Just want to note that this episode was recorded before the tampering punishment came down, and we were operating under the assumption that the punishment was going to be MUCH worse than it ended up being. The motivations still ended up being similar to what we were talking about, but we definitely assumed they were going to have a more "impactful" pick taken away at the time.
@@kevincurnick it’s a rather minor correction but ok dude… because you know, the off season is known for having LOTS of action that requires up to date information…
@@kevincurnick bro they have to do 32 videos, that are all an hour or so long... You seem to have no idea how long 1 video takes to make, let alone 32 of them
I don't think anything changes about him if all he was tasked to do was run an offense. Doing that *AND* managing a game without addressing the QB was the proven shitshow with the Falcons. And you could clearly see that with his late game decision making from the 2023 season.
@@steven9766Arthur Smith had FULL CONTROL of that offense. Those guys were hand picked by him and he was ok with rolling out Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder as starting QBs. Its pretty telling of that when Arthur got fired and Terry was retained
Another assistant coach you did not mention is Dwayne Ledford the o line coach. He is another holdover from the Arthur Smith staff. Raheem Morris gave Ledford an additional title of run game coordinator. So that wide zone running is going to remain a mainstay.
To be fair Arthur Smith ran a variety of run looks that wasn't just wide zone in his tenure with the Falcons. Even if HC Morris' offense staff comes from McVay's group, the O-line personnel (and RB talents) have the skills to do more.
My fav theory on the Falcons taking Penix is that the Falcons have PTSD from Mariota, and Ridder playing QB that they decided to take all the QBs to ensure they don’t end up in QB Purgatory again
not just ptsd from that, Raheem's situation with his first stint w the Bucs and Terry was apart of that saints staff that had to watch the chiefs jump ahead of them and take mahomes. that whole staff got serious ptsd😂
@@ADUSNthe only way the pick really back fires is that cousins AND penix is just a dogshit player. Then again that’s what we said about last year where we need not trash QB play but look where we are now 🤣
The last time we made the playoffs I was a junior in high school…. I’m currently entering the final semester for my masters degree 😭 we are due, please don’t let me down 😂
As a falcons RUclipsr, this was pretty spot on. My expected wins is 10-11. I think our ceiling with great play and everything going perfect is 13 wins. If we finish with a losing season again, someone is getting fired
Thank you. I've been saying the same thing about the Penix pick. I even think QB is an overvalued position (by the masses at least), but taking a clearly talented guy and developing him behind Cousins means that they can utilize the talent they've gathered over a longer period.
The issue is they could’ve done the exact thing you said and spend 1/4 of the price by signing Gardner minshew, and still drafting penix. That way you would have cap space to sign a guy like Wilkins or any other high end pass rusher you’d like
9:50, I _LOVE_ QBS, bruh. You really start to see It’s use in the story of the 2023 Atlanta Falcons. I’ve been listening to EJ talk about the last like 10 days, today is when it really hit me about how much it can describe the teams season and effectiveness… Also explains why Terry was the man to keep his job between him and Arthur Smith. The man has put together a good roster, but even the casual fans can see the misusage of all the talent on the team because of the head coach and the terrible quarterback play.
Yeah the QBS / Power score comparison doesn't tell a great summary for teams that are consistent in executing their philosophies. But the Falcons are the model for the metric with how the offense could perform with the talent they had (outside of QB) and how much worse they did.
@@t4d0W exactly… Doesn’t tell the story for the team who are considered a real contender, or who actually made it close or to the Super Bowl, but for a team who was clearly deficient at quarterback to the point where even though casual fan was outspoken about it, for a team who was deficient at Coach, who didn’t do anything to rectify the situation despite the complaints of the media, it really shows how useful it can be for the teams who, especially under achieved, like Atlanta
I’m only going to talk about the Atlanta Falcons defense, with drafting 5 players out of the 8 draft picks on defense the Atlanta Falcons now have good defensive depth, their 3-4 d-line will play 9 players with the 3 starters & 6 rotational d-linemen, their linebackers are 8 deep with the 4 starters and 4 backups who will be rotational players
Gave me so much hope in this episode that I, a 20 year old that isn’t made of money… just bought myself season tickets to the games this year, here’s to being heart broken again 😂😂
UDFA WR Isaiah Wooden ran the fastest 10 yd split EVER RECORDED on his pro day at 1.38s, .02s faster than Chris Johnson. He also has great contact balance although he is only 5'9 170lbs.
I legitimately think the Falcons have a good chance of winning their division this year. Kirk is an elite QB and they have decent weapons. The only question mark is Zac Robinson as the OC.
@@Joescotterpuss They still have Grady Jarrett and Kaden Ellis. But I think Raheem Morris is a good defensive coordinator. The Rams last year didn't have alot of depth and the defense was ok
I don't understand why you wouldn't have hope with this squad... it seems people were more hyped on this team the past two years when their young studs were younger, their coaching staff was worse, and they didn't have a QB. Be hopeful, it's a good team. If Kirk is Kirk, teams won't want to play them come playoff time.
@webers28 he hasn't proven it in the playoffs. I have no doubt he can get us there but he has to prove he can win games in the playoffs. That's why Matt Ryan was so special for us. When we were in the playoffs, he won us games
@EJByrd That's fine and all, but it doesn't change the fact that he's one of the better QBs a team could ask for. 23rd most touchdowns thrown out of all QBs ever. 28th most yards. 8th best passer rating. 6th best completion %. Sometimes, surrounding circumstances or bad luck just work against dudes. The fact of the matter is, he's been a very, very good QB. He's going to a team that has a WR, RB and TE that were all taken top 10 in 3 of the previous 4 drafts. There's plenty to be hopeful for. Not SURE about, but hopeful for? Fuck yeah. Sit back and try and just be excited about your team for once would be my advice. Worry about the playoffs when you make it there.
"God's favorite social experiment" Ain't that the truth! I've got cautious optimism for this season, I'm hoping my dirty birds actually make some noise this time Also, Southern Utah is in Cedar City, about 50 miles up the road from St. George. It's Utah Tech (formerly Dixie) in St. George
I'm so hyped about my Falcons! Playoff expectations maybe even a little run..? I really liked EJs Take on the QB Situation. The only aspect you did not talk about, that worries me a little, is the CB and Safety depth behind Terell and Bates. And yes our Throwbacks are the best! Rise Up!
7 - 11 win projections seem kinda low. I'm not sure how they lose 10 games without losing BOTH Kirk and Michael. Even so, it took Arthur Smith driving this team into the ground to pull that off last year. My point is: please don't be Jacksonville...
I feel it's a pretty good range. 7 is if it's a shitshow 11 is a decent ceiling considering - it's damn hard to win in this league + look at the opening 3
Falcons: about to be the most hyped team of the offseason after they draft a great defender to solidify their defense and nearly secure a 12 win season. Then they falcons at QB
@@rjante2236 Everyone wants a top QB but they don’t want to put in the resources to develop a top QB. If he ends up being good and they have him for the next 10 years instead of the next 13 years it’s not too much of a difference.
@@adambarran Well you don't get the resources to help develop a QB when you tie up bigger resources to a QB playing ahead of him. Nobody in their sane mind thought the Falcons reaching for Penix with the 8th pick is a bad idea in a vacuum. Paying Cousins 180 million for a minimum of two seasons as the transition QB to Penix is the odd call there. Especially when the market had more cheaper options who can play a similar role. But I guess Arthur Blank took the QB play for 2023 personally as he didn't want to see that shit again in 2024.
I have to admit, it makes a lot more sense to me atm. Still, it better works out for them. They could've really used a guy like Rome Odunze or even traded down for a corner like Terrion Arnold or something. The team around the QB still has quite some issues to solve.
44:20 I think the "Falcons drafted Penix because they expected Cousins to be suspended" stuff is interesting but also a tin-foil-hat level conspiracy. If you compare apples to apples, the Falcons tampering infraction was always minuscule and nothing like the Dolphins ownership having secret meetings with Belicheck and Brady. They probably never even considered the idea anybody would be suspended. I think the rest of the reasoning is correct though. They liked Penix's arm talent and thought they could develop him into a franchise QB. Taking Penix is a swing for the fences, kinda like how Patrick Mahomes was when the Chiefs drafted him while still having Alex Smith, who's kind of a close analog to Cousins tbh.
thanks guys I thought the same thing about patterson when I heard the special teams rule as well. I recognized how big he was on hard knocks.I wonder if atlanta is worried cousins isnt healthy and or they already saw it
Idk if y’all are right about the penix pick but I think y’all could possibly make decent salesmen cuz that conversation y’all had almost single handedly made me not hate that pick😂
Totally agree with the Arthur Smith analysis. He & his ego, should have NEVER been hired. IMO. THE worst HC/OC hire in the history of the NFL. Arthur Blank just threw away 3 years. Good luck Pittsburgh. You’re goin to need it.
The inconsistency in the NFL's tampering enforcement certainly does make it hard for teams to understand what they're up against. Is it only a 1st round pick if it's Tom Brady? So you can tamper away with anyone else with relatively little to worry about?
As a Minnesotan who just listened to this podcast today, how has Brett not learned Minnesota State Mankato over the years with Adam Thielen!? Or from the handful of recent years their hockey team has made the Frozen-4?
As someone who lives in St. George, UT, 1) let me know next time you’re in town. Let some good food. 2) SUU is in Cedar City 3) Cedar City sucks. 4) Go Utah Tech Trailblazers!
I wonder whether we'll see Penix sooner rather than later, and sooner than we see JJ McCarthy. I think the Vikes success might be more due to OConnell and Jefferson than Cousins. Kirk might have been the ceiling, not the key. Despite his success last season, Kirk looked awkward and laboured, and he will likely look even slower and less agile this year as he starts to age out and comes off that Achilles. A reprise of Matt Ryan would be brutal for Falcon fans.
As a falcons fan I feel like we’re gonna suck. The lack of depth in the secondary is terrible. If aj terrell misses one game I can’t imagine we beat anyone (maybe the panthers). And we aren’t hitting anybody’s quarterback. I wanna cry thinking of how bad this defense could really be. If it’s even league average then raheem and lake deserve a Nobel prize or something.
The concerning implicit assumption everyone seems to be making is that the Falcons offensive weapons are better than the Vikes offensive weapons. And yet the Vikes offence, without Jefferson, led by QB Josh Dobbs, who arrived Monday of game week, beat the full Falcons offense, playing with their regular QB, in their home stadium. What if the Falcons offence is worse than the Vikes, and more is actually missing than solid above average QB play?
Saints fan here standing on business. I'll be spooked by the falcons next year once kirk heals and processes the offense. I have an unbiased feeling that he's gonna do what carr did last year process fail grow then dissapoint overall. I see the division fighting for a 7th seed too.
If were talking a QB mid-off, Cousins has had higher level play in the past 6 seasons than Carr's short prime years. Even if Cousins has the added benefit of playing with better O-lines in that part of his career than Carr ever did.
I don’t feel like any adults are in charge of this team. Our gm doesn’t fully understand the concept of positional value. This “team building” style has left us with massive holes for teams to exploit every year.
No if you’re primary weapon as a qb is running the ball they should treat you like a runningback. The qb rules rules are to protect passers. Glad this bust is gone
Please tell me who the falcons Ben Skowronek is gonna be. I really wanted it to be bowers but obviously that didn’t happen so now I need some kind of reassurance😂
I miss the falcons that had a defense. That's right, I miss Mike Smith era everything else was awful even the super bowl run. The defense was trash. Thank God for the Georgia Bulldogs and the best coach to ever coach in the state of Georgia Kirby Smart
31:40 What did you make of how they used Calais last season. Felt like they forced him wider into a position he was less effective because of the rest of their personnel to me, or am I misreading that? I feel like he might have a better year next season for the Dolphins being used in a smarter way.
Thought he was really good. 6.5 sacks. He wanted to play more edge but the DL had massive injuries towards the end so he had to play inside more. He’s old but more durable than most lmaooo
Could we not take a 5min segment in an ATL video to talk about Justin Fields? He didn't play there. He didn't go there. His situation is irrelevant to the Falcons. What are we doing here?
Arthur Smith is most likely a bad head coach, but I don't know why people ignore the fact that he had no chance to succeed. You even talk about it with Raheem Morris, how he was screwed over his first time around as HC by not having a QB. Arthur Smith got screwed over too. Mariota, Ridder, Heinicke, and the corpse of Matt Ryan are all backup QBs. It's a miracle he was able to win 7 games every year with those guys, he had backup QBs for three seasons. Fontenot should've been fired along with Arthur Smith, I'm shocked he wasn't. And then, surprise surprise, Fontenot leaves the draft as the biggest clown and a poor draft overall.
Smith got fired because of the way he handled the qb position. He named Ridder the starter after only seeing him play 3 games and didn't let him compete against henicke. Terry handled the cap situation and got the team to the point to where they actually have a future. that is why he hasn't been fired. if the team doesn't make the playoffs this year he's definitely gone, but Arthur smith would still be a head coach if he didn't tie his job to an unproven "rookie"
@@ajzwrld-k4l Choosing between Heinicke and RIdder as your starting QB is a lose-lose situation, it didn't matter who he picked. Terry screwed him over bad. There's a lot of reasons Arthur Smith should've been fired, but at the same time his entire 3-year tenure was hampered by literally not having a starting QB. And I don't know why people seem to just excuse that for some reason, or even blame Smith for it
@@steven9766 my man its not the fact that he had to choose between either. it's the fact that smith decided to not let ridder go through a qb competition and tied his job to him... had he not done that he'd still be coaching this team lol. terry was dealing with cap hell since they (the entire falcons organization) fucked up the situation with ryan and watson. 2022 couldn't get a a top qb through free agency and that qb draft class was historically bad. 2023 lamar was never leaving baltimore, other qbs were available too, but smith named ridder as the starter during the offseason saying he expected him to take the next step... that was HIS choice and then made it worse by once again not having a qb competition. is smith completely at fault for not having a starting qb? of course not, but he did not help his case at all..
There are so many unknowns with the Falcons this year with all the new pieces yet national media pundits seem to default to assuming the best case scenario for each of those unknown when making their predictions about the Falcons for 2024. I will believe Atl isn't garbage once they actually show me they are not garbage.
Falcons aren't really 'unknown' if you look at the talent on offense. Brett even made a mention on the Titans episode where despite Levis having poor help around him, he still flashed some highs to go with his lows. Imagine if he was the QB for the Falcons (and not Ridder) with all their weapons on offense and he would've flashed a lot more highs in his game. The offense has promise if there is even good QB play to help unlock it. And if the defense is at least consistently 15th in both pass/rush metrics, this team wins the division.
@@bradenculver7457 In a league where everyone else is judged based on what they did in recent past seasons, the Falcons are given a pass and were, at the end of the draft, almost universally predicted to win their division somewhat handily, even though they finished 3rd in their weak division and that both the Saints and Bucs look to have improved during the offseason. I 100% believe ATL will be better than last year but to predict them winning their division is a bit premature don't you think? Though most pundits seem to have come back to earth with their expectations for ATL. Falcons can be good if they hit the ground running, their old injured qb comes back from injury in his late 30s to near perfect form, that some of their stars finally play up to their potential, etc. All of these have to happen for the Falcons to even hope to sniff a playoff run
@@ugosmith7529 given a pass? What lol? What world are you living in where the falcons have been given a pass? Being optimistic that they have a chance to do well is not giving them a pass my dude. This team has been constantly made fun of for not playing up to its potential the entire Arthur Smith tenure. People are optimistic this team will actually play up to its personnel for once. The division sucks dude. The falcons had a great chance to win it last year and were thwarted by themselves more so than anything else. These are offseason predictions, not even preseason. There is no crystal ball. You being pessimistic and contrary to what you claim the media is being doesn’t make your belief more valid in any way.
believe it or not its more than adequate to win the NFC South. By week 10 outside of the Panthers, the Saints were 5-5 and Falcons were 4-6 on the bye. Bucs were 4-6 but would have an easier schedule by December to go 5-1.
Just want to note that this episode was recorded before the tampering punishment came down, and we were operating under the assumption that the punishment was going to be MUCH worse than it ended up being. The motivations still ended up being similar to what we were talking about, but we definitely assumed they were going to have a more "impactful" pick taken away at the time.
Shouldn’t have listened to Mike Florio’s bitch ass propaganda. It was never going to be more than a Day 3 pick at worst.
Filming episodes a month out is certainly a choice? 🤷🤦
@@kevincurnick you’re… you’re surprised they record multiple episodes when together for a long release schedule? A really normal thing to do?
@@kevincurnick it’s a rather minor correction but ok dude… because you know, the off season is known for having LOTS of action that requires up to date information…
@@kevincurnick bro they have to do 32 videos, that are all an hour or so long... You seem to have no idea how long 1 video takes to make, let alone 32 of them
25:45 I like the french version of kirk cousins "Lkirk Cousins" which I am pronouncing as Le Kirk Cousins with a French accent.
I'm never not going to call him "LeKirk". Huge W.
Charles LeKirk Cousins?
Glad yall see Smith how fans seen him. He was okay at first but yeah he was tryna prove some weird point the whole time
I don't think anything changes about him if all he was tasked to do was run an offense. Doing that *AND* managing a game without addressing the QB was the proven shitshow with the Falcons. And you could clearly see that with his late game decision making from the 2023 season.
nepo baby tryna prove everyone wrong instead of trying to win
@@t4d0W It's not his job to address the QB, that's the GMs job, who should've been fired with Arthur Smith for not giving the team a QB for 3 years
@@steven9766Arthur Smith had FULL CONTROL of that offense. Those guys were hand picked by him and he was ok with rolling out Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder as starting QBs. Its pretty telling of that when Arthur got fired and Terry was retained
@@jts6736 lol ah yes, the ol "the HC is secretly the GM" theory that is prevalent among NFL fans for some reason
I will regrettably draft Kyle Pitts for the 3rd year in a row 🔥
Another assistant coach you did not mention is Dwayne Ledford the o line coach. He is another holdover from the Arthur Smith staff. Raheem Morris gave Ledford an additional title of run game coordinator.
So that wide zone running is going to remain a mainstay.
To be fair Arthur Smith ran a variety of run looks that wasn't just wide zone in his tenure with the Falcons. Even if HC Morris' offense staff comes from McVay's group, the O-line personnel (and RB talents) have the skills to do more.
Terry Fontenot is a HOF GM! His turn around in Atlanta is gonna be legendary.
My fav theory on the Falcons taking Penix is that the Falcons have PTSD from Mariota, and Ridder playing QB that they decided to take all the QBs to ensure they don’t end up in QB Purgatory again
not just ptsd from that, Raheem's situation with his first stint w the Bucs and Terry was apart of that saints staff that had to watch the chiefs jump ahead of them and take mahomes. that whole staff got serious ptsd😂
It's a different approach but I don't think time will prove it to be a mistake
@@ADUSNthe only way the pick really back fires is that cousins AND penix is just a dogshit player.
Then again that’s what we said about last year where we need not trash QB play but look where we are now 🤣
@ADUSN it's a weird version of the Packers QB approach
The last time we made the playoffs I was a junior in high school…. I’m currently entering the final semester for my masters degree 😭 we are due, please don’t let me down 😂
As a falcons RUclipsr, this was pretty spot on. My expected wins is 10-11. I think our ceiling with great play and everything going perfect is 13 wins. If we finish with a losing season again, someone is getting fired
Only one loss
*everyone is getting fired
@@jonpaulwokpara8861 if we fail to win the division this year, I completely agree
Thank you. I've been saying the same thing about the Penix pick. I even think QB is an overvalued position (by the masses at least), but taking a clearly talented guy and developing him behind Cousins means that they can utilize the talent they've gathered over a longer period.
Especially in the position the Falcons are in
I’d agree with you if the Falcons didn’t pay Cousins that much freaking money
For two years until he’s 30 and now your looking to replace him
The issue is they could’ve done the exact thing you said and spend 1/4 of the price by signing Gardner minshew, and still drafting penix. That way you would have cap space to sign a guy like Wilkins or any other high end pass rusher you’d like
I’d agree with you if penix wasn’t an old rookie.
That Throwback is fire Brett
9:50, I _LOVE_ QBS, bruh. You really start to see It’s use in the story of the 2023 Atlanta Falcons. I’ve been listening to EJ talk about the last like 10 days, today is when it really hit me about how much it can describe the teams season and effectiveness… Also explains why Terry was the man to keep his job between him and Arthur Smith. The man has put together a good roster, but even the casual fans can see the misusage of all the talent on the team because of the head coach and the terrible quarterback play.
Yeah the QBS / Power score comparison doesn't tell a great summary for teams that are consistent in executing their philosophies. But the Falcons are the model for the metric with how the offense could perform with the talent they had (outside of QB) and how much worse they did.
@@t4d0W exactly… Doesn’t tell the story for the team who are considered a real contender, or who actually made it close or to the Super Bowl, but for a team who was clearly deficient at quarterback to the point where even though casual fan was outspoken about it, for a team who was deficient at Coach, who didn’t do anything to rectify the situation despite the complaints of the media, it really shows how useful it can be for the teams who, especially under achieved, like Atlanta
It takes a lot to wash the Ridder off
I’m only going to talk about the Atlanta Falcons defense, with drafting 5 players out of the 8 draft picks on defense the Atlanta Falcons now have good defensive depth, their 3-4 d-line will play 9 players with the 3 starters & 6 rotational d-linemen, their linebackers are 8 deep with the 4 starters and 4 backups who will be rotational players
Thank you for pointing out how absurd it was that officials just let the whole league try to kill Justin Fields. That was just insane and inexcusable
I’m commenting a lot but oh well. ‘One of Raheems biggest points of getting hired is how he’ll replenish that OC/DC positions as they get promoted.
Gave me so much hope in this episode that I, a 20 year old that isn’t made of money… just bought myself season tickets to the games this year, here’s to being heart broken again 😂😂
UDFA WR Isaiah Wooden ran the fastest 10 yd split EVER RECORDED on his pro day at 1.38s, .02s faster than Chris Johnson. He also has great contact balance although he is only 5'9 170lbs.
I legitimately think the Falcons have a good chance of winning their division this year. Kirk is an elite QB and they have decent weapons. The only question mark is Zac Robinson as the OC.
With what defense? It's AJ Terrell and Jessie Bates vs the world for them.
@@Joescotterpuss They still have Grady Jarrett and Kaden Ellis. But I think Raheem Morris is a good defensive coordinator. The Rams last year didn't have alot of depth and the defense was ok
The Rams had Aaron Donald. Not to say Raheem Morris is a crap DC, but it's much easier when you have a guy like him.@@maskedman5657
@@maskedman5657 Morris has stated he's not calling the defense this year. Its going to be on DC Jimmy Lake.
@@maskedman5657lol Kaden Ellis will be right back on the bench on the saints and so would onyemata but he y’all best DT , yall love taking our scraps
With these assistant coaching names. A good reminder I've been following the NFL since the mid 80's from England. 👴
I would love to see a segment that highlights the best, underrated, and “worst” position group for each team. Keep it up!
How dare you give me hope as a Falcons fan! Stop it 😂
I don't understand why you wouldn't have hope with this squad... it seems people were more hyped on this team the past two years when their young studs were younger, their coaching staff was worse, and they didn't have a QB.
Be hopeful, it's a good team. If Kirk is Kirk, teams won't want to play them come playoff time.
@@webers28 I have but hope hurts, hope hurts
@tannerjones1230 lol, understood
@webers28 he hasn't proven it in the playoffs. I have no doubt he can get us there but he has to prove he can win games in the playoffs. That's why Matt Ryan was so special for us. When we were in the playoffs, he won us games
@EJByrd That's fine and all, but it doesn't change the fact that he's one of the better QBs a team could ask for. 23rd most touchdowns thrown out of all QBs ever. 28th most yards. 8th best passer rating. 6th best completion %. Sometimes, surrounding circumstances or bad luck just work against dudes. The fact of the matter is, he's been a very, very good QB. He's going to a team that has a WR, RB and TE that were all taken top 10 in 3 of the previous 4 drafts.
There's plenty to be hopeful for. Not SURE about, but hopeful for? Fuck yeah. Sit back and try and just be excited about your team for once would be my advice. Worry about the playoffs when you make it there.
A great breakdown , been waiting on this one. thanks Bootleg
Shoutout to the people who always properly spell “re-signed” on this show
"God's favorite social experiment" Ain't that the truth! I've got cautious optimism for this season, I'm hoping my dirty birds actually make some noise this time
Also, Southern Utah is in Cedar City, about 50 miles up the road from St. George. It's Utah Tech (formerly Dixie) in St. George
I'm so hyped about my Falcons! Playoff expectations maybe even a little run..? I really liked EJs Take on the QB Situation. The only aspect you did not talk about, that worries me a little, is the CB and Safety depth behind Terell and Bates. And yes our Throwbacks are the best! Rise Up!
7 - 11 win projections seem kinda low. I'm not sure how they lose 10 games without losing BOTH Kirk and Michael. Even so, it took Arthur Smith driving this team into the ground to pull that off last year.
My point is: please don't be Jacksonville...
I feel it's a pretty good range.
7 is if it's a shitshow
11 is a decent ceiling considering - it's damn hard to win in this league + look at the opening 3
You look good I’m falcons gear Rise Up!
Brett just couldnt believe it got dark at 4pm and had to ask again 😂 i can tell it was a long day for yall.
Definitely my favorite episode title🤣
Love your work guys. You can tell yall go hard on all these teams.
I’m so exited for this. HERE.WE.GO
Falcons: about to be the most hyped team of the offseason after they draft a great defender to solidify their defense and nearly secure a 12 win season. Then they falcons at QB
Falcons are genius for drafting and developing a QB for acouple years
If Penix was 21, they would have been seen as such. I'm interested to see how it goes.
@@rjante2236 Everyone wants a top QB but they don’t want to put in the resources to develop a top QB. If he ends up being good and they have him for the next 10 years instead of the next 13 years it’s not too much of a difference.
@@adambarran Well you don't get the resources to help develop a QB when you tie up bigger resources to a QB playing ahead of him. Nobody in their sane mind thought the Falcons reaching for Penix with the 8th pick is a bad idea in a vacuum. Paying Cousins 180 million for a minimum of two seasons as the transition QB to Penix is the odd call there. Especially when the market had more cheaper options who can play a similar role. But I guess Arthur Blank took the QB play for 2023 personally as he didn't want to see that shit again in 2024.
I have to admit, it makes a lot more sense to me atm. Still, it better works out for them. They could've really used a guy like Rome Odunze or even traded down for a corner like Terrion Arnold or something. The team around the QB still has quite some issues to solve.
@@t4d0WDallas Turner ended up being the reach. Penix was BPA. Nobody was trying to move up for Dallas Turner.
These titles are so good
Comparing the penix situation to love still doesnt justify it to me. You could still argue that the love pick cost the packers a super bowl
44:20 I think the "Falcons drafted Penix because they expected Cousins to be suspended" stuff is interesting but also a tin-foil-hat level conspiracy. If you compare apples to apples, the Falcons tampering infraction was always minuscule and nothing like the Dolphins ownership having secret meetings with Belicheck and Brady. They probably never even considered the idea anybody would be suspended.
I think the rest of the reasoning is correct though. They liked Penix's arm talent and thought they could develop him into a franchise QB. Taking Penix is a swing for the fences, kinda like how Patrick Mahomes was when the Chiefs drafted him while still having Alex Smith, who's kind of a close analog to Cousins tbh.
Yalls wardrobe today is exemplary
56:55 Minnesota what now Brett???? Also fun fact that’s where Adam Theilen went to college.
thanks guys
I thought the same thing about patterson when I heard the special teams rule as well. I recognized how big he was on hard knocks.I wonder if atlanta is worried cousins isnt healthy and or they already saw it
Penix was the best passer in the draft.
QB.................TBT.
Idk if y’all are right about the penix pick but I think y’all could possibly make decent salesmen cuz that conversation y’all had almost single handedly made me not hate that pick😂
Totally agree with the Arthur Smith analysis. He & his ego, should have NEVER been hired. IMO. THE worst HC/OC hire in the history of the NFL. Arthur Blank just threw away 3 years. Good luck Pittsburgh. You’re goin to need it.
MACK HOLLINS DISRESPECT WILL NOT BE TOLERATED
Picking a RB at #8 overall and finishing 28th in rushing is embarrassing.
Where did the Panthers end up in Passing after grabbing a QB with Pick 1
In eastern South Dakota, it is still not black at 10:15PM during the Summer solstice.
i love these guys
Gray was been and will be focused on the secondary
The inconsistency in the NFL's tampering enforcement certainly does make it hard for teams to understand what they're up against. Is it only a 1st round pick if it's Tom Brady? So you can tamper away with anyone else with relatively little to worry about?
As a Minnesotan who just listened to this podcast today, how has Brett not learned Minnesota State Mankato over the years with Adam Thielen!? Or from the handful of recent years their hockey team has made the Frozen-4?
As someone who lives in St. George, UT,
1) let me know next time you’re in town. Let some good food.
2) SUU is in Cedar City
3) Cedar City sucks.
4) Go Utah Tech Trailblazers!
56:56 Hey man I was born in Mankato 😂 don’t let my mom’s and Adam Thielen’s Alma matter down!
I'd love to hear yall sh*t om the aints
We lost Calais Campbell. It’s a different front when Arnold Ebiketie is starting
Yo, how you not gonna mention Dwayne Ledord? OL Coach for the Falcons. He's sooooooo gooooooooooood.
Brandon Dorlus AKA Calais Campbell jr
If you guys could’ve had 1 minute and 1 second less on this video, I have to say, the Patriots fan in me would’ve died with laughter 😂😭
I wonder whether we'll see Penix sooner rather than later, and sooner than we see JJ McCarthy. I think the Vikes success might be more due to OConnell and Jefferson than Cousins. Kirk might have been the ceiling, not the key. Despite his success last season, Kirk looked awkward and laboured, and he will likely look even slower and less agile this year as he starts to age out and comes off that Achilles.
A reprise of Matt Ryan would be brutal for Falcon fans.
As a falcons fan I feel like we’re gonna suck. The lack of depth in the secondary is terrible. If aj terrell misses one game I can’t imagine we beat anyone (maybe the panthers). And we aren’t hitting anybody’s quarterback. I wanna cry thinking of how bad this defense could really be. If it’s even league average then raheem and lake deserve a Nobel prize or something.
The concerning implicit assumption everyone seems to be making is that the Falcons offensive weapons are better than the Vikes offensive weapons. And yet the Vikes offence, without Jefferson, led by QB Josh Dobbs, who arrived Monday of game week, beat the full Falcons offense, playing with their regular QB, in their home stadium.
What if the Falcons offence is worse than the Vikes, and more is actually missing than solid above average QB play?
Saints fan here standing on business. I'll be spooked by the falcons next year once kirk heals and processes the offense. I have an unbiased feeling that he's gonna do what carr did last year process fail grow then dissapoint overall. I see the division fighting for a 7th seed too.
Cousins is way better than Carr.
If were talking a QB mid-off, Cousins has had higher level play in the past 6 seasons than Carr's short prime years. Even if Cousins has the added benefit of playing with better O-lines in that part of his career than Carr ever did.
great day to be a falcons fan
Forward thinking concerning Penix#Genius... they didn't mortgage their future
I don’t feel like any adults are in charge of this team. Our gm doesn’t fully understand the concept of positional value. This “team building” style has left us with massive holes for teams to exploit every year.
No if you’re primary weapon as a qb is running the ball they should treat you like a runningback. The qb rules rules are to protect passers. Glad this bust is gone
Please tell me who the falcons Ben Skowronek is gonna be. I really wanted it to be bowers but obviously that didn’t happen so now I need some kind of reassurance😂
Oh boy, here we go.
I miss the falcons that had a defense. That's right, I miss Mike Smith era everything else was awful even the super bowl run. The defense was trash. Thank God for the Georgia Bulldogs and the best coach to ever coach in the state of Georgia Kirby Smart
Dude the reaction to the pick is priceless lol #samuraipandasports
As a Minnesotan, hearing Brett mispronounce Mankato was pretty damn funny
Brett has never watched little house on the prairie that's for sure
I think it'd simple. Atlanta taking thr Jordan Love approach
31:40 What did you make of how they used Calais last season. Felt like they forced him wider into a position he was less effective because of the rest of their personnel to me, or am I misreading that? I feel like he might have a better year next season for the Dolphins being used in a smarter way.
Thought he was really good. 6.5 sacks. He wanted to play more edge but the DL had massive injuries towards the end so he had to play inside more. He’s old but more durable than most lmaooo
@@matthewwarren980 sounds like I had that the wrong way around them!
Ah yes, everyone's favorite QB: LKirk Cousins.
matt and shane’s secret podcast (football version)
I said the record will be 10-7 or 11-6 at best
I love LKirk Cousins
Nice
Bengals killer... we'll get your texans back in the afc chip this year brett, just you wait
Could we not take a 5min segment in an ATL video to talk about Justin Fields? He didn't play there. He didn't go there. His situation is irrelevant to the Falcons. What are we doing here?
Arthur Smith is most likely a bad head coach, but I don't know why people ignore the fact that he had no chance to succeed.
You even talk about it with Raheem Morris, how he was screwed over his first time around as HC by not having a QB. Arthur Smith got screwed over too. Mariota, Ridder, Heinicke, and the corpse of Matt Ryan are all backup QBs. It's a miracle he was able to win 7 games every year with those guys, he had backup QBs for three seasons.
Fontenot should've been fired along with Arthur Smith, I'm shocked he wasn't. And then, surprise surprise, Fontenot leaves the draft as the biggest clown and a poor draft overall.
Smith got fired because of the way he handled the qb position. He named Ridder the starter after only seeing him play 3 games and didn't let him compete against henicke. Terry handled the cap situation and got the team to the point to where they actually have a future. that is why he hasn't been fired. if the team doesn't make the playoffs this year he's definitely gone, but Arthur smith would still be a head coach if he didn't tie his job to an unproven "rookie"
@@ajzwrld-k4l Choosing between Heinicke and RIdder as your starting QB is a lose-lose situation, it didn't matter who he picked. Terry screwed him over bad.
There's a lot of reasons Arthur Smith should've been fired, but at the same time his entire 3-year tenure was hampered by literally not having a starting QB. And I don't know why people seem to just excuse that for some reason, or even blame Smith for it
@@steven9766 my man its not the fact that he had to choose between either. it's the fact that smith decided to not let ridder go through a qb competition and tied his job to him... had he not done that he'd still be coaching this team lol. terry was dealing with cap hell since they (the entire falcons organization) fucked up the situation with ryan and watson. 2022 couldn't get a a top qb through free agency and that qb draft class was historically bad. 2023 lamar was never leaving baltimore, other qbs were available too, but smith named ridder as the starter during the offseason saying he expected him to take the next step... that was HIS choice and then made it worse by once again not having a qb competition. is smith completely at fault for not having a starting qb? of course not, but he did not help his case at all..
@@ajzwrld-k4l you think he was fired because instead of putting two shiity QBs through a competition, he simply chose the less shitty one?
@@steven9766 he was fired for many reasons... tying his job down to an unproven 3rd round rookie was one them.
Lil Kirk
L’Kirk Cousins
LKirk Cousins
LKirk lol
The look of confusion that came across my face when they said “they got pass rushers” 🤨
There are so many unknowns with the Falcons this year with all the new pieces yet national media pundits seem to default to assuming the best case scenario for each of those unknown when making their predictions about the Falcons for 2024. I will believe Atl isn't garbage once they actually show me they are not garbage.
We already were middling at best last year. I’d rather be optimistic than miserably pessimistic with no reason. The team’s already there.
Falcons aren't really 'unknown' if you look at the talent on offense. Brett even made a mention on the Titans episode where despite Levis having poor help around him, he still flashed some highs to go with his lows. Imagine if he was the QB for the Falcons (and not Ridder) with all their weapons on offense and he would've flashed a lot more highs in his game. The offense has promise if there is even good QB play to help unlock it. And if the defense is at least consistently 15th in both pass/rush metrics, this team wins the division.
@@bradenculver7457This. Just like with Carolina and Reich, getting rid of Arthur make this team 3 games better already.
@@bradenculver7457 In a league where everyone else is judged based on what they did in recent past seasons, the Falcons are given a pass and were, at the end of the draft, almost universally predicted to win their division somewhat handily, even though they finished 3rd in their weak division and that both the Saints and Bucs look to have improved during the offseason.
I 100% believe ATL will be better than last year but to predict them winning their division is a bit premature don't you think? Though most pundits seem to have come back to earth with their expectations for ATL.
Falcons can be good if they hit the ground running, their old injured qb comes back from injury in his late 30s to near perfect form, that some of their stars finally play up to their potential, etc. All of these have to happen for the Falcons to even hope to sniff a playoff run
@@ugosmith7529 given a pass? What lol? What world are you living in where the falcons have been given a pass? Being optimistic that they have a chance to do well is not giving them a pass my dude. This team has been constantly made fun of for not playing up to its potential the entire Arthur Smith tenure. People are optimistic this team will actually play up to its personnel for once.
The division sucks dude. The falcons had a great chance to win it last year and were thwarted by themselves more so than anything else. These are offseason predictions, not even preseason. There is no crystal ball. You being pessimistic and contrary to what you claim the media is being doesn’t make your belief more valid in any way.
All for a 9-8 season
believe it or not its more than adequate to win the NFC South. By week 10 outside of the Panthers, the Saints were 5-5 and Falcons were 4-6 on the bye. Bucs were 4-6 but would have an easier schedule by December to go 5-1.
Astaghfirullah quit playing with God
This is Falcons football, God is absent.
Gutter of the NFL
Booooooo (I’m a saints fan)
Get ready to cope 😂
Literally everywhere in america doesn’t have the sun set until like 9:30 in the summer. God west coasters are so annoying and dumb