 And we are back on the Falcons audible presented by AT&T. I'm Derek Rackley with my guys a little bit different formation You know, we do talk about formations a lot in football Dave Archer right here to my left and DJ Shockley is to my left as well But he's like way left like way down the road left because he's got some other job responsibilities But nothing's too important to miss the Falcons audible DJ. Thanks for joining us here via your Device, I mean you used to always say like computer or laptop, but now it's not like that anymore It's got shock in the shotgun where he needs to be directing traffic from the shot So we are ready to shoot some snaps back to shock as we talk about the initial 53 man roster as it is hot off the press Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot have just released their initial 53 man roster. So here's what we're gonna cover today. It's gonna be a lot about roster construction We're gonna talk about first reactions any surprises that the guys see from this first roster Why we call it an initial roster and any potential additions that end up going on top of this and then of course Strengthen weaknesses as we get ready next weekend to start off week one against the New Orleans Saints So let's get some initial reactions here shock I'm gonna start with you because you're the furthest away and I want you to feel Involved I want you to feel right in the middle of this thing Give us your first reactions of what you thought when you got a look at the first 53 man roster You know your first look at it man. Obviously there are a lot of things that you know you go to first and I think for me The number one thing I went to actually was a receiver group and there was a lot of talk We had to talk last week about who would be that last receiver would it, you know, be Frank Darby Would it be the the the guy that everybody's been talked about in Jared Bernhardt and soon as I saw his name You know, it was a sense of wow I mean, that's a pretty cool accomplishment to be able to go out and make a roster being an underage free agent A guy who's done a lot of winning in his time but ended up coming in and winning a job on this team where you know It was a you know a total where we want to go out to see what these receivers are about and I thought him going out And winning a job. I thought was was really cool. A great story. Obviously And he can help you in a lot of different ways He's a guy that you know did a lot of good things in preseason and thought he was well deserving of that particular You know spot on the on the roster Defensive side of all obviously the offer play well got it. We thought would be a part of this team We saw him do some first team nickel be a part of that first team group Later in the part of this preseason, but I thought I got like Abdullah Anderson who you know kind of stuck out a little bit The last couple preseason games really made a strong push to be a part of his ball clip So to see him not on the team or now an initial 53 man roster was a little bit surprising But this was a team that I thought throughout the year. I mean throughout the preseason We thought was you know, could be a lot of surprises here and there But those were the two that really stuck out for me Dave How about you? What was some of your first reactions when you looked at all the names that were here or that were left off? Well, really not to not to repeat what shock said I think shock touched on a lot of the guys that we were following I thought Abdullah Anderson was a bit of a surprise for me shock mentioned that so I don't need to revisit that I thought Nathan landman landing a job at the linebacker spot was a big deal Dorian Etheridge got hurt a little bit. Did that have some effect on that landman was outstanding? I thought he had pressure he put pressure on the quarterback a number of times He was in where he was supposed to be in tackling the football sideline to sideline guy so We had we had mentioned, you know, there could Nick quick Kowski was a guy They brought in a veteran player that had come in did he have a chance to make the team Well, Nathan landman as a kid is a free agent rookie Out of Colorado and I remember talking to Terry font now and I said Terry, you know after watching that first game Against the Lions. They said wow this landman kid. He is hey, he just stopped me says you go put his tape on at Colorado It is a fun tape to watch So this was a guy that kind of caught their eye coming in and he proved it That's always fun and shock and I you can all we can tell the fan out there This is a big deal to make now. This is the initial 53. Let's not get too caught up And hey, these are the guys are gonna line up a week from Sunday and play the Saints Because it could change because we know there's 31 other teams that are releasing players that put potentially could fit here But certainly coming out of Tuesday all the cuts being done for now It's pretty cool deal and Nathan Nathan landman is that probably that guy that shocked didn't mention That would fit in that category the guys he talked about Dave Let me come back to you and ask you a little bit about your thoughts on the running backs Because there was a couple names. Obviously Caleb Hunt Huntley and Kodri Allison did not make the initial 53 man roster Did you think that that was gonna happen? I mean you got a running back group now that you know There's generally what four or five maybe six spots if you hold a fullback like the Falcons do for special teams or some different sub packages But any surprise that either of those two didn't make it or did you kind of see that with Algiers being drafted? Those guys are gonna be the odd men out There was a tall order to try to make that was probably the most crowded room right guys probably if you looked at the rooms But when camp began the the running back room having drafted Algiers You knew he was going to be a guy that was going to be here and he showed he deserves maybe to be your starter CP his multi-dimensional and then Damian Williams the guy that they brought in they really liked him We didn't see a lot of him in but he has some sweat equity already in the league right? He's the guy that's proven himself that he can make plays in the league So now all of a sudden you're three deep already So now where else do you go with the running back room? and now i'm looking for versatility And there's no question the versatility is going to come from damian or from uh from avry williams avry is a guy that returns kicks He can play corner. He actually took snaps guys. I don't know if you saw this shock at practice last week He took corners in the he took corner snaps in the combined practice against jackseville That's the versatility you're getting with him return punts play running back that third down stuff And oh by the way, we get banged up. We plug him in the corner more you could do right shock I don't know that about it. Hey shock. Let me ask you this question It's interesting that dav mentioned versatility because when you look at how atlanta sends out their initial 53 man roster It starts with quarterbacks right and it says marcus mariotta and desmond ridder and then under tight ends It says philippe frank. So you mentioned versatility I feel like it's kind of a two-for-one shock with philippe franks Obviously working a lot at tight end during training camp but also playing a little bit at quarterbacks So they got basically a guy that they can use on special teams Maybe if they get into a pinch with an injury or something like that and they've got a third string quarterback on their roster suited up every week Right that's spot on. I mean you guys just mentioned the more you can do is always better We talk about every position on this football team If you're versatility up to play not just one position But you could have to play two or three positions that makes you so valuable to the team And we saw philippe franks throughout preseason go from tight end Then he'll go back and he'll run the two-minute drill at quarterback Just having that versatility the guy that can actually help you is a big thing philippe did a good job I think this preseason i'll be able to catch the footballer space He's a big body guy and then we forget about that third phase of the game We've seen philippe a few number of times last year. He actually was the pump protector There's so many things that he can do In both those two phases of the game that can help you so I have a guy like that who can help you on sundays But also if something happens to one of your quarterbacks can step in there and be a viable guy for you It's huge. So I think philippe did a great job Of you know coming into this campsite. Okay. Well, maybe you don't see me as the prototypical quarterback But what else can I do to help this ball club and he put himself in tight end He worked his craft and I had a chance to talk to tj yates During precincts. He said philippe absolutely show what he's about as you know, maybe some of the best hands on the team Show some of the physicality sometimes he said maybe not right now The guy you want to put in the three-point stands and says hey, let's go block the defensive end But he gives you something in that tight end position And I love that philippe is willing to do this to help his ball club and to be their force team Think about the trickeration that you could come up with with some of these guys Now you're going to win consistently in this league with gadget plays But you got philippe franks on the field you got jerry bernhardt on the field and you got your starting quarterback on the field All four of those all three of those guys can throw it. Yeah, we know they can all run it Think about some of the little things you can weave around now. It's just occasionally Exactly, maybe kind of fun to to make a play with one of those three guys potentially throwing it to the other guy Or maybe you throw it a couple times. Who knows and it's If dave You got cp out there as well Cp can get you into deep in the stands with the ball You know, it's a great point because Dave it's one of those deals where if you just call one or two of them early on in the season Now you've got everybody around the league all the defensive coordinators are saying all right guys When they have their team meeting or talking to their defense, they've got three Maybe four guys that can throw the football. So what do you do? You spend practice time on it? You spend film session on it and that's time that they're not spending on something else. That's potentially more important So versatility the more of it you can do as shock talked about now. Dave you mentioned this I want to move on and talk a little bit about So I think our viewers anyone that's listening or watching need to understand this and it's very I say interesting I talked to the guys before he came on the air that arthur smith has been very adamant the last week or so Saying that this is going to be our initial 53 man roster he wants everybody to know inside outside the building roster or not on the roster That your competition is not over with because like you said Dave as all the other 31 teams Release their players. They are they have already been scouring other rosters and saying if this guy ends up getting released Could he help us? Is he a better option now to the casual fan? You might say gosh, that's really cutthroat And on the outside. Yeah, it is. All right, but the NFL can be sometimes but Terry fontano and arthur smith their number one job why they are getting paid is to win football games And so they are going to construct this roster with the guys that they feel like are going to give them the best chance to win Whether they're in the building now or not So when I was playing when dj was playing I feel like this day when you survived this day Was a little bit more special because it was like gosh i made the roster and maybe not so much now art So talk through some of the situations that might be happening right now as As terry fontano and arthur smith have released these players But they're also looking at 31 other teams and all the players that they've released Yeah, terry fontano and his staff have been watching engaging all the other 31 teams You guys both you guys both know that and so what he's done is he's built a table On the board of guys that potentially going to be available that would fit what they do That might be an upgrade of one of the five six players that are kept at each position And if one of those guys becomes available then you take a shot now It's not that everybody else is not looking at him too. So there is that part of it Um, so yeah, you're you're all you're constantly gauging because this is a guy an upgrade as to what we kept Don't forget to the 16 man practice roster, which I think is is significant here Some of the decisions made By terry and arthur here might be their strategies involved in this now where you release a guy that maybe Didn't flash or you liked in practice And maybe liked in the game to a certain extent But maybe didn't necessarily show up on the radar the other 31 teams That might be a guy you can get back on your practice squad and all of a sudden He's part of your depth moving forward remember there's a lot more flexibility in being able to get guys Bring guys up off the practice squad I think you can bring guys as many as three times up off the practice squad without losing them Or without having to sign them to your regular roster full time. So there's a lot of flexibility there So that's part of this strategy here, too That's why the 53 may look completely different a week from today as we get ready to go into the saint week Yeah, and the other thing I think people need to understand and realize that the guys that were released today That potentially could come back onto the practice squad They're available to all the other 31 teams So if some of those personnel departments if some of those Coaches did their homework of this guy coming out of college and all of a sudden they're like Oh x y and z has now become available as the atlanta falcons That's somewhat risky because this is a guy you're thinking we're going to sign him to our practice squad He could get signed dj to somebody else's active roster before they have that opportunity Yeah, and that's kind of the the big gamble I should say is when you let a guy go Especially if he's one guy that you really like and you said, okay He's right on the edge of being the guy that maybe he can make our 53 But maybe this guy did something just a standard better that gave him the nod and that's the that's the tricky part about it And you think about there a couple guys who made the 53 that you said Maybe those were guys that they felt if they put on the practice squad Would make another ball clip or somebody would just quickly grab them up And I think we got to remember the falcons had two joint practices So just like terry fontanel and author smith were looking at the jets and jaguars some of their guys Maybe who are on the edge of maybe they don't make the team if they you know join our club are they guys that could fit us? Guarantee you the jets and jags are doing the same thing with the falcons roster So there's so many uh other entities that are looking at This particular team and looking at who was released and said, okay Maybe they fit what we do better than maybe what they did at the falcon So this is an interesting time as well to see how many of those guys at the falcons did release end up going somewhere else Or they say, okay I'm gonna stay here because I think I have a better opportunity to play for these files You gotta remember these guys have been here, you know since you know draft time they built equity They they've you know learned the system they learned the guys And it's tough to to leave a situation like that especially when you feel like you have a chance to make the team So a lot of guys they're weighing their options as well because just as much as another team may want them They can decide that maybe I want to be here to land a falcon on a practice squad better than going somewhere else Because I got a better chance of playing, you know one of the sayings that I think was very common when I was playing I'm sure it was you Dave and dj and it's it goes To to right now as well as you got to do your best to be out of that 49 to 53 man Positioning on the roster right because the last three or four are the ones that are always All right, well this guy we can we could potentially cut him and add this person, right? You're generally safe if you're the kicker you're the punter or the long snapper, right? You're generally the safe if you're the quarterback or the backup starting offensive line starting position But then anywhere after that it's still kind of fair game So that's why I think it's it's important that all the the players know the coaches have made it evident that Competition does not stop competition does not stop from this point moving forward because again We are still looking for the 53 best players that are going to help us win football games and get to 1 and 0 When we start off against the new orlan sains This episode in part brought to you by the home depot Everything you need for your next home improvement project is just a tap away on the home depot app The home depot app digital toolbox gives you access to how-to guides project calculators And image search so you'll know exactly what you need to pick up with the tap of the finger You can rent and reserve the right tools for the job Also browse through millions of items from top brands that you can have delivered right to your door Whatever your project find exactly what you need with the home depot app download the home depot app today All right fellas, let's talk a little strengths and weaknesses as we see on this initial 53 man roster arch I'm going to start with you. Where do you feel like the falcons are strong and where do you feel like? Maybe they could add a player or two to become a little stronger. Yeah, I think it jumps off the page I talked a little bit about the running back room earlier. I thought that was the deepest room come into camp Especially with the addition of tyler algear out of byu They've been nothing but convinced me that that's exactly what it is The the way they ran the football with conviction downhill make punishing people How about the algear run where he shoves it in the end zone this last weekend? I think they're in a good spot I think they've got they've got three guys. They can definitely go downhill and tote it Then you got that little guy that can make you miss in avry. Williams From a concerned standpoint, I think it continues to be one that they'll look at is the corner spot I think the de offered came on love that. I loved what isaac oliver was able to do late In camp came on during the practices against jacksville and hey took the knee brace off and played against jacksville in the game He almost had interception. That's a guy that i'm expecting to get back on the field And I think he makes you deeper isaac oliver says number one. I'm not a hundred percent yet number two The knee brace is gone. I'm done with it. It's retired and he's ready to move on past that Dave you talked about The depth of the corner position and dj. I wanted to tee you up because this might be an area They've already added kasey hayward as we know on the roster But this could be dj an area where if there's a veteran that's released that terry fontano and arthur smith Feel like an add depth to their cornerback room Do you feel like that's an area where they address? Uh, I think so. I mean You just look around nfc south just to be you know just starting on your own division Their receivers go lower at all three teams and we have you know good Positional guys at that position that can play ball then obviously that fits you better But when you have you know three or four different receivers on a team You gotta have three or four different defensive backs Not many teams have that many cover guys who have done it and been there and been able to do You just talking about asia oliver been a guy come on that knee. Well, you know How quickly can he become the guy that we saw it in the year before he got hurt? That's a big big part of uh, the secondary But I think you're you're good enough in the safety spot where you look at Okay, here's some guys that have played some ball Here's some guys who have done it before richie grant is a guy who I thought made great strides this preseason But you know, he's still in a area where he has to grow becoming a better player And when it comes to game time action, but you got a Eric Harris back there Who's played a lot of ball he could kind of mention those guys But uh, you guys mentioned that corner spot in a league where you have so many receivers I think you can never have enough really good corners that can help you win ball games Yeah, especially as we see a lot of teams going to the three four wide receiver sets You've got to find a way to have guys out there That have the ability to shut people down to keep everything in front of them to knock passes away and Heaven, you know forbid get interceptions. You got to turn the football over I would agree with you guys. I think when you look at the running back room, Dave It's in a much better position And wide receiver. I know we talked a little bit about is there still some development that needs to happen But I would also say you got to remember that cordial Patterson ends up playing wide receiver And you've also got Kyle Pitts playing wide receiver And those are two guys that have experience in playmaking ability that even though on this roster as it's broken down Their name is not listed as wide receiver But we're probably going to see them out there and it does give you a playmaking option outside At the wide receiver position and obviously once drake london gets back to a hundred percent Hopefully he goes out and he ends up realizing the potential that everybody has seen in him because he is a next level Wide receiver. So, well, let me ask you two guys question. Yes Okay, are we comfortable At where the offensive line is right now because I can guarantee you The fan is thinking offensive and defensive lines, right? That's what we thought about coming in Are you comfortable with where they are line wise? Certainly terry feels like some guys flashed for him. Some guys improved like kaleb migari. Tell me what you guys think Yeah, you know, I think I'll start with that arch because I know I've been the guy that throughout the off season Has been saying that that's an area that needs to be addressed and I don't know if it's been completely addressed Do I think it could be completely addressed in one year? Probably not Um, but you know, we're all kind of in this same mold You guys were quarterbacks played behind an offensive line Your guys's success was directly dependent on an offensive line And I kind of I was a quarterback growing up my whole life went to college as a quarterback So I'm always about offensive line You can't get anything started unless you can run the football on offense And I was a part of the offenses with atlanta when we were able to be a dominant running football And I saw how everything took off from there Everything feeds off from being a dominant running Football team Did they do what they needed to as far as bringing some youth and some speed and quickness and shift ability at the running back room? Absolutely, but you still got to be able to open the holes So am I 100 comfortable that that has been addressed and not only are they going to be able to open holes But are they going to protect for these quarterbacks? I'm not yet So maybe that's an area where if they see a guy that was released maybe a veteran That's making too much money to another team But to atlanta might be one of the diamonds in the rough if you will that could be an area dj Where they address and bring in another able Experienced body to help them out up front Yeah, right. I don't think we're going to be a hundred percent All in until we see the progress on the field and let's be honest I mean the last few years the falcons have not been up to the standard that you want to protect a franchise guy And Matt Ryan's been that Marcus Murriota is coming into this fold You want to be able to protect him? And that's a big part of this offense being able to like you mentioned create your run lanes But also be able to protect your quarterback and not being able to get hit you're bringing Jareena Fettie you're bringing Elijah Wilkins and two guys who you think have added a little nasty to the group Two guys who were different than last year So let's see if these guys can help the guys around them and they become a more cohesive unit because this is Really what it comes down to obviously we we've talked about the skill on the outside the skillet running back and receiver But can these guys be the catalyst to helping this offense become what everybody wants it to be so I think only time would tell and Truly game day is when we'll better say, okay, we can see a difference We can see this team becoming better offensively because of those guys up front And I will say this I will I will come back and add on and I mentioned this couple weeks ago I feel like the change at the quarterback position is going to help the offense because This is nothing against Matt Ryan. I was probably one of the biggest Matt Ryan fans that we had I felt like he can still help an NFL franchise But as of right now, it's just not the right fit for his skill set his strengths and weaknesses And where they're at is an offensive line But now you have mariota and even desmond ridder guys that have a little bit more mobility Now they've got the ability to make that first man miss if you do have a Breakdown in in communication up front if there's a breakdown and technique up front and you get somebody through Now you have a little bit more escape ability with the two quarterbacks on the roster That now you still have a chance to make something positive Whereas with matt back there it might have been an eight to ten yard loss Just because the mobility wasn't there to get away from some of the pass rush Would you agree dave with the switch? No question None of us are trying to badmouth the guy that was the best quarterback in this franchise history This guy's in my opinion. He's a hall of fame football player. So let's leave that where it is We don't need to apologize for saying we've moved on from that What it does it also you mentioned the off schedule stuff both these guys are going to be able to do Think about the unscheduled stuff from a play call standpoint that arthur schmidt has available to him now They'd be able to move the launch point for the quarterback to be able to get him outside and dual threat things with run and pass Those are all going to be things that slow a defense down slow a pass rush down And you know we all played against defenses if you can get them to hesitate account All of a sudden i'm ahead of them. I got a step right whether it's a receiver or run a block If I can get them to hesitate and I think the quarterback's going to help them do that All right folks. So that's that's oh go ahead dj go ahead What one quick point I think ours brings up something that's really critical one thing that's I think a lot of defenses are going to keep in the back of their mind when they play this team is We got to rush the right way because this guy's shown already in preseason. He can make your pay So now you're talking about hesitate just a little bit You're coming to a ball game and a defensive line knows if I get too far off field Well, I don't rush the right way. This guy's going to hurt me. So guess what that's going to help your offensive line That's going to help you have a little bit more time because these guys are going to be more conscious Of oh this quarterback can be anywhere on the field at any given time So now I have to know how to rush the passer So now there is going to be a slight hesitant to how you rush this pass or how you go and attack This foul is often because you know that guy back there can make some guys missing space And I'll say this too. Let's let's be real now the double-edged sort of that is That whether it's marcus or desmond in the game at some point during the season You've got to squeeze the trigger when it comes when it's supposed to come out You can't be someone that's holding it now. I'm looking to create Because now that's not the most these offenses or timing offenses where the ball comes Love that he can do stuff off schedule and love that we can we can call things for them to do stuff like that But when it calls for a slant route to come out or a bang it post to come out Or you got to get to your top step and hit that corner in between the uh Between the corner and the safety in that little dead hole when you're trying to get that little bend out That ball's got to come out on time. So those guys have to understand we're not trying to create every play There's a lot of timing involved. It's got to get the ball out that athleticism on those certain routes dj has to be secondary, right? Yeah, I mean just one last thing and I think that's why we were so excited and me and arches was so Pumped about the touchdown oz because we know he can make the off schedule plays We've we've seen that but the play the oz was a timing play He had that ball had to come out here to late in the zone at late in the area oz when he got it That's the kind of stuff that excites us because we know he can do those stuff But seeing that just gives you proof that this office can be that way as well I can feel it guys the excitement is starting to come out because they know real football no offense to pre season But real football is on the horizon because you know what it was vanilla in the pre season We only saw starters for like half a minute. Okay Now we're going to get a chance to see kyle pits marcus mario to drake london the rest of all these playmakers Not only going the entire 60 minutes, but with the full playbook with the full creativity And i'm looking forward to it. I can see it Let's start it off. Let's get it going. Let's go. Okay. All right So that's gonna wrap it up for our initial 53 man roster by the time we end up coming back next week This thing could look a whole lot different. We could have two different people We could have 10 or 15 different people on this roster. I don't know yet But what I am excited about is regular season football is on the horizon. Are you excited as well? We appreciate you joining us here in the falcons audible presented by at and t This is the initial 53 man roster edition and we are ready to play some football dj I appreciate you joining us from from down the interstate a little bit I know you got some work to do a little bit later, but we appreciate you joining us Dave is always good to see you and we appreciate you guys joining us on the falcons audible presented by at and t Don't forget like subscribe review on spotify itunes and lana falcons dot com or youtube or however you end up getting your podcast material Thanks, everyone. We'll be back very soon with a whole lot more at lana falcons coverage. Take care