 14 and the postseason conversations have really started to come to life here Who's in who's out who's clinched all those conversations are starting to mean just a little bit more And we'll talk about the numbers of the Falcons going to the playoffs a little bit later in the show But we've got a lot to talk about today lots of inactives lots of people in the trenches that will not be playing today And as we know that's where the games are won here in the NFL Thank you guys for joining us for the Falcons pregame show presented by taking master course on Taylor It was more Derek Rackley and like I say every week we have a lot to talk about yes We do maybe a little bit more this week as far as what's gonna happen on the field But as you mentioned we are in December and every single week now every game in the national football league is important But in December when you're sitting in a position to get into the postseason every single game and win is so important And it's so important this game in particular because if the Falcons win today Their chances of going to the playoffs are way higher than if they lose if they win today They have an 83 percent chance of making it to the playoffs if they don't win today They are in the 30s a 36 percent chance of making the playoffs if they win today as 85 percent chance I mean this is a huge deal at the division matchup and also looking further down the road to the playoffs Yeah, I mean we originally were talking about the Atlanta and Atlanta and the New Orleans Saints kind of going back and forth But the same thing could be said here with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Atlanta loses this game They're now in a tie with the Buccaneers as far as their divisional record They would lose the the head that while they'd be tied at the head to head at that moment But it's just look you just look at what how important this game is you win this game You're now looking at an 85 percent chance to go to the postseason and now 36 percent if you lose the game I mean it just shows how important these games are once you get into December Yeah, and I remember speaking to Jesse Bates earlier in the year about that post-buy How you find that snowball effect of winning a lot of these games He said we're lucky that all a lot of our division Matchups happen after the buy once we kind of get our footing again And as you can see the Falcons are in the lead of the NFC South right now Bucks are trailing by one game back Saints are two games back in the division They're they've only won one division game And then of course the Panthers only team and the NFL to be eliminated from the playoffs so far And to note the Saints are playing the Panthers today So if the Saints end up getting that victory improves them to six and seven I mean you got a log jam at the top of the NFC South That's why this victory is gonna be so important if Lana could come away with a victory again against the Buccaneers put themselves at seven and six They that's why they always say everything is under their own control right now their own destiny Right they continue to win and there's no way they get left out of the postseason But you start losing and then all of a sudden all the other opportunities all the other chances The Saints probably gonna be favored to win that game against Carolina today So you don't want to give them an opportunity to jump you with a loss So it's a very important divisional game the entire division playing each other this Sunday Exciting Sunday today for sure. So let's go ahead and talk about this Bucs matchup We've seen him once we beat him once we beat him down in Florida We're trying to get that second win and stay undefeated in the NFC South But what are you learning about this team this Tampa Bay Bucs team that has changed since last time we saw yeah So it's interesting that we're getting a chance to see Bijan Robinson right there because the first matchup Remember Bijan wasn't feeling well when he woke up on Sunday morning So I believe he got one carry in that game and he spent most of the game on the sidelines with his helmet on Just kind of watching the action we know that he's been one of the most explosive playmakers for the Atlanta Falcons on offense the entire year All things that I know is that he's healthy today Yeah And so that's a big difference maker as far as when you get him in the game plan and the fact that they can they know that They could put the football football in his hands whether that's running with the football It's catching it out of the backfield and maybe it's something that Tampa Yes, they have seen it on tape, but they haven't gone against it because we did play them earlier this year They didn't get a chance to face him so they don't necessarily know right off hand what his quickness is like what his top-end speed is like What his physicality is like when he goes in between the tackles and we've seen so many times this year Taylor Well, he's stuck a foot in the ground to make a defender miss on occasion after occasion after occasion Maybe we get a chance to see him do that against Tampa today because they didn't see him in the first matchup Exactly and you can watch all this tape from the other games when they're when he's going up against your defensive scheme It makes it a little bit different a little bit easier to study him as a running back But someone that they have been studying and someone that they didn't take advantage of but they Took advantage of the things that he did wrong was Desmond Rutter. He had three turnovers against Tampa in week seven and Desmond is hoping to turn things around today and really solidify his his name as a starting quarterback in the NFC South Yeah, I mean This is one of those tapes where not only is he gonna learn from as far as what how Tampa tried to attack him the last time It's he's also gonna learn from it to say I can't cough the football up like it happened last time Remember he had the touchdown. He was running into the end zone for a touchdown They got the ball knocked loose and ended up being a turnover I mean that's seven points that gets taken off the board Lana still wins the game 1613 But you think about the change then maybe maybe this is now a you know, 20 to 13 game That's not so needing a field goal at the end of the game to win it So so many things that Desmond Rutter this entire season has tried to learn from but when they turned on the tape Because I can tell you when you're playing a team for the second time a lot of your tape study during the week is what happened in the First matchup, how did the specific players that we are gonna play on Sunday? How did they attack what we did and then you try to figure out? Okay, what worked for us and how can we accentuate that it if it didn't work Let's not put it part of the game plan for this time and let's find some new wrinkles Just to show you how close of a game that was the last time when they played in week seven Atlanta comes away with the 1613 victory. Look at some of these numbers passing yards Separated by about 11 yards first downs basically the same third down very close time of possession Almost right on the nose and both teams with nine penalties in the game for around 60 65 yards That shows why this game was so close. These two teams played a very close matchup Which team can can provide the edge in this one? I can tell you this Tampa has not been running the football all that great this year Especially in the first matchup Atlanta was able to hold them to 73 yards rushing on 20 carries That's about 3.7 yards per carry, but here's the asterisk there Remember Baker may feel that a 31-yard run in that game that Factored into that 73 yards if there's a way that this defense can tighten up and not allow him to get one of those Explosive runs now that looks like a suffocating performance in the run game And we know that Atlanta strength on the offensive side of the ball is using the run game and the play-action pass off of it So that's the advantage and you hope that at home when you're able to communicate You're not having to fight the noise that they can have that good balance They can get Bijan Robinson Tyler algae are going in the run game It's gonna open up everything else in the passing game So you mentioned Baker me feel and I want to discuss him very briefly because he has a wide receiver one that he Uses a lot and he is on an enormous tear right now Mike Evans of course And he also has Chris Godwin two guys that are hard to cover Yep, Mike Evans has been one of the most dominant and I say dominant just because his stats continue to back it up And we'll talk a little bit more because I'm gonna give you a little bit of a secret It's gonna be part of my keys toward the end of the game, but he's just been so consistent This guy is always playing. He's always on the field and when he does he makes an impact So you look at Mike Evans what he does the last game he ended up having I believe it was six catches in that game He did score a touchdown, but he didn't take over the game But he is over a thousand yards again for his tenth straight season, which is extending his NFL record But he's only had three games believe it or not where he's had over a hundred yards receiving But all three of those games have been dominant like big time 162 143 and 171 and he scored touchdowns in all those games So he's obviously one of those big focal points that Baker may feel likes to get the ball in his hands Last time Atlanta played against Tampa Baker may feel through the football 42 times He's an aggressive down-the-field style quarterback So what that means to me is if I'm Jesse Bates if I'm the rest of the guys in the secondary There's gonna be opportunities for you to get turnovers to get your hands on the football And when that opportunity presents itself, you got to take advantage It might be only one to maybe three balls that end up in harm's way You have a chance to get your hands on it But you got to make the play and if they're not able to run it effectively like they haven't been They have no problem letting him throw it 40 to 45 times and when that happens You have more opportunities not only for turnovers But also for your pass rush to get after the quarterback and Atlanta's gonna have to take advantage of that exactly Jesse Bates has five Interceptions on this season so far. That's his career best. He's on a tear right now He's on track to have his career high in every single statistical category It's been really fun to watch Jesse Bates go to work But speaking of safeties and cornerbacks There are a lot of people that are inactive for both this Tampa Bay Buccaneers team and the Atlanta Falcons Let's just go ahead and get to those bucks in active list Obviously Jamal Dean will be out in Devon White huge misses as well as Vita Vaya as well Yeah I mean those are three starters on the defensive side and we've talked a lot about Vita Vaya on our Podcast during the week and sometimes on the pregame show here. This guy can be a problem I mean he's one of the better interior defensive linemen in the national football league so strong Had the ability to compress the pocket He's been dealing with the toe injury So he's gonna be out of this game Jamal Dean one of the starting corners is gonna be out Of course Devon White who plays opposite of LaVonte David at the inside linebacker position All three of those guys are defensive starters that are gonna be out Keshon Vaughan Also a backup running back gets into the rotation is not gonna be on the field But the fact that there's three really good Difference making defensive players that are not gonna be on the field again an area where Desmond Ritter in his offense I was gonna have to take advantage of those guys not being on the field Yeah, and Jamal Dean was the second had the second most tackles against the Falcons last or in week seven Excuse me, so that's a huge miss for Dean to be out today Let's go ahead and get to the Falcons and actives because this is where the story lies Jeff Acuda out Nate Lamman out Caleb McGarry out David on Yamada drew Dalman all these guys are starters for both the Offensive side of the ball and the defensive side of the ball. This is the most injuries We've seen on an injury report so far this season. Yeah We've been talking a lot about Taylor this entire season how Atlanta has kind of avoided the injury bug if you will They've been a pretty healthy team for the most part of the season But this is kind of the first week where you see all of these starters five out of the seven guys that are inactive are Regular starters for the Atlanta Falcons and of course being on the line is a scrimmage with Caleb McGarry and drew Dalman being out With David on Yamada out those are cause for concern if you're coaching staff Not to take anything away from the guys that are gonna be filling in But there's a reason that you have starters and there's a reason that you have backups in the national football league So I was telling you right before we came on the air is that this is where coaching comes into play Sometimes you have to work to your strengths and you have to minimize your weaknesses So don't be surprised if you see a little bit of a different Play calling structure from Arthur Smith on offense knowing that he's gonna be missing one of his tackles and his center Maybe he starts doing a little bit more rollout. Maybe he starts doing some more screen passes than what we're used to Maybe he ends up going to the left side on running plays more than he ends up going to the right He talked about in his press conference this week that they felt like they had a lot of confidence in Ryan Noozle Who's gonna be filling in there's a difference between having confidence on the practice field and then that actually happening in the game But the fact that again that I said for somebody like Ryan Noozle The fact that Vita Vaya is not gonna be playing in this game is Because he is a guy that after the snap can create some issues on the defensive line And then of course the secondary you go back to earlier in a week when you saw both AJ Terrell and Jeff Acuta on the injury report I was thinking oh goodness. This could be bad and Fortunately for the Falcons that AJ Terrell was able to clear a concussion protocol and he'll be back in there But they're gonna be without Jeff Acuta Falcons know how to do this Acuta was not there early on in the season So they're gonna have to play some different guys at the corner position But again, do one of those guys get matched up against Mike Evans one-on-one with a shot down the field You know that Baker Mayfield is gonna be looking for it He's gonna be finding where's AJ Terrell and what's my matchup on the other side and if it's Mike Evans That's where he's gonna try to take advantage So if you're one of the backup corners, you got to come in Trey Flowers Clark Phillips You got to know that Mayfield is a savvy veteran He's gonna find where you are and he's gonna try to take advantage of it because we know they like to press The ball down the field. So what happens? This is life in the national football league This is next man up you've got to come out and you got to perform when one of your teammates gets hurt This defense has been salty all season long. We'll get to that in just a second But don't be don't make this be an excuse because we're missing Jeff Acuta because we're missing Nate Lamb and on the inside That the defense starts to give up some more plays. Don't worry about it. Step up and go out there and make place There's a reason why you're on the active roster You mentioned that next man up mentality and Ryan Nielsen the defensive coordinator for the Falcons has been really prideful about having that next man up Mentality in the locker room for the defense and that especially that defensive line in that interior there But for those guys that are out here are who here is who will probably and most likely will be stepping in for them for Jeff We'll probably be Trey Flowers He stepped in for him in the beginning of the season Obviously Clark Phillips came in last week for AJ Terrell did a fabulous job But Trey is only on that side with Jeff as well Nate Lamb and it will be will be out But Tay Davis will step in for him today Obviously Nate Lamb and came in after Troy Anderson was placed on IR so now Tay Davis has a chance He hasn't played since the Dolphins game down in Miami same with Ryan Newsel He was the center for the Miami game down there for the preseason game And he will be starting again for through Dalman It's interesting that you bring that up because I remember when Troy Anderson got hurt There was like some cause for concern there like late man late Nate Lamb and a guy that we haven't seen a whole lot Is gonna come in and fill in how is the inside linebacker position gonna work? I think if you've been watching the Atlanta Falcons over the past six or seven weeks You're gonna say guess what Nate Lamb and did a pretty darn good job And now the tables have been turned a little bit now we're thinking about okay How's it gonna go without having Nate Landman in the lineup? It's next man up Maybe this is Tay Davis's opportunity to come show the world that he is a very viable inside linebacker in the national football league Same could be said for Storm Norton likely gonna be filling in for Kayla McGarry. You got to go out there and perform It's where he's why you're on the roster, so there's no reason to make excuses here Yeah, maybe the coaches make some differences in play calling, but you still got to go out there and perform Yeah with Tay Davis and a lamb and remember back in preseason It was a big question mark with when cutting down those rosters Who was gonna get that second linebacker position between Nate and Tay obviously Nate won that position behind Troy Anderson But Tay was right there They were going tip for tat all preseason long and it was really fun to watch those two work and kind of compete with each other Tay Davis gets the get some reps today. Obviously with that start, but speaking of Tay Davis saying salty on D Let's go ahead and go the keys to the game presented by Wells Fargo. Go ahead I think we've said it twice already, but go ahead. Yeah, continue to stay salty on defense I think that's they've been the driving force the reason why the Atlanta Falcons have won their last two games or defense has been played great They have not allowed a touchdown over the last nine quarters And they have not allowed a touchdown in back-to-back games The only team in the national football league to be able to say that they have not allowed a touchdown in back-to-back games this year They've really embraced that bend, but don't break. There's been some games where they give up some explosive plays The Saints got a few of them. They got down in the red zone. What happened? They didn't break they got the stops that they needed to they force the field goals So stay salty on defense. We know that Baker Mayfield is gonna take some shots down feel We know he's gonna tuck it down and he's gonna run on occasion But make sure you make the plays and if they do get down in the red zone, stop them Force a field goal. Here's what I know if teams in the national football league don't score touchdowns You got a great chance to winning even if you have your struggles on offense So if we can continue that to three games without allowing a team to score a touchdown I think it gives them a great chance to win this game Yeah, and you mentioned been don't break and you mentioned the red zone That's been the biggest story coming out of Atlanta for the last two weeks in the last two weeks the Opposing team has gotten to the red zone six times five of those times was against was the Saints They got to the red zone five times But two of those times turns into turnovers by Jesse Bates and then last week against the Jets They only made it to the red zone one time So it's gonna be really fun to watch and see with all these inactives if they're gonna be able to bend and operate Yeah, it's one of those deals where you're gonna have to have your leaders step up Kayden Ellis is gonna have to step up Jesse Bates gonna have to step up Kaleas Campbell Not just as far as production, but just leadership making sure you've got all these new faces on the right page If they can do that They're still gonna have a great chance to be able to perform on the defensive side of the ball All right, so let's talk about defending that ball. What's our second key to the game today? Yeah, it's gonna be simple here someone other than Evans And what does that mean somebody other than Mike Evans needs to beat Atlanta on defense And I'm not saying that somebody needs to beat them because it could be nobody but just don't let it be Mike Evans We talked about what he's done already this year But again his 10th straight season of being over a thousand yards and that Extends his own NFL record again coming off a hundred and sixty-two yard game last week Against Carolina and think about this six of the 12 games this year. He's had double-digit targets, right? So they continue to go in his direction. They're gonna do it again today Just make sure that it's somebody other than Mike Evans You don't want to look up and this be a seven for one sixty two and two touchdowns for Mike Evans That's not gonna spell well for Atlanta I'll probably be a competition between AJ Terrell and Mike Evans today So be able to make sure to watch out for those two doing it out and duking it out all game long But with that with Mike Evans, obviously you have another wide receiver on the other side But then you have Richard White and he's running back for the same a baby back in your team And they've really spread the ball between the air and the ground and Richard has been there all season long and the last two games Have been season highs for them in terms of rushing the ball So it's gonna be interesting especially with David on your mana out in that rush game Breaking down a little bit for the defense. It's gonna be interesting. Yeah Tampa has not been able to punch the football into the end zone a lot this year via the run game That's one area that they've struggled. They got six rushing touchdowns this year five of them are from Rashad White But they're going up against an Atlanta defense. That's only given up for rushing touchdowns Which is tied for the best in the national football league along with the Baltimore Ravens So if they can continue that even if Tampa does get down into the red zone they get close to the goal line They've been pretty good about not letting running backs get into the end zone making somebody else beat them So we'll see if they can continue that again mentioned how Baker likes to air it out to Evans and to Godwin So what's the third and final key today? Continue to win the turnover margin made strides again against the New York Jets last week They won that turnover differential three to zero. They're now improved to minus three on the season Remember, this is a team that's been kind of living at minus eight minus seven minus six this year in a turnover margin But you got Tampa that comes into this matchup oddly enough at plus five in a turnover margin And they have 18 takeaways on defense. So what does that tell me? They've got some guys in the defensive side of the ball that can and have shown that they will take the football away If you give them opportunities not just interceptions, which they've got plenty of those But also forcing fumbles and finding ways to get the ball back to Baker Mayfield So winning the turnover margin obviously is both sides of the football It's Desmond Ritter and anybody that touches the ball to have ball security, but on defense find those opportunities We talked about it Baker Mayfield is going to take those chances Go get one of those when he takes a chance downfield or if it's Rashad White running the football Jesse Bates maybe comes in with another right hook come on knocks the football out Throughout this season. So find a way to win that turnover margin once again Yeah, it's gonna be an exciting game Those are your three keys of today's game in this divisional match at the last matchup against Tampa Bay this season Hopefully the Falcons can stay undefeated in this division, but guys there's so much happening behind us right now It's like almost distracting because Mercedes Benz stadium is the place to be to do you know, Atlanta United They do Atlanta Falcons. They do SEC championship was here. I'm still not over it I don't want to talk about it, but there's so much happening here all throughout the year And so they have to convert this field for MLS to NFL to NCAA regulation so much goes into it And I actually went down with their grounds crew to learn about the conversion of this field painting And I actually got to paint a little bit of it too. So go ahead take a look Hey guys I'll paint the field I'll get you to die out of the red if you're up for it I'll show you how to do it. I shall I shall I promise So I ever see all field prep for United or Falcons and Everything outside regarding landscape home to the backyard How's that perfect? Look, I'm I'm putting my job. I'm becoming grounds crew a few moments later. Yeah twist This is not my job guys. This is not my day job So how long on average bad park Does it take to paint this field for a game? We on an overnight we can get it down to eight ten hours But we'll have everybody running around doing a bunch of different things. I Told her she can part paint the heart of the falcons. Yeah, I gotta paint the heart. I can definitely Color within the line We're gonna give him a heart. It gave the falcon life. I gave him a heart I gave him the heart of it and a life to live so he's down there on the field right now as this was that was previously Right, that wasn't today. No, cuz I saw some crooked lines going on crooked here though The room right now right you can and is what the sea is part of that historic 1918 thank you so much for joining us We spent a lot of time together over the summer just recapping that whole season for you guys Obviously, they were brought it out a little bit So what are your favorite memories from 98 or just your time here as a falcon? I mean my time here is a falcon. I mean overall It was just amazing just coming in and you think about a house that Dion said that he You know built I just wanted to come in and just like maybe just keep it up paint work here or there and just pay my part because It's the city that love to be entertained and when I got here. That's the what I thought about I wasn't just thinking about myself and how I actually played I knew what the city actually needed. I just wanted to do my part But but more importantly, I think that the land being Atlanta falcon meant a lot and it actually helped me grow Ray it's interesting that you mentioned coming on the heels of Dion Sanders and what he brought to this organization with the Flare and the confidence it and should I reset confidence again? But when I came in in 2000 it seemed like that was kind of your role was was the guy that was gonna have fun Was gonna show the utmost confidence I mean, I remember some of the battles you had in practice just going up against our receivers Just talking mess to them and everything is that something that because you came into the league with the Colts Did you have that when you were with the Colts or did that start when you came here with Atlanta? I already actually had it You know it was already in me, you know since college But as I got to groom myself and getting more and more confident and study and prepare and know my body You know a lot of things that when you start studying the game the game was really 90% mental 10% physical I had the 10% physical downs just now a mental game But actually getting the clarity and we make the game slow down But to answer that question, you know big play Ray when they started to give me that name You know it did started Indianapolis and then leading into here. That's where it actually came But the guys that was on this actual team, you know, you think about the guys that I had to face Terrell Owens the Randy Mosses, you know, I can go down the list all these different Hall of Famers and planning I had to get it in practice first. So what you talking about? We held each other accountable in practice and I'm like, you know what? I don't want to go against the scout team guy right now. No parents. Mathis get over here, you know, Tony Martin get over here I need guys that's gonna prepare me to get ready for the game, but we held each other accountable That was something special about that 98 team you mentioned practice and we talked a lot about y'all's relationship with the head coach Dan Reed's and how he came in and just really set a new tone Can you speak to that a little bit about what was so special about Dan Reed's? Well, Dan came in you know with the mindset of knowing that he had to you know, you know, root the team out a little bit and bring in The guys that's not actually buying into his system. He brought in coaching staff I mean people in the upper management and then to the players bringing in a lot of veterans that knew the game You know that actually wanted to play for each other It wasn't a lot of individualism doing we had a lot of different characters out there But at the same time we had guys that played collectively So he was bringing in guys that fit their role that knew how to play as a family Dan Reed's was a family guy first, you know, and then you know, he was able to get things out of us And we were we didn't always need Dan to get on this He brought in guys that he knew that they was gonna hold each other accountable and we held each other accountable without sensitivity You know, so if a guy got on you then they got on you just got to take it But that's just the way Dan, you know made up the team and he was a big pivotal part of what we did You know, especially that year, right? We obviously know how the 98 season concluded But what were some of the biggest memories the things that if you're looking back at things now 25 years later You can look back and say that 98 season gosh I'll never forget that moment or that moment. Well, you know what I'm gonna bring up first, you know plan San Francisco three times Yeah, I mean like them two times was like like during the season They got us the first one then the second one then we knew that we was heading in a different direction as a team We got to get past San Francisco once we got past San Francisco You know, we had to play him again and then we we knew we were gonna win that game Even though it was a tight tight game, but we had the mindset that we we're gonna win Everybody had the mindset then the summit all up those little rack. I just got to be honest with you 98 I mean championship we nobody gave us the odds to beat Minnesota I mean we were big-time underdogs going into that game Nobody really believed on the outside but people inside of that building knew what we had what we had to do and the matchups You know went, you know pretty complete during that game because the way the coaches did Rich Brooks did a real good job of setting things up You know defensive coordinator and then on the offense side of Baldam Reeves and them they actually hung in there And we were losing that the second half I mean the first half and that locker room speech we came out and played and everybody just stuck together Wasn't a lot of pointing fingers in that everybody's came in is do their job Yeah, I wanted to kind of talk about that game because Ray I ended up coming here as a rookie in 2000 but back in 98 I was at the University of Minnesota, and I'm literally across the river while you are playing that game As a Minnesotan at the time like you grow up and you're kind of a Minnesota Vikings fan just by default, right? Right, and you're right like everybody in Minnesota like I'll give you an example My parents got Super Bowl tickets like in the playoffs like not after they beat the Falcons But they everybody was getting their Super Bowl tickets because nobody thought that anybody was going to beat the Minnesota Vikings with What they did so how did that halftime speech change things for you to go out and win that game They've never been in the battle before they play one game that year against Miami. There was pretty tough That was the only game they actually had lost but pretty much everybody was beat They were beating up teams and then they can do what they want They had it was averaging 40-something plus our points a game and you know looking at the film was just like looking at Horflicks and I'm like nobody's challenging these guys, you know, they have never been in a dog fight So we figured if we can get these guys in the dog fight going in right before halftime And when we came back out in that third quarter, we they they look different They didn't have the same swag and going back to what you just been saying about how Disrespectful it felt for us, but you talking about, you know parents had Super Bowl tickets already We were getting here and we've seen t-shirts already, you know fans had t-shirts It's Super Bowl, you know, I you know that whole I mean when we got that we felt Disrespected like we didn't play the game played the game in these fans I'm like wait a minute. We didn't get here just by default. I mean 14 and 2 is something special Yeah, but y'all better put some spec They say spec on our name and we was so we really went out there and then really took it personal and they you know While we were standing on the podium, too This is a good piece to while we're standing on the podium holding up the tramp championship trophy not saying this Both for me, but here comes, you know guys like Chris Carter and Randy Moss and they were weeping They were like y'all y'all took this game from us when they took now we play we beat y'all Don't be a sore loser and I was like and these are Hall of Fame guys And I really knew how they actually felt because I've been there I've been on the AFC Championship team with with against Pittsburgh with the Indianapolis coach and Knowing about losing by a Hail Mary throw and looking at Pittsburgh go play the Dallas Cowboy Yeah, I knew what he felt right now because he's a great player They did everything right that year but win that game to go to the Super Bowl and you know So that was that's what made it that much that that's so special though You talk about Randy Moss crying I remember During when we did that sit-down interview that panel discussion which is on YouTube so go ahead and watch it if you haven't watched it yet It's really great We go through it like almost every single game of that season together But one of my favorite parts is when Jamal Anderson was saying that the producers handed him the trophy and he was like Wanted me to generate some tears That's me and that I am Absolutely, and he like ran around with the trophy, but this is your for you never played in this stadium This is never a play in the new stadium. Obviously. What brings you joyer kind of brings you back And what what are you excited about today to be back here as a dirty bird, you know I mean bringing everybody back collectively having seen guys some of these guys haven't seen for 20 some odd years So it's like that that part of it, you know getting the camaraderie together and then starting to talk about different moments You know with you know the X players and then showing love to each other saying, you know, I appreciate you Thank you for you know, you know that play that did you made or you know, thank you for being that teammate a lot of us You know just having seen each other was like a lot of emotional moments You know of everybody getting together, but now we get together in this particular time You know and then looking at what the Falcons are going through at the same time of winning You know these fans are just amazing like a lot of guys coming back in town and then having the opportunity to relate with them Like everybody didn't have an opportunity to do that They just sort of dispersed after they were gone But now that everybody's here to be celebrated and doing during a heated moment right now Especially during the heated battle with Atlanta Falcons going up against Tampa today It's just it's just the perfect setup perfect game And you know, I'm not gonna go into what I did doing the Super Bowl predicting anything But I know this this game is special for us as 98 and bringing in a lot of the legends being able to come and catch up with each other and You know hats off to Nicole, you know, that's actually putting everybody together She did a real good job of you know, cuz it's a lot of guys You got a lot of different characters a lot of you know Some guys are a little bit higher than others or what they would want But you know what they know what we mean by being pre Madonna sometime, but I made it so easy for them I'm so laid-back right. I'm just so cool and the Falcons Organization did a real good job awesome job of getting everybody together and everything from A to Z since Friday all the way up through Taylor you know things have changed a little bit when Ray says that he's been so easy. He's been so Remember this is big play Ray Play Ray wasn't just always chill and easy to deal with Ray was about come get some For like an entire day between him and Jamal it was just Chaos at points, but it was so fun to recap that season. Thank you for coming here and recapping it a little bit more On air but if you do want to watch that feature It's part one and part two of part one is regular season part two is the post season They're on YouTube now. Just go ahead and watch that. It's been so fun. Thank you so much for joining us for the pregame show We'll see you next week in the studio against Carolina Panthers back-to-back divisional matchups But today it's against the bucks. Let's see if the Falcons can stay undefeated in the division