 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast We're coming to you from Jacksonville, Florida after the Atlanta Falcons beat the Jaguars 21 to 14 in an absolutely half to frickin have it Opportunity to end a two-game losing streak win a game and stay in the NFC playoff picture The Falcons did exactly that with this 21 to 14 victory that got a little close at the end But it still counts as a W. That's really all that matters and in this fun Falcons final whistle podcast Which I am Scott Bayer and as always joined by Tori McElaney and Chris rim and we're going to talk about Cordero Patterson coming back We are going to talk about The running game waking up how this defense did and we are as we always do we are going to look forward and see What the Falcons have to do next to stay in the mix So Tori with all of that being said what was your big takeaway from this game? Which the Falcons kind of controlled and then lost control right yeah I think and we'll get into all of this in more detail but for me it really was seeing Cordero Patterson come back into the fold and not just come back into the fold but to Play the way that he did and have the day that he did because I think it would be one thing if the Falcons would have brought him back and Like he doesn't do anything But he comes back and has this really dynamic performance that it really showcased why this offensive operation needs him so much Yeah, I mean clearly the MVP there Chris rim. Well, what was your big takeaway from this one? I Think sorry to do the same thing, but I think I would say the same I think the way Cordero played and it was clear that he was at least the way it looked It didn't look like he was a hundred percent like almost every play he was Limping at times, but he was so explosive and you could just tell the difference between what we saw You know against the Patriots versus and the way the offense will really last two games and the difference He makes you know in the offense, so I thought he was my biggest takeaway Yeah, and we're going to talk a lot more about CP as we move through this podcast But before we do let's 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 about all the awesome new features of Windows 11 at windows.com And we are starting quarter number one talking about the man of the hour Evening afternoon Cordero Patterson was just awesome Tori his his numbers were pretty pretty great in his first game back. Yeah, they were I mean, I'm just kind of looking at him right now But 16 carries 108 yards an average of 6.8 yards a carry, which I think that is that number to me is really huge I mean, it's one thing to go 100 yards in a game, but to average almost seven yards per carry I think is really big and the fact that he makes up such a large chunk of what the overall Rushing attack was the Falcons finished the night with 149 rushing yards and Cordero Patterson is 108 of those yards and I just and even then like he even had two catches for 27 yards I mean, this is somebody who Arthur Smith said at best I think after the game where he said he just adds another Element to what we can do and Keith Smith after the game said it changes the way that defenses look at us as an offense And I think that's so Important when you're talking about who the Falcons are as an offensive operation and they are not the same team With Cordero Patterson as they are without him And I think we have seen that come kind of full full circle as an entire dialogue Looking at what they were against the Patriots versus now what we saw them do against Jacksonville So I think like when you're talking about this offense you can't not talk about Cordero Patterson And I think I've said before and I've written it before like he is if there's a spark plug for this offense It's Cordero Patterson. Yeah, I mean he was just incredible and in his post-game press conference The man's future so bright. He's got to wear shades. He didn't even take them off and he was Enjoying the moment. Yeah, that's fair to say and I think you should yeah he has every right to be confident and to be proud of what he was able to do and there was a Prevailing question to a lot of people that that took the podium after this victory And it's what kind of an impact does Cordero Patterson half? Well, I mean duh a huge one, but he was even asked that and he's like hey You know like I'm a big part of this offense and he didn't even return kicks He's just become an offensive weapon and just to see how much of a spark he gives them how much of an added element that he gives It really stood out. It's funny because I'm looking at the quote right now And he said his quote was I'm a big part of this offense That's a no-brainer man from the outside looking in you can see that like I've all told you before I love it here I mean that's a great quote and he and he's talking about here meaning Atlanta And I think you can't talk about Cordero Patterson in the year He's had without talking about the way that Arthur Smith has really cracked the Cordero Patterson code Yeah, and he fired off a pretty nice tweet at the end Oh, yeah, saying that I freaking love you Atlanta only he didn't say freaking are we a PG podcast? I think we'd like to keep it. Okay family friendly. Gotcha. Okay, but it's not mandatory Chris you brought up a good point to that. He didn't look 100 percent, right? Does that kind of make you wonder gosh if if he can get back going and this run game can can I get going? Can he do that again as a rusher? What do you think? About what you saw? Yeah, I think I think he definitely can he look I feel like today He also looked a lot more comfortable as a running back than he has before I'm not sure if that's because I don't know if I was seeing things but I just I just feel like he looked comfortable back there and And so explosive and then when you consider the fact that he on multiple place today He was just he was limping and then he called for a substitution at at one point and the way he dominated I think yeah, it's it's it's looking very scary for the future for future defenses that have to Deal with Cordero Patterson and the Falcons It's funny that you say he looks more comfortable And I will add that I feel like a lot of people would look comfortable when you have the space that I think this Offensive line provided that was something that was a very stark difference And I know we'll get into more of the run game as in a whole entire operation In the second quarter, but just from the perspective like they they had room to run Which is something that I feel like we haven't been able to say in a while that they had Significant room they weren't getting hit at the line of scrimmage Which is something that we have seen happen time and time again Especially over the last probably like month and a half Yeah, and and we are gonna dive more into that run game Element as a whole but over the last 20 seconds. I'm just gonna stand on a soapbox and say look We all know it's gonna be tough to extend Patterson every time he has a game like this his price goes up And hey if somebody wanted to offer me the most amount of money I'm gonna look pretty hard at that we all chased the almighty dollar, right? But can the Falcons find a creative way to keep him here? He loves it. He loves Atlanta. He's already said that Arthur Smith as it as you put it has kind of cracked the code What can what he want to go somewhere else where that's not a guarantee, right? Or can they find a way to give him a couple year extension to keep him as Part of this offensive core moving forward. I think that's gonna be a Fascinating storyline to watch as we head towards the offseason And We're sticking with the Falcons ground game over the five minutes of quarter number two talking about How the Falcons run game? Seemed to have its best day at the office against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which coming into this game We're only allowing 3.9 yards per carry They did pretty well Tori being able to to rack up yards Patterson and some of the other backs Yeah, you know you bring up a good point that you know this one I know we're playing the Falcons are playing Jacksonville And there's a lot that can be said about this Jacksonville team, but they were third in the league in run defense That's not something that you can just kind of overlook It doesn't matter how what the the record is if you're looking at a team that's Doing really well in one specific aspect of a game when the Falcons can kind of go out and they averaged about five yards A carry that's really good for this Falcons offense that hasn't been able to do that in Many many games this season I think what's really interesting and this was a storyline that I kind of wrote about post game was We were talking to players and Arthur Smith after the game and something that came up Especially when we're talking to Cordero Patterson was he was talking about how Arthur Smith got on this offense about Essentially challenging them to be better in the run game and he was showing them Keith Smith said that he showed them examples of Moments that they were able to put something together in terms of running the ball and how he challenged them to go out and be better And it was a conversation that they had from Wednesday all the way to Sunday And I think that storyline to me was very very fascinating because I'm sitting here thinking like when I hear Cordero Patterson talking about Will Arthur Smith brought this up to us and when Arthur Smith says something like you listen It's like you know he got all over them Like all over them about running the ball like the loud noises with loud noises and probably words that wouldn't make the PG version of this podcast, but that's coaching. That's Holding your players accountable for like, hey, I know you can do this. We've seen you do it Here are examples of you doing it go out and do it and the fact that they were kind of able especially in that first half to Kind of answer that challenge and I think I think was really Good to see Chris outside of CP. Were there any other? Heroes from from the running game that you thought played a big part in what they were able to do on the ground Well, I mean, I think it was pretty much kind of all But I think if there is any anyone else to look at I thought I thought as a whole everyone looked better but I think in terms of you know finding the I'm kind of gonna skip back to to CP here But I think what would stand out to me when I watch him run the ball And I think maybe it's something you learn as a kick returner But the way he he finds holes In the offensive line the way he burst and got what needed to be the way the way he navigates But when he's running the ball is just different from the other backs with that being said I thought Wayne Gaumann and Mike Davis both looked a lot better than they have, you know all season and Gaumann average almost five yards of carry and Mike a little bit over three So I think the rest the Russian game could definitely continue as the season goes on as long as you know They're able to find those running lanes and as Tory pointed out that the running lanes are there Yeah, I think a point that you made about like CP finding those holes It's also really interesting that when Arthur Smith talks about Cordero Patterson He really talks about the physicality of which he runs with and that's a thing is like when you're watching Cordero Patterson run I remember saying if he can get to his third or fourth step Right is so hard to bring down and he is such a hard runner And I think that we saw that happening throughout the course of this game, which I found very very interesting Yeah, and I think the big question is is this repeatable Arthur Smith said maybe they can do it again Maybe they he didn't say maybe they can't but it's it's kind of open-ended to to do this once helps one win To do this several times can help the Falcons reach their goals because this rushing game has been inefficient Right. So can they do it again? Can they find this spark and and continue it moving forward? I'm not quite sure. Yeah, and that's what Arthur Smith said after the game I thought that was very candid of him to kind of be like, you know, it worked today But we have a whole set of challenges against Tampa next week So it's one of those things where he's even kind of saying like we know we have our work cut out for us in order To find consistency in this area. Yeah, and they're gonna have to find consistency their air attack was a little Iffy and they have to find a way to put everything together offensively because they're gonna have to score more than 21 points if they're gonna stay up with some of the Better teams left on the schedule And we're starting quarter number three on the other side of the football with the Falcons defense which is Looking better. Yes, no doubt and played a significant role Chris rim in this victory Yeah, I think when you are the Smith said post game that I mean he didn't even like emphasize it like a lot Like he doesn't emphasize a lot of things I guess but like a certain cadence in his voice But I thought when he did say that because the Falcons didn't convert a third down late in the fourth quarter And then they gave the ball to the Jaguars with I think just over two minutes left And and he said he was when he was asked about if the third down was important or if he was frustrated by that He kind of just said there was no panic And and and I guess rightfully so because you know the defense stepped up and they perform they they got you know Trevor Lawrence to throw incomplete passes on on four straight downs And I think they've been a bright spot and it's even in in New England's in the lost to New England Ever since that Cowboys game really I think they've turned it. They've turned a page in these past two weeks Even though the scoreboard didn't show it last week They sacked Mac Jones three times AJ to rail had an interception the Ron Harmon got an interception today and Anthony rush Forced to fumble Grady Jarrett is always in the backfield and The defensive line and he while his numbers don't always tell the full story He sets people up to to have mismatches like for example Dante Fowler, you know in a sack today He just frees people up to get one-on-one So I think what we're seeing from this defense is is that it's trending in the right direction at the right time and Next week obviously against the Buccaneers. It'll be a tough test a team that can win in many ways I mean Leonard for now have four touchdowns today. So It'll it'll be tough to it'll be a test for them again next week But as I think the defense is really showing how great they can be as everyone gets adjusted to what DMPs is trying to do Yeah, and Tori, how do you think that? That they're doing with what their defensive coordinator is trying to teach them He said even back to the Philly game. He maybe had to scale some things back and now it's slowly getting rebuilt Yeah, how do you think that they're doing within the scheme? I think that narrative is one of the most fascinating narratives of the entire season for me is you know I'm really y'all know how high up I am on the list of My favorite people Dean pieces is very much up there I may I have no like I make that no secret and the feeling is mutual for those who didn't see the press conference from two weeks ago He specifically said and I quote Tori's my favorite. Yeah, it's because I I The love is mutual and I am super happy about it and I am absolutely gonna get a mug for Christmas It'll be my Christmas present to myself that says Dean's favorite Like you know on the office where it's like world's boss. Yeah, it's gonna say Dean's favorite And I'm gonna hold it up every time he comes in but no I digress one of my favorite storylines of the year is that he said that he Put in too much he installed too much too early and that he tapered it back And then it slowly been building it up and that it's at 30% of his entire playbook And we were we were talking to Brandon Copeland Can't remember it was probably this past week or the week before I can't remember when it was all the weeks run together during the season But Brandon Copeland said this quote and I thought it was so great. He was like, this is not a defense for dummies And that was a great Quote I loved it so much and I will find a way to kind of tattoo that on my forehead or something Because I loved it and I think it just goes to show that with time and with adjustment and with a coach That kind of is starting. I mean Dean Pease has said from the get-go you play you play called to your personnel If your personnel can't do it, why are you trying to do it? consistently Play call to what you have at your disposal and I think that's kind of what we're seeing is this Gigantic playbook that Dean Pease has has been Shrunk down to fit what this Falcons defense can do and and I think that's something That's gonna be probably overlooked like in the different narratives of this season regardless of how it turns out That's gonna be an overlooked storyline, but I think it's so important and I think we're kind of seeing the effects of This defense becoming more comfortable in what Dean Pease is asking them to do Yeah, and one of Dean's things. I guess he doesn't say this directly, but Yards don't matter points do right and they're getting pretty good at keeping you from crossing the goal line Yeah, they've given up two touchdowns over the last two weeks And this one against the Jags was a player to after AJ Terrell left his replacement got beat for a touchdown Yeah, they did that on purpose like you see a right. Yeah, you see AJ go out and it's like well Let's let's go after him, but it has been impressive And I think that's how they can stay in these games limit Tampa limit San Francisco limit Carolina to field goals Not touchdowns that allows you to overcome some mistakes that allows you to stay in games and be in position to win late Which the Falcons have proven that they can do and We're on to quarter number four and we're gonna try to look forward to The six remaining games left on the Falcon schedule. They sit at five and six on the season They are in while There's a Monday night game with NFC teams that are going to impact it But in the NFL's I'm sorry if the in the NFC's playoff picture the Falcons are in the eighth slot Which means that they're in the mix and I asked Matt Ryan after this victory. I said To be heading into the final month playing meaningful games You know how like how important is that how important was this victory to that and the guys face just lit up Yeah, he was excited He was so excited to be in this position after a season like last year where it went south early They never recovered. They fired a coach. It was not a good situation and to be in this situation I mean, are they in control of their own destiny? Not really But they have an opportunity here to do something and not just play out the string. I think that means something. I Think that's important. Yeah, Arthur Smith's Team building exercise in in his first season. Mm-hmm, but let's also just call it like it is, right? That what happened against Jacksonville at the end cannot happen against Tampa I can't happen against Carolina or San Francisco or Buffalo or Newark schedule gets tougher, right? Yeah, they've got to be better there Yeah, no, you're right because I when I'm looking so if I'm just looking at the next four games Do you have Tampa, Carolina? 49ers Detroit If the Falcons can go two for two or in this next four game slate, I am good with that Where are the I think that it's gonna be difficult because I think that Buccaneers is gonna be hard Carolina I think is trending in The right direction because of the players that they've gotten Cam Newton back and they've gotten Christian McCaffrey back And these are conversations that change what we talk about what cordial Patterson means to this Falcons offense How he changes it same thing with Carolina and then 49ers are trending in the right direction Detroit is a winnable game, but can the Falcons play? Cohesively and together because we've seen Moments where it hasn't been super complete. We haven't seen a complete game be put together yet So when I'm looking at the month of December The Falcons have a chance here, but they have to find ways to play more completely and and to Play more Competitively and see It's just really hard to kind of go into the next month and try and predict anything I'm really not a big proponent of predictions I don't like doing them because Predictions are made to be wrong and I don't like being wrong because I'm super competitive And I have to know like that. I'm right all the time That is absolutely true. Chris and Scott can attest to it But when I'm just thinking about this, it's just really hard to predict because you Think that the Falcons could potentially go two for two, but it's really difficult to do that. Yeah for sure Chris What do you think the the Falcons are with the the road getting tougher here? They weren't able to close out this this Jacksonville game and kind of dominate the way that they had started Heading into the final month. They are playing meaningful games What do you think needs to happen for those meaningful games to set up meaningful stuff in January? Yeah, I think really the biggest thing for the Falcons is just focusing on playing Four-quarters of good football. I know that's generic, but in the when they played the Buccaneers last time I think it was like 20 to 17 or 28 to 17 and then there were back-to-back picks Pick six and everything just went downhill and the score looked way worse than the actual game was So I think and turn like Tori broke it down here I mean, I think today today the the an NFL is so weird that teams look different each week But the Panthers looked not great at all today. They look right. I mean a cam was pulled You I think at a 6.8 QBR and McCaffrey got hurt again So that that that's a game. That's a game on the schedule Like you said Tori that that could that could be a win-and-blown But I think I think the the Falcons are and the NFL as a whole is just odd like Hard to predict anything because I think when I look at this I don't I don't look at any of these games and I'm paying it as you know The this is this is a game that they can't win and I guess you you don't say that about any game in the NFL But I felt good about the the way they played against the Buccaneers for a large portion of that game That third quarter was arguably one of the best quarters that they've had Yeah, and I think I think and it's hard. It's easier said than done obviously But just really hammering in on doing we need to play solid for four quarters We need to focus on playing the game playing mistake free. Yes for four quarters limiting mistakes And I think they'll be fine the way forward and you know, hopefully get into you know Using that playoff word a little bit more. Yeah, which which is a good thing to hear Around this team considering where they were last year And I think this team has made a lot of positive steps positive strides Under first-year head coach Arthur Smith and that will do it for the fourth quarter So let's go ahead and bang the sound effect And that is also going to wrap up another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast You guys know what to do by this point head over to iTunes or Spotify Hit us up with a rating and a review five stars preferably and after you're done with that be sure to subscribe On those two platforms, but also check in to the Falcons podcast network for Falcons audible with DJ Rackley DJ Shockley and Dave Archer We we like to review what happened They set you up for the next upcoming game that comes out on Wednesdays So we've got you covered what happened after the game and what needs to happen in the in the next game So guys, thank you so much for joining us for another edition And we will talk to you next week after the Falcons play Tampa still looking for their first home win at Mercedes Benz Stadium