 What's up everybody and welcome to yet another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast. I'm Scott bear Looking into a zoom with Tori Mcalandy and Ashton Edmonds on the other side, which normally doesn't happen for home games But I left the podcast gear in my car because I have the memory of the bold fish and it was too lazy to go back and get it So here we are. Thank you technology for bringing us all together We're literally in different press boxes like I can see Tori and I can't see Ashton, but he's down there somewhere Nonetheless We are coming to you after another tough loss man. This one was Pittsburgh 19 Falcon 16 It was a loss at home There was a yet another golden opportunity for the Falcons to get a win They ended up for the second straight week ending their comeback attempt with an interception by Marcus Mariota Last week against Washington. It was on I believe the two or four yard line Picked in the end in the four then the four batted pass on this one. It was that the Falcons to and Marcus Through a pick that ultimately ended a comeback attempt the Falcons lose another one. They're now five and eight Five and eight. There's still somehow within striking distance of the NFC south I know when no one wants to hear playoffs and we'll explain why I Think as Ashton pointed out last week and kind of sparked a column idea for me Is that they're not playing like a playoff team or a playoff contender? So we're gonna get to all that And we're obviously gonna talk quarterback. How can we not talk quarterback? It's what all of you want to hear about it's what all you all all of you want to discuss and we are podcasters for the people We're gonna talk lots of quarterback giving up before we do that though. We're gonna do I don't know. I always like to say general takeaways But Tori your thoughts on this Steelers loss in particular. Where did it get funky? Um, I mean, I think it started out funky. I mean the When I look at what this offensive production was I think I could argue that this is one of the least productive Games offensively the Falcons have had and it's not even necessarily yards because I do think they had some good explosives It was absolutely getting in the red zone and scoring touchdowns. That was something that was so fascinating to me when we're watching this game is One how poorly the Falcons did on third down that's I mean stats can tell you that story But also just the fact that the Falcons did not get into the red zone until late in the third quarter I'm talking really late in the third quarter and that to me if you're it doesn't matter Well, I say that it does matter what your defense is doing But when you as an offense are unable to move the ball into the red zone to at least give yourself an opportunity To put points on the board That is setting up your entire team to kind of just it makes it think so much harder on your defensive unit and your special teams unit When your offensive unit is not Producing points and I think that was kind of one of the major takeaways that I took I thought the Falcons did have opportunities. I just didn't think that they I mean there were two Maybe even three drives Within the course of the first half and even the first part of the first quarter Where the Falcons started the drive off with a huge explosive play And then nothing came from that they couldn't get into the red zone After that and so after flipping the field on the first play from scrimmage. So That is kind of what my major takeaway was when I look back at this game It's just how this offense it never felt like it ever got going in the way that it needed to Ashton you were in the post game locker room and you kind of in the in the story that you wrote on Atlanta Falcons.com You kind of described the mood in there and and the reaction to that loss kind of Pain a word picture for us about what that locker room was like Well, first when I walked in it was around eight players eight nine players. Most of the players had already left Um, but you know when I walked in everybody was just it was just quiet in the whole locker room It was quiet and nobody was really talking Um, and you know players, you know when I did walk up to Richawn Evans and we were talking Um, you know, he he you could tell that the emotions were you know, they were heavy on him and um He spoke confidently, but it's like He also spoke optimistically, but he also you could tell that, you know These past two weeks the washington game and uh today's game against the stillers, you know, it was tough for the whole team Um, and you know, that's but that was the gist of what rashaun was basically saying Same with talla alger. You know, he was he was saying that this loss was tough. Um, 19 and 16 It was a three-point game that could have went the other way. Um, you know, but things just didn't Pan out that way. So You know, just to paint that picture it was Yeah, it was quiet. Um, you know players Where you could tell players were down about this loss. Um, and you know That was that's really it for the most part Tori, let's all move on here to the quarterback I don't know what the proper word is situation probably isn't it but nonetheless, um We have to talk about the quarterback because Their arthur smith and marcus marriota were asked about the possibility of a quarterback change Coming up the falcons have a bi week next week and then they played the new warland saints in the big easy so, um, they were asked about it before we get into and and that's why this is such a A big topic of this podcast So why don't you kind of set the stage for us about what arthur and what marcus said after a game where marriota Missed some throws missed some opportunities and open targets and ultimately got picked off on that final comeback attempt Yeah, I think from Being there and listening to what arthur smith and marcus marriota said after the game arthur smith specifically I think we kind of have made it to a fork in the road in terms of This quarterback situation and I will say situation. I know if this is three weeks ago arthur smith says there's no quarterback situation But we're not three weeks ago And that was something that I spent a lot of time in my post game article kind of almost like comparing and contrasting arthur smith's responses to quarterback related questions after the carolina loss versus the The same similar type of questions asked of him after this loss against the stealers and how they differ If you go back and you listen to and read the transcript of what arthur smith said after the loss to carolina There was a lot of deflection. There was a lot of deflection away from marcus and Even at one point it was like the third question about the quarterback and and all that kind of stuff and Arthur smith even point blank said, you know guys, you're making this about the quarterback But what about the team? We should have protected better. We should have run the ball better We should have done x y and z better He listed all of these things that the falcons should have Done better in that loss to carolina now fast forward to where we are In week 13 about to go into a bye week And those responses are different when arthur smith is point blank asked Are you going to make a change at quarterback or are you planning on potentially doing something different at quarterback? He essentially doesn't deflect at all and he says there is a lot to evaluate Every option is on the table And it's a good thing that the bye week is coming up It's a good thing for us as a team that the bye week is coming up and I think That response even in its vagueness The fact that it differs so heavily from what it was against the care against carolina or after that game and even after that game and into the next week Where again arthur smith has point blank point blank asked about the quarterback situation and he says quote There is no situation. I don't think the same could be said About where they are now. I do think that they are going into the bye week to evaluate this position I think I believe arthur smith when he says that there are changes coming and he said that not in the way of a The specific quarterback position he said that as a team as a whole but you have to think that This quarterback position is going to be heavily evaluated Over the course of the bye week and I think that what I would like to see and this is just me my opinion What I would like to see is regardless of What happens? Whether you decide to stick with marcus or you decide to give desmond a shot I think arthur smith should come in on the monday before they play the sains and say one way or another Because I feel like if you are going to make a move to desmond ridder to see what you have In him my opinion is that you either do it now Or you potentially don't have another opportunity to do it You have two weeks of prep coming up You have an entire bye week and then an entire week of practice before heading down to new Orleans to face the sains My opinion is if you are going to make the move now is the time to make that move Now again, that is my opinion. We don't know what they're going to do We don't know what these evaluations over the course of the next week are going to entail for this coaching staff But Whatever comes of it. I think arthur smiths should say One way or another that they're either sticking with marcus or they're going to give desmond a shot and hear the reasons why That is ultimately regardless of what decision they make that is what I would like to see happen Not monday when you're probably listening to this podcast, but after the after the bye week is done in the lead up to the sains game I gotta say that was like a fascinating breakdown Thank you. I hope that's fascinating in a good way No, yeah, I think that the biggest thing that I liked about it is that you can say kind of You can just make a blanket statement say well when he was asked about this before he slammed the door on it But it's different this time. Okay. Well, that's a thing for you to say But then to tangibly go back and look at the evidence and see that the evidence is different Another thing that I would like to say about arthur smith. Well, he's a very smart individual He's very good at press conferences and if he doesn't want to tell you something He's not going to tell you but he also tells you the truth in all of it You've got to learn how to like read the matrix with him So to compare and contrast what was said before and what was said again to question I'm sure he knew he was going to get right. Oh, yeah, and you see these differences in the answers. I think Shines a light on it. I also agree with you that There's going to be a lot of people The national guys are going to make a lot of phone calls a lot of people are going to be Trying to read into things. I think ultimately you've got to make a move. I don't believe That making denis allen Prepare for two guys makes that big of a difference, you know to try to like do it like old college way where they They lead right into like the opening kick and so I made a A choice and I do think if you're gonna I've always said if you're going to put Desmond Ritter in you put him in with the best possibility and chance to succeed That doesn't mean after the halftime break when the guy's been running the scout team all week. It doesn't mean that It doesn't mean Even after a thursday, it means giving him the opportunity to take enough first team reps to see what he See what what he can do with it. Arthur Smith was also asked Uh by uh, josh kindle of the athletic. He said Sometimes is making a change for change's sake when you're heading in the wrong direction Is that an option or is that something that you would consider? He said absolutely, right? The the thing that I so while I think it's possible that putting Desmond Ritter in considering his arm strength his athleticism his Um Ability his track record of performing well in the clutch. I think it could give this team a spark I would caution against even members of the ridder ruckus I would caution against making the absolute assumption that or making the assumption that it absolutely will He could play like a rookie and rookies make mistakes. They often make mistakes in key pressure pack situations Oh, by the way, New Orleans is super loud and hates the falcons and it's gonna be and if they somehow are in a Tithe or are in it in the division That crowd's gonna be nuts, right? So for all these reasons I don't think that you can just automatically assume well if they put Ritter in they will be better And I think even if he gives them a spark he will make mistakes and are you willing to Make that move When you're still in it, right and my rant is almost over ashton's almost returned. I'm really sorry Nonetheless when I look at it and I've always kind of had the opinion of one We don't know if desert ranger is good or not. We haven't seen in practice since the summer. He doesn't get a lot of Steam reps. Uh, we don't maybe he's great. Maybe he hasn't been good. We don't know But I always had kind of said that They wouldn't make a move or I didn't think they would make a move until they were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention I don't know if I hold that feeling anymore. Just like Arthur is was it different three weeks ago from now I'm answering it a little bit differently from now because the the hour is getting late the Desperation may be a setting in and after losing four or five the need to Lip things around or have the season fall by the wayside is now Right, so I'm not saying do I think they should do it or not? I'm just saying that I my opinion about it has changed since the panthers game Okay, so real quick hasn't it's been very very patient I know I know I I think too and this was something that I wrote about as well You talk about I was thinking about this whole thing about like time and how you are Essentially, and this is I mean, I do believe this to be true You are running out of time if you are the falcons to get an evaluation of desmond ridder Before you head into this coming off season where you essentially do have to make decisions as to where you want to go in a lot of positions, but especially at the quarterback position and Do you currently asking the question and having an answer to do you believe that the future? Franchise quarterback is on this roster in 2022 And I do think that you are running out of time to be able to answer that question Now again, I'm with you that it's just because like let's say they run desmond ridder out there against the saints that he's going to be Lord and savior That's not at all what we're saying here What we're saying is is can you get good evaluations? To decide what you want to do in the future because even though you are playing to win each and every game There is a whole side of the building that's job is to look ahead and figure out what this team looks like in 2024 2025 so big picture. I also think That has to go into this thought process as well. And I mean that's kind of just where My head's at too, and I'm sure that is you know, where a lot of people's heads are I think that's where a lot of people's heads have been even before the season started because I feel like we were we've we've been having this conversation since Marcus mario to signed here and desmond ridder was drafted You know and I was in just a piggyback. I mean, I feel like both of you all hit everything Like accurately, um, I would say just in my opinion. I think we have seen Um, you know, it's been it's week 13. We have seen Marcus mario to play And like you said like you both said if you're going to Make a decision like make it now. We have four more games left four critical games two division games and Two games against baltimore and in arizona, but I do think it's important To in my opinion to if we're going to see desmond ridder Yeah, he definitely has to play in these last four games and like tory mentioned like you want to see if this is a quarterback That you can have for the long term And like scott mentioned, you know, we we know desmond ridder's track record from college And you just never know, but I do think in my opinion If if a quarterback change is going to happen, it has to be now with four more games left in the season I look at it, especially these last few results, right? And I understand it's a team game and also that sometimes random things happen like Like diron pain shoving his hand up at the last second An interception in the end zone. There's some randomness. There's it's not all the quarterbacks fault There is also some give and take With marcus mariota that he does things that nobody else can do Just the truth. Sometimes that happens. Yeah, he's a high asmen trophy winner Like I think people forget that this guy knows how to win games. He's a good He's he's shown that he can be a gamer Right. The one thing about it that I think this team needs is the clutch gene Right somebody to just kind of make it happen And that doesn't you know, they were seven and two and one score games That doesn't necessarily mean matt ryan absolutely had it although I think he kind of does But they need the clutch gene and from his I'm not saying everything that happens in college applies to the pros But desmond ridder has proven to have the clutch gene Everyone will laugh at me because I'm going to bring up a pre-season game and pre-season games don't matter And it's against the fourth string, but against the lions He somehow wiggled and ran around on fourth down and nearly got his head chopped off and found a way to heave it to jared Bernhardt for a win. Okay, we don't care about the results. We understand that the competition's bad But he can do that stuff and he's good at that stuff So it that makes him an attractive option I also look at it right like we're trying to Build this this case and we're trying to debate things again without having all the puzzle pieces in front of us because maybe Although arthur complimented him about his kind of mental football acumen back in the summer But how's he doing in meetings? How's he doing in game plan? How can he do with the pre So many pre snap motions so much misdirection and selling things that needs to happen And is he good at some of the things that this offense already is you're not going to reinvent the wheel in week 14 I think all of these things need to go into your head as you're trying to evaluate What is going to be a major decision? It could be the thing and you have a bunch of different outcomes And that's why arthur smith and terry fonton will make a lot of money to make some very difficult choices I think they do it unbiased and I think that's a positive Marcus could come out of the buy And play like play like crazy knowing that if you want to be a starter in the future The next four games will determine that maybe the falcons went off four with marcus and everything's great Maybe they go on four with marcus. Maybe they go on four with ridder. There's a there's a bunch of different possibilities here There are zero guarantees with any of it. You're just at a point of desperation Where you really have to evaluate what's the best for us? We're kind of getting knocked around a little bit What's our best shot at taking advantage of this of this unique opportunity? Um, can we just There's some things in the script about talking about this game. Let's forego them. Okay Does anybody else have anything to say about the quarterback before we go big picture nfc south One thing that I will add and this is something that actually came up in the middle of the week this past week where arthur smith was talking about the The part of the game That is the most difficult for players to like un truly understand unless they're in it He was talking about from college to the pros the biggest difference is in the pocket And how everything is maneuvered how you see defenses how quickly Defenders get into the pocket and into the backfield I think it's very interesting that that point came up this past week and i'm not saying that. Oh, that was arthur smith like sprinkling a little foreshadowing then that's not what i'm saying at all because it was just the way the conversation went But I do think it's fascinating that as we're talking about potentially Seeing desmond ritter just knowing that arthur smith says one of the hardest adjustments For any young player to make is actually being in a live nfl pocket And how different it is from the college game And so I just wanted to leave that note in there too because I found it kind of interesting that that came up this This week Yeah, and I think the reason why the the quarterback thing is such a hot button issue is because the falcons are still sort of Kind of totally realistically in it for the division crown if they were playing the other division except for the nfc south They would be at least Three games back with four games to play. That's essentially elimination, right? Yeah At least three back in the every other division that there is they are not in contention for the wildcard at this point They are the 11 seed in the nfc. That's way farther down and with with seven total positions three wildcards So that's not a possibility arthur smith. I think on wednesday called it a quote-unquote unique End quote opportunity that they have in front of them It's something that has more to do with what tampa bay has done than what the falcons have done lately The box just kind of keep them in it And I brought this up or tory brought it up when I was writing my column and we brought up in this podcast And all of a sudden the saints are sort of feeling like They were completely down and out and if they beat tampa and then they go rest up and then they beat the falcons They feel good about themselves too. So anyway, they're still in it Now we have a bi week for the falcons to try to figure out where they're going if I am Correct arthur smith was quoted as saying changes will be made. Does that sound correct? Yes, and yeah, no he he did say that and I will say that I know That in twitter verse that that quote will be taken out of context And it will be focused mainly on the quarterback situation that we previously talked about But the context of that quote was arthur smith saying that there will be changes made to the team Not to just the quarterback to the team as a whole. So I want to make sure that the context is there Yeah, as soon as you head into this bi week and you absorb everything you've seen over the last 13, right? Where do you think and if the answer is quarterback to the answer somewhere else? It doesn't matter But where do you think that that that a change could help the falcons in what areas do you think that they're deficient with personnel to get better? Yeah, um, first off, you know, they have the latest bi week. So I know they're being the I already know that but I do think on both sides of the ball You know, if there's major changes that could be made we saw today against the stillers The falcons defense gave up too many first downs And I think the stillers first job was like seven minutes and 27 seconds They had it for 16 plays that wore down the defense And I think that's something the defense can't allow teams to do As we get later in the season and especially as we get into the playoffs, that's extremely important. Um, You know that eats away at the clock and that limits the time that the offense has on the field So I do think the defense has to be more efficient When stopping teams like the stillers were, you know, they would run for nine yards It'll it'll be a third and one and then they will get that extra one yard to continue to move the chains And I think, you know, those little things is something that the the falcons defense really has to hone in on is Really limiting that chunk yardage. Um, I think on the offensive end what we saw today from the rushing attack You know, we saw them come alive really late in the third quarter But the offense they were too slow in the first two quarters And that's something, you know, when the offense starts out slow Usually the game doesn't go well and I and I think Like players I mentioned all season you have to start fast early in the first quarter To have any any fishing game and I think, um, you know, with some players Potentially coming back from uh, injured reserve. I think that could help. Um, but again I think the falcons have to start fast and especially going into these last four games, you know They just have to be more efficient on both sides on both sides of the ball Yeah, I mean it it's one of those things where I think you could look at that outside cornerback spot and wonder Could we put somebody in other than Darren Hall that might give you better is more of troy anderson and maybe less of michael walker could that Help you out. Could they redefine some roles within the sub packages is lorenzo carter doing enough Does de angelo malone need more? I think more opportunities I don't think again, whether we're talking about the quarterback or any of these changes that I just kind of like haphazardly throughout there I'm not suggesting that any of those be made But again, none of these changes with this roster as it's currently constructed with its injury issues as ashen pointed out There's no guarantee that uh, you swap Rashad fenton who is inactive today. I'm just using his name for Darren Hall or You know, or you give d alpha to shot on the outside I don't know something like that that it's that it's going to be like a miracle cure I don't think there is one necessarily with the options that they have they just need to get discernibly better In several different areas and why not try something because when you lose four of five That really kind of sends you into An issue right four or five and you're still in it. What do you do? What can you do? To make a change there Yeah, and I also think it is important To that some of the pieces that I think Atlanta will have available to them in two weeks time could potentially You know Arthur Smith is talking about the changes and stuff But I think potentially getting Elijah Wilkinson back would be really a really really good thing for this offensive line Not that I'm saying that I think the offensive line is playing poorly. I don't really think that at all Um sit in his absence. I think they've had moments where they haven't played well, but not Full games where this offensive line has not played well um The only time I can really think of is Carolina at Carolina and I think they did a good job of evaluating that moving forward I think there's a potential that you could get arnold abacadie back ak was has been This forearm injury of his has been lingering for a couple of weeks now I think it was actually a very conservative approach that the falcons took Against the Steelers to rest ak in hopes of maybe Resting him this week resting him again for a bi week having a full week of prep for the saints I think it'd be good to have ak back because I really do think that ak was on an upward trend before he got hurt Now you get some of these guys back But what do you do in other spots and and what moves do you make the fact that arthur smith has said Changes are coming. We are going to change things. What does that realistically look like? You know, you do not have cow pits for the remainder of the season How how does that change continue to change what this offense does with its weapons? I think all of these things are just All offshoots of the same question in that how do the falcons Win games they have to start winning games. They I feel like the slide they have been on Since probably even before the carolina loss has been really really significant for this team And it's why they are in the spot. They're in right now So how do you write the ship knowing how important these next slate of games are to any potential future that you have after the regular season ends Yeah, and we've talked a lot about the possibility of you know, maybe the saints and falcons being even with tampa bay after their bi weeks They could also the falcons could also be too back with four to play and right less tampa could win to this They still have tom radion mike evans and Bit of veya and a thousand other amazing players Will they turn on the switch? So it is one of those moments where you need to Objectively look at it and see where can we get 1% better right because these games are so close Yeah That that 1% that that extra play that extra yard or first down or third down prevention or third down conversion can turn A tide here and I think that all those things are important. I mean other falcons reeling and panicking I don't think so Arthur Smith is very good at being objective. He's also Very willing to say This isn't going well for us. This isn't going well for us as play callers or as Executors of plays how they emerge from this bi week the decisions that they make without again any guarantees of success with any of them It's going to be important This bi week is about rest and trying to relax and trying to re-center and refocus But I think the news and decisions that come out of it Will be pivotal as the falcons try to make that push try to turn the tide try to do something Maybe that they don't deserve and that is go out and win a division title because it's there for you And they're not giving it back Right, so how they look at that is going to be important We love to hear of course what you guys think about this whole thing You've got a mail back and you've got a you know youtube comments on like on this thing What changes would you make of course? We all know what we want Great review subscribe to the Atlanta falcons podcast network You get one stop shopping for falcons focus falcons audible and of course the falcons final whistle Thank you all so much for downloading and listening And yeah, maybe like get outside on sunday. I don't know just a thought Next week and enjoy it All right guys, we will come to you after the buy After a game in new Orleans against the saints that no matter what happens over the over monday and then the next week is going to be pretty big