 What's up everybody and welcome to the latest edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast. I'm Scott Bayer and through the zoom cyberspace universe is Tori McAlaney and Ashton Edmonds. We're all back in the atl at this point coming to you after a 19 to 13 lost to the Washington Commanders if you saw this game live or heard it on the radio It didn't end well for the Falcons. It nearly did and then did Courtesy of an interception that was batted and then caught by the wrong team When the Falcons are at the four-yard line Killing a comeback that had so much promise that would have put them in Yeah, we'll just say it in first place in the NFC South because Tampa Bay lost in overtime The Falcons were not able to take advantage and pick up a game on the on their rivals from Tampa Bay Ultimately, they end up losing a close one a difficult one a one that they're gonna have to get over pretty quickly Because no matter how much we'd like to say and I tried to write in my column that hey, man We don't use the playoffs word around here anymore until they start stacking wins The Bucks just keep that division compact. They really They really make it difficult on all of us. They really do everybody all everybody in the NFC South is just like Let's just make this hard on everyone hard on everybody and it's not like the Saints want to make up ground they they lost to the 49ers and I mean, they had a golden opportunity to move into place today and we're like nah, we're not into it. No way hard pass So nonetheless, I normally say overall takeaways How about this one of you go from the game Tori go from the game Ashton go with your takeaway on the state of the NFC South Tori go first Yeah, take of the game was that the Falcons again. I felt like lost a game that they had every opportunity to win It's really interesting because when you look at the last You know, the Falcons have played 12 games this year and I believe 10 of the 12 have been decided by The final like drive of the game or the final minutes. Yeah, and nine as one score games But yes decided at the end. Yes. So because of that, it's It's like the Falcons it almost feels very like frustrating and no one can see me But I'm literally just like running my head like my hands like on my forehead I feel like I have a headache from This game because it was another game in which the Falcons had an opportunity to win and couldn't finish it out And I think something that I feel like keeps coming up is the Falcons Don't have an issue holding on to a lead this year. It's fighting from behind that I think has been Heart winds have been hard to come by in that sense So that was kind of my major major takeaway. I'm sure we're gonna get into all the nitty gritty stuff But that was Just kind of big picture looking at the game itself. That was kind of what I took from it Yeah, and I would say Looking at the NFC south as a whole it's it's weird because no team is over 500 You know the bucks are five and six we're five and seven and the panthers and saints are both four and eight So it's like this I would say this Conferent or this division specifically has has definitely fluctuated a lot The Falcons definitely have to win against Tampa Bay and the Saints, you know moving forward in these last five games It's very vital. It's crucial. Um, especially if they do want to have a playoff spot, but you know, it's I guess Tampa Bay losing today was good for the Falcons But the Falcons aren't if we they're not they're not playing like a playoff team And they had they have to win these last five games To be considered like a real playoff team contender Yeah, ashton's right with a very accurate and kind of You know tough point right in that they're not playing like a playoff team right now Tyler Algier, who's I don't know. I mean, he's barely old enough to drink really had a meeting with the media that I thought was Showed a lot of Maturity. Yeah, really wise when and the crux of what he started in saying is that good teams keep it close great teams finish That's true. And sometimes You know And the Falcons have kept it close time and time again. We talked about so many of these one score games They've they've played 12 again nine have ended Uh with one score difference between the winner and the loser They are now four and five in those games last year. They were seven and two the close game efficiency or Success doesn't often travel from one year to the next. There's so much randomness in there. There's not luck but there's a lot of Very minute and small margin for error between a win and a loss in those scenarios But ultimately when you look at it, they're not coming up clutch more like often enough And I think it goes back to tory's point If you look at so many of the games Where they lost by one score it was against tampa fell by fell behind big It was the la rams that they fell behind big and then Um, and then in this game it like it was really pretty close the chargers They jumped out to a lead and lost it the same they jumped out to a lead and lost it But ultimately not coming out of these close games at a at a high enough clip Is is costing them here and this was one of those games. It was a low scoring game and I still think that we should go ahead and um sell the audio to the scott and tory It's not really complain of fest, but it's definitely like ongoing and unfiltered narrative of what's happening in the game And there was a point where I forget which one of us said it But essentially they were down three and then down six in the second half And it kind of felt like they were down by 18 Yeah, because they just were giving up As grady jarrett put it leaky run plays plunge Run plays that that were stopped early, but gained more and ultimately washington churned out A couple more points and a couple more points But then all of a sudden the defense gets two big stops and it comes down to that final drive So enough of my filibustering tory. Let's get into this final drive. It looks so good for so long until it didn't Yeah I sorry, I just did like the biggest sigh You probably thought I was gonna keep talking I No, I feel like that sigh really uh encapsulates How I felt about that drive because it was and this was something I wrote about post game is it was It was the could have would have should have drive Could have would have should have the falcons if they finished out that drive It is the drive that could have would have should have beaten the washington commanders just in my opinion And what's really crazy too is I was looking back at the second half Just in general after a first half that I thought the falcons were even though they only scored 10 points going into halftime. It was A very balanced offensive attack. You had I think 100 rushing yards and 104 passing yards I didn't have any issue with what we saw from the falcons offensively in the first half And then they come out in the second half and they only had 13 plays before that 11 play final drive And that's really tough when you have a commander's team That had two very long physical productive drives that ended up scoring 10 points For them over a span of like 13 and a half minutes so that Just a position of what the falcons were doing in the third and beginning of the fourth quarter versus what the commanders were doing That was kind of the crux of the situation that the falcons got themselves in But again Scott going back to what you're saying the defense did give them a shot at the end And that's kind of all you could ask for when you get to that point In Arthur Smith even said we knew it was going to be a low scoring game So because of that every single time the offense has the ball It's important and you have to find ways to score points. And so Going three and out in two of their four possessions In the third and fourth quarter. I thought was That was the part that I kept sticking on we can talk about the the end of the drive and the interception But I kind of agree with what Arthur Smith and Marcus Mariota and Tyler Algier were saying where it was like, you know The play call was there. The look was there. It was just the a defensive lineman Made a play on a last ditch effort throwing his hands up and getting his his hand on the ball and I'm I think like that Whole situation we could probably talk for 45 minutes About that play and that play call and what that moment was but to me it was like It was the third and fourth quarter all together and it wasn't executing at the way that they needed to And again going back to they had every opportunity to win this game In multiple different ways and didn't do it and I I think Marcus Mariota is taking a lot of heat for that final Interception I I actually don't have a problem with the way that Marcus played On sunday. Did he make a few decisions that I kind of was very very questionable? Absolutely, but at the end of the day it was they did they were in the position to win the game and they didn't do it And I don't know I could keep talking, but I'm just going to stop talking because I'm getting myself frustrated All right. Well, I have to offer a rebuttal We go ahead most things. I think we're going to disagree on this the the the previous three and outs I think Are important in the context of the game and their inability to maintain a consistently productive offense is an issue But when it comes down to it with so many of these games We talk about coming down to the final drive where the falcons had an opportunity On the final drive at the two-yard line and then the four and then they had three opportunities to cash in and they didn't and I kind of I don't want to say well, that's just bad luck a guy got his hand on the ball, right At some point you've got to execute down there, right? Yeah, and in those two plays after the offside set them up with I believe a first down And Arthur Smith was wasn't terribly specific about whether Marcus Mario had made the right read on the run where he lost two yards And I know that we are going to get nitpicky in and we're not going to go 45 minutes I've already promised that we wouldn't even go 30 But nonetheless when it comes down to those key moments Are you going to execute or are you not? Yeah, and they had the opportunity there because it's a team effort three and out. All right That's not good for the offense, but the defense got you two key stops They got a three and out and they somehow got you the ball again with 30 seconds left But there was a penalty that negated that opportunity but I look at those moments as determining factors about That you want to look back in January or whenever you're done playing with As few regrets as possible That's gonna that in my opinion ranks right up there with the jail and ramsey intersection With the kyle pit splitting the safety against the chargers that play Whether it was the right call or not. I'm not saying that you're wrong. Right. I think maybe Fans are gonna say my mailbox is already full of why didn't they run overpass, right? Same with the old seahawks argument. Why didn't they run it overpass, right? I don't really like those arguments very much But I do Understand with the fact that when you're in that moment You you got a hit or when you're sitting on the outside looking in you can look back at three or four plays and be like Yeah, okay I get it. Right. Yeah, we didn't show up in those three or four moments The three or four moments can be offense or defense or special teams That each one has played a part this season But they weathered all they weathered all of that and they had that moment. They were on the two Yeah, sit here with an l considering what happened to tampa um is definitely Is is definitely I think will be a tough thing for the falcons to look back on the season If they don't succeed and be like, oh shoulda coulda woulda just like what you said And I think that drive is a real shoulda coulda. What a moment here. Um You know, again, we don't want to belabor that final play to death It is what it is. Chris Lindstrom did his job blocked his man to the point Drone painted nothing else to do but put a hand up Ultimately, that's not the situation that you want leading up to it though The washington has two key drives here. Uh, the falcons had how many turnovers tori one the michael walker pick Yeah, okay. Only one, uh, tori posed this question just generally defensively ashen What did you think of their defensive effort? You played some edge rusher in your high school days? Uh, what did you make of that? um defensive effort? Um, especially on those washington drives and then also with the fact that even though they gave up long and sustained scoring drives They were able to tighten up what it mattered most Yeah, for sure. I think um, I think the secondary played better today. I'm not gonna say they played really good But um, I think the secondary played better. Um, I think washington I mean our run defense wasn't tight at all today. You know robinson. He had a lot of Big plays. I think he had like multiple 10-yard Plus runs against the falcons today and I think that's what hurt him most. Um, I know the weather was pretty bad out there It was rainy. It was cold. Um, that's still no excuse. Um, especially if washington is executing um, I just think we have to do better Up front and a bit. I mean, I know to quangram. He's out right now So that's a that's a big piece to the defense and so that run interior line but again They have to do better up front. It definitely starts up front and um, I think the way Washington was running a ball They were they was breaking down the defense, you know the offense like tory mentioned It was so many three and outs that the defense was on the field for so long And I think that was that you know, kind of wore them down. They were tired Um, and then especially when washington just kept running the ball pounding the ball down their throat that just made it even worse So, um, I think what hurt him most was definitely the run defense and and starting up front For sure Tori, how do you think the falcons did without kyle pits? Uh, I thought they did Okay, uh, I thought it was interesting that they included Um, cordial patterson a little bit more in the run in the run game in the past game than they have Previously, I think that's something that they should honestly. I'd like to see them utilize a little bit more Um, and I've said that all year. This isn't just because cow pits isn't on the field I've I've said that I'd like to see cordial patterson in the past game a little bit more anyways. Um I also thought and I know ashton wrote about this after the game I thought alameda zekias had a really good day It's interesting too how I think michael pruitt continues to do things that I really like and i'm not just talking about the touchdown That they scored on that drive in the to start the second quarter Um, I think he continues to to impress me and in what he's been able to do And the thing is I mean and it goes back to I think Something that marcus has said it's something that arthur smith has said like you don't replicate cow pits with one person You replicate him with a collection of people and I thought that The falcons had a lot of really interesting formations and pre sent motions and I thought they were doing some things Offensively that we haven't necessarily seen them do Um, well, I say you haven't seen them do we have seen them do it. It's just kind of it just felt a little different But again, you do miss cow pits presence and arthur smith was asked after the game if washington maybe played them differently without cow pits on the field and he said kind of no Which I thought was really interesting because I feel like Defenses if I'm a defensive coordinator, I know where cow pits is on the field at all times and I'm essentially I mean the threat of him alone. I feel like it takes up a good portion of your mind um, so that was kind of surprising to me and so all in all I think I think it was fine. I don't think it was great. Um, because obviously they didn't win So it's like okay. You can't be great if they didn't win. Um, and so yeah, it's just kind of like meh to me yeah, yeah I didn't think it was it was as much of a factor as I would have expected something else That's already filled the mail bag in addition to why didn't you run the ball? Down by the goal line is why isn't drakeland and seeing more targets. That's a common refrain. I think it was amplified because there are no You know that the cow pits isn't On the field anymore or and just like you said, we haven't really seen it all year about Cordero Patterson a career receiver lining up in traditional receiver positions that he's often He's often coming out of the backfield, which you know is just an interesting development He's been effective there right and they were effective running the ball and they were effective doing the things that That like they ultimately like to do But when you look at this and now we'll head over to the to the uh to the column that I wrote is that I went in to that Postgame press conference and into the open locker room where I do most of my work to be honest with you Um, I I went into that thinking I'm gonna write a story about I don't want to hear the word playoffs anymore until they can Put at least two wins together before they can do what is required to actually win a division And then and I didn't notice this credit where credit's due josh kennel of the athletic did there was a group of falcons All huddled around cornell armstrong's phone While they were watching tampa bay blow it to a three-win Cleveland browns team and ultimately as ashen pointed out there's no team here as torey put out in her notes and i'm going to try to pronounce this as it's spelled tampa bay lost what? Wut which sort of felt like it that did not seem like An expected result. I keep sort of Thinking that a team with tom brady and mike evans and chris godwin and vidivaya and on and on and on is gonna turn the switch Right, and then it keeps kind of not happening. I don't watch every snap of them somebody who does can probably tell me exactly why But the bottom line from a falcons perspective is okay Let me just ask the question as opposed to saying it and I don't care who answers but does what happened against In or with tampa and cleveland Does it change how you view this loss or does the loss still sting and is it still hurtful? Or is it somehow mitigated or is it somehow worse? Let's take a poll I think you have to not think about it in the way of Like having other people decide How you move forward like I wouldn't I think about The whole like, you know, you decide your own destiny and you choose where you go and how you do it Like have ownership of what you are doing. Don't don't get it Don't like move forward in the way that you think about something simply because another factor changed Kind of the the surrounding landscape of it. So to me like it doesn't change this loss like I guess in the grand scheme of the nfc south like yeah, sure, but I think I said A couple weeks ago that the falcons needed to went out to the bi-week and they didn't and so To me it does change How the falcons move forward because It but it doesn't change it in the scope of the nfc south to me It changes where the falcons are They have to put more winds together for themselves not for the nfc south not for anything else for themselves To put better product out on the field and that's kind of where I I land in that like sure you can say Of course, and there are going to be a lot of people that say oh like this loss is fine because Tampa lost But I don't think you have I don't think you think about it that way through the players or the coaches Like you should be really mad that you lost this game that you weren't able to execute And in the moments when it mattered most that should fuel you not what Tampa Bay did in my opinion Ashton thoughts. Yeah, and I I agree Tori said it And I think Marcus Mario to set it in his post game presser Player phrasing him. He said you can't let nobody control your destiny Um, and I and I think just because Tampa Bay lost I don't think the falc like Tori said the falcons shouldn't be happy about that. Um, they needed this one today They needed they need the win against Pittsburgh against Baltimore against New Orleans Tampa in Arizona moving forward. Um, You know, especially if they want to get into the playoffs, but I don't think they should look at the Tampa loss as as a good sign because they're They're still not playing at the level that they should be playing. They have to stack wins They have to be consistent. Um on both sides of the ball. I just think, you know It's it's a team. I think it's a team effort. I'm not even going to Focus on one player. It's a team effort as a collective and I think, um, you know, the falcons they they truly have to hone in On their mistakes. They have to capitalize on You know on I was on their mistakes on other teams mistakes. Um, and they just have to be better moving forward Like these last five games are crucial. Um, and they and they truly have to just lock all the way in Am I being the falcons have won two games in a row one time weeks three and four That's it. They've lost a couple in a row since they've not put together the the type of run that Is going to loft them to a place where they can really win a division title As ashen pointed out earlier, they still have games against the saints and the flocks. Those are important And frankly in this league Tori's point, which was made back in april or maybe the previous april. I can't He's always still the same It matters more about when you play a team than who you play at times go ask baltimore how it was playing jacksville today Didn't work out very well for them Ultimately, it's not even about what you're so what you should do or what you what it looks like on paper It's about how you execute on that particular day And I think too often when the opportunities have been presented to the alana falcons I do think they are playing last year They were seven and two and one score games But it was either you're winning a one score game or you're getting blown out. Yeah, that was how it worked last year That's not how it works. That's not how it is work this year because the falcons have been Most often with rare exception competitive I would anticipate some of these games over the last five the falcons being competitive and in it, but When you're on the two And you have to find it in Got to punch it in and you have four chances to do it because it was first and goal from the two Yeah, first and goal from the two. They didn't even get to use All of their lifelines. Ultimately, I think I think and that's why y'all's answers were I've been in the south too long You all y'all y'all It's that that's why they're sitting where they are I think the Tampa Bay influence of it all is that they're still in it because Tampa Bay Could be I'm not could be I'm not trying to say what they should win or lose But in a normal division you would have at least one team That's well over 500 and the falcons would sort of be out of it but they're still in it through some good luck and some grace and The only way that any of that matters is if they perform better In the clutch and to torii's point more consistently Over the course of four quarters. Are we gonna get like and if they win Just win. Yeah, like just win like break over that like to step over the line They're toeing the line just step over it Right. Yeah, I feel like that's better and I wish people could see it because torii has has her uh Her apple wired headphones in and she just lifted the microphone up directly in front of her voice So everyone could hear that last part. I think that's a great way to end it The inside is fantastic. It doesn't matter how you get there. How pretty or ugly it is get across the line Yeah, that's our new theme get across the line Uh, they were a couple yards away and couldn't do it against washington Can they do it against pittsburgh? We will be there to break it all down after that stealers game at Mercedes Benz stadium where the falcons have played Pretty darn well to the tune of four wins to this point at home They're gonna need another home crowd. I'm sure there will be some stealers fans. It should be a raucous atmosphere Red helmets are coming back What? Red helmets are coming back and red helmets are coming back all of the exciting things together at once It should be a lot of fun. I think ashen's family is coming to this one too The Edmunds clan is gonna be there. All my family from Pittsburgh is coming. So I'm excited Yeah, so but they're gonna be wearing falcons here, right right ashen. There's only one answer I don't know. I don't know about that Nonetheless, my mom is my mom Nonetheless, uh, thank you all so much for downloading listening and please subscribe to the falcons podcast network You're one stop shopping for all things audio awesomeness a rat about the Atlanta falcons I think i'm done. I'm out of oxygen Let's sweep away it on a sunday. We made it in less than 30 minutes Woo-hoo Round of applause mandate was achieved. Talk to y'all next week