Atlanta Falcons 2024 NFL Season Preview | Playoffs or Bust

few teams were talked about as often as the Atlanta Falcons this off season particularly around draft time because of what they did drafting Michael penck at number eight overall but Falcons bring in Raheem Morris as the new head coach our old friend Zack Robinson to call plays on the offensive side of the ball we'll be referencing Zach quite a bit here on the show unless things go south then we'll just you know dismiss our dismiss ourselves from knowing him um but a fascinating team Kirk Cousins is in Michael penick's picked at number eight overall uh what are your thoughts on the Falcons as we head into 2024 Sam yeah not just referencing our friend Zack Robinson hopefully at some stage we'll get our friend Zack Robinson on the show and actually you know talk to him a bit um but yeah Atlanta had a fascinating offseason obviously they needed a quarterback they had one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL last season arguably the worst um and yet they were still not a bad football team overall but with a new coaching regime they set about to fix that and they did it first and foremost with free agency and Kurt Cousins who was realistically the one kind of proven quality veteran option out there in free agency and I know you know Pittsburgh got Russell Wilson they also brought in Justin Fields there were other sort of options but nobody as clean as Kirt cousins in terms of the level he's been at over the last few years now you do have 35 years old coming off an Achilles injury so it's not like it was perfect but theoretically I think the Falcons by upgrading from the kind of Desmond Ritter situation at quarterback to Kirk Cousins immediately transformed themselves into a playoff team overnight I mean they literally became the favorites for the division if you check uh the Vegas odds basically the second they made that move and then obviously you get the draft and everyone assumes they're going to then spend their top draft pick on a Defender try and bolster that side of the ball and instead they they double down on the future essentially and draft Michael penck Jr a quarterback that theoretically should not be seeing the field for at least a couple of years which really is is unprecedented in terms of the combination of factors right how high that draft pick was um the fact that they just signed Kurt Cousins how old Michael penx is all these things put together it's never really happened before that way but you can kind of at least see the argument that they're going for right the succession plan the love idea this concept of not just securing the most important position for this year but for the next 12 years um I don't know if I would have done it myself but I at least get what they did and why they did it we could spend hours talking about the Michael penck Junior decision and we have Sam in the past so we can't get too far into it but the bottom line is no team has made that type of quarterback investment at that level of extreme probably in NFL history as far as the money toward Kirk Cousins and then in that same year the number eight overall pick and the reason why I think it surprised people or one of the reasons is because at number eight overall the Falcons had their their choice of the best defensive player in the draft presumably one of those Edge rushers they need Edge Rush help and we'll get into um you know what that looks like on the defensive side of the ball but you know that that's the Michael penck Jr storyline I I hope that doesn't overshadow the fact that as you mentioned the Falcons you know should be the favorite in the NFC South they were a team that went seven- 10 last year with really horri quarterback play u not just on a play-by-play basis but in crunch time right in these close games when they had chances to either you know hold on to a lead or go and win a game and they're you know throwing Red Zone interceptions it was bad and so this team had a feisty defense last year that's how I always described them and then offensively just you know overflowing with Playmakers right you've got Drake London on the outside you have Kyle Pitts at tight end you have bejan Robinson at running back uh you have Darnell money coming in and so this should be an explosive offense with Kirk Cousins at the helm and you know those Playmakers really underwhelmed from a production standpoint because of the quarterback play over the last couple years and it'll be on Zach now to implement what looks like a very Rams likee offense a lot of three wide receiver sets uh you know trying to get their guys in space playing to their strengths but it's going to be a lot more pass heavy than it was under Arthur Smith yeah and critically Zack bringing that offense def cross it's also basically the same offense that Kurt Cousins has been running and playing his best football in for the last couple of years in Minnesota so it should theoretically create this kind of transition seamless transition for cousins and then yeah the key is looking at all those weapons that they have and if we just look at the offensive side of the ball I mean I think the Falcons should be really good you know they have one of the better offensive lines in the NFL maybe it'll look a little bit worse this season now that they're not the most run heavy team in the in the NFL the way they were uh for the last couple of Seasons maybe that stresses those guys a little bit more suddenly you know Caleb McGary say it right tackle starts to look a little bit weaker in pass protection but it it should still be a very good offensive line so then you've got this backfield with you know bejan Robinson Tyler aler multiple running backs that are highquality players the quarterback we just talked about is really good Drake London Kyle pittz those guys should be high-end receivers and then can they get complimentary play out of Darnell money Ray Ray McLoud who came over effectively with Zack Robinson you know some there are some other complimentary receivers there I think that can make an impact as well overall that looks like an offense that could absolutely cook and then the question is just how good is the defense going to be you know can it help them out uh right here on the check the mic Channel you'll see one of our other videos talking about you know important players across the NFL I highlighted Drake London and I really think he's going to have a monster year I mean a guy that was drafted same draft classes Garrett Wilson and Chris alive Jameson Williams you know right near the top he was the first guy off the board I think his high-end ball skills his ability to also separate win in different ways outstanding at the catch point I I think he has a chance to be the high volume receiver in this offense um and just to touch on cousins for a minute here you know the NFL you know when you're evaluating quarterbacks a lot of times we think in this do you have an elite quarterback or do you not type of terms and clearly I don't think we're putting Kirk Cousins into that Elite category he's he's in that category where teams want to move on from him right you feel like you're maxed out at some point but when you're a team like the Falcons that's working with the worst quarterback situation or one of them in the NFL they didn't have one of the top draft picks that was the necessary move for the Falcons so it's a big upgrade for them and and and plugging cousins into this offense look I don't know that this is leading them to the NFC Championship or anything but I think it's giving them an opportunity to win the NFC South get into the playoffs and see what happens um so I so I like the fit for cousins here for the Falcons um because of all the playmakers that they're throwing uh that he's that he's throwing to and then on the defensive side of the ball Sam we've got you know new news that may have uh hindered our ability to use our pre-recorded analysis on the defense Matthew judon is in town in Atlanta Justin Simmons is in town in Atlanta look the def defense last year I always called them feisty every single week right Jesse Bates was out there making game-changing plays David anada was a really good free agent signing last year both of those guys as free agent signings helped this Falcons defense but even more ammunition added here during the preseason and then Raheem Morris coming in to uh to pull it all together yeah a couple of players coming over that had such a transformative effect that it transformed what I'm wearing and my entire Studio setup here amazing effect they've had on that defense um yeah look we we had this whole thing recorded and we were talking about the anemic pass rush at the Atlanta Falcons have had for the last couple of years you know one of the worst if not the worst uh Edge rusher situations in all of football Chicago was right there with them until they traded from Montes sweat and now Atlanta have made a move as well and they bring in Matthew judon who at the very minimum upgrades it I'm not sure he fixes it single-handedly um but he definitely Chang es the dynamic there they at least have got now one consistent pass rusher a guy who has had big sack seasons in the past a guy who also you've made this point before you know has the ability to drop into coverage to do more than simply line up and rush the passer from The Edge but can move around can drop into coverage can show up in these um you know simulated pressure packages and cause problems for opposing offenses so judon I don't think immediately fixes their pass rush but definitely moves them back towards average from literally the worst situation in football in that regard it does and that situation would have been Lorenzo Carter AR Arnold e and you know two guys that are probably better off as third pass rushers at least knocks them down a peg um allows them to mix and match a little bit more and then as you mentioned um some flexibility with a guy like judon who can drop into coverage he's been a guy that drops over a hundred times per season historically in the past Ravens defense Patriots defense so I think it's a good fit for for Raheem Morris in the Falcons and then Justin Simmons coming in as well to pair with Jesse baits two ball Hawking free safety types it's not your traditional free and strong safety it's not your traditional box versus deep player both guys have similar skill sets um but I think you know again the veteran uh versatility that it brings to the defense added with judon and that pass rush I I think those are great moves um and it helps a defensive front that the Falcons knew that needed to address in the draft after they went with Michael penx Jr they did Draft defensive lineman with their next three picks uh now brillan Trice is out for the season the third rounder that's part of the reason why they had to bring judon in um but ruk aoro showing some flashes during the preseason uh you know they've got the ability to uh mix and match up front and maybe create some Havoc yeah it was definitely an area that they knew they needed to upgrade and that's why they spent those draft picks bril and tce probably would have been a significant contributor for them a guy that they were relying on him um obviously they can't do that now so instead they pivot and they they go and grab a veteran an interesting move as well because you know cost him a third round draft pick that's pretty significant it's also for a guy who you know wants an adjusted contract like part of the reason there was some issues there in New England is he wants to get paid again or at least wants a a change in his contract but that doesn't seem like it's happening in a major way in Atlanta they're not bringing in a guy that they're going to you know reup for huge amount of money at least not right now um so they are kind of playing him out really just for this year to try and upgrade that group presumably because they think that they will be a playoff team and they are going to try and make some noise and contend and even a one-year rental works for them at the moment I I want to highlight uh key position groups because I do believe it is on the defensive side of the ball for both of us for me it is still this Edge Rush group even adding Matthew judon again we're looking at Raheem Morris uh coming over from the Rams and they didn't really have a great Edge Rush situation over the last couple years it was Aaron Donald who created all of the Havoc now the Falcons have Grady Jarrett their version of Aaron Donald of course we would never compare Grady Jarrett to Aaron Donald he is not at that level but he's your interior disruptor David animada can do some of that as well but uh you know raheem's Edge rushers would you know drop into coverage rush the passer they haven't really been the guy that's relied upon so um I think that kind of fits but they needed a little bit more juice off the edge there that's where I think uh adding judon is going to help it'll upgrade it a little bit they still might not be um even in the middle of the pack as pure Edge rushia group goes in the NFL but it gives them a little bit more flexibility to pair with those interior disruptors of Grady Jared and Zach har uh sorry David animata Zach Harrison as well a guy that can move around so look that's a big group for me it takes a little bit of pressure off the back end if they can get more pressure with their front four yeah I mean even with um judon coming over I still think that that's an area of weakness for them and and maybe a key area um for the entire team for the defense the single biggest area of concern for me or key area would be that number two cornerback position though AJ Terrell I think is a really good player he his life will be made easier by the fact that judon is now there bringing some kind of source of pressure from The Edge along with those guys in the middle um but that second spot that number two guy and even the number three guy potentially outside of AJ Terrell their cornerback positions um are not amazing on paper a guy like Mike Hughes is potentially a starter as the number two guy now that's helped by upgrading up front with judon it's helped by potentially upgrading behind them as well with safety but still that's an area that could absolutely be exposed by high level starting NFL wide receivers all right let's flip it forward to this entire season here a best and worst case scenario for the Falcons what does your best case scenario here look like I I still think that the best case scenario has a ceiling to it you know I think that they're a playoff team um their best case probably involves not just making the postseason but maybe winning a game or two there uh upsetting a team I just don't see that they can really get through to you know a Super Bowl or even maybe a championship game I feel like their ceiling is probably at that level and no further I think the best case you know forget about where they end up on their way to the Super Bowl right I mean I'm with you you know if they made it to the final eight much like the Bucks did last year I think that would be a pretty successful season winning a playoff game getting into the uh divisional round but I think the best case involves a lot of excitement man you got Kirk in there you got Zack Robinson calling plays you have all those playmakers all those first round picks from the last few years at at all the skill position uh skill positions and you get to see all those guys play to their potential the potential of bejon and pits and London so I think we've got um a lot of excitement and big years on the offensive side of the ball for the Falcons if everything goes right what about worst case scenario though what if uh things don't go so well yeah I mean the worst case probably involves some kind of KK cousins not being the same you know coming off that Achilles injury at 35 years old not having solved the quarterback position definitively with what they've done this offseason the Kirk Cousins addition of free agency Michael penck Jr at the top of the draft if somehow that doesn't result in unequivocal correct answer a quarterback that I think is the worst case which ends up with them not being any better than a year ago with them still not being a playoff team with them still being traed in this kind of purgatory world of not really having line of sight of the next quarterback and not having the quarterback I think that would be a true worst case scenario for the Falcons that with all this upgrading they still didn't really move forward yeah and that's what look cousins is a very good quarterback but at the end of the day every team he's been with he's made them better but they've hit a ceiling right which is what you've highlighted um I would also throw in on the defensive side of the ball those two key position groups that you and I mentioned if if cornerback two or the pass rush generally if that's not up to par with you know playoff caliber teams could be a rough could be rough on that side of the ball for the Falcons