 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast I'm Scott Bayer and across the zoom meeting from me right now is Tori McElaney Ashton Edmonds is on the road back from Charlotte Road trip and yeah, Tori and I flew back We are recording this at a somewhat unusual time because the Falcons played the Panthers at a somewhat unusual time on a Thursday night The game ended late our flight back to Atlanta and then the drive-through pouring rain Ended even later. So now it's 9 19 in the morning Tori and I are on precious few hours of sleep. So let's get delirious as we break down the Panthers 25 to 15 victory over the Atlanta Falcons a game that did not go right For the dirty birds in a lot of different ways. We're gonna break all those ways down Including something that I wrote about in my column on the last night slash this morning about how the Panthers kind of played Falcons football and Kind of dominated the line of scrimmage and did a bunch stuff that the Falcons like to do We're obviously gonna talk about the quarterback situation. That's something that Tori wrote extensively about yesterday In a great job, by the way in addition to some big picture look at where the Falcons stand in the NFC South and Also kind of how the Falcons can use this minibuy this rest period to try to get right Get back on track because they're at a point now where they've got to start stacking some wins. So preamble over Tori McElaney, you have the floor and the spotlight and The microphone give me your immediate overall general takeaways from Thursday night Yeah, I thought that just Overall and maybe this isn't even like a just a Thursday night thing now that we're kind of like I don't know Less than probably what like seven eight hours removed from the game 12 hours removed from the start of the game Time is irrelevant. I don't know anymore. It's a flat circle Yeah, we're trying our best here. Um, but Essentially what I was thinking kind of as we're sitting here in After the games over and kind of thinking back is that this game against the Panthers I really felt like from start to finish offensively even if the stats like Kind of don't necessarily back this up to a certain extent. I felt like the Falcons offensively just like couldn't ever Get going from start to finish It felt like that and I and I felt like I'm not and I tweeted this after the game, too When I look at the defensive performance, I wasn't like displeased by what they did defensively like should they have stopped the run more? Yes, should they probably have caught not one not two But maybe even three Interceptions that landed in defensive back's hands also. Yes, all the all those things are true But I thought that they did a good job of keeping the Panthers out of the end zone and essentially they caused I think four three announced if I'm remembering correctly giving the ball back to the Falcons offense But I never felt like the offense could really like capitalize on any Moments or any swings in the game that you felt like okay Like maybe there's an opportunity here and that's something that I felt like over the course of the last four games In which the Falcons have only one one game and I'm gonna be honest I don't think they played can Consistently in these last four games that they have gone with one win and three losses Against the bangles the Chargers and then of course Carolina twice when you look at these last four games collectively It's like there hasn't been something clicking that I feel like was clicking During a time where you know, they beat the 49ers and they beat the Seahawks and and it and they beat the Browns And it felt kind of different often what they were doing offensively and I can't really put my finger on it But that was just kind of like where we're at and where I think the Falcons are at now Taking a look back not only at this Thursday night game, but at the last four games that they played Yeah, I think that's Interesting To put it that way and I look at the defensive performance and you know, we all know what Dean P says it You know yards don't matter points do they gave up 20 last Week they gave up 25 here I covered Charles Woodson for a long time He always said that if a defense holds the team to 24 points or less That defense deserves to win the football game Adam and about that they gave up 25 here kind of at the last minute. They were at 22 for most of the game The thing that I look at here and Carolina ran for a bunch of yards the last time that that They played Atlanta, but they ran for 232 yards they ran the ball 47 times 47 times that's an ideal Falcons football game in my opinion and What the Falcons do well is that they run the ball well I think it was kind of surprising maybe to some to hear that entering Thursday night's game the Falcons were the number eight overall run defense They got beat pretty good and Carolina made a point to run. They ran 17 at the first 23 place They were the racked up more than 130 some odd yards I don't have that number in in front of me rushing yards in the first half They won both lines of scrimmage. That's not me saying that that's Arthur Smith saying that immediately after the game And when you do those things and you don't get bailed out by a turnover and your passing game doesn't go bananas You end up with a result like this and that's ultimately Where the Falcons stand here is that they didn't play their game the Panthers played their game and did it well Because when the Falcons are at their absolute best as they were against San Francisco They stick it to you on the ground. They defend well. They don't allow a bunch of explosives. They make scoring hard and That's what it was for Atlanta. They got kind of a taste of their own medicine and it doesn't taste very good It tastes like that like generic Store brand version tussin, right? It's like it's not Anything I don't know where you're going with that. I had no idea. I was like, he's going somewhere I don't know where he's going though. Yeah, I was trying to think of the name of it and then struggled mightily It's weird because some of these numbers on critical downs Dean P's would probably take one of two in the red zone six of 15 on third down They didn't pass they passed them all for 101 yards and the past defense has struggled not so much that they couldn't do It just because they didn't need to do it because they're running the brain so well The reason why those critical downs weren't good enough is it's all relative. It's all comparative, right? Arthur Smith said look it was ugly and we did pretty well on critical downs But we didn't but we did even worse and he's right three of 11 on third down One of two in the red zone. Oh one two on fourth down Four point nine yards per play they ended up with a hundred thirty eight rushing yards. They still ran the ball 25 times and my stat Lecture is now over Tori, but I guess when I look at this game. I look at a game where They wanted to be the more physical team. They wanted to do some of these things and it got done to them Sean Evans called it and called it an eye-opener That not only that they got beat but they got beat this way Do you buy into that that maybe this was kind of like a hey, whoa? That's what we do and this is where we ended up Yeah, no, I definitely do and I think that's the a really interesting kind of story to come out of Thursday what Thursday night's game was and I think just kind of looking at Offensively, you know What was really interesting and you and I both talked to Chris Lindstrom in the locker room And it was kind of funny because you talked to him and then I walked up and you finished and I was like Chris I'm so sorry. Can I please ask you like three more questions? And he definitely knows that we're from the same outlet like that's right. So he's like wait Yeah, you guys are together and then okay Yeah, he was great. He was and and he said something interesting. I don't know if he said this to you He did say it to me, but he said something along the lines of like That it just wasn't clicking for them at the very beginning of the game He was like something didn't feel right and I never for somebody to say that I felt like one is being very honest But also too like it was putting to words Exactly how I felt when that game started and now this is now the second time that the Falcons have played The Panthers and it's also the second time that offensively they've had a pretty rough start to the game if you remember Last or I this is what 12 days ago at this point the first time they played the Panthers started the the game off with the interception I Believe it was the second play of the offense their first drive and then of course to go out in the first half and to only rush for 33 yards at a clip of I can't exactly Remember, but I want to say it was like less than three yards to carry on average in the first half I haven't one of me. It's it's 2.8 yards per carry and that included that included a 12-yard run by Avery Williams in the first half Okay, so that take that with what you will but essentially I'm saying No, it wasn't clicking and Marcus even said he was like, you know Because I asked because it felt like from watching it where in the press box from our vantage point To me it felt like Carolina did a really good job of taking what they learned about the Falcons the first time that they face them and Transitioning that to coming out in the first half of this game on Thursday night and Making adjustments to where they were kind of dominating up front and and I use the example of Falcons like wanting to run the ball and not necessarily being able to and I asked a few people this if It felt like that if it felt like Carolina came in with a different plan and Marcus Mariota said that yeah, they were loading the box a bit more and they were kind of putting pressure on the Falcons to throw the ball a Bit more particularly early, which is something that we talked about in the press box how it felt like they were gonna try and make Marcus Mario to beat them through the air and then you go into this first half and essentially That's what they're doing and the Falcons don't have hardly any production Offensively through the first half at all and that's just being I mean they didn't score a touchdown Until well into the second half So because of that it really did feel like one Carolina You're talking about them playing to their game plan and being able to do what they wanted to do and being able to be the more physical front on both sides of the ball in that first half and how that kind of shaped the rest of the game and I think the Falcons can kind of use this as a A We it's kind of an eye-opener and we need to figure things out and they have a Quote mini by to do that, but it's it kind of when you look at these last two games Particularly it's kind of it's a tough pill to swallow and that's not my words. That's Marcus Mario to sports Yeah, and when you think about mini buys one thing I want fans to understand is during a normal by week you get Two or three practices on the field for to work things out after a Thursday game the players are out of there It's it's mandatory. So it's more and then you get I guess an extra practice on a Monday But this is about the extra time is for coaches to kind of maybe take a deep breath and self-scout and figure out what they're going to do I think I asked after the Cincinnati game if Cincinnati's offense designed a blueprint for how to beat the Falcons defense They did it and it's just funny because the Panthers and Bengals couldn't have done it any differently and this kind of speaks to Week to week league and match up issues and playing to your own strengths and those types of things and what what is repeated, right? and if you go back to the Cincinnati game they had a They had a unique talent in Joe Burrow that can execute a past heavy game plan in a way that Was effective and impactful and very difficult for the Falcons to stop and not just Joe Burrow But three receivers that can do what they also did Right. Absolutely electric playmakers when you look at what the Panthers did and I'm not trying to discount their talent. It's very clear Iki Ikewano is the real deal and they've got some horses up front and they've got Some big physical running backs behind them But this seems like a more executable plan to me is what I'm saying is to be able to run the football well You know time and time again and to you know to Essentially on defense is the more important thing is to force the Falcons to beat you through the air or at least be balanced if they're now the Falcons ran 40 times against the Chargers and lost which mind-blowing but if the Panthers seem very committed to Loading up the box preventing early runs getting a lead and then pressure pressure pressure, right? bring more than they got have more people then they can block and There were guys open downfield the passing game as we've said before Simply just wasn't able to execute at a consistent and high enough level to overcome the obstacles The team was having in the run game and the fact that they were down multiple scores in the first half Well, they've been down multiple scores in the first half and we've talked a lot about how much the Falcons have Scratched and clawed to get back in games and to get within one score. They never completed a full comeback They've gotten right most but when they've fallen down by multiple scores in the first half Those games include the LA Rams, Tampa Bay Bucks, Cincinnati and this one they've lost everyone despite Cutting it to one score within the last few minutes. So it's obviously not a viable strategy it's not a place that they want to be and I think that you know it when I look at this game Is it repeatable is any game like repeatable, but I definitely feel like the Panthers have a more executable game plan To assert their will over the Falcons that other teams could emulate I guess is what I'm trying to say that this may be more realistic in terms of how you're gonna go out them and the Coaches are gonna have to figure out a way to To avoid, you know the same traps I guess or they have to get the passing game right because if the past right and they start Connecting downfield again of which there were opportunities to do so then it negates all this they kind of blueprint stuff Right. Yeah, and I think too you look at the I mean the team that's coming into town If you're your time if you're kind of flipping it again, and you're going back to your original point about Like the Falcons being beaten by their brand of football You have a team that is coming in after this quote-unquote mini by That is going to run the ball I think Arthur Smith even said it in his post game presser like the Like Chicago is gonna come in here and they're gonna try and run the ball 500 times and it's like Okay, this if you're in a situation where it's like you have a Last second drive that you got to pull off and you're having to throw the ball downfield or you do get behind I mean it is there and they are running the clock out to a certain extent Do you have the offensive capability to be able to to make that type of comeback or to lead a Final game-winning drive. That's the question of kind of where the Falcons are at. I think right now offensively and there I think they do have a good opportunity to kind of When you're looking at the next slate of games, it's like, okay Can you get right in these next slate of games because right now like going back to what I was saying before it's like these last four games have not been it and Then I think they know that I think coaches know that players know that I think everybody watching knows that it's like, okay Now what do you do with this information? Moving forward. Yeah You wrote about Marcus Mariota the passing game the offense in general I Think you mentioned it in your story that Arthur Smith was asked five different questions in his post game press conference about Marcus Mariota I think the first question and it was a valid one from the athletics Josh Kendall was did you ever consider going to Desmond Ritter after Marcus Mariota Went through a day where he completed 19 of 30 passes for 186 yards all your two touchdowns and a pick that stat line Maybe looks better than how it looked He missed some opportunities. There is no doubt about that. There was one. I thought sure touchdown re overthrew Kyle Pitts Kyle Pitts targeted eight times two catches 28 yards again I'm not gonna do another stat lecture here, but nonetheless kind of take over for me here, Tori What did you learn? What did you hear about? Marcus from from Marcus Mariota about the passing game and what Arthur Smith said when Desmond Ritter's name got brought up Yeah, I think It's interesting because In a game where it felt like everyone was talking about Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ritter I felt like Arthur Smith in his post game press conference was very almost adamant that he was not going to just talk about Marcus Mariota's performance and I felt like it the line of questioning about If he was going if he ever thought about putting Desmond Ritter in and his answer was a straight up no What he kind of thought about Marcus's overall performance and he's like, you know, y'all can make this about the quarterback But what about the team like we should have protected better. We should have run the ball better. We should have Stopped the run better and he he's listing all of these things as to why the fact why it's not just quote About quarterback play and that's what he was saying And so you have your head coach that comes to the podium and is talking and in his very adamant that it was a team Loss and that he wasn't gonna point out and he wasn't going to point to Marcus Mariota in his performance in his role in the loss Now what's interesting and this is something that I wrote about was that when Marcus went to the podium Marcus was very I think not just aware of his role in the loss but knowing that it wasn't good enough and and he He's he made the comment. He was like, you know, he kept saying like it starts with me. I can't take those sacks He was sacked. I believe five times for a loss of 33 yards And so he was like, I can't take some of those sacks like those some of those things are on me Connecting with receivers. He talked about that He talked about feeling like he was forcing things because he felt like he needed to provide a spark for this offense that Let's be honest started out sparkless and and started out Kind of on a meh note Like I don't even know how else to describe it, but that's how I would describe it And so he's trying to create the spark and he has said this before and he said it again on Sunday where he was like when I start playing out of myself and when I kind of get in those moments where I'm trying to almost like Overplay and overcompensate like that's when I get myself in trouble And that was something that he was talking about and so he was very cognizant and aware of Kind of the pressure that I think not just the fan base, but we're talking about Thursday night football and In a primetime slot where it felt like the whole League and multiple fan bases are watching this game and for the Falcons offense to perform that like that with Marcus Marriota as the quarterback he's gonna take a lot of heat and He was well aware of that and he for his part. I think he was he wasn't defensive He knew that it wasn't good enough. He talked about you know, they kept they letting the Panthers play their game of football and Defend the way that they wanted to and to execute the game plan that they wanted to Because they were getting the Falcons in third and long situations and we know when the Falcons are in third and long situations They struggle Because they have to throw the ball because it's an obvious passing down so all of that to say that Arthur Smith wasn't pointing to Marcus Mario to me very much shut down any type of Conversation about potentially debt seeing Desmond Ritter on Thursday night, which I Understand if we want to talk about Desmond Ritter, I'm not putting Desmond Ritter into that game It's a game on a short week It's a game in not ideal conditions and it's a game in which your Offensive line wasn't necessarily Working at the clip that they needed to and that's something that Chris Lindstrom said that's not me saying that It's Chris Lindstrom saying that they need to be better for Marcus and for the team and for this offense and And in you don't have the balance of being able to rely on the run as much as you can So that's a long-winded explanation as to why I understood The decision not to to pull Marcus for Desmond. Am I saying that that completely takes away the possibility of seeing Desmond Ritter later? No, that's not me saying that so I want to pref I want to say all of that and add that little two-sense in because I'm sure there's a lot of people listening to this wondering why in the world What like why in the world didn't we see Desmond Ritter on Thursday night? And those I think are the reasons and I mean if you look at it like out They had a chance to tie it up in the fourth, you know that it wasn't like they were completely out of the game as I think Tough as it was at multiple points in the game to feel like the Falcons were in it at one point. They were Yeah, I I look at Marcus Mario's performance overall and I look at the struggles of the passing game and I agree with Arthur Smith in a lot of different ways that He was asked about Mario does accuracy on some balls And he said it's hard when you can't even set your feet man Which is alluding to there isn't enough protection for him to get the ball downfield and Look, I don't want to go into the popular narrative That's not what I'm trying to do and I'm not trying to lay the blame at one person's feet when clearly the entire team wasn't good enough But in this game that there's a reason why quarterbacks get paid hundreds of millions of dollars eventually Whether everything in front of you goes right or wrong the trigger man has an opportunity, right? They have an opportunity to make a miracle happen make magic happen We've seen Marcus Mario to do that a ton Tori and I talk a lot in the press conference of if that was a slower quarterback That's second and 17. There are also opportunities where you look at it and everything is right or enough is right where he has time to get the ball out to a Productive target and it's just inaccurate That can also be a thing, right? Yeah, all of these things can and are true like that's the thing is like it's not just like a one-sided I feel like Arthur Smith has just like come out of my like mouth because he he always says It's not a one-size-fits-all thing and that was about to be what I was saying, but it's true I mean, it's like with Marcus. I Mean it is a little bit of everything right now and it goes to every level of the offense and There's not a part of the offense that I don't think is touched by it but of course like you're talking about a quarterback and There are a lot of times that games are won on the back of the quarterback and That's I think that's kind of the point that we both are trying to get to right that this is a This is a layer cake, but with that quarterback position. You've seen a number of quarterbacks go out and you make And you know an important play that turns the tide in the game I used to cover the 49ers and I was at Super Bowl 51 54 I don't know chiefs 49ers right and Jimmy Grappolo played a really solid game But there was a point where a manual Sanders books at wide open downfields a Complete pass. It's a hard pass low percentage pass. I get that if he puts the ball in the right spot The 49ers went to Super Bowl That's simple. I'm sorry. It's that simple. He missed them. They didn't win He's gonna have to live at that right that's part of the quarterback position is what I'm saying Yeah, that at some point you just have to deliver a good ball And if you don't the entire team kind of has to deal with it Anyway, I would say look in term you're exactly right That was not the time to bring in a backup quarterback Who's never played a game before in the rain where the running game is slowed? That's so important He has not he does not get regular Reps with the first unit just doesn't happen. There's no way back. He runs the scout team the scout team runs. Yeah team system Okay There are kind of young guy periods and backup periods So he does get some and he's obviously in the meeting rooms And he knows what the heck is going on and Desmond is a smart guy But I think you and I both said this tour you want to bring a Young quarterback in in a position where he can succeed and that was not one of those things and to Arthur Smith's point I'm gonna channel him to they found a way to get within one score They found a way to push and Marcus has done that before So why would you assume that on this night? He couldn't do that again that he couldn't flip the script as He has done before as he did on that drive where he accumulated 82 of his 189 yards he went 1821 1825 something like that he and he took big chunks So I wouldn't are to think that Marcus could do that one more time. It didn't happen one more time I think the most important thing about this quarterback conversation is the point that you and Marcus brought up about him playing outside of himself You see some of those throws where he's kind of getting thrown to the ground And he's literally just kind of like voling it up in the air or he's throwing it into heavy traffic trying to make a great thing happen But it ends up being ill advised. I don't mind the effort But The execution of the passing game just has to be better or they're just gonna put eight I don't know nine guys up front and do whatever they can To stop the run and the Falcons have to adjust to that um And that's really what they have to do moving forward In my opinion when it comes to the nfc south standing, we're talking on a friday. There's still Some more games to be played Right nfc south. We don't know how the standings are going to work out. There's no team above 500 but I think more important than the standings, right? We've talked a lot about the standings because they were on top of them We're at a different point now, right? Yeah, we're at a different point now. This team is four and six And it needs to figure itself out before and there's still seven games left There's plenty of time to do that if this team needs to figure itself out before it starts worrying about it standing within the context of the nfc south or of the conference at large Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. I think like it's It's one of those things that you do have to look inwardly at this point in time. Um, because there's so much happening elsewhere and You know, I mean, we're proponents of that too like where we were Like we've been talking about the standings and really making a point of that because it's it is important Because it is happening and the Falcons were on top of the nfc south there for for a little bit But now I I completely agree with you that It kind of shifts where it's like the Falcons just need to get wins and they need to play well consistently through four quarters and kind of To get to the point where you feel like you did after the Browns game or after the 49ers game Not after the last four games even in a win for one of those four games But even in that win it's like if that game if if If there is not one but two Game-winning field goals that are made that's a different you're talking about a completely different game. So And i'm talking about the first time the Falcons played the Panthers. So all of that to say This has not been a good four weeks for the Falcons And I think that needs To change in order for them to feel better about where this 2022 season is going Yeah, I think that's a great point. They're very very close to being oh and oh for their last four And there are issues that need to be fixed Opponents see tape and they start adjusting now the Falcons have to adjust back I don't think and I say that it's not a coaching situation. I can't Belabor that point enough. I think it's just about improved execution in run defense in past defense in previous weeks And trying to get the passing game to a point where it doesn't have to be perfect They don't have to throw the ball 62 times But when Kyle Pitts is open And he's your target And you throw it towards him. You gotta hit him. It's it's at some point. It's just that simple Yeah, with three with like three yards of separation. You got to hit him You just do And you did last week Right that We can talk about route depth and concept, but at some point you just got to hit them You just got to go make a play and that's in my opinion the the difference between The Falcons coming up on the short end of some of these close games and being on the other side That's not necessarily Scott and Tory's recipe for falcons success I think that's common sense more than anything else Just you have to execute better. The scheme is good. The game plan is good. You have to execute better You have to take advantage of the opportunities. These games are all going to be closed. That's how the falcons play That's what their kind of roster dictates And that's how the NFL is right now Exactly. Yeah, that's something that you said back in week one and I kind of raised my eyebrow at you because I was like Uh That game never should have been close against the saints and it turns out we there's so many one score games regardless of Who you who who is pretty good or bad? so none of us we've Tory and I set out To talk for 15 to 20 minutes I'm staring at my zoom Screen and they're saying we're getting ready to kick you off because Which means we've gone a lot longer than that So let's cut it off right here any final thoughts or you want me to start doing the final spiel Go ahead. I'll give you the final spiel floor All right y'all do what you do rate review subscribe to the falcons podcast network on itunes and spotify Or join us on youtube won't you that place is uh, it's a fun little community where we put tons of videos and including video podcasts where you can also see not only falcons final whistle, but also falcons audible with derrick dj and dave And falcons in focus our passion projects tory and I have where we go in depth With falcons players you get to know them on a more personal level Away from the game. It's the best part of our week. So please find a way to listen to that It in my opinion getting to know these players deserves a a A big audience And nonetheless, we have a great weekend by the way saying this to you tory and to Everyone listening and we will catch you next week In 10 days or so after the falcons play the chicago bears We'll talk to you then See ya