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The Atlanta Falcons head into a matchup with the New Orleans Saints on Monday night football this week in a game that will give the winner a boost in the season-long race to win the NFC South. And today, 92.9 The Game Falcons Insider Joe Patrick talks about why Michael Penix's performance and his rapport with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees offers reason to believe more quality play is on the horizon. Then, dive into the notebook from Tuesday's practice where Kevin Stefanski, Tua Tagovailoa and Maason Smith spoke to media.
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00:00Welcome to Hate Week, everybody, and welcome back to Joe Patrick on football, getting ready for what is now looking
00:05like a tantalizing game between the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints on Monday night in what is the 20th
00:11anniversary of the infamous Katrina game, if you're an Atlanta Falcons fan.
00:16So we will be talking a little bit about that and how the team is preparing what Kevin Stefanski had
00:21to say and just talk a little bit more about Kevin Stefanski.
00:25What grade do we give him as the Falcons coach right now? Can we even assess that? Yeah, it probably
00:31is too early, but I just figure we now have a sample at least of the team having some successes
00:36and having some failures.
00:37So we'll talk a little bit about how he's kind of navigating what it is to be the Atlanta Falcons
00:42head coach, which has been a journey for the last few.
00:46So we're going to talk a little bit about that and obviously how the team is preparing.
00:48Also, Tua gave us some news. We're going to talk a little bit about his situation, how he's handling all
00:56of that.
00:56But first one to ask you to like this video. Well, I shouldn't say if you haven't already. We're what
01:02one minute in.
01:03I assume you have not, but please like the video. Thank you very much. We will not mention it for
01:06the rest of the show.
01:07What we're going to talk about. I'm just been wanting to kind of talk a little bit more about what
01:13we saw in this game.
01:14This fantastic win that the Falcons had over the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night football.
01:19And I think the thing that just keeps coming back to me, the most important thing, because there was a
01:24lot of talk, especially from the Packers fans.
01:26They were so stunned that they were getting whipped up front on really both sides of the ball, but especially
01:32that offensive line was just making their own offense that they're so excited to see.
01:37Pretty non-functional, essentially non-functional. And so that's where I feel like a lot of the talk was about.
01:43And then there was also Penix's, it was just talk about Penix's return. But when you dive into this game,
01:50really impressive, I think, from Michael Penix in so many respects.
01:54I think the thing that maybe is the most impressive is the mental fortitude that he showed in this game
02:01when things did not go his way early.
02:03And you have to think, you know, that's the most doubt that is theoretically in someone like Michael Penix's mind
02:10is the beginning of a game in which you're coming back from a long layoff.
02:15You have a physical ailment that you've recovered from, but you don't know exactly how it might respond on the
02:21field.
02:21You don't know what is going to happen on the field.
02:23So that's going to, you know, make trepidations rise to a certain extent with any player.
02:29And on top of that, you have what's happened in the Falcons' first two games and kind of all the
02:34pressure, the expectations that so many have for him and how that can also affect a player.
02:42And it just felt like it could have been a toxic combination that just didn't result in Michael Penix Jr.
02:49playing very well in this game.
02:51And I think those were the fears that many Falcons fans had when they saw him turn the ball over
02:56on the fourth play of the game.
02:58And in that circumstance, again, when you talk about the injury layoff plus the expectations, and then you have this
03:05bad moment where you don't execute correctly.
03:09And you basically do the one thing that Kevin Stefanski has been harping on since the end of the previous
03:14game against the Carolina Panthers that they could not do, which is turn the ball over.
03:18And you just did it basically like the start that Cooper Rush had, frankly, in that Panthers game.
03:23Yeah, Cooper Rush turns the ball over on the first play, not the fourth play.
03:26But you get the point is on the first drive immediately.
03:30You're doing the one thing that is losing you football games for the past two games, but especially he came
03:34to a head in the previous game.
03:36And so for Michael Penix to come back from that, you know, he has that moment.
03:39He comes back on the field and he's still not necessarily like just getting in a groove with guys, but
03:46eventually he does.
03:48And, you know, there's just it's so much a testament to him that he didn't just lose his mind in
03:55those circumstances.
03:55But also I want to give a lot of credit to Tommy Reese and how he helped Michael Penix through
04:01this game and how that potential partnership can blossom into something that could be really special.
04:08And obviously, you know, you don't know, but it at least seems like we're starting to already see the signs
04:13of what an intelligent, smart offensive coordinator can do with a player like Michael Penix.
04:20And it was very evident in the way that he got Michael Penix firing again, which was to give him
04:26very easy reads that were basically quick game, almost like extensions of the run game, just to be getting the
04:32ball out of Penix's hands, to be getting positive yards.
04:36We don't they were trying to target down the field in that kind of 10 to 15 yard area, and
04:42those are just harder passes to hit.
04:44And so I think Tommy Reese rightly kind of changed tack and got Michael Penix into a bit of a
04:49rhythm, which we saw start to develop in the second quarter.
04:52And then from there, it was really no looking back.
04:54And from there, they were able to expand the playbook and do some more.
04:58And I just thought it was a really smart play calling by Reese to understand what was happening and then
05:04use the tools at his disposal and the power that he has to help this player and Michael Penix get
05:10into a flow.
05:11And then Michael Penix's abilities start to unveil themselves as the game goes on.
05:16So that's the most important thing that could have happened from this game, because there's not really a reason why,
05:22like Michael Penix, there's not a reason why he played so well other than that he played well.
05:30Like, there's a very clear reason why the Falcons defense stifled the Packers offense so much, which was because what
05:37we talked about earlier, the Packers offensive line just was so depleted and in turmoil after the injuries and guys
05:45playing different positions.
05:46You can you can say, OK, well, kind of like Carolina might be saying to themselves after the game they
05:51had against the Falcons, like, OK, we understand why it played out a certain way in this aspect of the
05:55game.
05:56Um, frankly, like the Packers defense should have been thinking that they were going to basically shut down Michael Penix
06:02in this Falcons offense, and it was anything but so a huge credit, no pre snap penalties for Michael Penix
06:09in this game as well going on the road into a very loud, you know, Packers, it's their home opener.
06:15I know that by the end of that game, they were booing and we could just hear the ATL chants
06:20through the silence of the Packers fans.
06:21But, you know, early in that game, it would have been extremely loud and, um, hard to operate.
06:28But, you know, Michael Penix wasn't wasn't phased.
06:30And again, a huge testament to him and the mental sharpness he had heading into this game to be able
06:36to execute like that, both pre snap and then post snap.
06:39So, um, I know Mark Zuno kind of harped on this, uh, in his show today, like the most important
06:45thing for the Falcons in any given game is going to be kind of what you get from Michael Penix
06:49and how he looks and allows you to make an evaluation for what he can be in the future.
06:55Because the main priority for this Falcons team this year is, uh, actually knowing whether Michael Penix is your starting
07:02quarterback going into the future or not, as opposed to it's not, that is the top priority.
07:07This number two priority might be to make the playoffs, but that should be the one thing that you get
07:11out of this season.
07:12And so, uh, in that respect, you know, it obviously is important to always assess how Michael Penix is playing,
07:17but, uh, very, very good in this one.
07:19And I don't know that Zuno was saying that, you know, we shouldn't get our hopes up too much, but
07:23I'm sorry, I can't help, but, but, um, you know, just kind of speculate and wonder how, how good this
07:30offense can potentially be with a different offensive coordinator.
07:34And I hate to kind of like put them under the gun too much, but you know, Zach Robinson, we're
07:38like continuing to see a trend with quarterbacks playing some of the worst football of their careers under him as
07:44the offensive coordinator.
07:45And, um, I think even when Kirk Cousins took over at the end of last season, uh, and started his
07:51current seven game winning streak as a NFL starting quarterback, I think it was clear that they started to modify
07:57some things when, when he got into the game, they started playing more under center.
08:01Uh, they started doing more of the things that Kirk Cousins had been comfortable with.
08:04And those are the kinds of things I think you would expect an offensive coordinator to do, but we're starting
08:08to see, I think Tommy Reese have that relationship with his quarterback where we just never really saw it be
08:13super cohesion.
08:16And that's great to see, I would say one of the, if, if Michael Penix's performance and just how good
08:21it was, was the most important, the biggest thing that came out of that game, I think maybe the, the
08:27most, um, underrated thing that came out of the Falcons Packers game was actually the performance of Billy Bowman.
08:34I thought he played really well.
08:36He did miss a couple of tackles.
08:37There was a specifically one in the second half where he misses the tackle and the guys, I forget who
08:41it is, is able to gain an extra 20 yards or so.
08:45But ultimately the things that he's in there to do is to break up passes, um, you know, be, be,
08:52be, be a menace, be a demon basically in that secondary.
08:55And we saw him do that.
08:56We saw him make his presence known.
08:58He had a great, his first PBU of the game was diving backwards, um, defending a ball that was kind
09:05of trying to be, trying to be thrown over his shoulder.
09:08Just a great, a great job reacting to that.
09:10And then we also, he probably, he definitely should have come down with an interception.
09:14In fact, it's not a PBU because it ultimately gets caught, but he's right in the middle of that kind
09:18of crazy play that Jordan Love has where he's pressured and then is trying to force it out on like,
09:24uh, that was ultimately look like it was a lateral.
09:26Billy Bowman's right there.
09:27Uh, but I still like Billy being in that area.
09:30And I just generally thought for a player coming back from what he's coming back from that torn Achilles, I
09:35expected a much longer timeline for him to really be coming back and making an impact on this team.
09:40So maybe it's just because I'm so surprised and impressed by his return physically.
09:46Um, but I think that, you know, he plays a very, he has, he has an important role to play
09:50in what this defense and the secondary ultimately is.
09:54And I know that there are a lot of Falcons fans that are not loving the fact that Mike Hughes
09:58remains a starting cornerback for this team, given the way that he's performed early this season.
10:03Um, I know why the team has, why they like him as that cornerback too.
10:09We saw a glimpse of it in, in that Packers game where he makes a big hit on, in, in
10:13the run game.
10:14And I think that like, they like the physicality that he brings.
10:18Um, but I'm with basically everybody else who's probably thinking, I don't really care that much about physicality or whether
10:25he can stuff around.
10:25I want him to be able to, to, you know, guard receivers, which is the job of basically a cornerback,
10:30especially in a league that, uh, wants to throw the ball so much and has such dynamic pass catchers.
10:34So, and the fact that the team just spent their top draft capital on a player in that position, obviously
10:40in Avion Terrell.
10:41And so that's what brings me back to Bowman is that if Bowman can return to the point where Jeff
10:46Ulbrich feels comfortable using Billy Bowman as his starting nickel,
10:50which Billy Bowman was when last year started, when Billy Bowman was a rookie, then I think you can genuinely
10:55say, okay, well, then we need to have Avion Terrell playing on the outside corner because we don't want a
11:01player of this talent just not being used.
11:03Um, and I think that, you know, he will have had the experience of having played inside.
11:08And I, I just think that that is going to be the natural progression for Avion Terrell.
11:13Now, AJ Terrell is obviously injured right now, so we'll kind of have to see how it plays out with
11:17his return ultimately.
11:18But I think that that is the way that this is trending for the Falcons secondary right now is for
11:24Billy Bowman at some point to be returned to his role as the starting nickel.
11:28Uh, and then for Avion Terrell to be the outside corner with AJ Terrell on the opposite side.
11:33And I think that that is a much better sounding, uh, secondary than what it was, you know, to start
11:41the season.
11:41And for most of last year, just because Avion Terrell is really good when he's played, in my opinion, he's,
11:46um, he's tenacious, he's sticking with guys, um, showing some athleticism in that respect.
11:51So really, really encouraging to see what we've seen from him so far, even though it's been a limited sample
11:56size.
11:56So those are some of my thoughts remaining from the Falcons Packers game.
12:00I want to kind of do a little notebook style thing about what happened today at Falcons, um, at the
12:05Falcons facility in Flowery Branch.
12:07Um, Kevin Stefanski noted that it's kind of an odd week because today is normally what like Monday would be,
12:13but like they obviously have had some time off.
12:15So they were able to basically do more.
12:17It was kind of like an extra day, like practice day being out on the field, uh, than they will
12:23normally get because then this Thursday will be their normal Wednesday.
12:26You know, everything basically gets bumped back a day because you're playing on Monday instead of Sunday.
12:30Um, so, you know, Kevin Stefanski said they were going to spend some extra time today on the field, just
12:35working in individual drills, working through their techniques.
12:38Um, and they certainly were doing that today.
12:41I did notice that it was kind of longer out there and individual.
12:44And I will note, uh, as we were just talking about the secondary Kevin Stefanski, from what I saw, spent
12:49most of his time just kind of observing.
12:51He's not actively kind of coaching these guys.
12:53He's letting the position coaches do their jobs, but he was out there watching the defensive backs today.
12:58So, um, maybe that's because, you know, he did see some vulnerabilities, um, with some things that were happening in
13:03that secondary.
13:04Obviously the penalties from Mike Hughes.
13:06We talked a little bit in the instant reaction about Jesse Bates and kind of the decisions that he was
13:11making, but you know, why are the, you don't exactly know why decisions are being made by certain players.
13:16Uh, so, you know, I, I just think that they have some wrinkles to sort out there, but generally, obviously
13:21this defense is doing really well.
13:22And that's really being propelled by how much pressure they're getting up front.
13:26So, um, you know, the defense is doing well, but they were just wanting to focus on some of their
13:31technique today with the extra day to work.
13:35Um, you know, and I wanted to talk a little bit about Stefanski as well, just as a coach, you
13:39know, who, what do you, um, you guys tell me what you think of him so far as, as the
13:43Falcons coach.
13:44And, um, I know a lot of people will kind of, uh, you know, ding him, uh, on the report
13:50card for just all the quarterback stuff that happened.
13:53Um, and I'm, I don't know, I'm, I don't know how much to, how much blame to, to give him
14:01for that situation and how much of it was just kind of, uh, honestly misfortune, like bad luck with Tua
14:07showing up injured.
14:08And, uh, not that it ultimately like was great going through it, but I don't know, like, I almost want
14:16to like give him credit for just like kind of getting through it all to this point.
14:23Um, and I don't like, again, because I don't think it was something of his making necessarily.
14:28Um, so I don't know on that respect.
14:30I don't know.
14:31Well, but you guys tell me what you think of Stefanski so far.
14:33I generally think like, and to me, honestly, that's not, I'm not grading him that much on what happened with
14:39the quarterback situation.
14:40It was just a very visible public kind of dramatic thing that was playing out.
14:44Um, but ultimately I think with just, you know, we've seen three games from him so far.
14:48And I think that the game management has been pretty solid.
14:52Actually, uh, I will give him credit for playing the odds.
14:57You know, he's, he's, he, he just comes across as like a calculated odds playing.
15:02Um, and in that respect, sometimes it's kind of boring when you have a coach who's not, you know, riverboat
15:08Ron or, um, doing these like, you know, kind of crazy things like Dan Campbell will do in Detroit.
15:14That kind of gives them a certain, um, either stigma or like just kind of a personality as a head
15:20coach and that they, they do these dramatic things.
15:22And Stefanski doesn't just necessarily strike me as a, as a coach who's going to be doing that much, especially
15:28in terms of like the aggressive play calling.
15:31I think that he's, I think the Steelers game was a perfect example of kind of the way that he's
15:36coaching this team, which is he knew his, what his team was up against with Cooper Rush, uh, as a
15:41starting quarterback.
15:42And especially given that Cooper Rush was dealing with the back spasms that he was heading into that game.
15:46And then the game starts playing out some breaks go the Falcons way in terms of like, you know, DK
15:51Metcalf drops a ball, whatever, whatever it might be, you know, that game is just staying close.
15:56And I think that he probably appropriately thought that the best way to, to win that game was just to
16:02basically continue to do the things that were keeping the game close in the first place.
16:06Because if they tried to go away from that too much, it was just, it was going to get away
16:10from them.
16:10Uh, and, and who knows, maybe that's wrong.
16:13And maybe, you know, he, if he gambles in a certain way, puts in Jack Strand, uh, something like that,
16:18um, they are able to, to get a different result.
16:21But I ultimately think that it's basically just the, um, it's just the smart, like cold calculated way to, to
16:30go about a football game.
16:31And that's the way that he just generally approaches things.
16:34And that Steelers game is just an example, but, um, I think that, I think it's actually solid.
16:39Like, and I think that, you know, I, I keep going back to Mike Smith, a former Falcons coach, Mike
16:44Smith, just because of Matt Ryan and, and what he would have been looking for in a head coach as
16:49he was leading this search or helping lead this search, uh, that ultimately landed them with Stefanski.
16:55And I just have to think that, that Matt was drawing from his experiences and what he liked in certain
17:02coaches and what he felt like this current group needed in, and, and kind of what other coaches that were
17:08available had.
17:09And I feel like he, Kevin Stefanski has brought in a coach who is just very professional, almost to a
17:16first point of frustration for media, because as you guys have probably seen, doesn't really give a lot in the
17:21press conferences, but then it leads me to the second point, which is that it became clear.
17:26After this Packers game, that he was able to elicit an emotional response from his team.
17:32Uh, and I'm not saying that the, the, the emotional response that the Falcons players gave was because of him.
17:37Um, but it did show that the player, like he was able to create an environment that allowed the players
17:43to go out there and, uh, play the way that they did on that field on Thursday night.
17:47And so it is a credit to Kevin Stefanski and his staff and the Falcons organization.
17:52And again, building that, that environment, um, that is actually the word to kind of go back to what we
17:58talked about way back, uh, about Chris Spielman and the lions, uh, and like the culture.
18:04Uh, that's what, like the word you typically hear with like what teams are and organizations are trying to establish
18:10around their football team is his culture.
18:12And, uh, Chris Spielman has always said he, he always uses the term environment because that is, uh, like kind
18:17of the more accurate and understandable, uh, way to, to, um, relay that, that term.
18:24But, um, I think it's a good, it's a good environment for the Falcons to, to operate in and to
18:30grow in as players, both, uh, as a group collectively, but also individually.
18:34And Kevin Stefanski talked about that, that they were trying to do that today, just to, you know, like they
18:38want Michael Penix to continue to expand and grow and improve his performances in this offense.
18:43But that's no different than for every other player that they have a plan for.
18:48And, uh, so that's great to see, uh, one other thing today, or a couple of other things, uh, we
18:52got to talk to Tua Tagovailoa today.
18:54Uh, he gave us a little bit of news actually about his injury is now famous oblique injury that occurred
19:00during week one that led him to miss both the Steelers and the Panthers games.
19:04Um, that injury that you will have seen by now occurred on Thursday at practice that was captured by Reggie
19:11Chapman, 11 alive.
19:13Great job, Reggie, catching, catching that.
19:15Um, Tua told us today, actually, he initially injured that oblique the day before on Wednesday.
19:22He said he, uh, he felt it the day before and, um, they just were going to try to push
19:28through it.
19:28You know, he was the starting quarterback.
19:29They had to have practice, you know, they had to, he, he had to get through it.
19:34Um, he must not have missed any reps because of it, because that would have been, uh, shown on the
19:39injury report.
19:39Never was on the injury report, which is, you know, that's totally fine.
19:42Didn't need to be unless he had missed reps.
19:45So, um, that's just interesting that, uh, that, that, that Tua was trying to push through that, uh, give us
19:51a little bit more context about that injury and why he just kind of collapsed in the way he did.
19:56Maybe at that point, uh, other than that, though, you know, he, Tua did sound very kind of at peace
20:01with everything that has happened to this point.
20:03Uh, he does, he said, you know, he says he is still competing as far as this is a quarterback
20:07competition.
20:07He's, but he's, he's just competing to have the best reps he can possibly do.
20:11And blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, like just to, just to, he's just trying to be the best he
20:15can right now.
20:15But he says like, what I need to be doing, what I am doing is accepting my role as the,
20:22the number two quarterback for this team.
20:24And the number two quarterback's job is to support the number one.
20:28And so he, that's what he's doing.
20:29He's saying he's accepting his role of supporting Mike.
20:32And that is kind of where his attention is, is geared.
20:35And so he will just be giving his best effort in doing that and in, uh, improving himself.
20:39And so, um, I think that was all just very, very good to hear.
20:43And it kind of puts this Falcons quarterback situation back into, um, and I, a pretty nice picture for where
20:52it is right now.
20:53And I, I knock on a lot of wood when I say that because knowing these two quarterbacks, that can
20:57change in an instant, but having a, an app piece to a, that is willing to do this role, uh,
21:03as the backup quarterback behind.
21:05Michael Penix, who is getting the reps, I think is perfect for, um, how we would have wanted to see
21:11this quarterback room arrange itself back when Tua was signed.
21:16Uh, we also talked to Mason Smith.
21:18He's of course, a former LSU player will be quite the homecoming for him.
21:21Um, going back home to see family, he said, he's, he said, uh, there's 20 people come in.
21:26Then he clarified that it might be more than 20 people, but he's only paying for 20 tickets for, for
21:30his friends and family.
21:31Um, but I'm sure there will be a lot more there supporting Mason Smith.
21:35Um, interestingly, he says that he has not yet played as a professional at the, the Superdome.
21:41And the last time he played there, he tours ACL, uh, for LSU playing against Florida state.
21:46So we'll be, I think an emotional, um, time for him to get on that field.
21:50And hopefully he can put in a performance for, uh, all 20 of his, uh, you know, invited guests to
21:56be proud of.
21:57Uh, and then finally, just a cool kind of community note for the Falcons today.
22:00They did this thing, um, with, uh, an organization called, uh, hometown huddle.
22:05Uh, and I think good sports or something like that.
22:08They were putting together kind of basically like care packages full of sporting equipment for all different kinds of sports,
22:15um, that were going to be then be shipped around to underserved, uh, kind of like a sports communities or
22:21just like sports facilities and communities that are underserved.
22:24So, um, just a time for the, the Falcons to, you know, kind of give back.
22:28And it was cool to see they had some, uh, flowery branch high school kids.
22:32And, uh, I forget the other, there's the other high school that's up there, uh, Cedar Bluffs or something like
22:37that.
22:37I'm, I apologize if that's wrong, but, uh, some of their students or football players were up there, uh, helping
22:44the players.
22:44There was like three players and then one, um, high school student on teams and they had some kind of
22:49little competition for it.
22:50So it was cool. It was just, uh, fun to see the whole team kind of get involved in something
22:53that wasn't necessarily football and just, uh, see them having a good time and everything like that.
22:57So, um, hopefully you guys had a good time listening to this podcast.
23:01Um, there's a lot more on 99 games, YouTube channels, definitely check that out.
23:04Definitely give this episode a like, just if you click the thumb, that will help me personally.
23:08And probably nobody else cares, but it would, I would care.
23:11So thank you guys so much. Uh, you always do give great reception to this.
23:14So thanks again.
23:14And we'll talk to you when the team next practices on what should be a very busy fun day with
23:20a lot of news and fun quotes and stuff on Thursday.