 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast. I'm Scott bear here with Tori McElhaney and Chris rim The day after the Super Bowl the NFL offseason has officially ended the Rams beat the Bengals with a come everybody saw what happened but Rams and Bengals Rams are Super Bowl champions and It really kind of got us thinking that the Bengals were Let me check pro football reference again, they were two and fourteen and Then they were four and twelve and then they were in the soup bowl, right? Which basically gives optimism to literally anyone Everyone everyone in the league is now looking at the Bengals being like oh my gosh. Can we be them? Can we be the next Bengals right so I think that poses the question Right and there have been lots of articles written about this can Your insert team name here be the Bengals right so what the heck right can the Falcons be the Bengals Falcons won They they won four games two years ago. They won seven Last year under Arthur Smith. I think I think we can all agree that their arrow is Generally pointing up with a lot of work left to do but there's a lot of teams that go from worst to first There's a lot of teams that turn a very high draft pick into something spectacular a couple years down the line And can the Falcons do that are they in a position to do that within relation to their What's going on within their division? So we're gonna look at all that stuff Basically over the course of the next half hour or so We're gonna kind of we're gonna talk about whether the Falcons can do that What's the key ingredient for the Bengals not named Joe Burrow? They're going to talk about Joe Burrow the former LSU slash Ohio State quarterback who brought glory to his home state and then Where do the Falcons go to try to forge their way into becoming playoff contenders once again? I'm just reading from Tori McElaney's notes. I didn't come up here welcome myself That's why I use the word forge. That's a Tori word, but I like them. That's a Tori word for sure. Yeah But anyway, so we're gonna break all that down so I Guess generally speaking what are your kind of thoughts on on this a Bengals rise and is there anything, you know Just generally, you know off the top of your head Tori, let's say About if the Falcons can do that and what was the key for you for the Bengals Yeah I mean I I think just kind of looking at it and then also kind of just looking at the articles that were written this morning throughout the course of The last honestly probably 12 ish hours since the Bengals and the Rams, you know, the Super Bowl began It was all just kind of looking at okay. Everybody's kind of essentially being like this whole idea of Worst to first and who can be the next team in the league to go worse to first because when you look at it the The Bengals were last in the AFC North in 2020 and as Chris rim Pointed out before we even started recording this. They were last until what like week nine of this past season I mean, well, they were they were first at early on and then they were they And so I think when you think about that and then also kind of thinking about what the 2020 season was where you you lose Joe burrow and and he he's now coming into this season Coming off of a torn ACL and I mean you you really do think about everything that Happened to the Spingles team and then for them to get to the point of where they are Not just like Super Bowl in the Super Bowl, but like pretty good contenders with the team that I think everyone expected to be in The Super Bowl because of how the team was constructed. I eat the Rams So I think for me like when you're thinking about this whole idea of the league moving forward I think when you have the where everybody's kind of on this equal playing field. I think it makes it more fun I think that's what the league wants is that everybody to kind of be on this Level playing field where you don't have, you know, the New England Patriots going out and winning however many Super Bowls in a row you want that parody and so I think this bangle this idea of the Bengals being this team going from worst to first is like the It's what you want the league to be and I think it gives you hope for a team Like the Falcons and where they currently are in in their own division Yeah, and I'd probably say the same I think I think it kind of shows that I think football more than any other sport is like luck is so much involved in football so Without getting into everything. I think the stars have to align like they did for the Bengals this year and you have to Play good football. It doesn't matter when you play bad football as long as you're playing good football When it matters and if you can get hot for three games, you might be in a Super Bowl Yeah, and I think timing timing really is everything. It really truly is in this league more than I think any other Yeah, that's the Cardinals Yeah, 100 talk about a team that peaked really early and then obviously didn't know how to handle it Now they got reports about their quarterback being unhappy It's just you know that things can turn really quickly and I do think that getting hot is important I think the other phase of it is that A team as in has opportunities when they go through struggles and they get these high draft picks, right? Do you make the right selections and the Bengals made a selection on Joe Burrow and then they made a selection on Jamar Chase, right? Nailed those and that put them in a great position to be something special because you have Um, obviously with a quarterback, but when you had a player like Jamar Chase, right? Like a talented individual, he just he's a game changer when you add that then it Gives you an opportunity to maybe go out and beat a team that you're not as good at on paper because Jamar Chase is just gonna He's just gonna go do some things, right? So I think for those reasons It's definitely possible. It's definitely interesting. I You know, I was reading K2 and 14 and 4 and 12. Well, probably wouldn't have gone 4 and 12 if Joe Burrow was Healthy that year, but nonetheless that you're seeing this team kind of evolve and get hot at the right time and end up in Super Bowl That's also why at the end of the Super Bowl like for the loser. You always say, oh, their future's so bright They got this they got that there is no guarantee you'll ever get back there So take advantage of the opportunity go ask Dan Marino. He made it his second year and then never again Um, there's a lot of situations like that where you think okay. This is gonna be like a dynasty type team But maybe not, you know, maybe that was your one opportunity But with the ability to fall backwards is the ability to ascend So we're going to kind of talk about all that stuff But before we do we have to offer a big thank you to our sponsor Microsoft Windows 11 The official operating system of the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons The all new Windows 11 is here to bring you closer to what you love like the falcons final whistle podcast as you've heard me say Learn all about the awesome new features of Windows 11 at windows.com. So as we move forward through this Pod here, let's go back to our first kind of original question that that's uh Tory had broken out here Which is now no longer directly on my screen. Um, yeah, so basically What do you think was the key ingredient for the bangles in 2021? That's not named Joe Burrow Yeah, I mean that we can't talk about Joe Burrow next because that's my next question for you guys So, uh, we'll get there for people listening Just if you want to go ahead and listen to us talk about Joe Burrow for a few minutes Just click on through you can fast forward through this section. Um, but don't do that because we're gonna say some cool things Maybe probably not knowledge. We're gonna drop some knowledge. Um, drop a mix tape too There's this one picture of chris and I from our introductory, uh, like When we did our photo shoot when we were coming to the falcons, we're like back to back And it's it's significantly like mix tape material like when chris and I drop a mix tape that will be The the cover photo are on the album. So just letting everyone some big chains photoshop I want to use hurry and scott too. We'll just have photoshop scott laying down in the front there we go Striking a pose There's also a good photo that one of our videographers captured Of both of them doing like peace sign like I wouldn't fit. I don't think I'm cool enough for that I'm not that photo will never see the light of day That is definitely posting it in the promotion thread. There's no doubt No, that is a terrible photo of me. It was I had had a rough day I think it was after I think it was after the braves won the world series And I had gotten my flu shot the day before so I was not Your flu shot quote of quote story Kind of listening to selling all day I would 100% own up if it was not the flu shot and we all know it So anyways, it's I was looking quite horrendous And we it was at practice and it was horrible and it's a It's a shot of chris and I just like throwing up the peace signs Like as we were doing a mic check and someone screenshot it and it it's horrible And no, it will not be on it will not be a part of the the production of this podcast Period you're saying that like you have any control over that which is my favorite part I need to come up with some blackmail for me between the this When it goes out because otherwise you're in trouble It took us we've gone off the rails. Sorry going back to the key Is building a good mixed tape that's how you built Yes, Joe burrow. I mean he could probably go out and and put together a solid like mixed tape with uh with this team I do I do believe this team has a lot of coolness Cool factor to it, which is why I like it. I don't think that's the key ingredient for the Bengals in 2021 They're cool factor But what I did so going back to last night watching the Super Bowl There was this one graphic that I thought they did that was really cool Where they were taking a look at this defense this bingles defense And they had kind of everybody in their uniforms from the teams that they were on in the previous years And now kind of fast-forwarding to where they are now where they're all in the bingles And I just thought that was super interesting Because I think when you think about the bingles you think about Joe burrow and you think About Jermak chasing you think about them building up through the draft and going out and getting these guys in the draft But I also thought it was important that they simultaneously found the right guys in free agency And I think when you're thinking about where the Falcons are right now I do put so much weight on The draft but I also put a lot of weight in free agency Especially when you get into next year when you think about them having more money to play around In free agency a little bit and I think that's kind of where the bingles were. It was a really good Collection this team I thought was a really good collection of Guys they had drafted and developed and also guys that they had brought in To kind of fill out this team. So I thought that was kind of when you're thinking about like the key ingredient For talking about timing and we're talking about all all of this kind of stuff I think the timing of the draft and guys you picked up and the guys you picked up in free agency kind of marrying together To create this team was a pretty Key ingredient for where they were in 2021 Yeah, I think I think along with the the free agents I think trey hendrickson was One of their yes Was the key ingredient to this team one of the I think their defense doesn't get enough credit for what they do And for what he does he kind of makes me think of like what you know Dick buckets look like or one of those guys back in the 60s He's no fluff. No gloves. No no swag no football swag on the field. He just has some He's putting his hand in the dirt and he's coming at you every play Um, so he and he had that he set the franchise record in sacks They post in from the saints which falcon stands will probably like um, and he he bought for them and and uh, you know against the The titans you saw the kind of pressure they got even though, you know, jill borough was second nine times but along with that Key ingredient I think another I don't know if this is not a key ingredient But this is just another thing when I was talking about before You know things falling in the right direction and and luck, you know the The ravens start What eight and two eight and three then the markets hurt and they go eight and nine I think or eight or somewhat they go eight and nine and and they're they missed the playoffs for some reason the Steelers Let their season continue with what was going on there at the on the the quarterback position I think they're the quarterback playoff was happening there And then what was happening with the rams. I mean with the browns was What is it kind of a yeah, it's kind of an insane over there. So I think Not only did they and this happens. I think for all teams there's always luck involved But I think yeah within their own their division is is arguably theirs and and the NFC west probably are probably Maybe others too like the chief division, but some of the hardest In in the league to play in so I think the cars aligned for them in terms of You know, I think Joe borough threw for almost a thousand yards In two games against the Ravens because I think all their defensive backs were hurt minus Marlon Humphrey And jamar chase embarrassed Humphrey at that You know while taking slant. So I think not only was it, you know, their defense and and trey Hendricks in and they also They also had I'm not sure how to pronounce his last name, but should obey I'm not sure. I'm not saying I don't want to mess it up, but it's to do ba Last thing starts with a and any words number 22. He was the fourth ranked cornerback in the league this year for pff So he also helped but yeah, there a lot of things happened around them that like the stars just aligned for them to to get here Yeah, I'm sorry. We left you hanging on the pronunciation. Yeah And I don't want to I'm not I don't want to I'm not trying to butcher anyone's name here. So No, it's got now. I think we're both just kind of looking at you like God, I hope Yeah, I was I could not I could not throw you a life wrap I wanted to I could not even try to start googling his name and I couldn't do it in time I'm sorry, but here's the but here's the crazy thing about Him right is that they signed him a three-year deal for Not very much for 21 million dollars over the course of three years, right? That's that's a good value signing And most of that money is down farther into the deal So you think gosh that those are the types of things where you've got a hit, right? if you're adding kind of falcons parlance to it that like they Trey Hendrickson wasn't cheap But they identified a guy that could play for them and they invested wisely They used two very high draft picks and invested wisely and then they were able to I mean Eli Apple was basically on like a journeyman's Path around the country, right? And he still may be but they found a guy that was able to contribute and start for them and help that defense So I just think there there's so many examples of that and that's how you do it So I'm going to combine both of what you got of Things that you guys are saying that it's defense. It's finding these gems. It's also luck and understanding when to be Opportunistic right that yes How often is it going to happen that you're going to win a division that has Lamar Jackson and tj watt in it Right and the I don't know if the Browns will ever figure it out But there's a lot of miles Garrett right like like there's a lot of talent within the division And I'm just naming superstars, but it's deep. It's really deep. So can you identify? All right, everybody's suffering a little bit everybody's limping Let's go get it and that's kind of the situation that they were in So it's very possible, you know, when you talk about opening up a period of of sustained success or you know, you You talk about uh championship windows or being in control of a uh division That doesn't mean that every year you're going to go You know 13 and five or whatever Uh, you know what I mean like there's no guarantee that those types of things are going to happen you go 13 and 4 um, but if you can look around and be like St.'s quarterback situation is weird tom brady just retired the panthers are sticking with sam darnold I guess You start looking at the late of the landing figure Okay, if we can just be smart with it that we can find a way to To capitalize on the situation Um, and we can get to more falcon stuff as we move on here, but let's move on to the joe burrowness of it all right This isn't just like a team Getting hot This is a team that invested a number one pick in a quarterback and he's playing like a number one pick that that was a good investment of that draft capital Craig me if i'm wrong joe burrow was like the consensus number one Like there was no drama in that right and then the other guy and they nailed it, you know, and I think his How often did we hear? It was like it was like a forced narrative by the broadcast networks That the bangles haven't won in 30 years the bangles haven't won in 30 years man. They've blown it a lot You know over and over and over again and every time joe burrow was like I don't care about that like I didn't know anything about that zack taylor who's younger than me which I hate Wow, there isn't it was oh my gosh strong I want to be a head coach. Come on man But you know and zack taylor kept saying that they they didn't care about the history right that this is something new And I think that joe burrow brought that Attitude and mindset and I think that that helped them like we don't care what happened That's nothing to do with us. We're doing our own thing and we're he just so confident And I think that rubs off on people in addition to the fact that you know, he's pretty good Right. Yeah, and and it's interesting because So before we started this podcast Like I just kind of sent scott and chris like these questions and the question was like How do you begin to replicate the job the joe burrow impact? And the more I sit with that question the more i'm like that's such an unfair question because you're not going to And I think like joe burrows impact for the bangles is I mean I can almost like not really put into words because that's how much it means To this organization and going back to scott what you were saying about how essentially I mean They they invested in joe burrow and he panned out. I think you see a lot of times there are so many I think first round picks that just don't pan out and He's somebody who did and I think it just goes back to kind of the idea if we're talking about the draft How much of a freaking crapshoot it is sometimes and how much it really is just kind of you're just hoping that what you see on film And what you're in like in these interviews the guys that you're interviewing How they you just hope that they turn out to be what you want them to be and I think like even using like I don't know you think about like Kyle Pitts like you can look at his measurables and and you can look at kind of Him being the quote-unquote unicorn and everything like that and the Falcons investing a number four overall pick in him But he still has to pan out and and he still has to put in the work and he still has to kind of They have to figure out the best ways to use him and putting weapons around him and I think like That's something that I thought the the bangles did very well is that they gave joe burrow. I think Weapons and and they gave him an opportunity to thrive While he's also learning the scheme in the system as a young quarterback in this league. So I don't know how a team like the falcons Begins to replicate something like joe burrow, but I think when you when you think about it, it all just kind of it's just this idea of Draft guys guys that you draft and bring in developing and panning out and I think that's kind of simply put Yeah, I mean, I think I think with quarterbacks in general. It's it's like in order for situations matter more than than anything else and and and if You walk into a situation like we saw the top quarterbacks walk into this season It oftentimes doesn't look that great and a lot of times it's not really their fault It's the you know who's around them. So when you when you pair joe burrow with you know Tyler Boyd and t. Higgins And joe mixon that's cool But then once you pair him with jamar chase and t. Higgins and Tyler Boyd and joe mixon and cj He was out was out unprepared on this last year wrong too. So I might then do that But when you have those weapons, you know, I feel then, you know, it becomes very scary I remember there was a there was a before the 2021 draft. There was a meme that Bangles fans were circulating Because many fans wanted the bangles to draft penny Sewell because of which what we saw last night happened to joe burrow What we saw happened to draw no bro all season. It was a meme where it was like draft jamar chase and it was a stick figure Uh, it was a stick figure being sacked like fumbling the ball and then it was like draft penny Sewell And it was a stick figure joe burrow protected and then it was like another stick figure for any receiver So it was like, you know what I mean? So the bangles bet on a skill position and a and a star and I think it I think it still works for the most part. I mean, I think they still need to you know Fix that offensive line before joe burrow and look like angel luck or something, but um, I think that was good Yeah, I think ultimately what I think with joe. I think people You know that the the cool thing but joe burrow is cool. Some some people are going a little too far with the cool stuff saying Some stuff was a little too far with that stuff, but he's social media in general people take it way too far It's like you can respect you can respect the coolness, but then don't get weird about it Yeah, exactly like he's I think his swag is what attracts people to him too and uh, you know even that You know a comeback against the chiefs and the afc championship all the players talked about how he was just Cool the whole time like he didn't he wasn't yelling. He wasn't he was the same guy and That's great when your leader is that guy in the huddle your leader isn't shaking. He isn't nervous He's saying let's just do us. We're a second half team and they did it. So I think how you replicate the joe burrow experience is Find a quarterback that you're in love with if you have the number one pick and joe burrow is there But you know if you have a guy that you're in love with I patrick mahomes that you could get as you could trade up the head of chicago and get at 10 Go get him um and make sure that when you get him That quarterback can be surrounded by weapons. So how do the falcons do that? Surround matt ryan with weapons. Yep. And if you wanted to have a succession plan, maybe you get your joe burrow josh allen patrick mahomes is in the Is in is sitting behind him and just ready to go maybe I couldn't agree more and it goes back to what we were talking about in the very first podcast about matt ryan's future in Atlanta and we were literally sitting here being like Just build around him so that you can go and get a quarterback and they can come in when the matt ryan era is over in Atlanta and be in a good position To be successful. I mean that go that's exactly what we were talking about. What like a month ago Like i'm glad you brought that up full circle, man No, I was just saying I mean arthur blank, you know was very candid in the fact that they know there's a sunset for matt And they've been talking about a succession plan for a couple years the beauty of where they are is they don't have to jump so it's tough because Going from worst to first everything's like the bangles flipped a switch in one year Now they didn't it was more like a couple years Built onto it. So how can you I think the better question is not like and I think people I have to write the headline to this podcast correctly because people may roll their eyes and think I'm gonna go into the super bowl next year and that's not what we're saying at all Not it but it's like how can you accelerate this process or where like the bangles had the number one pick Which means the year before went really bad. They were starting ryan finley. Okay, and then Um, and then they were able to accelerate it by by a couple of key moves So let's say that that Top picks that Made immediate impacts. So if we're looking at it from a falcons perspective knowing that They are probably going to have matt ryan for maybe this year. Maybe the next we're not sure But nonetheless, if you have that quarterback in place, how do you make those jumps? It's interesting. You go back and you look at 2021 redrafts, right and you see michael parsons instead of kyle pits, right And I don't think anybody's saying that's a knock on kyle I think kyle was yeah But if you could my point is if you can somehow go back to back with game changing kind of generational type players If you can draft kyle pits in one year and then you can come back at eight and get a Micah parsons type or a player at a premium position who can make that type of impact Then you can accelerate your process. They're obviously not going to go find the court I don't believe I should say that they're going to go find a quarterback at eight and insert him And they're going to follow the exact blueprint But I do think that that's a way to to do it is make those top picks really count We know the hit rate is half You know That boomer bust about 50% maybe a little higher in the first round, but you got to find ways to stick The tough thing is it's really easy like chris was saying they invested in skill players, right Falcons could go out and draft a tackle and it's going to feel different, right But they need dynamic players at premium positions And I think that that's how you do it. If all of a sudden they can get a guy Yeah, go find Micah Parsons. Got you like go find patrick moans You know, like that's not an easy thing to do, but if you can find a guy who could A game changer Then I think then you can kind of accelerate this process That's my point and I think that the falcons still are working their way out of resources But if you're answering this question and I promise I'll stop talking that you can look at it like All right. Well, can they get to the playoffs in two years instead of three or four like we've been talking, right? How is that possible? And I think that that's more the question that we're trying to answer more than like the falcons are going to the Super Bowl like Right, you know, they still have a little ways to go. I would say Uh, but yeah, I mean, it's just one of those things where you just got to hit. You got to use your resources well I think bringing up, um, you know that the the cornerback Example the that they've invested so well in so many different places that allows them So I think you have to hit. Yeah, you have to hit on the draft and also in Like you said in free agency like torii was talking about they had a graphic up where I think it was like their entire secondary had on different uniforms last year Are almost all their secondary out of different uniforms last year. So yeah, that was the graphic That was the graphic that I was talking about it was legit like they had so They literally took their defense and was like, okay, they just they pieced it together through free agency And I think there's something to be said about that Yeah so often People say I've probably written that free agency can be fool's gold and you can spend the money incorrectly But there are also examples of free agency being super productive. Like you think about the patriots dynasty, right? They can be very active in free agency like a lot like they can come out with like with a huge haul of guys that can contribute You know, so I think that it's about using it Right and finding the right guys for you that fit into your system and maybe investing heavily, right? For as much as we say the falcons are in salary cap trouble and they are You can make it. I mean look at the ramps like you can make anything work in term Like you want to structure a contract in a funky way to go get a bigger name player? I mean you could sort of do that, right? Um, may not be wise, but you can sort of do that in a way that you can accelerate your process. So And I think the time is now for the nfc south now we can be talking in may and You know the bucks could have russia wilson or something. I'm just saying and The division looks and feels a lot different But as I sit here as the offseason begins through the begins you think all right, you know irons hot They have the best quarterback in the division. Um, and yeah, just build up around matt so It's possible. That's what we're saying. You know, we're we're we're selling we're selling hope. We're not selling Yeah, we're not selling uh, like Like facts. We're selling hope right My thing is too about the the whole bangles team too. I think like it's it's very possible I don't even know it's very possible for the bangles to be like Six and 11 next year like Yes You know what I mean? Like it's not like they're like they definitely haven't arrived. Like I don't think they're like No, yeah Like I don't think it's like, you know what I mean? Like it's very easy You can't look at that often offensive line and and how many times joe burrow is sacked and be like, yeah, the bangles have arrived Yes, yeah, I want to say that too. Like it's it could have been You know It's got begin this with Dan marino That's the thing like they caught lightning in a bottle in 2021 and they ran with it And I think like that's what everyone else is trying to do unless you're the rams And you are willing to give up so many so much draft capital to build the team that you want now That's essentially what everybody else is trying to do and Yeah, I mean it's possible that in that in two years if they if you strike it for which they have done And then you can strike it eight and be smart with your depth Then They end and then they get hot and then they get healthy gosh how many can you know if then so many contingencies, yeah Right, but but that's part of our point is that the the service level thing is oh, well The bangles had four winds then they're in the Super Bowl, right and that's an easy thing to say It's a little more complicated when you dive into how they were able to do it And how another team can be able to do it a lot has to go right a lot You have to get right and that's kind of our point is that you know worst to first may look Like very you know awesome or wow you On their pro football reference page, but if you get into what it took to have that happen Uh, it can be a bit more complicated. So With that said, I think we've answered another great truth about honestly Honestly, Scott, uh, best of luck writing the headline for this Podcast because I I'm thinking about what I'm going to write the headline for the written version of this And I truly have no idea because people are going to misconstrue so many like so many different ways that we write this Because we want to get ratioed man. We don't want to get that's all we want We want to get ratioed on twitter. That's our dream in our goal Right. So instead of ratioing us on twitter. Why don't you go to uh spotify right soon subscribe Leave us five star review It's something nice about us on youtube. That would be sweet Um, and yeah man dive into the pod understand what we're saying It's nuance. That's what we're trying to bring to the conversation It's what we're trying to bring to the people. Anyway, this thing has gone on about 37 minutes zoom is telling me that the whole thing is going to shut down in three minutes and 45 seconds So then the last we're gonna get out of here. Thank you so much. We'll talk to you again next week