 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast We're coming to you with some good news after the Falcons beat the Miami Dolphins and yet another close contest This time the Falcons came out on top of it by a score of 30 to 28 here at Hard Rock Stadium. I'm sitting next to Tori McElaney Chris rim is back at home. We're staring at him through fancy technology and Chris watching this game seeing what transpired What what was your biggest takeaway from this Falcons victory that brought them to three and three on the season? I think Oddly enough it was that Cordell Patterson is here to stay I think when I was reading things and looking at much of the discourse on social media or or elsewhere There was the assumption that Cordell Patterson would have some kind of drop-off and that his first five games were Like some sort of anomaly that he was just playing well, but he got he got 14 carries today He didn't do as much as the receiving game But he scored a touchdown and I think today's game just showed me that he's he's going to be a part of this offense for The full 17 games he's in and whatever they do after that and the the first five games weren't just you know A spike in his career and Tori What what was your big takeaway after this one? I think for me it was that even though The Falcons didn't play a complete game And I know there are parts of this game that I'm Guarantee you that they would say that they wanted back that they still found a way to win in the end And I think they found a way to win Through the talents of their playmakers. So you take Matt Ryan's performance cow pits performance young waiku at the very very end I mean, these are all very specific People who really kind of changed the way that this ending happened And I think it's it's why we got to the score that we did It's why the Falcons are walking away at a 500 record right now instead of the alternative Yeah I think it's a good spot to sit here because we're starting to see the mindset that Arthur Smith wants to instill in this team And it's starting to come out and pay dividends late in the fourth quarter It's that winning mindset It's that belief that if we get the ball last we are going to win and that's going to be essential for this Team this season and on down the line when we're going to break all that down here on this episode of Falcons final Whistle you guys know the format by now And we're going to break things down over the coast of four quarters five minutes each and in this one We're going to talk about that fateful final drive. We're obviously going to talk about Kyle pits I mean duh and We were each going to pick an MVP from this game and as we always do we are going to look ahead to the two NFC South opponents coming up where the Falcons stand We may or may not use the word playoffs at least me And warning you guys we're gonna get to all that after we think 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 Including yeah, that's right the Falcons final whistle podcast to learn all about the awesome new features of Windows 11 at Windows.com and now we're going to get started with quarter number one and The first quarter begins with five minutes talking about that final drive where the Falcons won it with a young waku 36 yard field goal They marched 57 yards on nine plays over the course of two minutes and 27 seconds the final seconds of this game to secure it without giving Miami the opportunity to Return fire and I think that was really important and really impressive with how they did it Tori what was your favorite part of that drive? What do you think was the was the catalyst there? So I think the catalyst was obviously the first two plays where you were Matt Ryan hits Cal pits for a gain of 21 yards and then turns around and hits him for a gain of 28 yards And it's like that what that was the moment that you're like, you know what they're doing this They're moving down with down the field with ease on it felt like and so That to me was a really important catalyst But I think what got the Falcons into the groove of the drive was actually something that Matt Ryan talked about postgame and he was talking about how they had the ball and they were inside, you know, probably the 30 and They started running the ball because they had a lot of time left on the clock still I mean, you didn't want to give Miami the ball back You really had to think about clock management and all that kind of stuff and they ran the ball They gave it to my Mike Davis for three yards Patterson I think had five yards and then three yards and they're just kind of Punching away and doing what you needed to do in that situation. So I think in terms of that drive It was both the catalyst of Kyle Pitts his first two catches of that drive But then also finishing that drive off with the run game being productive when it needed to be. Yeah, and Chris What was your take on that drive that the Falcons had a two-score lead early in that fourth quarter and we saw it slip away Now we've seen these Falcons come back against the Giants They had that offensive drive against the Jets to hold their lead, but they had a big lead lost it What was your takeaway if we include all the context of losing that late lead a fumbling of having that interception still finding finding a way to Get it done. I think this this this drive made me think about The Falcons drive against Washington when they ran the ball I think they ran I think they went three and out and they ran the ball and then they lost the game and After the game we were talking on here about, you know Should they have done something different in hindsight is 2020 and even Arthur Smith mentioned that maybe the following week Maybe they could have did something different But some day I still think about even this week in the weeks following is what Tori mentioned in during that podcast about You know execution and today the Falcons essentially did the same thing while they didn't start the drive Running the ball. It was with you know two passes to Kyle Pitts and then they ran the ball There was a lot of time left and they could have They could have you know went three and out earlier and then left a lot of time on the clock for the Dolphins But the difference between this game and the Washington game was that they executed. So I think sometimes looking at different games you can see how Play calls aren't necessarily bad. Just the execution didn't happen there today That I think the execution happened and that's what stood out to me on this drive Something that I'll add to that too is I think it's really interesting when you look at the game winning drive or the drive That ice the game in London against the Jets the very first play from from the line of scrimmage on that drive was a long Pass to Kyle Pitts same exact thing happened with this drive It's like the fact that Kyle Pitts is the guy that you go to when you need a big Jolt, I mean that says something a lot about Kyle Pitts And I know we'll get into talking more about Kyle in the second quarter But I think that's really important to kind of talk about if we're talking about Comparing drives the fact that it's a consistent thought that like, you know what we're gonna start these drives off with a big play from Kyle I think that's really really telling how much this coaching staff Believes in their number four overall draft pick Yeah, and they and they combined that with that hard-running and that tough first down that they didn't get against Washington I also think that if we're looking at this drive in a greater context and obviously We can't ignore the fact that in recent seasons the Falcons have not done well in the fourth quarter I tried to write on the website for for my postgame column that hey that it's Natural for you to want to go back to that instinct But you have to judge what this team has done and we're still it's a growing sample size but they've been in four close games they've come through three times and I think that that's a positive thing and it's because of the mentality that Arthur Smith is is Trickling down throughout the course of this team and it's Matt Ryan Projecting it outward to the other players I think it's a combination of good of good play calling of good Execution and a belief that even if things don't go right. It's not here. We go again. It's what can we do to reverse course? That's what we're gonna end with on the first quarter as The second quarter begins. We're gonna spend five minutes talking about the number four overall pick Kyle Pitts he had a pretty good day He did what I recall the tune of seven catches for a hundred and sixty-three yards on eight targets Several of those catches involved just one hand. Yes others came in massive moments This guy continues to build and impress more and more and more now There was a lot of hype about him coming out of the draft. He's starting to live up to it now He's been really impressive not only in what he's the the raw numbers, but in how he's been able to do it Tori, what's been the most impressive thing for you about Kyle Pitts in this game and Throughout the course of his first six professional games. Yeah, Kyle Pitts in the evolution of Kyle Pitts is going to be just a Marker of this season I think we knew that coming into this season But to actually see it happening live and to see the steps that he's taking as an individual But also to see the steps taken I guess when you think about like with Arthur Smith and with Matt Ryan Matt Ryan's trust in Cal pits Arthur Smith play calling for Cal pits all of these things kind of coming together in step with one another I think is so Crucial to the to this offensive success And so when I was thinking about all of this and post game my take away was simply that Cal pits is as advertised everything that we thought he was going to be through the draft process and through all of those Evaluations and all everybody talking about Cal pits He is what everybody said is that he was going to be and we're seeing that play out in real time And I think that's really exciting As you're going through this and I thought post game Arthur Smith I asked him because he was talking a lot about like the mindset of Kyle Pitts and I asked him I was like can you just speak more to that you keep bringing it up and he I thought he had such a good anecdote about how This is what you're seeing right now is who they expected Kyle Pitts to be and Even in their pre-draft evaluations and in those early conversations that they had with Kyle Pitts This was something that they expected from him and the fact that he's kind of taking all of this in stride And you see him getting better and better and building and building every single week as every game passes It's really fun to watch Chris what about this game in in particular? Did you like about about what Kyle Pitts did you have a favorite play favorite moment anything really stand out? Just whether they threw to him twice in that final drive anything at all. Yeah, I Think if there was like a Heisman moment or that People say you you have a Heisman moment That this was this this game for Kyle thought last week was the coming out party But this this was that today like he did everything From the way he ran routes to the difference the different way He attacked defensive backs and linebackers that you on the broadcast They talked about how he looked like a veteran in the way He would shove a defensive back and use his muscle without drawing a flag and then in the fourth quarter to start the drive 21-year-old lined up against a two-time or first team all-pro. I don't know how many times all pro Xavier and Howard and you You know cook Xavier Howard Open and and you know catch the ball for 28 yards or however much that was I think that that right there solidifies you As you know everything that that people expected you to be for you to go against a guy like that You know with no fear attacking him and it was a great ball by Matt Ryan by the way But that that was a play that stuck in my mind like okay. He's here Yeah, that was really cool, too And I think what Matt was talking about post game was also really interesting where he was talking about how May Amy was playing a lot of man-to-man coverage and I just can't help but think like You know coming in what Kyle Pitts is you know how hard he is to guard in a man-to-man situation and I think Atlanta just loved it as we can see from the 163 receiving yards that Kyle Pitts has if you're gonna put Kyle Pitts in a one-on-one man-to-man situation like That's that's tough. It is I think too though if you're I mean if you're Miami, you might be thinking, you know This is our guy and this is not that is true And then our guy is not any guy. This is our guy is one of the best defensive backs corner backs in the league And I believe there was there was safety help, too So they helped them out and it still wasn't enough so it said like you said Kyle is just he I think I think like you said They underestimated him and he's just more than advertised Yeah, he's been incredible and as we wrap up this second quarter We can leave you with a quote from Matt Ryan post game when he just said I think he's getting more comfortable and he's showing that in the way that he is performing I give him a lot of credit. Here's the part that I like There's no blink in his game when the game's on the line or it's an important situation He just goes out there and executes the same way. He does every other snap So not only is he talented freakishly so but the guy can perform in the clutch and that is what makes you a next level talent and man We could talk forever about about Kyle pits, but it's time to move on We're on to quarter number three and it's time to pick our MVP's There are a couple of options. Everybody knows what one of them is the guy that we just talked about Kyle pits But a lot of players contributed to this victory MVP's where are we at here? Anybody want to go first? Sure, I'll do it You slid in there real quick, you know what I'm gonna go first and you know what and it's not to take Kyle pits Which seems like the obvious move right and we didn't discuss these ahead of time But I'm gonna go ahead and take the quarterback even though Matt Ryan wasn't perfect This afternoon he was 25 for 40 for 336 yards to touchdowns and a pick We know he had the lost fumble. He was cruising early and had a little he had a bit more trouble late But what I like about it is quarterbacks make mistakes But this guy was unfazed and he talked about that post game that hey man bad things happen He went back to his rookie year where he threw five picks and the Falcons still won Yeah, so he's got that basis of Knowledge but he came in confident if he's not confident in that final drive They don't win right and as Chris pointed out that the guy threw some dimes So was he perfect? No, but was he good enough to get the Falcons a win today and did he help them respond? Late yes, he did that's why he gets my trophy also the quote one of the quotes of the night What came from Arthur Smith when he was asked about Matt Ryan and he legit said he's criminally underrated Wow What a turner back in this league and I loved that quote Fantastic quote from Arthur Smith and then I was selfish yet again because I'm gonna steal it for my Monday call I didn't offer that to anybody else. I'm just Other MVPs Chris. Who do you got? Uh Stuff for me to choose, but I think I'd probably say maybe Jaylen Hawkins just because I thought or I'm kind of torn between him or or at it because I think they just both What they both of their plays in the game were just momentum killers like Miami was moving down about to score about to take extend their lead I think it was extend their lead made it 10 10 at 3 Yeah, when two went through that pick in the back of the end zone to Jaylen and back to back weeks for him With interceptions, then I loved his post game interview. He just kept saying I did it for the squad For the squad he said I asked him a question I swear he said I do it for the squad like three times in a row. It's great Yeah, I'm gonna send me time to sell like a rap song That was great. And then you know at a blocking blocking the kick that that's big time You know that the the Falcons one by two that the kick, you know, you get three points for a field Oh, so that was big time and I thought I thought those two plays were momentum killers I'm sure being there the energy was probably sucked out of the stadium when those plays happened So those two would be my MVP's Tori what you got? Well, the guy who won the game for the Falcons mr. Young way coo I mean, I feel like you can't talk about this game and not bring his name up and Here's the thing and I'm gonna get into this in my notebook tomorrow because I like wrote Literally when coo ran out there for the 36 yard field well It was 31 and then it turned into 36 after the fall start, but we I digress When he ran out there, I legit wrote in my notebook Coos got this like I felt really good about the Falcons winning that game when they got it into like, you know That around the 30 yard line. I was like, all right. Yeah, this is happening. It was great because after The game we're talking to Arthur Smith and he made the comment that I thought was so great Arthur Smith was on fire after the game. He had a lot of really good quotes But he said he was like, you know sending young way out there. He was like I my heart rate wasn't Skyrocketing I wasn't nervous. He was like it was like just calling Another boring play in like the middle of the second quarter that you know may not mean all that much He was like I my heart rate was not up when I had to send him out there And I think that is so awesome when you have that opportunity to send out your kicker and feel as confident as you do when you send a guy Like that out there and the fact that it's young way and we all so many Falcons fans like know his story And I just think it's it's just really nice. Why do they know his story? Somebody wrote some feature about yeah, that was a Chris Shameless plug for the the long-form feature about young Waikoo But I mean he did it against the Giants. He did it again today. I just think it's it's really really great And I know Matt Ryan said after the game he's had in the over the course of his career He's had many many kickers that he has felt confident Getting into field goal range and being able to come out with the win and he said young way is no different I'm so proud of all three of us that nobody chose Kyle Pitts after spending five minutes talking about We gave him an entire quarter right so technically if he's like MVP one everybody else is like the next run down, right? That's what we're gonna say choose someone other than Kyle Pitts, but we didn't do it. We didn't do that We should have should have it's fine Aaron The rundown Definitely all right. We are we are over time. We are moving on to quarter number four And we're looking ahead in quarter number four Now that the Falcons are 500 at three and three they have two Huge divisional games coming up next week at home against the Panthers where Arthur Smith has said they have got to play better At Mercedes-Benz they haven't done that this year followed by what could be a Shockingly huge game against the rival Saints in New Orleans the following week if the If the Falcons continue to win and here's a crazy thing that nobody did about the Falcons in 2020 We just typed in NFL playoff picture in reference to the Falcons I know it's we're not even at mid season We get that it's too early and all those types of things that you can say but they're on the bubble guys that Somehow they're on the bubble somehow they're in it now Yeah, we can run that that Jim or quote playoffs. Yeah, look, we're not going down that road But they're in better position. They're in decent position and it can get better if they continue to play well Yeah, how pivotal is this stretch coming up? Oh my gosh, these next two weeks are very important for the Falcons I think that One I do think that the Carolina game is a is a winnable game and I think if you're the Falcons and you can You're playing at home. You're coming off a win You know, you're arguably playing The best that you have, you know, it wasn't going to be any worse than it wasn't week one So there you could only go up So I do say I do add the caveat of that but you go into this game coming up on Sunday against Carolina and if you Beat Carolina and then you're looking ahead to the Saints that game and the narrative around that game changes Immensely then I think what we were looking at even two weeks ago So this is really this is a really really important two-week stretch for this team Do you think this team Chris is kind of ready to keep this good thing going? I think the obvious argument Against what the Falcons have done recently is look at who they've played right and there has been a lot of inconsistencies And these are you know one possession games, right? So you do take all of that with a grain of salt Yeah, so how do you Chris evaluate what you've seen over the course of the last three slash four games and then And then how this team can kind of build on that and move forward against I know Carolina struggling, but still a better competition coming up Yeah, that's what I was going to say I think it's hard to assess where they are as far as how how good the Falcons are just because of who they Just because of their schedule The they played I think the Buccaneers are the the only team that they've played so far who I think is considered you know a better team in the league and I thought they did all right in that game and the score doesn't really reflect how well they played So I think these next two games I think specifically more so against the Saints because without Christian McCaffrey the Panthers are a much different team I think specifically against the Saints like Tori mentioned if they do get the win Next week the narrative around that game will definitely be Become more important and and I think I think against the Saints and then even following those games I think we'll learn a lot about how good this team really is because so far you've beaten the Dolphins who have one win The the Giants who have two right? Jets who have one win and just the Patriots just put 54 on them today. Oh, gosh so it's I Think we have to I think we'll learn about them through because just look at past those games the Panthers the Saints the Cowboys the Pets So yeah, this is a big run. So you'll we'll learn a lot. Yeah, and I think that that's why It's fair to be excited. It's fair to temper it and continue to try to evaluate this team logically The one thing that I would say about it is that each time you win one of these close games I think you build an element of confidence that you can perform now I'm sure that they're that they're hearing just exactly what what what we're saying is that they haven't beat anybody big yet But they're not one in six right now They're not where the Dolphins are and they're in a spot where they have Executed well at times with still so much more left to accomplish if you look at it And I think Jalen Hawkins said it well that they know Maybe it was a foy it like yeah, Jalen was like we were well aware that we have things that we got to clean up Like and I think Arthur Smith has said it a bunch and I know Matt Ryan even said this past week in his Availability before this game was he was like we're striving for more consistency They're well aware of the consistency issues And I think the fact that they're aware of it and they're like this is something we need to get better at in I think that's that's really good that they are Verbalizing that I think yeah, and if they're continuing to as Arthur Smith says get one step better and one step better Then they should be competitive in these games They can they have performed well in the clutch three out of the last four games And I think all those things are key as we move forward and we are moving forward here with the end of the fourth quarter And that's gonna do it for another episode of the Falcons final whistle we are getting out of here. It's getting late It's freezing cold in this here's the thing stadium press box the freezing We're in Miami Gardens, Florida right now and outside It is Swealtering like just so hot but in this room that we are in it you could hang meat in here It is freaking freezing in here. I'm shivering Chris. How is it at your spot a nice 72? 68 It's 74 Good God, that's hot I have the the window open so it's like right. It's not I don't think that's correct I think it's like this area is 74 Try like 68 gotta be so cool calm collected just like the Falcons. We are We are bouncing here on this episode of the Falcons final whistle podcast So you all know what to do you've heard me say it before head over to Spotify or iTunes And subscribe give us a five-star rating and a nice review if you wouldn't mind you can also get this Podcast on YouTube or at Atlanta Falcons calm Join us on the regular submit questions to one of us via via social media and Engage with the pod we love hearing from you and what you like what you don't so anyway, we are out of here until next week Yeah, we'll see you at home Mercedes Benz stadium. What up wait talk to you then