 Welcome back to another special edition of the Falcons audible presented by AT&T This is the initial 53 man roster special edition of the Falcons audible and I am so happy to be back with my guys Dave Archer and DJ Shockley and I know it might look a little different because I'm not sitting right next to them Let me tell you guys we are really close to all of us being together that will be coming very soon But before we dive into this I got to say hello to my fellows Dave DJ Dave Dave won't you tell us how we're doing what's going on and I know you're excited that we're back to some Falcons football Are you kidding me Rack I couldn't be more thrilled to be through preseason you guys know how I feel about preseason football So we're on the eve of playing Eagles here a little bit further down the road about a week and a half or so But so excited that we have a new team to talk about excited to be able to chop it up with you guys looking forward to it And DJ I know you've taken on some additional responsibilities but you're still here with us on the podcast Oh, there's no doubt about it. I could not miss this even though my man Dan Gad tried to get rid of it No, I'm just playing he he was awesome. He wanted to be back which was awesome But yeah, I'm excited of course be able to talk ball my man Arch we speak the same language Rack You you're always awesome man and to be a part of this is pretty cool and when traded for the world All right guys well, let's without further ado, let's just dive right into it as we all know that the Falcons release their Initial 53 man roster and we say initial because as we all know a roster is very fluid throughout the course of the season When it comes to injuries, maybe playing time, maybe they find a guy out on the street that's going to help make this roster better But DJ, let me start right back with you. Give me your initial takes on what you saw when the Falcons release their 53 man roster today Just kind of a more 30,000 foot view here So the overall obviously we're guys who watch this team all the time. We watched them in camp. We watched them through preseason And we had a really big really good feel of who would be on this ballclub and I think overall when you look from the top down You knew the core of this team. You knew exactly what guys will be a part of this team But there were three or four guys that you saw through our preseason said maybe this guy may have a chance Maybe this guy can you know find a way onto the team and we know all AJ McCarrion goes down and Felipe Franks has to step in in that second ball game And you're wondering, okay, Felipe's done a good job. It looks like they have invested a lot into Felipe in his offseason Can they find a way to get him on this roster? Do you try to stick him on that 50 on that practice squad and maybe he gets through I think the Falcons thought that Felipe did enough in the preseason where we can't put this guy on the practice squad There's a chance for him being able to leave One guy who I was really looking forward to see where he would end up is Chris Rowland Chris Rowland ended up being cut. He was a part of that kind of return you in kind of receiver had some good things happen through Throughout camp and he was one of those guys that did not make it and IE comes from Avery Williams who actually showed up and really did well On the defensive side of ball here late in the last couple ball games as well as in the return game So those are a couple guys who from the mountain top I looked down and said okay These are guys I want to see where they fell on the 53 man roster and glad to see we were able to keep Felipe and also Avery Williams take over their return spot Yeah Dave I know that when the preseason you don't get a chance to see all your starters and even more abbreviated this year with just the three games And then also we don't know how the practice squad is going to shake up quite yet that will be renounced after the players end up clearing waivers Let me go to you and what was your take when you saw the 53 man roster again kind of from a more general sense Well I thought that Arthur Smith said right off the top he goes I am going to try to evaluate my players and try to put them in an Apples and apples scenario. I don't want a guy competing at this group and then then the other guys compete like going against Grady Jared on the offensive lines a little bit different than going against the third team defensive tackle from Cleveland or whoever So I want to make sure that they I can compare these guys and then give them the same opportunities and I thought he held true to that We were very vanilla offensively didn't do a lot of stuff a few wrinkles defensively just to kind of put some guys in some spots And see if they could create pressure with some of the things that Dean Pease is going to do But I thought that Arthur Smith held very true to what he wanted to do I want to give these guys a compete an opportunity to compete and distinguish themselves and I thought that's what happened I think when you when you began to look at it as I went into the last preseason game I pretty much had the guys that you were probably trying to decide to you know a couple bubble guys here there But it looked like that guy stepped forward and distinguished them every Williams now Dorian Etheridge There were a number of guys that stepped up and took the opportunity and you guys we all have heard this all three of us Hey make the decision for me. That's what you were told by a coach comes in hey rack make the decision for you go out and perform You're going to be part of the 53 and I thought that these guys did You know and I think what a lot of the viewers and people that are listening need to understand too is sometimes your last three four five guys on the roster Those decisions end up getting made basically more placed on special teams like where is this guy going to help me on kickoff coverage I need a specific guy on kickoff return this guy showed me some flashes on a pump block team that maybe he's got a chance of getting there And tipping a punt for us at some point during the season that could really end up changing the the complexion of a game So it's not always like oh this guy was really good in college and I think he should be on the team guys look at this and say This guy might help us a little bit more on special teams from week one right when we get off the jump and that might be the reason why he ends up making a roster So Dave I'm going to come right back to you and again I want you to give a grade on this 53 man roster Do your best to try to take a step back from how the guys played in the preseason and what week one looks like just give us a grade The ABCD you can use some minuses or pluses if you want DJ you might need to buy it down a little bit if that helps you keep people relaxed On what you think this roster looks like Arch Yeah that's a really interesting question and evaluation I think when you begin to look at the 22 if you're going to just talk about the starting 22 I think Atlanta matches up pretty well. I would say they're starting 22 is probably a B plus in my get it in my opinion I do think there are some depth issues on this team namely at corner to really young in the secondary There's some places along the offensive line. You're not quite sure about yet. So I guess overall I would probably put that the grade level be somewhere in that B minus area maybe even a C plus right now in my mind All right DJ same question to you. What grade are you given this 53 man roster as you see it today? You know I think it's kind of in a similar fashion of what Arch talks about and when you think about a team obviously the first 22 like Arch mentioned Our guys that you could put up versus anybody in this league and say all right let's go play ball and see where you lie But as we know throughout the season it's a reason why you need 53 guys. It's a reason why you need the 16 guys on practice squad Simply because throughout a year you're gonna get dinged up. You're gonna have guys go down That's why the emphasis on the preseason was how these second and third team guys are playing I know a lot of people made a lot of emphasis on when we played the Miami Dolphins and they had their first team in We had our second and third team in but I thought that was a prime opportunity for guys to show Okay, here's some guys who we expect to step up and play if a couple guys go down. So I want to see how those guys fare I would say it's more of a b-minus. I think the depth part of it is a huge thing I think there's still question marks on about rushing the passer. I think that's one thing that the fans will look at and say Okay, who's our guy? We know we got Dante Fowler. We know two is coming off the edge You know Stephen Means is the guy who can do it. We know Grady can push on the inside But who are those other guys other than those three or four guys that we can count on on a weekly basis to get You know pressure on the quarterback. So those are question marks that you still ask Arch talked about the depth of the corner spot on the outside You got a lot of talent, but there are a lot of young guys as well You got a couple guys in Eric Harris and Jerome Harman here on one of your deals They just say, okay, you want those guys to come in and be productive But you also got some young guys who you're trying to build and develop on So how quickly can those guys come in and play for you when you need them for this ball club So the depth part of it is something that's going to be a question mark Something that's going to have to come to fruition as the season goes on But I think if you lined up the first 22 like Arch just mentioned I think you feel good about where you lie going into week one Well I appreciate your guys' candor and you say there's some questions And so we have grades anywhere from like the B to the C plus area So I guess my question right back to you DJ is if I'm a Falcons fan Or if I'm just a football fan and I'm looking at this division And I'm hearing two guys that know this organization inside and out Giving them anywhere from a B to a C plus So let's talk about strengths DJ How does the Falcons, this roster, Arthur Smith, Terry Fontenot How do they make this roster go from a C plus to a B to go up to a B plus And A minus or maybe even an A Talk a little bit about the strengths that you see DJ with this current roster And how they're going to be able to get this season started on a positive note Well Rack, I think that's a great question because I think to talk about strengths for this team You have to start with at the top where Terry comes from Where Arthur comes from where their lineage of how they want to run this team and put it together I think that's where the strength starts and when you're coming to this season You're thinking about Arthur Smith coming here with the identity of being able to run the football DMPs comes in here with the identity of they're going to put pressure on opposing teams And it all comes down how to use that personnel to your advantage And I think they have assembled a group of guys on this team that they feel good about When it comes to how they're going to run their particular scheme You're bringing Mike Davis who is obviously not Derek Henry but he's a bruiser back of his own right He's looking to be the guy for the first time in a long time And he comes into this season as a healthy guy You have a Cordell Patterson behind him who obviously in the preseason we saw didn't get much time So you expect him to have a huge role on the offensive side of the ball as well But then you also have the tight end play You draft the number four overall pick to fit what you do best Which is get the football to the tight end and be creative There are things that Arthur Smith is going to do throughout this season That he didn't show in the preseason that me and Arch have seen out here during camp That a lot of people are going to be excited about in the ways that they get these guys the football You got a veteran quarterback in his 14th year who doesn't turn the football over He's a good distributor of the ball and he's going to have a guy like Calvin Ridley Who wants to prove to people that he is the number one guy Everybody wants to know how he's going to do without Julio Jones Well I think we all know in this building that Calvin can beat that number one guy But now I think he's out to prove it So there are a lot of guys on the offensive side of the ball They're looking to prove themselves to be those guys in this particular system And then on the defensive side it's all about blending those different talents together For Dean Pease to have the system that he wants And let's be honest, wherever he's been his defenses have been a success He's going to find a way to get that personnel playing at a high level And there are guys on that defense who can rush the passer from the linebacker spot A guy who is really productive in the preseason Michael Walker who will have a huge part of this defense Because of where you can line him up, his athleticism It's going to be fun to watch how he molds these guys into his scheme And I think there are a lot of things that I think fans can be excited about when the season comes Because of the group of guys that are leading these players into this season Into that particular scheme Okay, so Arch, I'm just summarizing a little bit of what DJ said He talked a little bit about the management from the top Terry Fontenot, Arthur Smith, and then he touched on running back Wide receiver, tight end and a little bit of defense So I'm going to put the same question on you When you look at this roster right now Arch I know you've been chomping at the bit to get in here Where do you see the strengths of this current team? Well the strength to me on the defensive side is the linebackers The linebackers are the strongest room If you want to throw another room And I think the safeties in the corners play are in the same room But if there was a separation I think you're locked and loaded at safety as well I think Jalen Hawkins and Richie Grant They're the future of the safety position in this team And that future might be sooner rather than later Even though you went and got a couple of veteran guys I think you're going to see those guys on the field a ton Because they're versatile, they can cover, they can tackle They play special teams I mean every special teams tackle in pre-season Was Richie Grant or Jalen Hawkins It was unbelievable So they're going to contribute in a myriad of ways So I think the strength I'm a little worried at the corner I'm not going to kid you guys I'm worried about A.J. Terrell, I think solid I think Caffabian Marot has a chance to be a decent player there I think Isaiah Oliver has settled in at that nickel spot But I don't know about the rest I mean you're going to have to play more than three corners They're in the season And I'm not sure And there's going to be some developmental process To all of that I love the safeties, love the linebackers Tight in, you've got to love the tight in situation as well And don't forget now A lot of people are talking about Well, who's the third wide receiver? Who's going to be that other guy to make plays With Russell Gage and Ridley? Don't forget now The big dude that the shock was talking about Six foot six 255 pounds that runs 4-4 He's going to slide outside And he's going to play wide receiver And Hayden Hurst is still your tight in So you're going to be able to put And remember, when you do that And Rack, you can tell us You got two tight ins on the field More often than not If I'm a defense, I'm staying base package So is that a corner going to play him? That means who's playing the guy in the slot? Who's playing on Ridley in the slot? So you can create some matchup issues I'm excited about that part of it There's no question There's some question marks And we knew that And they're probably not done, Rack And I know we may talk about that here in a few minutes There's still going to be some guys available Out there, and you said it, Rack That fifty-third, fifty-second, fifty-first guy Don't get comfortable Because that's one of those scenarios There may be some other guys floating around there That's just the real part about it Yeah, and that's the nature of the beast Is there might be some guys that got released today From other teams that the Falcons Feel like could help make their roster better And so that fifty-third, fifty-second player Might end up getting released in the next twenty-four To forty-eight hours in favor of somebody else Across the league that they feel Is going to make them a better team Maybe a more complete team So Dave, I'm going to come right back to you We talked a little bit about the strengths But to be honest, I think And this is what coaches do This is what players have to do They have to look at the weaknesses And how can we make a weakness a strength Or how can we cover up a weakness So Dave, you already talked about the corner position I know you feel like that is a weakness on the team Is there anything else you expand there Or is there another position group Or element to this roster That you feel like initially is a weakness for Atlanta Well, I think that the first thing that jumps out Is how quickly does the offensive line come together I mean, this team has been based On offensive football for the last several years Since Matt Ryan's been here It's been an offensive football team We can count one season where Atlanta's had a top 10 defense here in Atlanta That was in 2017 Okay, they've never had So Matt Ryan has been the guy that had to go score points Can they go do that? Can they still go score points? I think that that's something And the only way you're going to be able to do that Is to be able to have solid offensive line play Matt Ryan's been sacked in the neighborhood Of 120 times the last three seasons combined You've got to find a way to keep him off of the ground Because I don't know if you've checked The backup quarterback situation is interesting Josh Rosen looked pretty good the other night In his opportunity Felipe Franks I think he's got an unbelievable talent But he's nowhere near ready to play In the National Football League You've got to keep number two on the field And that's always been the case But it might even be more paramount this year That offensive line to me The corner spot and then have you Figured out what you want to do at left guard It looks like it's Josh Andrews Going to start the season there Jalen Mayfield's had some moments That have been kind of back and forth a little bit So to me that has to be solidified Because you've got to be able to score some points DJ, are there any weaknesses That you feel are different than Arch Or would you back up anything That you've heard him say so far? No, I love the fact because offensive line Is probably the biggest storyline That we've talked about for the last three, four years And Arch mentioned the number of times Matt's been hit And obviously keeping the franchise guy up and healthy And when he is, we know exactly What his offense can look like So I totally agree with Arch Talks about there The one thing that, you know, I don't mind Bring it up is the running back spot We know Mike Davis, Cordell Patterson Has always been kind of a guy who teams Have used in the gadgets, you know, space I mean, we've seen him on reverses We've seen him coming in Have two or three carries How much does Cordell actually carry the football? How much do we give Mike Davis Opportunity to have that lotus? We're going to have 300 carries Like we had when Mike Turner first got here I mean, is he going to be that guy for you? Because we understand in this Arthur Smith style of offense The play action game is critical We know you have to be able to run the football And if Mike Davis is the guy who comes in And he plays that role and does it well Then okay, everything's great But what if there comes a time where Mike Davis is dinged up a little bit And now it's Cordell Patterson, your guy We've seen him sparingly through The last few years, can he handle that load And I think a lot of people are expecting him To be that guy, but time will only tell So if that running back position comes in And fulfills the void and plays to the level That Arthur Smith needs in his offense Then hey, we have a positive But if it doesn't, here's a glaring weakness Right out the gate, where here we go again Where we're a team that depends on Matt Ryan To throw the football 40 times a game And I don't think that's what this offense Wants to be Well, and I know guys were chomping At the bit to really get into X's and O's And talk about football because as soon as You guys start talking about offensive line It makes me want to start talking about The actual game and I'm trying to keep this As a roster announcement episode here But you guys all pointed to like balance And you pointed to offensive line And trust me, those offensive linemen These coaches coming onto the staff They know the numbers, they know how much Matt Ryan has been under pressure And if they're going to be able to execute Arthur Smith style of offense, they've got to Starts on the offensive line So all of those guys have got to accept the challenge They've got to work harder, they've got to coach harder And they've got to execute once they start playing Regular season games against Philadelphia Once that comes around. Go ahead, DJ And one thing to add to it that I think Is the strength and we talked about the offensive line So much, but there's so many guys I think on this roster art that you could I think you'll agree is There are a lot of guys who are versatile They can play multiple roles, can do multiple things We saw in the pre-season, we saw Philadelphia play guard for our half Go out and play tackle, you've seen Dalman play center, seeing play guard There are a lot of things that on this Offensive line, as well as in the secondary Where guys can play multiple spots That brings the versatility part into it That's going to help this team as well So if that's the case going forward You like that idea of having guys who can do multiple things Because that helps you, but we'll see If that's really something that can help you Yeah, I think that you make a good point shock But for me as a fan Jack of all trades is great Master of none I'm not looking for that at all I want guys that are going to lock down positions I love the fact that you've got guys that are versatile One of the guys they kept in the secondary TJ Green played safety in college Played safety the first two weeks in camp They moved him to corner And he showed really well in the game this last weekend Made two plays on Federer He's six foot three, 225 pounds Playing corner, but he also has A versatility, if you get dinged up You can slide inside and play safety And oh by the way he's going to be all your special teams I like an athlete at six, three, two, twenty It can run up and down the field So that versatility I love that But he's in a support role I don't need that when I got a starter I want a guy that's locked that position down That's what I'm looking for Alright guys, so we've talked a lot About different position groups, strengths and weaknesses And I just want to pose this question Back to you and have you guys answer it Arch, I'm going to start back with you The Falcons will win in 2021 if Dot, dot, dot, and I'm just going to let you go With wherever you want on this one But know that we're basically talking about a roster here But they're going to win in 2021 If Wow, it's a really interesting question And you could go a lot of different ways with it Couldn't you? I'm going to try to stay true To what I've been talking about here I think P's and the defensive side are going to create Some issues, I think they're also going to Have some issues from time to time I'm going to get a lot of the concepts I'm going to go directly back to If you can run it with some success Like Shock was talking about And it's the backs, but it's the offensive line If you can create a line of scrimmage On the other team side of the line of scrimmage More often than not I'm talking about 60, 75, 70% of the time I'm winning the line of scrimmage Because you're not going to win it every time It doesn't happen But if you can dictate up front And be able to get the play caller In second and six Third and four, third and three And you live in that zone Then I think Atlanta could be a playoff team But if they don't do that Now all of a sudden Ryan's having to drop You mentioned 40 plus times a game Is he going to be able to make enough plays And then you put a lot of stress On not converting On third down, and if you don't win The third down battle, Rack you guys know Now my defense is back on the field And I give one of these talented Offenses that I'm going to see I'm going to get Tom Brady in week two I'm going to give him two or three more series Against my defense I'd prefer not to do that I want to be able to control the football Control the line of scrimmage Staying on schedule sounds like What I'm reading in between the lines Their arch and again a lot of that goes back To the offensive line Maybe the Falcons don't have a Derek Henry We don't know until the season starts But I know that Derek Henry also had So much success and keep that Tennessee Titans offense on schedule With the Chains and leaving Arthur Smith As a play caller in some very favorable situations So DJ, same question to you The Falcons win in 2021 Rack, I got two things And the first part of it Is it deals with Developing our young talent And I think about young talent Comes along sooner than we expect Art mentioned earlier About the Richie Grant and Jalen Hawkins Those guys coming on and being some roles On the defense that we can use And not be a disadvantage when they're on the field Be guys that people go after If those guys can develop early Even on both sides of the ball If you can get something from your third or fourth receiver Whether it's OZ or whether it's Christian Blake Some of those guys appear in these ball games Where you're going to get a lot of one on one matchups If you can win those, you got a chance to be good Because you know your stars are going to come up and play You know they're going to show up and play But some of these younger guys in these other roles Show up and be some contributors I think you got a chance to do some really good things The second part of it is It's your phase that you love, right Is that third phase that people forget about It's special team If you can get something out of your special team If you can get some positive yardage In the return game If you can do some really good things Pinning guys deep when you pun the football And you got to make the team go 80, 90 yards To score touchdowns If you can be efficient in that third phase And not give up things in that third phase I think you got a really good chance Of doing some good things So those are two things that I think about When I say okay can this team Be a little bit better than what people are expecting Is young, secondary Young talent become better Sooner rather than later And then you get something really significant From that third phase of the game Where it's contributing to you and not hurting you Such a great point, Rack When you start talking about the special teams Because you can cover up a lot of warts If you can make a plays on special teams If I can get a first down or two on a kick return Meaning I get a 10 or 12, 15, 20 yard return Can I create negative plays On the kick coverage units Where I tackle a guy inside the 20 yard line That was something that you guys did Such a great job of in special teams Get ready now, Avery Williams Who's going to handle the kicks He had nine kick returns for touchdowns in college He shows a knack for it I've got to go back to one of your guys Back in Allen Rossum who had a little bit Of a swagger about him back there And you could see he was frothed at the mouth Kick the ball to him That's what I see from Avery Williams He's got a knack for making some stuff happen Get ready, it's going to happen Falcons fans This kid's going to take one back Or a cup of it I love what you guys talked about DJ, I've loved you regardless But now that you talked about the special teams And I'm podcasting the season You've now just won another special place Right here No doubt Before we wrap up this podcast I do want to make one mention of some roster announcements From around the league As they start to come out a little bit And there haven't been too many surprises Maybe the biggest one that probably hit everybody's Smartphone earlier this morning Was the release of Cam Newton In New England Maybe not a surprise because of the draft pick Of Mack Jones Is it something that you saw coming with Cam Newton, did you see him In New England long term Or was the writing on the wall once Mack Jones' name was announced I'll be honest I did not see this coming I would be lying if I see him say yeah I thought Mack Jones would be the guy that Cut Cam Newton and they'll move on No, I thought Cam would actually start the season Just like everybody else I thought he would be a big part of what they do I thought he did really well in the preseason I thought he played better than he did last year I thought he got a whole offseason to work on What they like in that system And I thought he was moving in the right direction Yeah, you drafted a guy 15 overall Obviously they like him But I thought you did enough to hold him off But obviously not so And the release of Cam Newton Is something that You didn't see coming But you also can understand it From a wide angle view Of what they look at And what they like in Mack Jones Me and Archer was talking about this before he came on And there was three days last week Where he missed practice In those three days he missed practice I guarantee you Mack Jones threw over three, four hundred passes In that game And they obviously saw something that they like In those three practices that said Okay, this is what it would look like If there was not a Cam Newton In part of this process And he came in ready He came in Two and a half years But he played well in the pre-season And the one thing that I heard About Mack Jones is And for a quarterback this is rare But this is also something that If you can do this, it makes you special When he makes one error He doesn't make it again And I know that's one thing that From that position you make one mistake But you don't make it again, you move on You're able to grow That's a big part of the development process And Mack Jones will say that We don't need Cam Newton on his team right now To be our guy Same thing for you Arch, do you feel like New England's in good hands with Mack Jones? I think it's what they wanted to be at some point So when do you make that decision? I think that there's some more underlying Things going on here I don't necessarily think that Cam and Bill Belichick Were necessarily on the same page Based on some of the comments that were coming out of there Over the last week missing some time In practice there was a lot of smoothing If you're having to do that then there's an issue Certainly, remember this too And you and I both played the physician shock There's a mentality it takes To be a backup quarterback Or a nurturer And that's the role Cam Newton was in Cam was the starter we thought But he was supposed to be a nurturer He's going to nurture this guy, bring this guy along He's not interested in doing any of that And it's not just Cam Newton Brett Favre didn't want to have anything to do With Aaron Rodgers either There's certain guys that can go gracefully From being the guy To now being the nurturer and the backup guy And there's some guys that can't Cam thinks he's a former MVP of this league And he still thinks he can run the show And that doesn't mean I'm going to wrap Marm around The young guy and help bring him along And I think that's part of it Yeah I agree with you Arch I mean is it surprising I get where you're going With a shock a little bit just because you think Maybe they would go one year with Cam Newton To let Mac Jones get up the speed But when I think about personalities And I think about the Patriots organization I just didn't see that lasting Very long at all To me Cam Newton's personality does not fit Into New England And they just decided that it wasn't going to be longer When you're winning games The dancing and all that kind of stuff That's okay But when you're not effective and you ain't know what you're supposed to People can do it out I know that We know there are some extremely Large shoes to fill At that position in New England So we'll see if Mac Jones has got it in him Only time will tell and we'll have a first glimpse Of that here in a couple of weeks Guys I think that's going to be our time We're getting to the end here So I just wanted to say it's great to see All again You guys are looking fabulous Simply do it in person next Can we do it in person next time? No we're trying to make it happen Because I'm beginning to think this is more of a muppet show Are you just a guy with Working the mouth? I'm real But we'll see you next time Alright guys I appreciate The honesty, the insight The football knowledge And it'll be fun If we can go back in 8 weeks Maybe 12 weeks and kind of revisit some of the comments That we made here to see If the falcon season has been successful If it's some of the things that you guys outlined Here today That's going to wrap it up for the Falcons Audible Presented by AT&T A special edition of the initial Falcons 53 man roster as we know this roster Is going to change over quite a few times Throughout the course of the season I'm Derek Rackley, I'm with Dave Archer and DJ Shockley We're going to sign off for now but we will be back Very shortly, very soon for another episode Of the Falcons Audible Presented by AT&T Thanks so much everybody take care You're listening to Falcons Audible Presented by AT&T