 What's up everybody and welcome to another edition of the Falcons final whistle podcast I'm Scott Bayer and with me is Ashton Edmonds and Tori McElaney And we're coming to you pretty late in the evening on Sunday, October 9th after a 21 to 15 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was Dramatic at the finish shall we say which fits right in with how the Falcons have played every other game so far this season But before we can get to the drama of that game We have to deal with some breaking news and that is coming in the story was broken by NFL Networks in Rappaport the Falcons have traded inside linebacker long time Falcons inside linebacker Deon Jones to the Cleveland Browns for late draft pick compensation Tori McElaney is going to dive into the details of all of that But we do feel like considering that Tori just wrote this story right before we got onto this podcast That that has to be the first order of business so so Tori kind of give fans who may not as May not be as up-to-date as you are About the details of this deal and how it can benefit the the Falcons moving forward Yeah, this is something that has really been in the works for a while now I feel like there's been speculation about Deon Jones feature in Atlanta Gosh since what like January February since last season ended I feel like this has been a topic of conversation Especially when the Falcons traded away Matt Ryan and then restructure Grady Jarrett and Jake Matthews contracts this offseason It was like alright Deon Jones has a whopper of a contract for years 57 million dollars That is really eating up a lot of cap space right now What are they gonna do a deal on that was a question that I feel like we asked every single week Over the course of this offseason and it finally got farther and farther along to where you get into training camp and Deon's not out there. They put him on IR with because he had a shoulder procedure Early in the offseason. He comes back plays a little bit in the Final preseason game for the Falcons and then the Falcons placed him on IR before the season Starts which when you put someone I on IR before this season starts That's four games you have to miss at minimum So this was the week if Deon Jones is gonna get activated if he was okay He could have been activated this week like how we saw Isaiah altar But that didn't happen and while all this is happening You also have to think about the cap ramifications the Falcons have one of the Largest dead cap hits in the league like the largest It's massive because you have to take into consideration that Matt Ryan's contract was 40 million dollars that is being taken up in dead money So you have that and then you also have a ton of money that still left over from the Julio Jones trade You have all of these things and so it really was kind of coming down to it where it was like Okay, what are the Falcons gonna do with Deon Jones? He's on IR There's still a ton of speculation as to what they were gonna do and finally we have an answer They have reportedly traded Deon Jones to the Cleveland Browns for like Scott what you're saying it's been reported that it is a late round draft compensation. So the Browns get Deon Jones and the Falcons seventh round 2024 draft pick the Falcons Relief are relieved of Jones and they get the Browns sixth round 2024 draft pick. I hope I said all of that accordingly Should free up some cap space Deon Jones contract had been restructured a little bit So I believe if this is if the numbers are correct The Browns will pay out his 1.39 million dollar salary in 2022 and that's kind of what they'll take on but that's kind of the The cliff notes version of a story that I feel like we have been talking about non-stop since January and February Yeah, really for so long and and you did get all the numbers, right? That was pretty impressive because there's a lot of information there And with all the dead money according to over the cap.com The Falcons are taking on with some IR additions. It's up to about 65 million dollars in in dead cap this year next year What's on the books according to otc is 293,000. Okay, so when they add Deon Jones's dead money to next year's cap, that's very livable That's nothing that's going to impede them too much And if you if you go back to the NFL scouting combine Terry fontano said that That he had a bunch of elephants in the room a bunch of contracts that that that he inherited as Tory mentioned jake matthews matt ryan um Great and who am I forgetting about great grady jared and and grady jared also and and he He uh, he tended to all of those Um with this trade and it does help them move on Um, and it does I think put to rest A long-standing story that had been going on forever. I think just if we're just talking about everybody moving on I think that's good for the falcons. I think that's good for deon jones I think who just kind of wanted to play and wanted a fresh start Um, and I think for them to get people will look at the draft pick compensation and say well, that's not very much That's not the point of this deal I think deon was willing to restructure and restructure and found himself At a place where he wanted to play again I was very clear that it wasn't going to be here and I think that while it comes kind of in the dead of night on Like right after week five at least we have some resolution because there were so much There were so many questions about what they were going to do with deon jones when he fully got healthy Um, he hasn't been around too much on the practice field Um, Tory's got her hand raised and then we'll go to ask. Yes. I would I was just going to say like this shouldn't Really come as a surprise to anyone considering what we have seen the falcons do over the course of this off season And that includes going out and getting rashaun evans that it also you talk about Drafting troi anderson as high as what they did and then also also go back to what arthur smith was talking about Literally a couple months ago in training camp when he was specifically asked about deon jones and he made the comment He was like it's not like if deon's fully healthy We're gonna pull michael walker or rashaun evans and put deon jones and he will have to he would have to Work for that starting spot back. I mean these were all topics of conversation that we have talked about Ad nauseam. I feel like for the last like Five six seven months however long it's been and now what you're talking about scott finally have a resolution that It makes sense. I think it's good for both parties. I agree with that And also it's just it's nice to kind of put a bow on this and be able to move on Yeah, definitely and and ashton you you're obviously new to this team and new to this market So you haven't seen deon jones play in person a lot, but but you have seen michael walker play You have seen rashaun evans play and and troi anderson talk about maybe the state of this inside linebacker group Now that deon jones is no longer A part of it in any way shape or form. Yeah, for sure I think michael walker rashaun evans and troi anderson have been the glue I would say to this the falcons defense through these Through these five first games or the first five games Michael walker's injury today Was definitely a big hit to the falcons defense. I would say especially late in the game, you know When the falcons were kind of making a comeback But I think the state of this linebacker group is is really good, you know rashaun evans He has played in the league for a couple years now michael walker, he's stepping up to the plate and I think You know, he's a leader on this defense and I think more players are looking to him for his leadership and for his play He's been making plays, you know all over the field like I said through these first five games And I think troi anderson is now getting acclimated to the league Um, he had a really a few nice plays throughout these first five games And I think today he did really good stepping in for michael walker, but um, I think this linebacker core is in a really good spot Yeah, and they use a second draft pick on troi anderson that they have a young guy and michael walker and rashaun evans has been really good So I I think they've set themselves up for the future Just one last note from me on on this deon jones Like situation is I feel like this was the last order of business for terry fauno and arthur smith and the falcons To kind of move on from the from the previous regime right all these contracts that they inherited some veteran players That had been maybe uh rewarded beyond what they were You know, at least some of them that were still getting paid And I think that now that was the final order of business or one of the last to really kind of turn the page And now terry and arthur can move into especially 2023 without a lot of this dead cap space with a lot of the guys they want to have around and then You know contracts that they've that they've been able to move on from so I think that that's an important thing Uh to write any last words on this are we ready to move on to this bucks game? I think I think we have talked about deon jones more than Anybody has on any podcast. I don't know if I I so I feel like we have hit Everything and anything we possibly could about deon jones. And you know, I will say this he um as much as I think The last couple of years Especially last year was not the deon jones that falcons fans New I think deon jones his career in atlanta should be commended. It was a really fantastic career. It's a proble career um Proble season. I mean, this is a guy who helped atlanta win games and so You talk about fresh starts I feel like it's kind of the same sentiment as when they traded away matt ryan and traded away julio jones And it's like you don't forget what they did for the falcons And you kind of hope the best for them as they as they move on because everybody right now is kind of getting to the point where it's like Okay, everybody's turning a page on on what was and now what terry and arthur want to do in atlanta now Yeah, I mean nothing in this or very rarely in this league does it end perfectly clean But I do think that time and separation will eventually Allow fans to be able to acknowledge all of the contributors to what was a very good run Um over over a couple seasons in atlanta um now moving on to this game somehow After everything that happened in this game Yeah, now it plays second fiddle to what we just discussed But nonetheless a 21 to 15 loss to the to the tampa bay buccaneers This is another one of the situations like we've seen With the falcons every time is that there there's a dramatic finish It comes down to to the fourth quarter of a game that's ultimately only separated by one score And yeah, um, there was a point where the falcons were down 21 points and then they came roaring back With shadows of week two against the rams and they couldn't finish the job then they couldn't finish the job here But let's get right to what everybody wants to hear about here is that the falcons were Did not have an opportunity to complete their comeback because after grady jared Sacked tom brady on third down with I don't have the time in front of you, but three minutes left um grady jared was flagged and penalized for a roughing the pass or penalty that extended the buccaneers drive the buccaneers drive ultimately continue downfield To the point that they were able to let the clock expire the comeback never happened and the call was Extremely controversial both when watching it live And afterward with what was said Yeah, not by the falcons. Okay, uh, grady jared declined to comment right after the game arthur smith stayed away from making any overt criticisms uh tom brady said I don't throw the flags And um, and and and let's get to the most important one here and i'll just read it Guys if you don't mind This is from pfwa cool reporter greg allman who covers the temporary buccaneers In an interview with referee jerome boger The question was about grady jared's roughing the pass or penalty that extended the drive and the reporter asked for clarification On what constituted roughing the pass or on that play Jerome boger said and I quote what I had was the defender grabbed the quarterback while he was still in the pocket And unnecessarily throwing him to the ground think about that phrase This is what I was making my decision based upon he was then asked Because the play was similar to an injury to my every quarterback to uh taggo taggo taggo vialoa Was it something that you had made a specific measure to try to watch out for takedowns on the quarterback like that And the referee said no not necessarily um His comment seemed to pour gasoline on a fire that extended not just throughout the falcons fan base, which was obviously Upset by it but also across the nfl landscape. This is going to be a conversation on good morning football on espn sport center And all over the place This was a major controversial call. I'm now editorializing for one second if I may I think the flag was incorrect I think it cost the falcons dearly as tori put it in her Excellent recap of the situation We have absolutely no idea if it would have set up Or if the falcons could have completed a comeback and beat the buccaneers They were down only six a touchdown and an extra point would have won it We don't know what what would have happened there, but we're talking about that call specifically I don't agree with the call that was made Yeah, it's it's really hard to go back and and watch it because watching it live you you kind of I mean, there's the emotion of the game and everything like that and the falcons are Roaring back and everything but then to go back and watch the replay it's really hard to watch the replay and I think Every feeling that not only falcons fans feel but I think the like people who are watching this play within the league at large Every feeling of kind of anger or frustration. I think it's very valid Because it I mean I I just myself. I don't agree with the call at all There's not a part of me that agrees with it, but it's the call that was made However, I also think that it it goes to show you When we were watching the game live and I don't think people saw this because We were in a tv time out because it was at the two minute mark and Grady Jarrett I have never seen Grady Jarrett as agitated and visibly frustrated as what he was He was pacing the field absolutely pacing up and down I don't think I saw him stop moving from the moment that flag was thrown until the end of the game and And it is really tough when you're talking about a player like Grady Jarrett who in that moment We're talking about a guy who for the last three weeks has come up with a sack when it mattered most and for that to happen on a Let's be honest kind of a technicality of the rule and it's a very like judge A very much like how you interpret the rule In the moment like that is very very frustrating and I honestly I I was kind of hoping when we went into the locker room post game and we go into this Um post game press conference with Arthur Smith. I'm sitting there thinking like oh They're about to just like go in like they're about to go off on these guys like blah blah I think it's very much in the same mindset. I think as what a lot of people thought Um because it did feel kind of like that that you know, it's like screw the fines Who cares like that's I think the sentiment that a lot of people were thinking But that didn't happen at all What happened was as Arthur Smith comes out and he's very much like very adamant about not talking about it And like not really answering questions about it He answers the questions, but it's essentially like I haven't seen the film And I need to go back and watch it because I need to know how I need to coach that situation. It was very very like Buttoned up and then Grady Jarrett declining to do a post game interview Which is not something that Grady Jarrett like ever does. I think that should go to show you how Much he really cared about that moment Um, I personally don't think I could have gotten in front of a camera And been able to say something and not have gotten in major trouble And I think Arthur Smith, you know, we'll talk to him on Monday and I'm sure it'll come up again but Something that I want people to understand is like, yes Like you can kind of get like what like why didn't Arthur Smith like stick up for his guy It's like well, you don't know if you're gonna see this officiating crew again And if you burn that officiating crew like In the reputation that you could have like with officials at large, like that's a part of the conversation too It's not just about the money and getting fined or whatever It's about all of this stuff combined. And so it's a really tough situation I think for Grady Jarrett and Arthur Smith to be in to where they can't say like We don't freaking agree with this because there's no way that they freaking agree with it because it was ridiculous, but that's just me Like just just going on his field again, but for real it was very it was a very very frustrating moment And again, I think every emotion anger frustration is valid in those moments Ashton What were they saying on the broadcast after it happened and what was your reaction to it? Yeah, I mean watching it live it looked like a regular Grady Jarrett set, you know from the last three games, if I'm being honest um The the announcers on the broadcast, um, you know, I think they were trying to figure out what exactly was going on on the field um, because they kept replaying it they kept replaying it and Once the official call came that it was a roughing impassor Um, even the announcers didn't know exactly what was going on until they made the official call um, just because you know it compared to I guess to us hit and compared to Grady Jarrett's second time brady It was it was it was different all, you know throughout it was different all the way. So Um, you know, I think everybody was confused at the call Um, and you know, Arthur Smith looking at our looking at Arthur Smith watching it live You know, he was even like holding his face like I you know, I can't believe this. Um, but Watching it live it it looked like a regular sec. Um, and I was I was confused I could not agree with you all more about You know, I think the call was wrong, but Like Tory said, you can't really burn these bridges with the this officiating crew because you you might see them later on down that season. So I also With the refs were saying Yeah, and I also think um something that scott you were talking to kaleb huntley about in the locker room that I put in the story That I thought was really like well said it was he was like, you know, it looked like just another sack and he was like and He was talking about that moment and how in that moment the offense felt as confident as it had All game like that's a that's a part of this too is like the repercussions. Like I know like what I wrote I was like, you know, we don't know if like let's say The call doesn't happen The bucks punt the ball the falcons get the ball back like with two minutes and 45 seconds left like whatever it is Who's to say they don't go three and out, you know, like who's to say that doesn't happen But talking to kaleb huntley in the locker room and he makes the comment He was like, you know, like we felt like the momentum had shifted Essentially to us. We were able to move the ball. You got ozzy in in the end zone. You got avry in the end zone It was a one score game. It felt different at that point. And so I think he even said I can't remember his exact quote, but it was something along the lines of like We felt good like getting the ball back or or something a lot scott. Do you remember what the quote was? um I don't actually No, you're good. You're good. I but it was just something along the lines of like we believe That if we would have gotten the ball back like we could have gotten the job done. I think it's kind of the gist of it Yeah, yeah, definitely and and and I think that that's We're like we're never gonna know if that's accurate But uh, nonetheless This is another one of these games that came down to the wire It did have a a controversial moment and the weird thing is Grady Jarrett will speak to the media again And he'll have some comments on it one way or the other and arthur smith will talk about it on monday And maybe nfl officiating through their twitter account or through a statement or something like that We'll we'll address this call at some point Nothing is going to make you feel better about it because not going to go back and change what happened You know, um, it's it's just not arthur As you pointed out sorry arthur smith getting upset in front of a mic uh of a microphone is not going to change the play The nfl admitting it was wrong. It doesn't do it like the nba does But that's not going to change the play It's not going to change the outcome the falcons are still two and three and I And I transitioned here kind of to our last overarching topic about something that I wrote about something that ashen wrote About that I think is an important part of this Right is that I thought okay Well, here's another example to write something or a column about How the falcons are fighters how they never give up how they're so close to to kind of completing some of these improbable victories and then in talking to jake matthews. He said Yeah, that's great. But we already knew we could fight But what was unacceptable and I think this is them leveling up It's not like oh, we we we we really tried hard This is we got to do better earlier So we don't have these problems late And I think that that was an important thing ashen wrote about with marcus mariotta talking about having to turn things on early The reason why I didn't know about the end of the huntly quote tori is because I was desperately searching another story to find a quote by lorenzo carter Who I thought was Was like pretty good on this topic as well You know and and and and and that's why I look at it Which is a word was too. Yeah, and and I think that I think it's good that these guys realize it's not like oh We came up just short It's actually You know something more than that lorenzo carter said we definitely have to clean it up and make more plays early in the game That might keep us from having to fight for our lives at the end And that's what's happening right is that they were down 21 And they need nothing short of a football Miracle, right? They're down 28 They're down 25 points to the rams and they need something crazy to happen to try to get back into it Well, if you didn't fall back that far you wouldn't have to climb so far to get back out of the hole that you dug Right, so I think that that's an important thing moving forward. I'll just talk about the defense, right? We and then ash and you can talk about it from the offensive side Defensively, we've seen that their strongest play has come in the fourth quarter over final drives I thought they did a really good job containing the run of the bucks But tom brady's quick passing game was an absolute killer too often They were getting the Tampa Bay in third downs, but they were third and manageable or third and short And they were being converted. They were uh, they were executing so many plays and I think that Eventually that that does wear on you eventually they did give up some touchdowns And it was just too much before they kind of kicked it in gear and shut things down In the fourth quarter. So ultimately I agree with Lorenzo I I agree with jake and I agree with what Ashton is going to tell you about what marcus said in that You can't start that flat against a quality team and expect to come out with a victory We said before we're not writing the falcons off of any game anymore They have shown us reason that they can that they can compete with anybody But that means competing all the time It doesn't mean only competing in the third in the fourth quarter. It means kicking it in earlier That didn't happen defensively ashton. What did you think of their offensive performance? Yeah, I mean So in the first the two first quarters alone the falcons had 89 total net yards compared to Tampa Bay's 297 net yards But marcus mario to hit it right on the head. They have to be better on the first and second downs They just weren't executing on first and second downs, which were Pretty which were you know that cost them a lot also the costly penalties that the offensive line the holding Just all of those different things combined just I would say Knocked off the momentum of the offense and I think um, you know, they're knocked off the and also you factor in Coppets and cordial Patterson not being in So you now have to rely on Caleb Huntley, Tyler, Tyler Algier Drake london young players to step up and carry a heavy load Um, and I think you know, they were just trying to figure it out as the game went on But it was just so many I think the falcons were kind of messing up themselves Going into the or throughout the course of this game And um, I think that's why the offense struggled throughout the first three quarters to be honest Yeah, Tori, what do you weigh into this whole thing as they try to apply kind of what they have learned From this game. I mean early on it seemed like it was going to be lopsided in every phase And then all of a sudden it wasn't in a hurry Yeah, I I mean I think going off of The the offensive performance I Through the first half was not really like upset by what we were seeing from the defense Like yes, they were giving up yards, but we have said time and time again If I said it once I said a thousand times already like this defense operates in a bend Don't break type of mentality as long as they're not as long as the buccaneers are not getting in the end zone You're all right For me, it really hinged upon what ashton was talking about on first and second down And how the falcons were consistently Not able to get in a third and short situation I mean I I'm going to have to go back and and look at it and see how many third and long situations They were in especially in that first half because when the falcons are in a third and long situation They get away from who they are Which we know is a physical run first team. That's who they want to be that's who Arthur Smith wants them to be and when you are in a third and 12 third and 10 third and nine You can't be that in that moment. And so I think for me, it's like that whole That's something that's going to be um Shameless plug like my notebook's going to be a lot about like the offensive operation when they get Maybe three or four yards off of a run on first down in comparison to when they don't when they have an Incompletion on first down. So these are all very like Minutes topics that we're talking about but in a grand scheme when you aren't converting at a clip On first and second down you're consistently putting yourself behind the sticks on third down It makes it a lot harder for this offense to operate the way that it wants to so That's my spiel. That's my two takes on it. Yeah, and and as we kind of wrap this thing up But I think that the the roughing the passer call will dominate headlines and discussion On radio and podcasts and television shows and all that type of thing For a while, but I think the latter part of this podcast the more The less Grabby topics. Yes or what the falcons really have to continue to work on and progress and improve at as They move through a difficult stretch where they face Um, the san francisco 49ers next week. They suffer the 49ers suffered a lot of injuries. They're starting safety They're starting cornerback their kicker and nick bosa all went down with injuries against carolina They're going to lick their wounds in west virginia before coming down to Atlanta That's going to be a big game and the Cincinnati bangles as well This is a very difficult three game stretch and they need to apply lessons that they learned against Tampa bay If they hope to go out there and beat the 49ers beat the bangles get back above 500 and really assert themselves as a team To be respected no matter who they're playing. So, uh, I think that's gonna wow, we went through a lot of stuff So much I think that's gonna wrap it all up for, um Tori ashton and me Please write review subscribe. Just another reminder if you're a falcons final whistle subscriber Please go over to the falcons podcast network Subscribe there. You can get all of our podcasts there in addition to falcons of focus and falcons audible I cannot wait to hear Dave archer And derek wrackley and dj shockley talk about this grady jarrett thing also one last thing big kudos to Dave archer, right? west West Durham west Durham Had some flight issues. Dave archer called this game by himself by himself a football game by himself That's unreal very difficult The man really worked his way through it analysis and play by play all of it without a whole a whole lot of notice That he was going to have to do that Big ups to uh, Dave archer. So anyway, thank you guys so much for joining in For subscribing for listening for giving us that five star review and we will talk to you after next week's game against the 49