What Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons brings to Atlanta | Falcons Final Whistle Podcast

Intro dirty birds what's up and welcome to another edition of Falcon final whistle presented by Zach spe I am your host will mcfaden joined by Tor mlan Tori Tori Tori we will will have been in this podcast studio for what feels like ever we were here bright and early uh this morning where I was and then you know you and I chatted about the Matthew judon hold on I just want to tell the people what the last 24 hours has been like for me I know this podcast isn't about me but I'm about to make it about me for 5 seconds last night we get the Matthew judon news breaking write that story get that up start the analysis A crazy 24 hours for Atlanta pulled off the road right I was in a parking lot outside of a brewery was in Lawrenceville was where I wrote that story woke up this morning we recorded a podcast I send in scripts for Fox 5 the show that I do with Kelly Price called rise up tonight check it out Midnight's Thursday night Fox 5 Atlanta wrote scripts we get on a podcast which you can check out on our Spotify and apple podcast feed it was audio only because we were literally running around like crazy people trying to dissect and analyze the Matthew judon trade and him agreeing to terms and everything that was happening wrote a story about how he fits within this Falcons defense shot the show with Kelly drove out here you and I then proceeded to chat about this Justin Simmons stuff for the next two hours wrote a news story have another story probably coming really soon about how he fits with Jessie Bates III and this Atlanta secondary probably at some point I'll come up with a column about what this 24 hours was like and why it literally feels like a night and day from where we were on Saturday night after that Miami preseason game yeah I mean that's a that's a great that's a great way to frame it um and thanks tor's 24 hours I Different feel to Falcons defense will read that column all day long uh but the the way that everybody felt I think after the Miami preseason game and coming off of the heels of what were three pretty big blows to you know brillan T to Marco Helms in the aftermath of Rond Del Moore like those were three players and it's interesting because I've started almost thinking in my mind like scholarships and Walk-Ons because that's just easy for me to like as we're thinking about a 53 man roster cut down and like who do I feel really good about having spots and rolls it's like those are your scholar guys and then we've got Walk-Ons trying to make the team transfer portal guys it's just uh like there's so many different ways you can label people now but it it's like Ron Moore DeMarco Helm and brayan T were all scholarship guys like those were those were players that you were going to have to have step up and play big roles and so kind of feeling like okay this this season there's still excitement because you have kurk cousins and like his presence has been real and like the defensive line making strides their presence has been real but it was a little bit like all right so now is this going to be another big SLO for the NFC South and not to put the cart before the horse it may still be this is football anything can happen on Sundays but man it feels so much better sitting here talking about Justin Simmons and Matthew judon ahead of the season so What Simmons brings to Atlanta let's talk about Justin Simmons because we've already talked at nauseum about Matthew judon like we we already know kind of the sack machine's a minitar if anybody has missed uh he's just coming off the edge the strongest man alive I swear but now you bring in Justin Simmons to pair with Jessie Bates III and you actually pulled up this stat and I while we were we're talking about Justin Simmons and as we were getting everything together to to talk about this this signing and it was so interesting I had no idea since he joined the league in 2016 his 30 interceptions are the most by any player since that year yep that is a banana stat especially when you add to Jessie Bates 20 career interceptions six last year mhm he's tied for 13th on the list okay and then you add on the fact that Jessie Bates was a top 80 player on the NFL top 100 Justin Simmons was a top 60 player on the NFL top 100 the way that people talk about them is very SI it it's very similar because of their instincts and the way that they carry themselves and how they see the play happening in front of them and their reaction to it I would argue that this is one of and again this is happening as we're talking about this this news is breaking as we're talking about this but I off the top of my head I'm having a really hard time being like how many other safety pairings in the league are better than these two yeah that's a that's a great question um I mean I think so the bills have always had really good Micah Hyde and Jordan Jordan po but now Jordan is down in Miami although they've got a great one with Jordan and zaven Howard um actually it's funny zaven Howard let me pull back up that list he is second since 2016 with 29 um interceptions so they've got a good one uh if you like the Eagles have you know had really good secondaries but you're right like like you would put the Falcons on a short list now for best unquestionably yes for best safety pairings in the league because I like I think that so when they when they initially made the move to acquired Jesse Bates I was like even though he's in the AFC i' been very well acquainted with Jesse like he he is somebody who I watched a lot of when he was coming out in the draft because the Falcons were kind of maybe looking at adding help to their secondary at the time and he just seemed like such a cerebral and smart player coming out of Wake Forest and Justin Simmons is the exact same way like he just with a little bit more height yeah he's just 6'2 two more inches on um but it's like he was drafted initially as kind of part of that Vic fangio defense which is very taxing mentally on a safety because of the way that they're going to roll their coverages afterwards and what could look like a two high is now all of a sudden we got a robber and we've got a cloud corner and all this different stuff going on look at just I'm just trying to impress everybody out there with two different phrases that I learned um but but having both of those guys yeah like that is really smart and and that's intelligence that's going to be able to equal any quarterback in the NFL that that is going to be f in them yeah I'm The front office found a way And the fact I mean you have to kind of give credit where credit is due that the front office Terry font Kyle Smith Ryan Pace that group the work that they've done not just in the last 24 hours when the news is actually breaking but this has been a long time coming and the for these two players specifically these two players are players that we were talking about in the summer months about what contracts could look like these are two players whose future in 2024 was a little bit of a question mark there were a good number of teams that were really honing in on trying to get these guys on the roster and the Falcons found found a way to do that with let's be honest a couple of days ago they had the least amount of cap space in the league so they have been maneuvering the cap in order to make these signings happen or trades happen with Matthew judon using a a third round draft pick that can't go unnoticed you know it's reported that the Falcons took uh Chris lindstrom's contract and restructured it to make room for these guys and to take on their salaries and everything like that and I'll be honest too reportedly again there is something to be said about these aren't at this point in time we're recording you know on Thursday afternoon these are not reported to be long-term deals no which I find to be very very interesting in the context of what these guys were were looking for I think that to me also speaks to the way the Falcons were able to sell these guys on what's Happening Here in Atlanta you know the the whole kind of offseason I've been trying to think about what are the different elements of his time out in La that Raheem is bringing back here to Atlanta and I I think that this now this approach can qualify as one because three four years ago the Rams everybody was talking about them giving up all their draft Capital to acquire veteran players star players on kind of these short-term contracts in in a chance to go win now and and that did result in a Super Bowl for them that's it's exactly what we talked about this morning when we were on the when we were talking about Matthew judon and we're kind of making this point about how it is mimicking what what the Rams did a couple brought up Von Miller specifically during his press conference in kind of like hey that acquisition allowed us to get a game recer on the roster maybe the hope is that that judon can kind of turn into a similar player Excitement building before season on the front end but now on the back end I think it's safe to say they've got a game wer as well like they've got two of them right I mean this morning we talked about how the acquisition of Matthew judon changes the way that you view the expectations of this pass rush inserting Justin Simmons into this secondary changes the level of expectations that I have for interceptions pbus and the fact that we're talking about the two most fundamental parts of defensive disruption with these two Acquisitions that happened within 24 hours of each other I don't know if we've had a 24 hours quite like this in I mean I I'm trying to think like not especially thinking about it not in like a true free agency window not in a first wave of free agency but happening in a training camp pre-season yeah definitely not a training camp or or preseason that's this is kind of like unprecedented for this this franchise but I kind of kind of dig it story like the fact the fact that we've got football in 15 20 days and it's like oh cool now we get to like open up some presents almost early it's like when you get to like open your Christmas present like the day before Christmas and they your parents let you have just one um got two that's yeah exactly it's like that's that is very just like I think invigorating for for a fan base that again like the Kirk Cousins signing initially think what everybody wanted to see but then you the momentum stalled from that a little bit during the draft and you and I have been very clear that like we understand the penck pick we I think in a lot of ways agree with the penx pick but there is no doubt in my mind that the fan base when that was the selection on on night one was kind of like a little bit wrong-footed and again the momentum of the offseason hit a little bit of a patch right there but this feels like it's brought it completely back I was looking at Social so many people are like we're so back baby let's go like me booking my ticket to the Super Bowl Parade all there's so much energy and excitement right now and I think that mirrors the energy and excitement that we have felt kind of on the field really throughout training camp and that starts with Raheem today's episode of Falcons final whistle is brought to you by zakes and after a long game when I'm tired and I need to refuel I turn to zpes they're marinated hand breaded fried to Perfection chicken fingers they hit the spot every time get yours with seasoned crinkle fries a nice drink in whichever of their 12 signature sauces you're feeling at the moment but it always hits just right so next time you need to refuel go get yourself some zxp yeah before any of these guys got in here it was day one of raheem's press conferences introductory press Falcons have defensive star power conference you felt that energy and you felt kind of that shift and almost like fun culture like they're going to go and get their work done but they're going to have a lot of fun doing it and I've thoroughly enjoyed watching this team act in that manner and and the these two Acquisitions that we're talking about here I mean I just can't help but think that every if everything goes right this defense is significantly better with those two in it and I don't know I think about two your star power on this defense it's not that often in the last few years have you kind of been able to say maybe even outside of grd Jarrett and AJ Terell like that there's some star power some star punch in in this defense and now you look at it and it's at every single level it's Grady Jarrett it's AJ Terrell it's Jessie Bates it it's m Jud I mean to us it's like K and Ellis and Troy Anderson like but but for like the league at large think about it like from a national perspective guys on that top 100 list or like on the short list to be on that top 100 I I just think that there's something to be said about that that now you have this kind of star power that that kind of packs a little bit of a punch yes that I don't know I think it should make you excited and it should make you expect more from this defense that I'm going to be completely honest even going into the 2024 season I already had high expectations for this defense especially with Grady Jarrett coming back with Jimmy lak's new scheme with kind of what we saw Jessie Bates do in 2023 there was a lot to be excited for AJ Terrell kind of playing on this fifth year deal you don't know what's going to happen with him like obviously there's a lot that that you you need to think about and you if you're AJ you're like I want to get that bag too so all of these things are happening simultaneously which I think accumulates to me having big expectations for this defense adding these two guys specifically only heightens that for me yeah because if there was a group that we felt most probably like the highest floor but also a decent uh decently high ceiling was the linebackers that inside linebacker group and so now you're addressing the group in front of them and the group behind them and so really when you look at all three levels of Atlanta's defense to your point there are names now there's there's names where when you looked offensively and you could be like go up and down the offensive line you you know the guys there go with the wide receivers tight ends skill position guys you know them there now we've got Kirk it's like the same thing on the defense where you look around and you're like cool Justin Simmons cool there's Lorenzo Carter cool there's Grady Jarrett cool there's AJ tra like you just maybe feel a little bit better and it's also a far cry from kind of where they have been over the last couple of years yeah and and you know not to to no you know any disrespect to anybody who's come through here in the last few years that was just the you and I raved for a second about Casey Hayward like the Casey haward he got hurt it's like it's just kind of the nature of the thing I loved getting to know uh D Don Harmon and Eric Harris they were hugely influential I think on a lot of young guys even last year Bud dpri Kus Campbell those guys I mean Kus Campbell had his hund sack here yeah like no slouches themselves yeah there's nothing to be said about said bad about those guys who have come through here and been on these short-term deals and and the impact that they made on some of these younger guys who who have grown up within the last four years as well it's just now you talk about Matthew judon you talk about you know Justin Simmons along with again the names that I keep talking about Jesse Bates I again I go back to what Jesse Bates and Justin Simmons can do together these are two guys who are playing who were voted to the Pro Bowl last year yeah together well not together but like opposite different divisions it's crazy that when you look though at kind of like the list of where all the safeties and the defensive backs are ranking like Jesse Bates is is up there as well yeah it's just like Justin Simmons is a little bit higher in each of those categories so that's where when you're when we already know that Jesse kind of like I know he didn't but it felt like he single-handedly like won the Falcons two games last year imagine just now if you have Justin Simmons also doing the same How have expectations changed? thing and and that's projecting and that's not how everything is going to play out but you feel so so much better again about those two guys and I saw um Aaron shatz who formerly a football Outsiders now with um ft and fantasy but they do all the dvoa and he tweeted if the Falcons are signing Justin Simmons their mean defensive dvoa projection has gone from 99.9% which is is bad the higher your dvoa is for defense it's a little bit worse so they had that projection of 9.9% as last among all defenses in dvoa projections for the season with these two moves they're projected to be 24th now at 2.9% so that's an eight spot swing from two players and again that's you and I are higher on this group than I think D is a lot of the other people because we have seen it in practice we've seen guys like Antonio Hamilton Step Up we've seen Kevin King make some plays and I don't think everybody is factoring that in but even just these two moves you can see how greatly that has swung just what the progn prognosticators you go are saying yeah words are hard man this has been a crazy 24 hours so much fun I mean not even 24 hours it's been less than 24 hours yeah I mean at this point yesterday you you still weren't uh weren't sitting in the parking lot outside of that Brewery were you no not yet I still had a few hours to go until I was doing that oh we were so young back then oh I feel like I've aged 10 years in the last 24 hours oh man but no this has been a crazy day and you know I I'm H honestly just sitting here like watching tweets rolling and TW like seeing people it's easy to forget there's a preseason game in two days oh yeah that's right we do we leave for Baltimore on Friday like tomorrow literally tomorrow oh my God time is a flat circle um so what do you say we we go ahead and wrap up this one it was emergency podcast I'm sure we're going to have a lot more thoughts on both Matthew judon and Justin Simmons once we hear from them once we get a chance to see them out there on the defense last thing I'll add though is is that both of these guys are clear fits for what Atlanta is trying to do defensively I mean I I think some people could be like all right but again the fact that the season's only a few weeks away I'm counting is a good thing but it could be looked at as do you have enough time to get these guys ready to get them acclimated with a new team with a new group a coaching staff I kind of think they're going to come in and know exactly what they're going to be asked to do how to plug in and it's going to be solid here's the thing some of the best advice or not advice one of the my favorite things that Dean P's ever told me and if you've been listening to this podcast you know how much I really enjoyed the time I got to spend covering Dean peas and getting to know him like peas and carrots right truly two peas in a pod if you would um but he he said time and time again it's like you don't fit the scheme to you you don't fit the player to the scheme you you fit the scheme to the player and when I look at what the insertion of mat Matthew judon and Justin Simmons is it's like you know the caliber of player that you're getting you do whatever you can to free them up to be the playmakers that you are paying them to be mhm and that's where I kind of sit it's like yeah we're a few weeks away from the start of the season but have just get the those two guys specifically to the point where they feel comfortable enough to just play freely yeah once you do that they've shown especially in the last like five years they can go make some plays yeah well you've shown that you Outro can make some plays in front of the microphone so I always appreciate your time Tori um this was it was so much fun honestly going through today with you and with the whole team and seeing everybody operate up close uh it was great so please check out atlantafalcons.com for all of the news that has happened the last 24 hours and will continue to happen because we're going to be breaking it all down um but that will do it for this special edition of Falcon's final whistle presented by Zach welcome to Atlanta Justin Simmons welcome to Atlanta Matthew judon get ready for a great season guys this is going to be a lot of fun so for Tory mlan I will mcfaden we will see you guys later