 It's Friday night Atlanta time to rise up tonight with Kelly Price and Harry Douglas presented by AT&T Atlanta We made it to 2022 well almost 24 hours from now. We'll be ringing in the new year, which is insane I'm Kelly price and filling in for Harry Douglas this week I'm really excited to welcome my girl Tori McElhaney of Atlanta Falcons calm welcome to rise up tonight Thank you. I'm really excited to be here. It's a very exciting time as the Falcons Of course prepare for the bills this weekend. They came away with their first win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium last Sunday They're now seven and two in one possession games That means executing at the right times calling the right plays and of course a little luck But as I like to say success is where luck meets opportunity This is a huge area of improvement from last season and a big step in the right direction under Arthur Smith's first year Right, you're exactly right because the Falcons were two and eight in 2020 in one possession games That's a huge difference from the seven and two records that they have right now So that in and of itself just kind of shows a culture change It shows the Arthur Smith and Terry fontanare leading this team in a different direction and the steps in the right direction A big reason they were able to come away with that double last Sunday a guy named boy Iluacan which broadcasters keep finding new pronunciations for somehow his Interception iced the game for the Falcons and it was an exclamation point on what's been a very good season for the NFL's Second leading tackler Tori You'd a great deep dive on how the Falcons kind of discovered this this diamond in the rough a sixth rounder in 2018 Draft out of Yale. What's gone into them finding him and having a great season? I love boy a story and I know I've loved his story from the get-go It's really interesting because just from talking to people when I was doing this story They were saying we didn't expect when we drafted boy in with the 200 pick in the 2018 draft for him to be what he is We thought we were getting a special teams player a guy with good character Maybe adding a little bit of depth. We did not think we were gonna get the number two leading tackler in 2021 I just think that's amazing when you think about the over arc of his entire story And that's exactly where they've ended up fast forward to this week The Falcons have had a number of players go on to the COVID Reservalist the good news is as you pointed out on Atlanta Falcons calm that the team is fully vaccinated And they may escape some of the strictest protocol consequences because of that How can they manage the COVID losses in Buffalo on Sunday? I think it's really important when we were talking to Arthur Smith this week. He was talking about how Essentially, he feels optimistic about where the Falcons are just because they are fully vaccinated They are kind of able to go through the protocols a lot easier So he feels optimistic that the Falcons are gonna get some guys back before they play the bills on Sunday And they're certainly gonna need that while the two ladies on the set love two things sports and playing dress-up If you can't tell what the New Year's Eve fits Let's check out some of the best Falcons fits from last Sunday Although the peach drop was canceled again to due to COVID-19 concerns Quadray Allison giving us some peachy vibes on Sunday with the sweater. I'm here for it even the peach Nike's on the bottom. I mean, that's a great look I honestly think that I need to incorporate more peach get-up in my own everyday Because I love it as a Georgia peach myself. I just feel the need to represent the state more and and Quadray is really killing it. I like it. He always does a good job with his outfits, too Now I know you're gonna like this as a Georgia gal, of course former dog Sean Williams looking sharp in the Letterman style jacket coordinating with the red and black Nike's I love the ripped jeans and the hoodie modernizing the look, but it's also got a scary game face on in this picture, too I love it and I'm glad that you brought up the dogs because honestly this jacket is amazing I gotta talk about how I need to add more peach. I need to add this jacket to my wardrobe, too Yeah, you gotta in contact him find out where he got that now for Keith Smith Who's always good for a fashion statement. It's not exactly my vibe But he definitely rocks with his own style, which I respect lots of headbands lots of denim for Keith Smith and this jean jacket I'm sure by some designer that's like above my tax bracket, but who am I to judge honestly? I love the whole denim on denim get-up. I'm a 90s baby I think we both are 90s babies. So the fact that the denim on denim look is coming back It just makes me feel better about the number of denim jackets that I have in my closet right now that it's coming back So I have an excuse to wear all this pull those out of the attic It's coming back. Finally a twinning moment. It doesn't appear to me these two linebackers coordinated their looks But I would have loved to see the reactions when they both walk into the locker room. They're wearing the same thing I think it's also a Christmas sweater. Oh my right. Yeah. No, I love it, too And it's so funny because you know that meme it's the spider-man meme where they're like pointing at I just imagine them walking into the locker room being like hey, man We're wearing the same thing. We're both wearing the same thing But then at the exact same time knowing Michael and knowing Boye Honestly wouldn't surprise me if they planned this that this was an executed thought that they had We love it. Well, 2022 is just 24 hours away now So y'all better start working on those New Year's resolutions At least some of the Falcons have figured theirs out as we found out when we asked them What their New Year's resolutions were this week and tonight's question of the week Not right now. I really not see. I really not see out here on camera. Maybe uh, just stay healthy, you know Play the whole season Don't get into this kind of thing. We'll probably read some more. I feel like I need to do some more reading So probably read some more. Yeah Good health always a good thing to resolve in the new year There's even some more guys that didn't want to divulge their New Year's resolutions It really makes you wonder what they're resolving over there in flowery branch as for me I think my New Year's resolution is to eat better the holidays kind of always put me in this weird Fonk where I'm just kind of like eating a lot of sweets eating not so great got to get back on that meal prep game What about you Tori? Okay, it sounds generic. It sounds basic But honestly, I need to get back in the gym during football season I do not take care of myself and I will own up to not taking care of myself So I've got to get back in the gym. It's more of a post season resolution than it is actually a New Year's resolution because we still have a few couple weeks here after the new year the Falcons are still playing So and we'll see what happens with the playoffs too. It's still a couple weeks there new year's resolutions So still to come still to come here on rise up tonight Atlanta's own master chef slash iron chef Justin Robertson stops by the show you want to miss that one It's one of my favorite interviews of dental season long. It's coming up later in the show ATL This is hand crack Let's rejoin my favorite co-host kelly and harry for more rise up tonight on your home for falcons football Fox five in land Well in the last couple games the falcons run game has seemed to disappear again Getting that jump started in buffalo is just as important as containing that guy on the other side josh allen falcons insider Dave archer explains more in his keys to the game Falcons head back out on the road this time they go to buffalo where they'll take on the bills And maybe some weather. Let's look at the keys to the game This falcon offense got some things going last week one of them was not the run game And that's where the key is here. This is a buffalo defense That's number one in the national football league But they struggled against the run giving up almost 120 yards a game in fact over the last four games They give it over 130 yards per game in their last four must get the run game going keep their offense on the sideline But move some clock score that way must take care of the football as well This is one of the best defenses in taking the football away They're number three in the league with 29 takeaways And they are number three in the league in interception So matt ryan going to be very guarded about where he throws the football Take care of the ball run the ball on offense on the other side of the ball I think it all comes down to the quarterback Josh allen is a guy that can hurt you both throwing it and running He's got over 600 yards rushing and four touchdowns You got to take away the impromptu play He has the ability to create and extend plays must keep him wrangled then make him throw the ball from the pocket He's dangerous enough from there But don't let him get out and extend plays and hurt you run him with the football There's your keys to the game and atlanta goes up and battles the weather potentially to get a w in buffalo Thanks archwell the atlanta falcons were still in the christmas spirit as one of their top dogs gave back Earlier this week more on that coming up later in the show plus. Hope you're not hungry We've got atlanta's chef j-rob in the nest is going to talk a lot of great things about food next up on rice tonight Rise up tonight is presented by AT&T And brought to you by george a lottery today could be today By home deeper how doers get more done by mesadies bends the best of nothing and by truas committed to a better future Welcome back to rise up tonight and it's time to hop into the nest with kelly harry and tonight's influencer Brought to you by mesadies bends Really excited to welcome in the nest a different kind of kind of guest than we've had before a chef chef j-rob From atlanta is here. You might know him from master chef Something we haven't really talked about on this show in this segment is atlanta's culture in the lens of food We talk about it in music and all these other ways, but food is also such a big part of atlanta's culture How do you describe it justin too? You know people who've never been to atlanta don't know about atlanta It's like the new food mecca honestly like food in atlanta there's so many different cultures so many different fridals of cuisine that you can indulge in and I'm trying to make a mark for myself right now So honestly if i'm not cooking, you know for myself, there's so many different options to just go out and just Get full So I have a two part question your favorite food to cook and your favorite food to eat So probably two different things, right? Yeah, it's two different things. So my favorite food to Cook I would say Is lamb you can never go wrong with cooking a nice rack of lamb. I usually take like a pesto Jerk rub marinade which is so unconventional, but when you marry those two flavors and you It's it's so good. It's so good and um my favorite food to cook Wait, was that I don't I do like lamb for both, but I love uh cooking uh Brisket you can't go just the process It's like nurturing a kid to me like I don't have any kids But I feel like you have to wake up every three hours to spritz it make sure that you know, it's slow and slow, so Brisket and lamb would be my top two So I was reading on your website you list nfl players as some of your clients as well What's it like working with that group of people versus just you know, kind of everyday people Yeah, so I honestly just from from i'm from obio alabama. So Uh really humble upbringing really wasn't around celebrity So coming to atlanta and being introduced to a whole celebrity market was just like wow Like who wouldn't have thought I've been cooking for this person, you know, and I just treat everybody the same I get careless if you have a million dollars or ten dollars as long as you're booking my services I'm giving my all to my energy to every single person but uh cooking for the people you see on tv or here on the radio or You know hosts, you know, you know miss universe and stuff like that. It's just crazy And just to be putting those rooms is really gratifying too But it's definitely a different scene for sure I don't know if you have any falcons as clients, but I do know you are a falcons band I want to talk about maybe some of your favorite memories watching this team Yeah, so honestly you're growing up, you know, again alabam doesn't have a football team the closest place was, you know the land of falcons and um, you know My aunt and uncle they were originally Moved out here a while ago and when they came from the hurricane And just coming to visit and you know, watch the falcons on tv It was just just an atmosphere like I've never witnessed and then now that I'm here You have the new stadium, you know I just really want to be a part of the falcons culture Like I would love to do like tailgates outside Like there's so many ways that I want to get involved So hopefully, you know, you see chef j-rock tailgating right outside the stadium soon Watching this team now who are some of your favorite players? I would honestly say, you know, I hate to see Julio go You know, it was it was that was my favorite player. Um, you know, I want to see Matt Ryan step up a little bit You know, just being you know transparent Um You know, I'm really to be honest with you just fully transparent I haven't gotten much time to watch it this season just because I'm so busy But when I do get a chance to watch it, um, I want to say it's upsetting But I just definitely want to see the culture just turn around. We had such a great baseball season I'm a huge braves fan. So, um, I play baseball in high school. So that's primarily where my heart is But I definitely want to see the falcons really have a great season next season Your new year's eve plans do you have any and what do you kind of suggest for people who are Maybe thinking of hosting a new year's eve get together Yeah, so, um, I'm rocking and rolling. Um, masked up in I have, uh, five bookings right now. So It's going to be a busy day, but, um, getting it all in before midnight So I could spend, you know, the rest of time with my fiance Um, and really bringing the new year and reflect on our goals and, um, you know, we're getting married next year So it's really exciting and the things that we want to accomplish. So we're looking forward to it and everybody who's celebrating new year's eve Just be very aware of your surroundings. Um, you know, we're in a time where, you know, it's an adjustment to your environment So you just want to make sure that you take the proper precautions but also have fun, you know, uh, life is short And you always want to live it to the fullest and, uh, fulfill every moment Congratulations on your engagement. That's super exciting. It has something I look forward to in 2022 When you think of just like your average cook or even a celebrity chef or anything What is one thing that you wish every person knew about cooking for it to become a passion and for it to become something that they like to do I would say season light to dark World of a difference if you can see the season hit the protein or the vegetable, um, you know, that's why I always preach Light to dark light to dark. Um, I talk a lot about flavor profiles in my cookbook too where you can use different herbs and Fruits kind of elevate the flavors of a dish. So there's so many different ways that you can go about it But season them light to dark makes the world of a difference. That is so exciting Thank you so much for spending some time with us here on rise up tonight Anyone wants to see the full conversation and see more head to box five at lana.com and we'll be right back Thanks, Kelly Lana this is a crack talking and you watching rise up tonight presented by AT&T Hey crack here rise up tonight has been presented to you by AT&T Though the christmas rushes through the holiday season is still upon us and falcons president and ceo rich mckay Celebrated the giving season with a very merry mckay christmas as we rise up for Atlanta brought to you by truest mckay and his wife terry hosted 17 underprivileged football players from bannaker Chambley flowery branch and noon in high schools for sunday's game against detroit The boys enjoyed a game in a luxurious box suite and were surprised with falcons swag shoes gift cards and more Alongside freddy falcon they took in atlanta's first win at mercedes-benz stadium in 2021 which was a nice bow on top Speaking of christmas presents you may have seen the video earlier this week of matt ryan's son with the coach's head set He got for christmas, which was adorable. I had a chance to catch up with the quarterback about the ice cubes earlier this week Take a listen How was christmas? I saw there was a headset under the tree for one of your sons Yeah, uh It was a great christmas and a lot of fun to to be able to see it through your kids eyes Uh, and our guys had a really good time and yeah, the headset was was one of the big big presents for my son marshal He'd been talking about it non-stop. And so he's been wearing that thing around the house calling plays After the last four days, which has been a lot of fun. Did they both get one or just the one? No, no, they both got one, but my other son johnny could care less about he's Trained and some of the other things we have rolling around the house I wish I could get inside, you know, his head to kind of, you know, see what he's thinking, but He he definitely plays the part, you know, he walks around, you know with with his little chest pumped out and You know is he is feeling like he's the head coach, which is cool to see What's it likes as they kind of get older to share football with them in a more meaningful way Yeah, I mean, it's it's fun, you know, just, you know, listening to to them talk about the games when I come home from them or Just talking about who we're playing that week and, you know, they get fired up about beating the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Pan whatever it is, you know, they're they're fired up for each week and You know, so it's cool. It's cool to see that and then it's cool to see them, you know running around the house throwing the football catching the football having fun with it and Just, you know, it takes you back to when you fell in love with the game and To see it through their eyes is really special I absolutely live for sarah ryan's videos of ice cubes. They are fantastic Well, the falcons haven't still beat a good football team with a winning record and now they head to chili buffalo where Those are nine and six and coming off a win against the pass falcons have been great on the road But in their eight losses this season, they've been outscored 262 to 107 torii. How do they at least keep it close and competitive? I think it's really important to talk about the bills defense being the number one pass defense in the league right now That is a big test for this falcons offense And I think it goes back to what cordial paterson was talking to us about earlier in the week where he was talking about the Run game establishing itself early making sure that they are Pretty balanced offensively because that'll help out the pass game. It'll help out this offense Really moving forward down through four quarters because like what we said They haven't played a complete game yet and they've been close. They've had their moments But not a full four quarters and I think that's going to be Essentially the biggest key to this game I know I know arch talked a little bit about it But also that's just what needs to happen in order to beat a buffalo team that's playing pretty well right now Absolutely josh allen playing well as well a different kind of dual threat quarterback than they've kind of seen this season So we'll see how it goes on sunday. Thank you all for staying up late with us here on rise of tonight Shout out to Tori McElhaney for joining us. We'll see you next friday night. Happy new year