guy like frank darby to One continue doing what he did on special teams I think that's just as important and then also kind of making a name for himself in this offense as well I'm looking forward to seeing frank darby more not just for the social media contact because although that is solid We know he's hilarious. We love being around him So I'm excited just as much For what he's gonna do in his second year as I am just to see him on social media more I mean it feels like he's always had Like a third red bull of like for the morning like that's just how he is. Yeah, honestly his like normal I don't even know level is honestly 10 times what I think the normal person is I've never seen him not like jazzed up and running around Yeah, 100 as we're kind of wrapping this thing up here. I just have to remind you guys one more time Please rate review Subscribe on itunes on spotify also subscribe to our uh, Atlanta falcons youtube channel where all these things go We have lots of great videos there. Check all that stuff out and really this is I'll be honest This is our first time doing a live podcast. Yeah, we've got AJ freaking terrell. Yeah, that was awesome Guys, thank everyone who stopped by here at the delta Scott at the delta sky club On friday at the open practice and thanks to everyone on monday and tuesday down the road who's listening to this podcast Greatly appreciate all of the support all the nice things that have been said About tori and occasionally about me, but we definitely appreciate it. It's been so much fun and we'll talk to you guys again next week