familiarity and a different feel no matter how bad the game
is you still here out and makeshift think and which is
why they got him to do the games.
It makes you think it's a big deal even if it is the two and
seven Panthers and the four and five Falcons and and look for
the Falcons, it is a big deal because they're tied for first
place. Yeah. With the Buccaneers in the
NFC South and the Buccaneers have their hands full this
weekend in Germany with the Seahawks. I mean, the Falcons
could end up one game ahead in this thing. There's no
guarantee that the Buccaneers are going to win this division.
You know, Falcons gave them everything they can handle.
They play again later this year, right? And the Falcons
could be the team that, you know, I say this all the time
we get around Thanksgiving team around. 500 finds a gas pedal
and off it goes, they got Cordell Patterson back, he
scored a couple of touchdowns. They have
that very diverse running game.
Marcus Mariota has settled in nicely,
they've got they've won four games. Yeah, I mean they they
somehow they've won four out of nine games. The team were ready
to discard. So, you know, this is, this is an opportunity
again
to get a close. Look at a potential playoff team,
not the Panthers at this point, but the Falcons. Yeah,
none of the panther. I mean, the, the Falcons, there's a lot
of things to respect about the Falcons. I think that's, you
know, where I go, right off the bat, Arthur Smith the job. He's
doing here. The second year in a row
where again, I think Alana's in the process of,
you know, slowly building a team
last year, was kind of the start of the
And even though they didn't want to say those words or
anything like that, but they went what 7 and 10 and exceeded
our expectations. Gosh this year,
I thought it might be worse. Really,
you know, especially with Matt Ryan out the door. They've done
an incredible job. You know, again I think it's another team
Mike, where we look at to go, they know what they are, and
then they play within the confines of what their team is.
And they don't try to pretend on
a given week that they can do something that they know they
can't, you know. So the formulas He tried and true.
It's almost a poor man's version of the New York Giants
to a degree,
right? It really is
and then Arthur Smith like day balls. Got a great, he's been
mostly conservative, let's punt the ball out. Let's play
defense will run the ball. Will wait for you to make a mistake.
They've been playing that game, you know. And then
occasionally, okay, Now's the Time to go
to 4th and 1. Here we go. Let's do it. But
yeah, I got a lot of respect for the way he coaches. There's
some variable in him, you see, you see it. And I think that,
That rubs off on their football team and their attitude. And
that's where I, you know, respect Atlanta and they
don't back down from a fight from anyone
Mo, he came from Brave will, he learn bright very well. That's
how he got the job. Being offensive Corner, the Tennessee
Titans and I'm just peeking ahead a little bit on this
Falcon schedule just to try to get an understanding. It's
interesting, right? Get down the stretch.
They got the Bears at home. That so, potentially winnable
game for them. The Bears have three wins, the Bears aren't
great. Although, the Bears are getting better, I was better at
how to use custom Fields, right? They go to Washington,
the
Thanksgiving Sunday, 1:00 Eastern, the Steelers come to
town. That's not in past years. You'd say still as Falcon,
you know, it will Steelers win this. When he's mean, there's
been some barnburners between the Steelers and Falcons over
the years before game on the Falcons mood, when tonight?
Yeah you go, they can win all four really? They could
seven and six or eight and five, they could be 85 when
they hit their week, 14, by and then they go to the Saints. Now
they have a tough one against the Ravens week. 17,
the Cardinals come to town.
We are with that was week, 16 a tray. Ravens Cardinals, come to
town week 17. Who knows what you're going to have with
Arizona and that Chris,
you know,
Buccaneers
at Falcons week 18, that could be the Sunday night game. That
could be the because
the NFL always looks for
the playoff playing game, right? That,
that has
maximum relevance, no matter what happens in any of
the other games that are played that weekend. What's the one
game? If win in your, in losing you go home.
That's the ideal
setting, right? Doesn't happen all the time,
but that's the eye and we've seen it. And usually have
charger writers,
right? You did it. But and it happens usually. And now that
was for a wild card. Yeah. And there was a way, they both
could have gotten remember if they had tied they both would
have gotten but it did have a lot of different tentacles but
to have the classic you win the division or you're done,
you got to have two teams from a bad division. Yeah.
And and so that's that's what we may have. Have we may have
the Bucks Falcons. The winner goes the loser stays and
I doubt that either of them will have it clinched by then.
But if either team is going to, maybe it will be the Falcons
because their schedule is very manageable until we get to that
week, 16 game of Baltimore. Yeah, it is manageable but we
also have to remember that they are the Falcons
and that even though when we look at it and go ahead, these
aren't that bad. We gotta go. Every game is going to be
somewhat of a dog fight for them. They're not the type of
team that's gonna blow anybody out. That's for sure. Way they
play
their kind of one of those teams that you know
again tonight if we get
I would be shocked if it went blow out again tonight. Like it
didn't have the game, went off the rails in the fourth quarter
you know ten days ago.
I don't think that's going to happen. I think this goes back
down into the reality of what these two teams are here.
They're not going to make some of the mistakes they did at
the end of the, that football game defensively to wear.
Yeah, this is a the typical Falcons game as they wanted to
be in 2017 2317. They want to play that type of game. If it
becomes a shootout in a barn burner,
they're not really built for that, you know, more times than
not. That's not what they want to do. They want to play like
we were just talking about kind of Mike, Vrabel type of
football. That's what they are. Dean peas, you know, defensive
coordinator, he came the he was there with Mike Vrabel
to. So I think there's a lot of carryover in the style of
football play and then
they got some Splash young guys here. Mike that are worth
watching to, that'll be fun. I mean, Kyle pits. We know what
he is. It's kind of on and off as
As how they feature him, the Drake London guys. So
yeah, we'll see where it goes with the Falcons tonight but
that's kind of the game. I envisioned at least with these
two tonight.
It's been more off than on with Kyle pit. Yeah. It's one of
the guys that we had circled as a breakout player. Everybody was
on Kyle pits because he had 1,000 receiving yards last
year. Took him a while to get going, but when he got going,
holy
crap, he's got 23 catches. 295 yards, two touchdowns so far.
This year, Marcus Mariota has said, I can do a better job of
giving Kyle pits more opportunities
and It's hasn't complained about it but whose complaint is
all the fantasy owners who
thought Kyle Pitts was going to be,
you know, basically like having another running back or
receiver on your team. It just hasn't been there from
a production standpoint for Kyle Pitts and whether it's
the offense as a whole isn't.
Creating opportunities for him or the quarterback isn't
throwing it to him when he's open,
who knows? But Mario does aware of it. Everybody else is aware
of it and who and in prime time, maybe this is a night
where we're pit shines. We see that extra little kick for
these teams that are typically ignored
and just thrust into the the cluster of 1:00 Eastern games
on a Sunday. This is an opportunity for them to show
everyone what they can do. And surely there were aware of that
it has to give them a little bit of a lift
and maybe it gets Them more determined
to show off the best pieces
that they have on their team. Yeah, it mean it is kind of
surprising, he hasn't been more of a focal point especially
after last year, you know, it is and in for a team that, you
know, again runs the ball, the way they do. And,
and, you know, again, Arthur Smith coming from the Tennessee
Titans, where his years there, they use the tight-end pretty
well.
That's where it is a little surprising, but they're not
necessarily always underneath the center to run those type of
Play action passes. And the biggest thing I think with Kyle
puts is just, he's,
you know, Enemy Number One of the state when you apply
the Atlanta Falcons, you go. Wait, Run game, and we can't let this
guy beat us
and that. And, and that's, you know,
unfortunate. When okay, we don't have a great pass game.
Anyways, so we don't have that and then,
you know, all the eggs are in, let's stop. Kyle pits in
the pass game basket. Make sure we don't get mismatch there. And
then there's not a lot else off of that, that really scares.
Has any defense has to go? Wait, we gotta worry about this
and this here. And,
you know, every now and then we might have to leave Kyle puts
in a spot where it's advantageous for him. They
don't have to do that right now because there is not, you know,
they're still not an emergence of a big-time receiver
Drake. London looks like he has a chance to be that their first
round pick out of USC but that's kind of been on and off.
Like Kyle puts two and probably more off than on like you like
you said about pits,
One of the big differences from the last game. To this game is
Cordarrelle, Patterson is back. He had back touchdowns on
Sunday against the Chargers even though we only had 44
rushing yards. But but that that that's a Difference Maker
and what an amazing story that I don't think gets appreciate
it as much as it should. The guy comes in as kind of
a project receiver. Yep. High ceiling right? Hadn't played
a lot of Tennessee Vikings. Make him a first-round pick
great kick returner, never really becomes a great receiver in
The Sota is contract year, he starts embracing other
challenges like being a gunner on the punt team and then he
moves around in free agency and teams start to realize. Hey,
well whether it's the Raiders, the Bears, the Patriots. They
started to go right after the Bears was the Bears
he when they go to the Raider. It was the Raiders Freighters
first. Okay. Yeah. I know, shorts tan with the Raiders,
right? And then it was Bears than Patriots or Patriots and
bears and then he lands with the Falcons
and and along the way, he becomes a hell of a running back.
Now that's his primary gig it.
When does that ever happen? Ever least in
the modern era of football, back in the
50s and 60s just play whatever position. They told you to play.
Yeah but you specialize your 01 position player
and to completely turn your back on the position that you
entered the game as and become a really good performer at
another position. It's amazing.
It is amazing. I mean, I don't really think that's it. If
Ever, I think is really a real. The thing, I don't remember
that really going on and even the old days I'm somewhat of
a historian. So are you? I can't recall like oh receiver who
changed a running back and then became a top end running back,
I don't remember that.
But the guy the first thing you have to start with is he's one
of those guys Mike that we can put in the Greek god category
where when you see him you go.
Oh whoa! Okay that's why you're Cordarrelle Patterson and I get
it. There's muscles popping out of your ears. Away bigger human
being than I thought. That's that's the biggest thing. He
went to the University of Tennessee with my brother when
he was there
and I saw him walk out of the locker room a few times and
I was like holy cow. I mean he's got a you know maybe not
a Brandon Marshall ish Square shoulders to him in size to
him. That I don't think people realize but yeah, Mike, I've
never seen a transformation like that where, hey receiver
who can fly and run by everybody. Okay.
He wasn't maybe the best. Best of some of the nuances of
the position. But wait, he's too good of an athlete. Let's let's
start dabbling with him and running back. That's okay. He
doesn't
have to think a whole lot there, just get the ball. Run
to the open hole and he thrives and thrives like not in year,
two or three of his career. But
where are we at? Right now with him
now I haven't looked is what is he? Your 10
near nine, what will you do, 10? Yeah, me thirteen thousand.
Three first-round picks by the Viking and he's thriving. He's
thrived at running back in your Of an 8 9 10 here. And that's
where it is amazing bike to your point. It really is,
they're been plenty of guys who change positions in college,
right? Like a Ryan, Tannehill goes from receiver to
quarterback but in the NFL, you know, the only guy I can think
of
that change his primary position and it was really,
irrelevant was Devin Hester who, yeah. And as a defensive
back and never really played, it was just a great kick
returner, and then they had the idea in Chicago of making him
into receiver. But
never, I mean, like, He's not a guy that's going to run a seven
route. He's a guy that you get the
ball, had a little creativity to just get the ball in his
hands jet sweeps. I like all those things we see now
that digital touch pass or yeah, the bubbly of the quick,
the quick screen. All that stuff
like why are you?
Yeah, those guys are just unlucky at the ball and this
young man, I miss Tiara, I missed the error of his he
right? Because he could have been, he could have been, you
get him in that setting where he's got the ball and Everybody
else is like, oh, where is he? Yeah,
he proved time and again,
that he's incredible but
kudos to Patterson for making the transformation and those
who saw it in him and fully embraced his ability to do it,
and we get to watch it tonight. That's a reason to watch
tonight, again, beso should
be thanking us. We're giving you all the reasons why you
should tune in and watch other than, because it's on TV.