 What's up everybody and welcome to the Falcons final whistle podcast I am Atlanta Falcons comm digital managing editor Scott bear and I'm here with the crackpot team From the team website Tori McElaney Falcons beat writer and football analyst long-form features reporter man these titles are fun Chris rim is also here And we are here to break down a 34 to 30 loss the Falcons lost to the Washington football team We are still here at Mercedes-Benz stadium They have not turned the lights off on us yet And we are going to take the time over the course of this podcast to break down what happened and what it means in Totality and try to make sense of everything that fans saw here at this field But before we get to that we do have to give 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 this Falcons final whistle podcast learn all about the awesome new features of Windows 11 at windows.com And before we start our Falcons final whistle over the course of five minute Quarters there will be four of them and we're gonna break this thing down Tori generally speaking What were your thoughts about this game, especially how it ended? I just feel like I've seen it all before and I know we'll get into this But y'all can ask Chris. I called it. I knew it was gonna happen. I saw it happening I saw how things were unfolding and I was like I've seen this before and I'm about to see it again And I hate to tell y'all, but I was right. Yes, you were I mean my thoughts is just Devastating after last week you think maybe the Falcons even though it was a injured team and the Giants not the best team But they figured out how to win a tough game if in on the road They figured out how to win a game something that they couldn't do that they didn't do last year And then this week you see the team that we saw last year, right? So that that was that was my kind of takeaway from today Yeah, and we're gonna get into a lot of different details about that Including the fact that we listened to what you guys want to talk about and we're gonna incorporate that Into the course of this podcast as we go through a number of topics and we're gonna get to the first one here in the first quarter The first quarter is now underway And we have five minutes to talk about the way this game ended especially and what to make of it because the Falcons had an 8-point lead with about four minutes left. They coughed it up ended up losing this game in a fashion reminiscent to recent seasons especially a 2020 campaign where they let late leads go Constantly you guys all remember the Dallas game and the Bears game and the Chargers game and the Lions game and we can go on and on and on, right? So the question is Is it fair and appropriate for Falcons fans to say here we go again? I tried to delve into that in my column at Atlanta Falcons comm shameless plug number one And watched a lot of chicken little videos true story because I thought is the sky falling our fans screaming that the sky is falling When it's not or is it really and that's kind of how I tried to approach it I think the answer is we don't know yet because we don't know how this thing is going to go But Tori you cover this team last year you experience all those games that I just talked about Is it fair and appropriate for fans to go right back to having those 2020 20 20 flashbacks? I think it's incredibly validated that fans feel that way because they have yet to see anything that can Help them feel differently. I think that's what it all boils down to me is like, you know, we saw so many similarities to What happened last year to what happened tonight and in it At the end of the day, I feel like the fans kind of understand like yes This is new but it's like when it happens in a similar way When a loss happens in a similar way to what they've seen at time and time again like you can't help but to automatically be like Going back to that headspace of what it was in 2020 and I think for fans It's validated for them to feel that way now we can sit here and say all day long like oh This is something that's going to get turned around and like but we don't know that we don't know what the outcome of the next 34 years is because I do believe this is a 34 year I don't want to use the word rebuild because I know that's a hot button around here Yeah, a transformation whatever whatever you want to call a rebirth. Yeah Rejuvenation, I mean we could really get into the the terminology of it But I think we all know the gist of what I'm getting at and so for the fans It's just kind of like holding it like I really wanted this to be different, but it's not different yet It's tough to get out of that headspace Chris, where do you think just looking at this game as an individual entity? Where in the fourth quarter? Do you think that it went sideways? Well, I think specifically in the fourth quarter where it went sideways was when The pass that was lobbed high into the end zone That was in the fourth quarter when the passes lobbed high into the end zone and then which should have been an interception Which I think from that point probably because it felt to me at least it felt for a while Like the Falcons were a lead in by a lot more than they were actually right eating by it felt like the game was essentially theirs to me in like the third quarter and They were playing well, but the watch didn't just kept like converting on third down gosh, you're hurting on third down and then that played to me is when Things changed. Yeah, and then things started going downhill and downhill and then What we saw as the result It was one of those where the wind really gets knocked out of you like I was sitting there watching it And I you know you see Dante Fowler Kind of you know almost I feel like he almost had the sack like I thought it was I thought he was gonna be down like I I was like that's it like that was a great play whatever whatever and Then the ball floats into the end zone and you have TJ green at the back just kind of stand in there And then like they it's a touchdown and I'm like What in the world like it was a very much like takes the wheels Like off of any type of mobility that the Falcons had at that point I think it's just like the motivation the the momentum was just gone after that And I think too as a fan if you if you watch that if that's me and I'm watching that I'm just gonna think all here we go again, and that's exactly where everyone's head went everybody Yeah, and but the wacky thing about this is that if we look at the Giants game The Falcons go down and score they the defense forces a short drive from the Giants And then they go down and score again in this game Washington goes down and scores The Falcons offense does literally nothing with their opportunity We're gonna get it into that later and then Washington goes down and scores again It was the it was the bizarro world version of the Giants game It was exactly the opposite of that and the question is if nobody's willing to assume that that that the Giants game Means that they have it all figured out How can we assume that this Washington game means that they're going to revert right back to old things? So I'm not saying anyone's wrong for feeling the way that they're feeling I'm saying exercise a little bit of patience before we make a final judgment call The second quarter begins with a deep dive into what was a very short offensive series for the Atlanta Falcons that was Sandwiched between two Washington scores that ultimately decided this game and you look at the at the playlist It's not very flattering Mike Davis off the left end minus three Mike Davis left tackle plus four Matt Ryan short pass to Mike Davis again for five Then a punt by a guy who doesn't punt be because the punter was unavailable That sequence where that the Falcons had an opportunity to be closers and you can be a closer on offense by Bleeding the clock by running the ball well by being efficient Just keep those chains moving and demoralize and offense and put a lot of weight on a relatively inexperienced quarterback To go win it the Falcons didn't do any of those things To where it sounds we've talked about how how how pivotal that was and you seem to know right then that there was trouble a foot Yeah, well, it's so funny and I talked about this at the top of the pod But I was sitting there and I watched the Falcons go out there to take over with three minutes and 52 seconds left And I turned to Chris and I kid you not Chris can you back me up on this? Yeah, I turned to Chris and I said they're gonna go three and out right here And then they're gonna lose this game and I said that fully knowing the issues You know going back to that first question we're talking about issues from 2020 and kind of bleeding over into 21 It's because that's what happened all the time last year all the time It was because the offense couldn't convert a first down that was such a huge problem And it was a problem on first and second down where they were getting themselves in a situation where they had a Long third down to convert and that's kind of what we saw we saw might Davis get dropped for a loss of three on first down And so you're all you're already behind the chains You're already putting yourself in a really tough position To convert a first down and then the fact that it ended up happening the way that it did where it's like They had a three and out and then Washington gets the ball back goes down and scores with two minutes It's just like this is just the same thing again It's the same thing happening and the fact that I was able to be like yo Chris watch this Yeah, I'm not proud of it that I was able to do that, but it happened Yeah The the wild thing is the Falcons were 10 for 16 on third down going into that But it's all about how you perform in the clutch how you perform when it matters most and they weren't able to Get those things going and Chris here comes a mildly unfair question No, I'll ask it anyway It seems like a lot of people on on social media and this can just be a discussion point I don't want to single you out, but just it seems that there's a lot of discussion about maybe getting a little conservative With the play calling there. I'm not huge into second guessing what Arthur Smith is thinking But nonetheless, we saw some conservative play calling though that wasn't able to get 10 yards Do you take any issue there guys? Do you think that there's any problem with how the Falcons went about that series or was it more about at execution? No, yeah, it was about execution. I think Calling the I think the plate the play calls were fine I think you want to run the ball there You want to take time off the clock just in case you don't get the first down and then I think Thinking about if you don't get the first down you want to give Washington It's little time it's possible to move right on the field. So I I think the calls I think the play called conservative is fine there. I think but I think Cordero Patterson should have been on the field in that situation Before Mike Dave is not saying that just because he was the hot hand if you're if you're playing basketball Or playing football and someone's a hot hand. Give him the ball. So today Every time Cordero Patterson got the ball good things happen and good good things happen with Mike Davis, too I'm not because he scored a touchdown. Obviously, we don't people Today, but I think I really would have loved to see maybe on that second down throw a screen to Cordero Patterson Or you know do a stretch to Cordero Patterson and so that way they're both touching the ball But I think as far as the play calling I think the play calling was fair or smart It just just the execution wasn't there and that and that happens And coaches kind of take heat during during times like that when things don't work But not having Patterson out there for that series and and even on that final Hail Mary Did that make you raise an eyebrow toriated at all a little bit, but at the end of the day I mean I Maybe I'm coming at this from a different perspective Because I was a coach's daughter. I've never been one to like Yeah I've never been one to really question Why certain packages are in sure times unless it's blatantly obvious like that someone should be in like Cal pits should actually absolutely be in for a Hail Mary like for sure So I mean yes, I could raise some eyebrows and I probably do but I Tend to kind of just be like, you know what they had a plan. It just didn't work Yeah, yeah, and then I think that's ultimately what happened is the plan didn't work and they had Opportunities to do better. They probably could have and should have done better Ultimately, they fall short and this one We move on to quarter number three and we talked about offense in the previous period now We're going to delve into the defense, especially late We're going to talk a little bit about this defense as a whole but more specifically Let's start with the secondary here that we've seen veteran safeties back there and Eric Harris and Duran Harman a lot. We've seen Jalen Hawkins mix in What was your guys's evaluation of that safety spot of that defensive backfield seems like there were some Opportunities that were missed for those guys to make big plays that ultimately hit the turf Yeah, I think it was one of those things where it's like Eric Harris had two Opportunities to come up with a big interception Duran Harman had I think one opportunity in the end zone to come up with an interception and these are they're not like Balls that are you know not catchable balls like they were in their hands And I think that is what's tough is when you have these opportunities and you don't follow through with them And it was something that Arthur Smith even spoke about After the game and he mentioned these you know sure quote-unquote like Interceptions that they dropped and the fact that he kind of brought it up a couple of times was very interesting to me Because I think it goes to show how important those moments could have been For the overall scope of the game. Yeah, and I think I think going on for that point I think a positive for them at least for me tonight was that I thought they were tackling pretty well for the most part I think a couple times Yeah, the running back. Yeah, yeah outside of that But I thought Fabian made a couple nice open field tackles that we were even talking about So I thought they tackled a lot better But obviously that pick that should have been down there that I can't get out of my mind and down there I'm pointing to the end zone Washington's end zone. We're still at the stadium when TJ That was TJ green. Yeah, and balls boxed out almost. Yeah full-on box out. Yeah, and in his defense There were also, you know three other defenders in the area who are just kind of watching this this happen It was I don't know the word for the moment I don't know they were they were all expecting someone else to get the ball But somebody's got him got to make a play on that and I think that would have helped seal the game there So yeah, and then foyer mentioned it and then coach Smith also mentioned it So it was obviously a point of emphasis for them probably post-game or they all knew how much that mattered and you really You really have to look at what the defense was able to they had so many opportunities to kind of shut this Shut this game down to come out of this with a w and ultimately it just there's too many Opportunities that were left out there and that's how you lose games like this, right? Like that's how things get out of hand and you feel like you could seal it and ultimately, you know They just weren't able to do that. I thought defensively. They had some nice pockets of of play I thought the past rest wasn't altogether terrible But you you let Taylor get out and make some runs and slide and ultimately all those missed opportunities You make one you make one this game has changed you and they had several of them that they weren't able to come through with Yeah, I mean that was my entire like post-game takeaways was just I made the comment. I was like In the when I was riding I was like, you know, it's like a flood With you know a flood starts with one drop of rain and then it just accumulates over a Larger period of time and then all of a sudden you're like knee-deep in water That's really what the Falcons kind of had to go through at this point It wasn't just one thing that it's like, oh like it, you know, this happened and we need to get better here It was an accumulation of a lot of different things over the course of four quarters for sure and that's why I think it could Drive you insane. Yeah, if you're a player foyer his body language told me like he couldn't believe what just happened Like it seemed like there was kind of this inner not aggression But he was just like like how did that happen like he just couldn't wrap his mind around it at the time Yeah, and ultimately I think that that's why this game is It's gonna stick with them and we're gonna talk in the next quarter about hey, you know How can they move forward? How can they not let this bleed into the next game? But that's why it's got to be so frustrating and that's why I ultimately And I tried to write this to that Hey Like the fans that were here the fans that invested their time and money in this product like they have a right to Be frustrated the players have a right to be frustrated because there were so many opportunities One other thing goes right and this thing is sealed. That's why I'm with you Chris There was a lot of times where I felt like Falcons got this one right that that I really felt that way and I thought you made a great point, too I thought the score was was I had my it was a lot different than who we thought it was Yeah, yeah that it felt bigger It felt like the Falcons really took control in that third quarter and then ultimately it You know it kind of leaks out That's why I think it's fair that we that we look at the offensive series We look at the defense special teams gives up a hundred and one yard kickoff of return for a touchdown that there's plenty of Blame to to go around for this disappointing loss And we're on to quarter number four with what's a very important question now that this game is In the rear view and that's where do the Falcons go from here. They have an upcoming game against the New York Jets That's another very winnable game It's also in the United Kingdom and that adds a whole number of Complications and a good question that that Tori wrote down here How does Arthur Smith make sure this loss doesn't linger that that's an important thing to look at as we move forward any suggestions any Insight about how about how he might go about this given everything that we've heard from him after previous losses Any thoughts about about how he can get this team forward and avoid having one loss turning Turn into two or maybe more. Yeah I think that's like so important when we're talking about the difference in what Arthur Smith Is trying to put together here because I think there are too many times that losses lingered in Previous regimes and in previous seasons. I think that was a very very big issue in 2020 I think that's why you saw the losses accumulate the way that they did it almost I wrote one time I was like it feels like this is the identity of this team So the fact that Arthur Smith can has an opportunity to come in here and be like, okay, this happened It looked a lot like last year. I know you a lot of you were there. I know a lot of you felt this way Let's figure out how to knit this right in the butt because that's so important for this era And what Arthur Smith is trying to put together in Atlanta He has to be able to get this team in a good headspace going to London Which is weird in and of itself to that London game But to have to play that game after a loss like this. It's like There's a lot riding on this week Especially kind of heading into the bi-week after they I think I just feel very very strongly that this is a really really important Time for Arthur Smith to really get a hold of this team and really put his stamp on it to kind of be like look I know this wasn't good But like we have got to figure out a way to make sure it doesn't happen again and really and truly like Make this team feel that way because it's one thing to say that Because I feel like you know previous coaching staffs had said had said that before too You've really got to make this team feel like this is different. Yeah, I guess I always say them I think the thinking about the questions a little a little bit Hard for me because I think nobody wants to lose right like nobody's trying you know me Being like hey, let's lose. Yeah, no one's really trying to lose and like I think there's only so much you can say as a coach to your team to say Guys, I don't want to lose. You don't want to lose. We are better than this. You know, how many different ways Can you say that I think at the end of the day It's about having the leaders in the locker room who guys respect along with you who I think believe in your message Who also are bringing the message so guys who people respect in the locker room who are also Saying that message is saying, you know, trust trust what coach Smith is doing. There's a plan stick to the plan We we just made a mistake here. It's not we don't need to reinvent the wheel here We just made a mistake here trust what he's doing I think if he has those people that people respect from you know, Eric Harris or Matt Ryan or Lee Smith The rock guys like that who are also in the locker room talking to their position groups and let and reinforcing what the coach is saying We're better than this and we can move forward I think that's that's the way to go about it and then just preach it to the team execution because Limiting mistakes and I think that's all you can do because you know giving a speech and and all that is great but at the end of the day you need to execute and Say he's gonna say all the right things as he has been since training camp But I think it's just about executing it and making sure that the message is uniform from the from the top down Yeah, and I think that Matt during his press conference at the very end He talked about being proactive to make sure that the right mindset and the right attitudes and the right You know not techniques But but that this team was doing what was necessary to prepare well for the Jets game and to Continue really let's be honest that they started this season with two pretty rough games found a way to come back in that week Three opportunity maybe they didn't build on week three right away like they were hoping But we don't know where this team is going to go from here The bottom line is that I go back to what Arthur Smith said earlier this week After that Giants victory in his Monday press conference and he was basically like look can we make the next step? Can we make the next step? Maybe they stumbled a bit that doesn't mean that they're gonna stop walking, right? That that can they make that next step can they get a little bit better? So heading into the buy they feel like these are areas where we improved and these are fixable areas where we can continue to improve This is a long season the season's gonna have ups and downs. That's what happens with new But ultimately I think if they can continue making that type of progress make this game more of an aberration Make the Giants game at least in the fourth quarter more More of what we see in the future that that's how you have to respond moving forward Thanks everybody for joining the Falcons final whistle podcast after a disappointing result for the home team a 34 to 30 loss to the Washington football team and thanks as always to Microsoft Windows 11 for the sponsorship and now it's up to you guys Head over to iTunes Spotify Subscribe, please that would be nice leave a rating. We prefer it to be five stars I think how about a review some nice words would be greatly appreciated and Keep on coming back because we are gonna have Falcons final whistle podcast after every single game as we Chronicle the course of this 2020 season. There's been a lot of ups. There's been a lot of downs It's never dull always interesting with this Falcons team and we'll see what happens next. We'll talk to you next week