 What's up everybody and welcome to an off-season special edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast recorded right here in the ticket master Podcast studios. I'm Scott bear. That's Tori McElaney And what we're hoping to get done over the next 20 minutes is to kind of go over Do a little vibe check. Yeah Falcons We've seen lots of OTAs and mini camps to this point as we head into a darker period where everyone's gonna go find a Mountain peak or a white sand beach Amanda our social one of our social media managers told me that a lot of guys are going to Jamaica this year Wow Yeah, and you just went last I did them some recommendations So I went to Tulum first and then Cal Pitts went to Tulum on vacation So they honestly I think they're all just following my lead. Yeah, and thanks guys That's probably a smart thing to do But so what we're gonna do right now is talk about what we learned about this Falcons offense This is an offensive podcast what we learned about the Falcons offense during the off-season program and what? Questions we still have and we still need answers from during training camp And what better time to do that than right smack in the middle of the off-season program and training camp So Tori, let's just get right into it here and start with things that we learned about this offense And as we were writing this list down you had this one ready to go and like half a second Yeah kind of love it. So I'll just let you intro it. Yeah, no, I was just saying before we started recording I was just like this offense I just think it's gonna be so fun to watch and I say fun and I know that's probably not a great Adjective because a lot of things can fall under that but I think that in terms of just like the creativity of being able To put it to me like who's quote-unquote starting I was having this conversation on the radio the other day like to me It does starters don't matter outside of like the offensive line and Desmond Ritter at the quarterback Everything else can be so fluid in terms of who you're putting where how you're putting how you're moving guys Who's in motion? Who's not in motion? Like, you know, there are so many different avenues of Okay, you can put Bajon here. You can put Tyler Algier here You can put CP here You can have Drake and Kyle Pitts out wide like there are so many different things that you can do with these guys And I think it just goes along the lines of what Terry and Arthur I think have been trying to build from the get-go. I mean they go out and they get Kyle Pitts That everybody calls a unicorn because he's such an offensive weapon. That's the first person that they drafted In Atlanta in this new regime at number four overall highest Titan ever taken in the draft Then you go the next year you get a guy like Drake London Then the next year you go out and get a guy like Bajon Robinson who again They're using the moniker of an offensive weapon similarly to how they used Cordero Patterson in 2021 you know the way that they were talking about him being a running back on the roster but an offensive weapon just in general So to me when you're talking about all these different pieces that you have accumulated over the last few years It just excites me about what Arthur Smith can do with this group Yeah, and you mentioned some of the marquee guys But after watching Mac Hollins play in the offseason program the dudes got it a little bit Here's a thing. He's a big physical. Yes. You got Johnny Smith. Scotty Miller is a speed demon Yeah, and I'll say this. I think John who is gonna be a sleeper. Yeah for this team I think Arthur Smith is every time I feel like we talked to Arthur Smith about just the offense in general He finds some way to put John who's name in there And I think it's because he's really excited to work with a guy like this again You know they work together in Tennessee and that was the best years of John is career I think John is excited to come back. We've talked him on the podcast. I think Arthur Smith is excited for him We've seen him make some pretty dang good catches through OTAs So I think he's someone to kind of keep an eye out on as well. So when you look at Just the depth at skill player. Mm-hmm I think it'll be it will be fascinating to see how they are able to use all of these different pieces And if you're a defensive coordinator or a game planner, you're like, okay Well, we got to take eight out and then we got to take seven out But then we got five and then there's 25 and then there's all these other guys in 81 that can kind of which is John who Smith's number with that can kind of overwhelm you And which kind of leads to our the second thing that we learned. Yeah Is that Arthur Smith has mentioned? positionless football before in Years past but I think and To your point earlier, we're finally getting to see him actually implement these ideas that he has because he has the volume and The skill players required to do it and what we mean by positionless Look, there's an RB next to Cordero Patterson's name and Robinson's name There's a WR next to Drake London, but we're gonna see these guys move across the formation I was talking to Drake London and I he said Arthur Smith makes every skill player run every route Because he wants everybody to be able to line up everywhere So you can go in in 22 personnel and go for wide, right? That there are so many different opportunities because of the versatility here that we're finally gonna get to see it So I kind of wonder like there have to be like these X's and O's dancing in Arthur Smith's head He's gonna hate me saying this but and that now can go to the dry erase board that can go to the practice Field that can go to to game tape Yeah, I think it's gonna be fascinating to see what they do with the skill players that they have 100% and to that point I know I wrote something, you know when we are probably in the middle of OTA's where we had talked I vividly remember this is the first time that we talked to Drake London and Tyler Alger in the same day And it was one of the very very first OTA's and they both Really unprompted use the term positionless football which hasn't doesn't happen hasn't happened before right But Arthur Smith has been saying it for years since the moment that he got here in 2021 And they go in like what I was eluding to before they go and draft Kyle Pitts And you're talking about this idea of positionless football and Arthur Smith always talks about like, you know There aren't positions in basketball anymore like kind of even though there are you know Everybody has their their strengths and their weaknesses and where they're supposed to be on the court But there is that fluidity and I think fluidity and flexibility is the point of all of this when we're talking about positionless football, we're not Meaning that to be like exactly what that means. We're talking about it being such a fluid Circumstance where you do have guys like Cordell Patterson and Vijon Robinson and Kyle Pitts who can do a bunch of different things And like what Drake London was saying running every single route Understanding where they're supposed to be on the field when they're asked to get here or there or out wide or inside I mean it or coming out of the backfield all of these things I think build on a top of one inch one another and I think something that like what I was saying that I wrote about this whole idea of leaning into positionless football is that This is something that I think Arthur Smith has been dreaming up since he got here Maybe even well before that, you know, let's go back to when he was a coordinator Let's go back even farther when he was a position coach. I mean This is a guy who I think has been wanting to get to this point for a very long time And you look at the team right now you look at this offense right now and you kind of break everything down and you're like They're there, right? And I think that the only way that these skills that he can implement these plays and these skill players can do what they do is By having number three on our list of things that we learned during the offseason program And that's that the offensive line the the continuity the talent that the offensive line production, which was high last year I have every confidence even without them having pads on to say that they are going to continue in that vein Yeah, nobody stays at the practice field longer. They have their own shirts about speed, right? Dwayne Ledford has them like believing and together and I think that that's the bedrock of everything else that you can do so when you go into and They talked about it they Arthur Smith and Terry font and I talked about it at their postseason press conference How the offensive line was going to be the foundation of what they were building and they've invested accordingly You've got three eight figure per year guys up front a center And then a left guard who could be a second on draft pick Possibly in Matt Bergeron could be Matt Hennessey, but nonetheless They've invested heavily so they can do all the other fun stuff and I think that that can't be forgotten Right. No, you're exactly right and something that I'll add to that You're talking about that continuity and something that I've talked to Dwayne Ledford about I feel like ad nauseam when I have conversations with him is He's talking about you know He's been coaching this position for a long time and something that he always falls back on and he's like the longer You can keep a group together The better they end up being because you use the example of Caleb McGarry and Chris Lindstrom These are two guys who are drafted in the same exact year We've had conversations with both of them about this where they almost can like Read each other's minds when they're out there if some if a safety moves here if a linebacker moves here They know based on that movement exactly where they're supposed to be in they trust that the guy beside them sees it too And it's gonna do the same thing I mean, it's real to talk to them about the connection that they have without saying a word without doing anything is I think really really Interesting and you don't have that if you don't play If the the red you don't have the reps that they have together So the longer you keep a solid core five together I think it's like so important when you're talking about that continuity Because you slowly but surely stuff to start to feed off of each other and you become One unit in a way that not a lot of positions are kind of like I feel like offensive on is very Very different in that regard where you really are working as one cohesive Group of five people, you know, and so I think the fact that they you talk about investing heavily they Extended Jake Matthews last year. They extend Chris Lindstrom this year. They go out and re-sign Caleb McGarry Then you also have two guys you have Drew Dahlman who they drafted here And then you have Matt Hennessy and Matthew Bergeron kind of battling it out potentially for that left-guard spot it's a it's a very Fun group to watch and I know I've said this before offensive line play offensive line talk isn't that sexy, but When it comes to offense line the mundane and the monotonous is what wins the day And I think that this group like has has that yeah together They do the boring stuff well Yeah, and that is clear even again even with without pads seeing them work together seeing how they fit seeing even how they're Working in this kind of passing campus Arthur Smith's calls it It's very clear that they are together and that and those are the signs that we need to see now What questions do we have moving forward the first one is not because we're like Auditioning to be on first take or anything like that. It's when we say that the quarterback is a question mark It doesn't mean we think the quarterbacks around here stink. No, that's not the case Yeah, I think Desmond Ritter has had a good offseason program. He's commanded the huddle well people don't like that They want to hear about his arm strength. He can get the ball downfield Almost at times. He wants to push it downfield Overseeing some other things but that's part of his development and I think that the reason why it's question mark This guy's only started four games, right? Right? Yeah, he's only started four games Yeah, no they invested heavily in a backup and Taylor Heineke who's been to the puppet show and seen the strengths But he's kind of big has a 500 record So when you look at this quarterback Grouping especially with Desmond Ritter How can it not be a question mark because there isn't enough evidence of what he can do During the regular season and he does have to go prove it. He does and I think that's exactly what the the Falcons have given him the Opportunity to do we've been talking for the last ten minutes about all of these weapons offensively in this Offensive lawn that had such a great year together last year and they're back again this year outside of maybe one And then you have all of these offensive weapons. I've said this before and I'll say this again Desmond Ritter is in what I think to be a really really good Position opportunity whatever you want to call it for him being as young as what he is Half the battle I feel like with young quarterbacks is putting them in a position for them to succeed And I think that's why sometimes you see some young quarterback struggle is like the infrastructure around them Isn't there and there be they're being asked to do all this stuff and but they don't have the past catchers They don't have the protection that they need. I think Desmond Ritter has the protection I feel like he has the run game as we've seen last year And I also think that he has these weapons Kyle Pitts is gonna get back out there and I'm really interested to see what happens when he does we saw what happened when Drake London and Desmond Ritter got together those last four games Drake London's Production went it went up. I want to see that happen with Kyle Pitts as well not saying that it will But I just think that there will see a difference and so for me I feel like the Falcons have done in the op they've done their off-season work by giving Desmond Ritter Something really sound to work with it's up to him to really just get the ball in the hands of his playmakers And that's something that I think Arthur Smith has talked about like he does well He has like the instinct and the anticipation of knowing where the guys are on the field and being able to get them The ball he did it at Cincinnati They see that even now where they don't have the pads on they're not going a hundred and ten percent But Arthur Smith talked about that he talked about the anticipation factor of being a strength of Desmond Ritter So now the whole thing is can you go out and do it? And that's the reason why it's a question mark and I think there will be mismatches by does by play design Yep by getting your players like with the versatility and the positionless thing moving them around to That Desmond has to identify the mismatch and deliver the ball in a place where that skill player can even if he throws the ball Three yards in the air and it turns into a 20-yard gain. Who cares, right? It's that can you find those mismatches? Can you identify them with your eyes and execute with proper timing? The second question that I'm really excited for this one. Yeah, I think it's interesting because when you talk about Cordero Patterson and his role and court and CP just talked about this With the first minicamp practice, I believe it was on June 13th and He was talking about his role and saying that he loved how he was used in 2021 and I took a look at the snaps and Last year he had to be more of a traditional running back out of necessity because Damian Williams got hurt and Tyler Alger at the beginning of the season was not the Tyler Alger We saw at the end of the season so he kind of didn't have a choice. He carried the ball more often Per game than ever. He had 304 Oh, I hope I'm getting this right 304 snaps as a traditional running back and 46 everywhere else Yeah, the year before he had 250 something as a running back and a hundred and forty two Everywhere else. Yeah, and I think that's the ratio That CP wants is that the ratio that we're gonna get? I'm not sure And I think that's the ratio that Arthur Smith wants as well I mean in the same vein of we were talking to CP that first day of minicamp We also brought up our talking to Arthur Smith talking about CP and he he was the one that was kind of like He played a different the two years. He's been here. He's played different roles And even though people can be like, oh, he's a running back. He's running back that first year I mean even just looking exactly like what you said he was used very differently and you know, they were two completely different teams at that time in terms of what they Needed from a guy like cordial Patterson now that you have I mean, let's move it forward now that you have Tyler Algier who's gone out and proven well above. I think proven himself to be a capable Three down back, you know, I think that he really has and I'm really excited for year two for him I know a lot of people are a little iffy about it considering they did go out and draft Bijan Robinson But I think they can work really well together. I think there's a compliment that can be had there But you have Tyler Algier, you have Bijan Robinson and you have Cordial Patterson And I know I was talking to Michael Petrie who's the running backs coach around the same time around OTAs and mini camp and He was talking about just like the presence that Cordial Patterson has not just in the room But on the field as well And I think that's something that shouldn't be overlooked Cordial Patterson I think three years ago the name doesn't strike as much fear in Offenses as it does today. Yeah, and I think that does make a difference people saw what he did in 21 They also saw what he did in 22. I mean his versatility cannot be overlooked and I it shouldn't be so I think the reason why we have him as a question mark isn't that we don't think that Cordial Patterson Is going to be productive in this offense I think that is a fallacy if you think that but I think it's more along the lines of how does he Go with Bijan Robinson, Tyler Algier and in this scheme And and I think that it is one of those things that he kind of maybe goes back to his roots I say roots weird because like his roots of 2021 right because I think the the offense morphs more towards That strength of his being a past catcher as well I think there's I get it a lot in in the bear mail mail bag Where everyone sort of says well, they drafted Bijan Robinson who can do it all and move all over the place? So that means that Cordero Patterson will do nothing, right? It's it's it's not a replacement You don't get one and then ditch the other thing isn't mutually exclusive, right? You find ways to To take advantage of all of these different opportunities and you make A linebacker pick his poisons sometimes and I think that that's how he's going to be used and talking to cp Uh during mini-camp is it he really kind of drove home He's like if these young guys can take a couple hits off me like that's fine And then preserve me for later down the season just he he doesn't practice during otas. He comes out He came out during mandatory mini-camp. I know again no pads and we're not going 100% Still got it. He still got that extra gear that you can see so I think with with a mind like Arthur Smith will see He's going to be creative enough to use him I think it will be fascinating at the end of the year to break down those same snap counts and be like, okay How did he fit and where did cp want to fit and did those two things marry? Last one as we're kind of wrapping up our offensive breakdown here My last kind of question mark was about the wide receiver core And that's one because of a couple things one We're pretty sure about the we're pretty sure about a lot of things on this offense that we weren't last year But this wide receiver core outside of drake london and cadera hodge and frank darby new yeah, and there's been a constant Uh Cycling of receivers over the last couple of years. So you have a new quarter and by receiver We're actually talking about the guys with the w and the r right? Yeah So we we mentioned mac holland scottie miller is here slayed bolden for goodness sakes Can you heart a guy that atlanta people should know well? Yeah, so when you look at this wide receiver core I think it's a question mark because one how much are those wide receivers are going to play when pits and paterson are moving Around and two can they give the offense? The element that has been missing when you were talking in 2022 It was the desmond ridder and drake london's getting 30 of all pass attempts. So yeah, right? Yeah, that's that's a good and bad thing Because they weren't getting enough from other People and that's not a slight to cadera. That's not a slight to alameda's zakias or Russ gauge even a couple years ago who's playing banged up I just think that we need to know more there mac holland's has had one big year. It was last year. Can you do it again? scottie miller was always like a third or fourth wheel in that tampa offense a guy to stretch the field Can he be more and more consistently productive? I don't know. Yeah, I think something with this group and I It's really interesting because I remember going into this off season and being like wide receiver Is a need because at the time when the season ends and alameda's zakias is is out of here And you don't know what's going to happen with cadera hodge and the only two that you really know We're coming back or drake london or frank darby and you have to build up that position in a different way And they go out and get mac holland's and they go out and get scottie miller and I even said going into the draft is like they're going to draft a wide receiver in the second round I thought so too I said from the jump that they were going to take a wide receiver in the second or third round And then they didn't and then they still didn't went go out and get any other receivers when we hit the june One day and and you kind of think about some guys maybe falling off of rosters because of cap hits or whatever and I I I really do think that For me and I this is not a slight at mac holland's. It's not a slight at scottie miller But to me, I don't know 110 percent Who's wide receiver number two? Yeah, I don't either I don't think I can sit here right now and we're in the middle of the summer and be able to say I I know who wr2 is You know drake london's number one and I I know that you can say like oh well Kyle pits because of the role he plays cp because of the role he plays that okay, there are Variations in that you don't need a wide receiver number two But to me I've been thinking for this entire off season that they're going to go out and get a wide receiver a second wide receiver Who can be that on this roster right now? I'm still waiting for that and I think it's something that training camp could really Shed some more light on especially when they put the pads on and we do get into joint practices That type of stuff. I think is when you see the hierarchy. Yeah, and this offense going back to The very first thing that you and I talked about both Before and after we hit the record button. Is this offense is going to be fun to watch? I'd like to add another adjective It's going to be fascinating to watch because there's so many things that they can do there are some question marks about How some of the players will do and then how it unveils itself because arthur smith as we saw last year He's gonna he's going to show you a bunch of unscouted stuff the first couple weeks And they're just going to use that tape against you down the road So it's always going to be an evolving thing and with all these skill players with this offensive line as its foundation I think it'll be really interesting to see how it all plays out and as we start to learn about these things over the course of july and august and Throughout the fall so that's going to go ahead and wrap it for the Offensive review and preview edition of the falcons final whistle podcast and hey if you guys have other questions Leave them in the youtube comments, right? Let's try to generate a dialogue when we're bored and there's no football for another Two months and we need something to talk about like What did you learn during the off-season program? What do you still need to know drop them in there? Um, maybe I'll even go in there and answer a couple of them. What the heck? But anyway, thank you guys so much. Please rate review subscribe to the atlanta falcons podcast network I maybe got that right. Who knows miracle and we will talk to you again Next time when torrey and I break down the defense. See you