FALCONS SQUAD SHOW: Raheem Morris & the Atlanta Falcons EMBARRASS themselves at the BENZ

FALCONS SQUAD SHOW: Raheem Morris & the Atlanta Falcons EMBARRASS themselves at the BENZ

I’m Tenanishra Batist and 21 didn’t like you calling him out so he kind of showed up but also nobody does can’t get right quite like Darnell Mooney in this Falcons offense. I’m Aaron Freeman and the final score doesn’t surprise me but how we got here continues to frustrate me to no end. I’m Jarvis Davis and yeah Ra I know it was awful. Yeah, I know. I know. Rise up a town. It’s the Falcon Squad. Everything Atlanta Falcons every week breaking down all the big hits and gamechanging plays from the ATL. The way only the Locked on Podcast Network can straight from the ATL. The Falcon Squad Show starts now. Welcome to the Falcon Squad Show, your home for the best Atlanta Falcons football talk. I’m your host Tenra Batist. Alongside me are Locked on Falcons host Aaron Freeman and Locked On analyst Jarvis Davis and the Squad Show is part of the Locked on Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. So the Falcons defense, they came to play, especially in the first half until the offensive futility made him run out of gas in a 37 to9 loss to the se Seattle Seahawks by the Atlanta Falcons today. We’ll discuss how that happened. And speaking of that offense, not sure where most of the 11 were today. We’ll download on it. Also, the 12th man took the cross country flight and it paid off. We’ll tell you what we mean by that. But first, let’s talk about the Falcons losing yet another game here at home, 37 to9 the final. The Falcons dropped to 4 and N on the season. And listen, Jarvis, the number three team in scoring offense and scoring defense. The only team in the league in the top five in both categories. Well, they came to town. They showed why they were top five. And hey, they even showed out on special teams. So, let’s just get right into that because first play of the second half and this game is reasonably in reach, right? I mean, we go to the half tied six all and then all of a sudden you come back, Zayn Gonzalez kicks it into the end zone and Rasheed Shahed happens. He takes it back to the house 100 yards for the touchdown. But take us back. What did you see that broke down for the Falcons on that play? The same thing we see every week. guys getting out of their lanes and then next thing you know got that bad boy just open up like the Red Sea and then any comfortable uh returner in the NFL can can see it and he hits it and once he hit it it was a wrap. We knew it was going. And then the crazy thing about it pre Maris Williams was talking about Rasheed She Yes. He mentioned called him out specifically. Called him out specifically by name. Yes. And you still found a way to give it up. To let him cook. Yeah. You still found a way to let this man cook. I’m I don’t understand Raheem Morris. Why do you continue to put this guy in position to to hurt your team? The special teams coordinator, all 11 guys that’s out there on special teams. Yeah. Kick it into the end zone, dog. Let them start at the 35. I’m cool with that. What? Why are we still doing this? I don’t understand. You just keep going back. Just keep on going back. Oh, it’s going to change. Shit’s going to change. You know, it’s like that relation that bad relationship. You know exactly what they gonna do every time. Please give me another chance. Go on, man. Give me another chance. Please, please give me another chance. I know I’ll change. I know I can change. I know I’ll do right. And then you know what? You just look at it for a second. Pause. You know what? Yeah, I’ll give you another chance. And the same dog on thing happened. It happened every dog on time, every week. We’ve been talking about this the entire season. Yeah. I don’t even know what the issue was with Iillyard and they they fired this man off the man. They got rid of this man so quick, but we still sitting up here talking about special teams and guys staying in and out of their lanes and and making sure they’re covering kicks correctly. What we talking about? It’s four games up in the season. What? What are we talking about? Yeah. I mean, it’s unbelievable. And like you said, Jarvis, we get it. the NFL’s new dynamic kickoff rules, you know, that have been in place now for the second season. You’re looking at it and you’re saying, “Okay, I don’t want to give se the Seattle Seahawks just 65 yards to work with by that ball maybe being kicked out of the end zone and you starting at the 35, but free in zero and kicking an extra point.” Exactly. That that’s that’s my my thought too fre because again if you called him out Maris Williams and you know what Rasheed Shahid is able to do then you don’t even chance it and I know he only ends up with uh three kickoff returns for 148 yards and obviously 100 of those yards in one kickoff alone but again I’m just not even giving you a chance to touch the ball but it’s Not just on Maris Williams like Jarvis said free there were 11 guys who could have stopped that from happening on the field and didn’t. Yeah, I don’t even know what supposed to say to that. It’s like yes, you you summarize it perfectly. There’s nothing really to add. Maris Williams and you special teams unit has been a problem all season long. the guys on the field don’t make the plays that they need to make the plays, right? And you know, the Falcons signed Bradley Pinion three years ago or whenever it was to basically be the guy that could kick the ball out the end zone on touch. That’s what he did really well. And Young Wu is doesn’t have that type of leg strength and all that stuff. And then the dynamic kickoff comes and so last year they’re just having Pinion boot the ball out. And so this year they bring in Zay Gonzalez and they’re like, “Oh, we really like Zay Gonzalez’s ability to maybe put that ball in the landing zone to maximize the potential of the coverage unit to pin these teams deep to win the field position battle.” So the strategy makes sense for the Falcons and why they kick it inside the play. It just doesn’t make sense because you can’t cover these kicks properly. And so Jarvis is right where it’s just like at a certain point it’s like okay we just get Bradley Pinion back on here just to kick the ball out the back of the end zone because at this point in time if you’re going to give up you know an 80 yard kickoff return or 50 yard kickoff return every single week. You know the the three times or whatever that you pinned them deep isn’t really helping you because you’re always guaranteed to give them seven points off of one of these kickoffs every single game. And on this one, he took it all the way to the house to give them that seven points. They didn’t even do the thing last week where it was like, “Oh, well, they got 80 yards and the Falcons held them to a field goal or whatever.” And it’s like at this point now, like you could at least sit there and say, “Well, our defense can get a stop and and even if we give up a big return, our defense will get a stop.” But now it’s just like, “All right, man. We we see what’s what.” Just kick the ball out the back the back of the end zone. And you know now at this point even if they start doing that for these final four games it’s like all right well who cares now at this point. So I mean and that is how you feel like there every time you see something good that one phase of the game does then the other phase craps the bed and it’s like it just un does whatever or however that word is. It just resets or reverses exactly what you just saw. and we’ll talk about that because it happened a couple times on the offensive side of the ball and really made us kind of uh shake our heads or scratch our heads as well. But he wasn’t the only one. Of course, like we said, there are 11 players that hit the field over and over again, whether you’re talking about uh kickoffs or the like. And or or or in a punting game. And again, this is a Seattle Seahawks team that is very potent. They can score on offense, they can score on defense, and like we saw today, they can score on special teams as well. But it felt like Jarvis, when you come out of halftime, and we already know this team seems to be challenged with making halftime adjustments, you don’t even get the opportunity really to make those adjustments because the first play out is a an absolute breakdown in the third phase. So, as much as this show does not like to lean into the basic type questions of keep him or not keep him, I I don’t know. I don’t know what happens to Maris Williams. I I don’t know if he survives more than 24 hours. I’m I’m just And I I hate that because we’ve seen some great coaching out of him for special teams. But again, when you keep calling out the same problem, if we like you said, if you part ways with an Iillyard because there’s some challenges in that space, then it just begs the question of where does this team go with Maris and his unit from here. Uh, he has to be gone, right? You know, because here’s the thing. I’m starting not to believe a lot of what Raheem Moira says. He said, “We’re not going to make emotional decisions.” Okay? The opposite of making an emotional decision and firing Maris Williams last week would be to get in those rooms and see what Maris Williams is doing. Now, I’m not saying he didn’t do that this week. If he did, that’s even a bigger issue because here’s the thing. We’re constantly, like you said, we’re constantly pointing out the same thing over and over and over and over and over again. And you’re not fixing it. you’re not and you’re leaving it up to him saying you saying you trust him. You said those that that’s what you said. You said you trust that he’s going to be able to communicate the the the the the the solutions to your issues and he has not been able to do that. So what do you do now? Now, if if the question is asked, which I’m sure someone is probably going to ask it at some point during this week or even after right after the game, like you have to say, “Okay, Ra, you said that you don’t want to make emotional decisions, you know, with the type of performance that special team had last week. You called it out yourself. You said it was awful. You said two phases of the game played well. You had one phase that did not play well.” Well, this this this this phase right here basically started a a snowball effect that you all could not get off of. So, what are you going to do this week? Because when you think about Seattle squeezing that field goal in at right at the right before the half and then coming out of the half with a return and can I say just say this, I am so tired of them receiving the ball. Like, man, do like normal teams do so you can get the ball coming out of the half regardless of what happens in the first half. If you win a toss, defer, man, defer because your offense ain’t hitting on Jack right now. It’s not the Rams, the the the uh the uh the uh the turf Rams with the R with uh Curt Warner and Marshia Faulk and all them folk. Yeah, receive that bad boy. We we taking the ball. We don’t care. But your offense stinks. It stinks. Why are you giving them the ball first? Why are they starting the game off? They’re starting off how you’ve been starting off on when you lost a lost five games straight. You know what I’m saying? When you haven’t won a game in a dog on month, man, it’s it’s ridiculous. It’s absolutely ridiculous. So yeah, I don’t believe you, Ra. Like if if if Maris Williams still has a job t after on Monday when we start our show, our Falcon Squad show, um make sure y’all check you out, man. Y’all ride with us, please. You know what I’m saying? Like we love y’all. You know what I’m saying? This is this is good therapy right here. You know what I’m saying? It’s therapeutic. We getting all this stuff out, man. Y’all So y’all y’all go crazy in the comments. You know what I’m saying? Everything. Y’all do y’all thing. But if Maris Williams is still here tomorrow, basically Rod saying, “Hey man, we just gonna ride this thing on out because I don’t know what’s going to happen at the end of the year.” You know, he’s just like us. Like we we don’t know what’s going to happen because you you obviously you’re not trying to say, “Hey man, this is unacceptable. I can’t have this. I know you’ve been here for however long. I know you’ve had been one of the units that that we can depend on in the past few years since you’ve been here, but this ain’t it, Jack. I’m sorry. We’re going to have to part ways. Yeah. No, no, no. And that’s one of the things that Raheem Morris, by the way, was asked about in in the postgame presser, uh, just in terms of kind of that alluding to what to do about special teams, what to do about Maris Williams. And Ross says, quote, “You can’t give up backbreaking plays.” He said that one that did them in the most was that kickoff return coming out of halftime. But the interesting thing and we will come back to this later in the show was he said not necessarily that Mooney TD call back. But Jarvis, you tweeted something about 90 David Onada saying, “Hey, there just some things you can’t do at this point of your career.” And elite wide receivers know how to tiptoe down the sidelines to make something happen. But again, we’re going to circle back to offense later on in the show. But for you, Free, when you look at the body of work that has become a thorn in the side of this Falcons team, this special team’s unit, I mean, are we looking at a parting of ways in the next 24 hours? I doubt it. I I mean, you got a short week. Let me say I’m sorry, Free. Let me say it this way to give you to be fair to you. Should there be a parting of ways in the next 24 hours? You know, like obviously Maris hasn’t got the job done, right? This is going to be a continued issue for the rest of the season. But, you know, I appreciate Jarvis for being fired up today cuz like I’m just like I do not Yeah, you’re you’re over there is you got a short week. So, if you fire Maris like basically the reason to me why Maris Williams has not been fired so far is who’s going to take over? They have an assistant special teams coach, but I’m sure nobody watching this show knows who that is. I would only know about it cuz I just looked it up like a week ago. Is Stephen King. He was like a intern like two years ago. He coached special teams for like a year in college. Like are you just basically like, “Hey, Stephen King, you know, I know you wrote some great books, you know, the Green Mile, all that stuff. Come and save our special teams unit.” Like unless you firmly believe that like, you know, again, I get it. heads must roll. The it’s it’s the job is not done. But like what are you gonna do on a short week with a guy that has little to no experience coaching special teams at really any level of football and like that guy’s going to come in and and he worst though. Can he wor the solution? Just kick it out the back of the end zone. That’s that’s again is that going to fix your special teams? No. But it will at least stop the kickoff returns. That’s that’s one problem solved. We can solve one of five problems and then we’ll just bleed to death for the other issues with the missed field goals and the bad punting and having returners buff the punts. You know, like that that’s not on the special teams because you got to make the kicks. You got to catch the football, right? But like the return stuff and the coverage stuff. So, like basically I’m sitting here t like at this point in time it’s like if you haven’t made the move at this point like might as well let him finish out the season, go out with some dignity and and see if he can at least slow the bleeding so that you know we’re not DOA at in these final four games. Yeah, because at this point that’s kind of really all you could do is triage it because Yeah, I don’t think there’s any salvation per se, but you know, a little triaging is is maybe what you can hope to do at this point. But it wasn’t just special teams. We’re not really sure where most of the 11 on offense were today, but we’ll take that under further review. This episode of our Falcons Postcast is brought to you by Aura Frames. The holidays are officially here, which means gift hunting season is on. And if you want something meaningful, personal, and guaranteed to get a reaction, Aura Frames is the gift that delivers every single time. It’s not just something you wrap. It’s a way to share memories. Because Aura isn’t your average picture frame. You can preload the frame with photos before gifting it. So when they plug it in, the memories are already there. No apps to figure out, no setup headaches, just instant smiles. So, grandparents, parents, newlyweds, anyone who loves photos, endless uploads of pictures, and 30 secondond videos through the Aura app. That’s why you get this. It’s so cool, especially during the holidays. And then you can add a personalized message right inside the frame, so the gift feels the moment it’s open. So, for a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting aura frames.com to get $35 off Aura’s bestselling carver mat frames, named number one by Wire Cutter by using promo code locked on at checkout. That’s a URA frames.com. Promo code locked on. This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out so fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. And don’t forget, terms and conditions do apply. So guys, like we said before, in these types of games where you take a 37 to9 loss, you drop to four and nine on the season, it’s never really one phase and it’s never really one player that makes that happen. But ultimately speaking, you’ve got to look at and and I wanted to start Aaron with some of the positives because there were some highlights, albeit individual highlights on the defensive side of the ball as well as offense. So when you think about the first score of the day for the Falcons, it came after the defense held the Seahawks to a three and out. Two tackles for loss by the corners. James Pierce Jr. gets a sack on third down and then you see the Seahawks punting out of the end zone. So boom, you’re the Falcons taking over in Seahawks territory. That’s a good look because of James Pierce Jr. The last rookie to have a sack in five straight games was Michael Parsons before James Pierce Jr. did it in the last five. He’s the first Falcon rookie to ever have that stat. So, I wanted to start with you and with Jarvis as well because I thought and James Pierce Jr. because I thought about JPJ. Jarvis tweeted, quote, “That was an excellent rush by Pierce. I love how he’s been developing over the past month or so.” Yeah, I mean JPJ has been consistently the team’s best pass rusher um over these last five, six games, right? He’s gotten sack, I believe it’s five straight games. Yep. Five straight at this point in time. Um and you you see it’s not just him that’s coming alive, but he’s the one that’s consistently finishing, right? Yeah. You’re seeing like similar pressure numbers from like Arnold Betty and James Jr., But in this game, you you saw examples of when Arnold Mcketti wins, he doesn’t finish those plays. While JPJ, when he wins those opportunities, he’s consistently finishing. And certainly for Falcon fans, you know, pressure is one thing, but finishing those plays to get the quarterback on the ground is another thing. And that sack and and those negative plays like that really, you know, gift wrapped an opportunity for the Falcons on that second possession they couldn’t quite take advantage of. And that’s kind of, you know, not to veer into the negativity, T, but like that’s kind of the story of the first half for the Falcons where they had plenty of opportunities in this game to to put TDs uh on the scoreboard and they couldn’t take advantage of that. But, you know, James Beers Jr. despite all my negativity surrounding the trade on on locked on Falcons that I will I will continue. I will die on that hill until Terry Fontine knows out of town. But um you know he is doing his best to uh you know beat the allegations at at this point in time. Uh and he’s doing his best to try to save Terry’s job uh here in Atlanta. Unfortunately uh he’s doing too good of a job if you ask me. So I’m like JPJ, can we can we tone him down so we can get rid of this GM at this point in time? So let’s let’s back it off. Let’s let’s shut it down. You you’ve done enough, my guy. You’ve done enough. Let’s shut it down. You know, you got a back injury. you know, put them on IR. Great rookie season. We We just got to shut it down so that the the Falcons aren’t tempted to bring Hold on, Fred. Come on, man. Hold on, Free. You tripping, man. Do you know Do you know where JPJ is on the Falcons rookie season sack record is? You know where he is now? Picture, J. We can’t be worried about rookie records. Okay. Yes. Yes. Yes. I will. I will. I will. Free. Because here’s the thing. He’s he’s tied with Tac McKinley. We got to get his name bumped down because, you know what I’m saying? We don’t want nobody getting no false hope for him for what he what he did in his rookie season. You know, Mike Pitts is right there at seven. Okay, man. Come on. Let him break the rookie season record sack record for the Falcons. You know what I’m saying? And then, you know, you can have that little conversation. All right. All right. That’s fair. Then, man, I need I need this to go through. I need this to go through. Okay. Okay. That’s fair. That’s fair. But but I but I see you I can follow it because you know free has like a different logic behind certain things. So I’m always Yeah. So so I’m always going to follow the free logic on this one. And I see what you’re saying free because people at least want to feel too the fans want to feel like they got something out of it as they keep like going down the rabbit hole of we have no first round pick next year. We have no first round pick next year. So at least James Spears Jr. is giving you a counter to seeing why you quote unquote have no first round pick next year. And James Pierce Jr. He scared us for a second there when he went down with the quad injury, if you will. But looks like he’s, you know, going to going to be fine. And and you hope that it’s not something that kind of lingers uh through the rest of the season because you’d hate for him to have as much of a progression and ascension as you mentioned, Jarvis, uh and and then kind of go down for the end of the season. But yeah, James Pierce Jr. I don’t think the numbers really tell the story because he only had a couple tackles and a sackle sack, excuse me, tackle for loss and a QB hit, but I think that really he have more presence to Aaron’s point because he finishes. He’s been finishing and that’s been the thing that you pointed out where you said quote tweet that was an excellent rush by Pierce. I love how he’s been developing over the past month or so. Yeah. And because you know even on that on that particular sack there was a window where he could have jumped inside if he wanted to but he stayed stayed contained kept contained and he stayed outside and then all you saw with Sam Darnold was just like he had nowhere to go. He had nowhere to go what from uh trying to escape because he held what he had. He kept pushing that squeezing that that tackle down squeeze him as much as he possibly can keeping that outside arm free. So as soon as he tried to get outside, he’s right there waiting on him. And even if he tried to step up inside, he could have, you know, um could have got him as well. So yeah, th those are the things that I’ve seen him progress in because in the beginning of the year, he was just screaming off the edge. Ah, and then if he saw opening, he’ll he’ll hop his butt back inside. And then next thing you know, mobile quarterback, quarterback that has any legs that he can use, they would get outside and then of course that’s extending the play. They either throw it downfield for the complete for uh potential completion or they’ll take off running. So I I have really uh enjoyed how he’s maturing right before our eyes and that’s why he’s been able to have success rushing the passing and being able to finish like Free mentioned earlier. Yeah. Now, on the other hand, you look at it from uh the perspective of the offense stalling, and we’ll definitely talk about this play again. We’ll go back to it because as many times in this game, especially in the first half, the the Falcons defense gave the offense a chance. The the offense didn’t do anything with it. So, Free, I want to go back to another one. There was a there was a a drive where there were a lot of penalties in the red zones. Falcons committed the majority of them. the Falcons were still able, that defense was still able to hold the Seahawks offense to three points on their second drive of the day. So, like, let’s just go back for a second early and talk about what you saw. I mean, what was the how was the defense able to hold? Well, you know, at the beginning of the game, a lot of it was they were AJ Terrell being able to keep Jackson Smith and Jigba in check. Um, you know, like there was a couple of times where they were able to get JS in the ball on third downs and, you know, AJ had that fumble. Um, and then of course the fourth down the David Anyada doing stuff. Um, and then you had the opportunity on third down in the red zone where AJ was kind of able to kind of force him out out of bounds on the back line uh, and whatnot. And so to me, like the real secret for the Falcons defense early on was their ability to get pressure and the fact that they were able to take out the Seahawks number one receiver for basically two quarters until they made adjustments and and got it going in third quarter and was like, “Okay, well, you know, you you can’t stop him. You can only hope to contain them.” And they did a great job containing him for, you know, basically two quarters uh until they didn’t. Um and so for me, I I think though that was the key for this defense. they needed to get pressure on Sam Donald, force him to be uncomfortable in the pocket and if they could lock down JSN, the Seahawks don’t really have, you know, it’s a similar sort of situation with the Falcons and Drake London where it’s just like who’s their number two guy. Um, and so that to me, I think was a big part of the Falcons early success. Yeah. Yeah. And and it’s funny because Thursday on our show free I said, “Hey, the thing that I didn’t want to happen was for Sam Darnold to even get into or like come close to what this Falcons team saw when he was with the Vikings last season where he was able to throw for five touchdowns.” Well, he was kind of sort of in that space because he was 20 at 30. So, a nice efficient day from him for 249 yards. did of course have a pick and got sacked a couple times, but he also had three touchdowns and he had three carries for 23 yards. So, like you said, not so much that they were able to stop Sam Darnold, but they just hope to contain him. The problem and the challenge was you only kind of were able to pull that off for the first half. not all your fault defense, but nonetheless, that’s just kind of what it came down to. Because again, Jarvis, when you look at turning the ball over or uh turning the ball back over, the defense was able to hold serve. Contavious Street, a nice sack that ultimately led to three and out. So, there were definitely some things that you saw early that showed that the Falcons were having success with that pressure up front. Yeah, it was I think it was a really I think the big issue was of course Jax Jackson Smith and Jigb getting getting going in the second half. It seemed like they were running a lot of, you know, drag routes, you know, and then when you’re playing man coverage and you don’t get pressure rushing for and then you allow the quarterback to get outside the pocket to give him more time. Yeah. The corners can’t cover forever. Yeah. Yeah. It just it just doesn’t work. So, and and I think that even when AJ Terrell was was on Jackson Smith drip, I feel like there were some moments where Bates Watts, those guys were kind of like, “All right, he got that.” No, no, we I’m okay with you giving up a a touchdown to Cooper Cup, which happened. You know, that was a nice little pick pick play, whatever. But I’m okay with you giving up a D offer versus Cooper Cup. I’m cool with that. But you can’t let that man go off because it was like when I talked about um Maris Williams earlier, Rasheed Shahed, you knew what time it was. You knew this dude had can can get off and you allowed him to get off. And I noticed the NFL when you talk about number one wide receivers, it’s hard to hold guys down, you know, for for an entire game because he just coming off a game where he only had two catches. So, but oh my gosh, man. like it can’t be that easy. Those low scores with Jackson Smith and J look easy. It looked like that was flawless. It was like it looked like the perfect play call. I’m like, “Oh my gosh, man. What are y’all doing?” So, I think there were some times where you should have had your safeties helping out a little bit more when you can like mentioned coming into this game on Thursday. Yeah. I wanted to see the um Jesse Infidel Bates. You know what I’m saying? Like, can you What was the cheating, bro? You You were faithful. you were faithful this whole game. You know what I’m saying? Like, hey man, look, that’s how I look at it. Like, hey man, if you if you understand what the offense is trying to do because that’s your whole offense really. Jackson, they would they held it down against the run. It’s it’s Jackson Smith and Jigba or a bus with this team. So, yeah, like yeah, put some extra attention on him. Don’t have to call it. Coach don’t have to call it. He ain’t gonna trip on you if you if you jump a route with Jacksonville and Jibble coming coming across the middle and you see some separation between him and AJ Terrell. Well, see, and I think you make a great point, Jarvis, because literally JSN comes all the way across the middle. AJ Terrell is fighting for his life to kind of keep up with him step for step on the eventual four yard touchdown pass. And I’m seeing multiple members of the secondary like nobody’s gonna even try to like because there were two that you know from a certain angle were quote unquote in front of JSN. So that play didn’t have to be what that play was. There was enough time as it was developing for those corners to do something or for the secondary to do something. And it literally just felt like after you’re watching the replay, so if AJ Terrell can’t make a shoestring tackle, you guys are gonna just let JSN go do his thing. And so, yeah, I think that was a little bit frustrating um to kind of watch as well. And then, like you said, yeah, you held him under 90 under 100 yards. I mean, he only had only I put that in quotes, but he only had 92 yards uh Jackson Smith and Jingba on the day, but he also only had seven receptions. So guess what he was doing out there? 13 yards per catch with explosives. So like at the end of the day, even though you were able to contain him somewhat, when they started doing what they were doing and they started stacking things in that second half, then it kind of becomes a moot point what you were able to to kind of do in the first half. And um you know that that’s how you come to a 37 to9 outcome. Now, speaking of that, we know how the Seahawks got to 37, but man, how did the the the Falcons get to nine? I don’t know because I’m not sure where most of the 11 on offense were today, but we’ll unpack it next up. This episode of our Falcon Squad Show is brought to you by Game Time. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1994. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it’s going to be massive. But let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hardest part. That’s why the Game Time app is clutch. Finally, giving fans a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. So, with Game Time, you can track price drops in real time, get alerts when great seats open, and buy tickets the moment they hit the app. It puts the power back in your hands and makes going to the World Cup realistic instead of impossible. So, you pull up the app and the layout makes it so simple to scroll through matchups and compare seat views. And you can pick a game, tap a section, and have your tickets locked in within minutes. No confusion and no hunting for fine print. So, take the guesswork out of buying World Cup tickets and every match, concert, or event with Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off your first purchase. Now, terms do apply, but again, download the app, make an account, and use code locked on NFL for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Game time. So, Jarvis, somehow we come to this moment in the show where I feel like I just want to say thank you. I want to say thank you because it’s not been easy for our everydayers to stick with us through thick and thin with these falcons. You know what? They’ve done it. So, we appreciate I was wondering where you’re going with that. Thank you to the Falcon. What are we doing? Like who? You about to thank somebody, right? That that almost sounded like I was giving you guys like a siren like I’m tapping out for good this season. Nope. I promise I’m not. I’m not tapping out because our every day is haven’t tapped out either. We appreciate you guys for making this the first listen of the day and for making lots on the number one sports podcast network. Now drivers, I want to go back to a play that you free and I were talking about earlier. The first score of the day for the Falcons came after the defense held the Seahawks to the three and out. Then the two two TFLs by the corners, the JPJ sack, boom boom. Falcons are taking over in Seahawks territory except they don’t do anything with it. the Falcons offense stalls after the defense does its job. When you look back at that and I’m going to ask about another series as well, another possession. But when you look at that one, more play calling or execute or lack of execution? I mean, for me, I have to look at it. It’s both. I mean, I can’t I can’t You know what I’m saying? It’s both because, you know, not being able to to to to take a shot because a lot of times when you when you have it where your defense does something like that and you get excellent field position, like you got to take a shot like when when you going to take a shot, you know, cuz you cuz this offense is so methodical like they always, you know, you saw a little bit of hurry up when they were down three scores in the fourth quarter, but I mean it’s too late at that point. like when are you gonna have some you have a veteran quarterback out there who’s been in this league for a million years and been in 17 different offenses. So get this man a package of plays when it’s time to go tempo like all right man we’re gonna go tempo right here. You got you got those three or four. Go, you know, or or here’s here’s my I’m gonna go through my my list of shot plays and say, “Okay, we we got great field position. Let’s take a shot.” because they had Nick, I mean, Warry at that linebacker spot. That man was flying downhill on first down. I’m just like, dude, when are y’all gonna pull that bad boy back out and and and go play action, man, and and and take a shot and beat these boys, man, because like no linebacker should be coming downhill like that. I mean, they got to worry, you know, he’s a safety, but, you know, they were moving around a little bit. So, you’re you’re just in a space where you just don’t you outthink yourself a lot when it comes to that play callings piece. And then when you finally actually do get a good play call in, the guys aren’t executing. Guys not catching the ball. You got Kyle Pittz dog on dropping the ball and going over for the ball with one hand. I thought the dog on DB had grabbed his other hand, but he didn’t even do that. Yeah, dude. Why you going up for the ball with one hand? That was a perfect throw. There’s nothing else you could have asked Kirk to do in that particular situation. So when you have these scenarios playing out like that, specifically in that situation when you had you got what the ball at the 39 yard line going in and I need to see some type of shot play because these screens and this horizont you know this this oh my gosh this horizontal offense that that you kind you put out there that you threw out there today. It just it just was too easy for Seattle. I feel like Zack Robinson made it too easy for this Seattle defense to defend. And when you have a situation like that where your defense has an exit play, it just speaks to what we’ve been seeing all throughout the season and that is there is no connectivity between offense, defense, and special teams. Yeah. Yeah. And for you, Free, when you look at that play, a golden opportunity for the Falcons early that they squandered, was it more play calling or was it more a lack of execution? Yeah, I’m I’m going to do the copout answer and and say both because like really early those first couple of series, like the only effective offense the Falcons had for like the first four series was when they got the ball into Bean’s hands, right? like they started the game with like I think five plays that designed for Bean and they got like 27 28 yards or something like that and then Bejan takes a breather for like two plays and the offense immediately stalls, right? Um and then like you had after that interception you had Bean rushing for an 11 yard gain and and it gets called back on a holding call. And I’m, you know, again, I’m I’m sorry for pushing narratives here on today’s uh postgame, but I’m just like, why why is Cordell Hodgej not getting opportunities? Because I’m I’m watching Devin Tommpkins and David Sills get holding calls and like the best blocker on this team at wide receiver is Cadel Hodgej that’s not Drake London and like yeah, why like what are what are these guys bringing to the table that you don’t already have? And I like I don’t understand that. Like this is weird to me that the Falcons, this whole wide receiver, the whole I Killyard, Ray Ray, Cado Haj completely eliminated on the offense for Devin Tommpkins and David Sills and Dylan D. I’m like what? And we’re we’re calling screens for these like what are we doing here? Like that’s where I’m going to go in on the on the play calling te because I’m just like why are we designing plays for these practice squad players? Like what are we doing here? Like why are they on the field? I don’t understand. Like I I don’t get what they bring to the table at all. Like this offense should be Tyler Alier, Kyle Pittz, period. Darno Mooney if he wants to show up on it on any given Sunday. He he he made one play. The refs were like every now and again. No, you didn’t. That with another one. So there’s that. That was so falcony. That was such a falcony exchange. Yeah. It was like, oh, they made a play before the half. Oh, look at there. You know, and then No, you didn’t do that. I didn’t see nothing. So, like I just sit here and I go like, why are we designing plays for bad players? I’m sorry. Uh, no offense to these guys who were trying hard trying to make their NFL or whatever deserve to be on the football field like and the Falcons are like, “Oh, well, you know, you know, remember Casey Washington preseason summer training camp superstar man was a healthy scratch again today.” I would even take a screen to Casey Washington over any of the rest of these guys. I I don’t understand. So that’s where to me the play calling is so suspect because it’s just like going back to what Jarvis’s point is is like run the offense through your good players. Yeah. Get them the football. Like what are we doing here, Zach? Like what is this? So at the end of the day, you got to go out there and execute. These players aren’t executing. Some of them are, the other ones aren’t. And you got to take advantage of these opportunities. it boils down to make your blocks, you know, catch the football. The Falcons didn’t do enough of that early in this game. Um, but at the same time, it’s like it feels like this team is playing with one hand behind their back because it feels like they’re purposely trying to make, you know, fetch happen with David Sills and all these other guys and fetch ain’t happening. So, I don’t understand why, right? And you see it over and over again. And it’s it is frustrating because hey, the tip ball by AJ Terrell, Mike Hughes, hey, give Mike Hughes just a hair of credit there, Darps. But Mike Hughes actually then shows up at the Seahawks 32 only for the offense to stall with two minus two yards in five plays. And then the Seahawks special teams, you know what happens? Block Zane Gonzalez’s field goal and we’re back to square one. So why does the offense just keep stalling like that? Yeah, this is it’s it’s it’s so many things. It’s just so many things that you know when you look at this offense and like you calling specific plays for David Seals. You calling screen plays. Oh, let’s put the ball in our playmaker’s hand because those are what screen plays are. If you’re calling a screenplay for a wide receiver in the NFL, that means that guy is a playmaker. That means that guy can break it at any time. You putting the ball in your hand and saying go, you know, and and make a play. Think about how that sounds. And we’re talking about David Seals. David Seals. Yep. We’re talking about David Seals. Kirk Cousins continues to trust this man for whatever reason. I don’t know why. Throw the ball into the ground because guess what? You got a whole man beast over there and Devin Wither Witherspoon who just blew the play up. The play was shot. It was shot before it ever started to be honest. And and then when you threw the ball to Kyle Pittz and they end up getting picked picked off. Perington, what are you doing? What are you doing? That is a cont. You trusting him to make a contested catch after all you’ve been through. You saw You saw straight through Kyle Pence when you first stepped on this dog on campus, man, at Flower Branch. You said he has all the talent in the world. It’s just the little things that he’s going to have to work out. Yeah, I remember that. Yeah, the little things. Yeah, those are the little things. He’s not going to do them. So why why would you throw that? Right. Because that really speaks to you too as a veteran that you thought it was okay to throw that ball. Yeah. That’s two that’s two turnovers right there. Yep. To who you threw it to and how you threw it. And Erin, that’s why we’re continuing to have this conversation about futility because it is Yeah. some of the questionable play calling um or some of the less aggressive than it should be play calling. But that execution and I saw a couple of the comments were like, “Yeah, but you know, it wasn’t Darnell Mooney’s fault. He really caught the ball.” Did you not see him tiptoeing through the tulips of the white on the sidelines that showed his feet did what they did? That’s a player issue. Zack Robinson can’t make you learn how to tiptoe down the sidelines to ensure that you get a touchdown. You’ve got to have presence of mind to be able to do that. Yeah. And and even if the you know we can talk about the officiating and say you know maybe the reflect that happens in the NFL right like this is this is the thing I always say with officiating like as even if I want to be like oh the refs stole seven points off the board for the Falcons. Well you know you look at the final score it’s like okay right good on it good on it a couple plays later but you know digress. But like that’s it. That’s the only thing Darnell Mooney did today. That’s it. Yep, that’s it. And like that, it’s funny because like when you go back and you watch the season and you go back and you look at Darnam’s best plays, they always seem to come in in like the two-minute drill at the end of the half and then nothing else. Yeah. For the other 58 minutes of the football game and that continues to be an issue. And you know, hey Darnell, I get it man. I’m checked out too, man. I get it. I’m I’m I’m here because I don’t want to get fined. I’m contractually obligated to be here. I get it. I understand it. I I see you. I see you, Darnell. You see, how about this for a stat? How about this for a David Seals and Darnell Mooney, eight targets, one catch for six yards combined. Combined. Eight targets. That’s crazy. Davis Seals and Darnell Moon. So, hey, hey, keep doing your thing. keep getting these checks cuz they refuse to to put you on the football field. That’s all I say. Pro Bowl special team guy. Cardell Hodgees, too. I guess what have you done for me lately? But we still don’t know what he ain’t played in the game other than the Miami game. Yeah. I’m just like, did was he that bad in practice? I don’t get it. I don’t get this man was making plays for you. Y’all don’t p y’all don’t do nothing in practice. How can he be bad enough for him to be sitting on the bench and not getting in at all? Your special team has been awful. That’s your Pro Bowl special teamer from last year. Just last year now. Just Yeah, just last year. Last year. And plays when you gave him the football last year. That man made plays and there’s like he won the game at Tampa. I mean, he won the game against Tampa. Yeah. Yeah. He won a game for you. And it’s like it it would if if David Sil was out here getting like four catches for like 35 yards, it wouldn’t be we wouldn’t be talking about this. But the fact that this man ain’t doing nothing ain’t doing nothing. I know people like, “Oh, you scored two touchdowns last.” Like, man, that’s tunnel screen. Last week, this man ran outside. He didn’t ran away from the tunnel and fortunately the the the Jets defender missed the tackle and he was able to walk into the end zone. Like, why is he here? I don’t understand what this team sees it. I’m sorry, David SS. Like, I know you didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything. playing the best football you can play, but like you’re a practice squad player and this team is like, let’s make him the number two wide receiver without Drake London and let’s run the offense through him. And I’m just like, what are we doing here? I don’t get it. Yeah. I I I don’t think any of us really get what the Falcons are doing. And not even here in the stadium did I understand what the Falcons were doing. But we’ll break that down when we come back. This episode of our Falcon Squad show is brought to you by FanDuel. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That’s what makes live betting with FanDuel so exciting. You’re not just watching the game, you’re reacting to it in real time. With FanDuel, you can place bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. So live betting is best when the game starts to shift. A receiver gets hot. Jackson Smith in in Jingba. A defense tightens up. Seahawks defense on the momentum flips after a turnover. You already know. But FanDuel let you jump into the moment in spite of it all. Live spreads, live spreads rather, and money lines adjust instantly and player props update as guys heat up. So if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fanuel.com and place your NFL bets all season long. You can bet next touchdowns, scorers, drive results, totals, and more. And it keeps you locked into every snap, every drive, every possibility. So go to fanduel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. FanDuel, the game moves fast, and so can you. So free, I was here and am actually still here at the stadium, right? And I want to talk about this because it really bothered me. Now, I’m not saying that I expected the stadium to be full and I didn’t expect it to be full of Falcons fans because Seattle Seahawks fans still travel well and their team is doing really, really well, right? So, I expected to see them, but I felt like the whole darn 12 man took redeye flights this morning and showed up for this game. And I just don’t think that’s cool. I think if you’re going to be a fan, be a fan, right? And so even in the beginning of the game where the defense was playing its tail off, I don’t feel like this fan base really came to support them. And I still feel like if those guys are out there giving 110% until they run out of gas because they’re not getting any complimentary support from the other two units, Falcons fans, you should have at least shown up. I mean, it was like 12th man over here. That really bothered me, guys. That really bothered me because you still have four weeks of the season for your team to show some type of pride and for them to still feel like they’re getting support when they do well. I understand fans can be frustrated, disappointed, borderline disgusted at the whole product, but when the players are giving you something, they deserve a little something back. Just saying. I I look at it like this for me. I understand the dynamic of this city. Born and raised here. If you ain’t giving me a reason to show up, we ain’t coming. Well, that’s just how it goes. T, we know that sometimes. Let me say this. Ain’t no surprise there. Ain’t no surprise here. Go ahead. Well, we ain’t got nothing else to talk about. Shoot. Let’s do it. Right. It shouldn’t. But I guess it’s like I was telling pre in pre-production last night. We had an alumni chapter gathering for Xavier and of course I was home last weekend went to the Bayou Classic and that was that Saturday. Oh, most of those fans showed up. They they want to see the Saints. Like that’s the way that goes. The Saints can be horrible. And I have to just give the example that I know best because that’s from home. Not to try to, you know, rub it in to Falcons fans, but I mean free. I got to call that spade that spade. They still show up for the Saints. They don’t give a flying flip. They might show up with bags. They might turn their backs, but they’re going to be in that stadium and the Falcon. I mean, the Saints can move the chains one good time in a possession and you would have think, you know, you would have thought that the the fans scored. I think that’s probably the mindset I come from is that frustration of, yeah, but it’s your team. They’re in the house. Your defense is actually giving you some quality play. Can’t you get behind them at least early in the game until unless and until it falls off a cliff? I know. I know. It’s a traumatized fan base. I get it free. I I think that’s fair. Like, you know, you know, t you you’re you going to praise the Saints fan base. And I mean, I’m not going to go down that road. You You can fight those wolves if they come for you in the comments. But for me, if you want to, good people. Not a good idea. Because, you know, the Saints are fans are famous for showing up with bags on their heads and they’ll show up even in these terrible seasons. But like, you know, I’m not going to call out Falcon fans because I I ain’t I ain’t showing up. not for $2 nachos. That that’s the only reason to go to the stadium. It’s like, “Oh, let me get a $2 hot dog.” And it’s like, “Okay, hot dog’s good, but like it ain’t that good. It ain’t worth it for me.” But I I get it. I get it, you know? Um, yeah. I I don’t know. I I’m not Can I say something, y’all? Since we just our souls, you know what I’m saying? So, I I see you struggling. It’s a struggle for you. This hurt my heart. You know what I’m saying? But we walking out of church. You know what I’m saying? leaving church. Had a good word today. I’m with my wife. You know what I’m saying? You know T, you know my wife. You know what I’m saying? We having a good old conversation. Then all I hear as we’re walking out of the of the church sanctuary, all I hear is, “Man, let me go on ahead to go down to Mercedes-Benz. I know we going to get whoop feder than nothing.” And you know, I’m see what’s going on, but I’mma still go. I was like, why? Just why? This doesn’t make you happy, obviously, sir. So why would you choose the why would you choose misery? Is that is that what we are? Is that what we are as a fan base? They love misery. That’s what we are to protecting their mental health team. That’s what they’re doing right now. That’s what they’re doing. Okay. That that now that part is fair. We’re allowed to do that in today’s world. They’re put it in if you put their mentals. You know what I’m saying? Protect your peace. Okay. Then I will back away because but but that bothered me. And and something else, of course, we have uh our Monday squad show team member uh senior Falcons reporter Tori Mhaney at the postgame press conference. And one of the things that she posted that I thought was interesting and wanted to get you guys reactions as we wrap up is the fact that Kirk Cousins when he hit the podium was asked about the team being a quote mellow group and maybe needing someone to throw a chair across the room to get attention and the question to him was would that be something that needs to happen? His response was, quote, could be, “It’s hard to say.” I guess that kind of falls into the we do not care, we don’t really know if anything’s going to matter category, but I thought that was an interesting Q&A. What would I mean, what would that do though? like in a professional locker room where guys are getting paid, guys got wives and stuff they go home to and they g soon as they leave out their locker room and get dressed, they they gonna forget about this game until they have to go back to work and watch the film and try to figure out a way to get better like that. I don’t maybe I think but okay, let me say it this way, Jarvis, and not to cut you off, but let me reset it. There were moments in this game I think this might be my third game of the season uh covering in person, right? True. And there were moments in this game on the offensive side and on special teams where I felt like that what you just said. I think that’s problematic. I felt like the defense came to play for their checks. True. It felt like everybody else came to get a check. And I think that’s what the person was alluding to when they were saying, “Does somebody need to throw a chair?” Or like Monica said at the Thursday night concert at State Farm Arena, you know, “Do I need to kick a kick in the dough and slap a Okay.” I think that’s where they were getting to. It just feels like you guys still have four games left in the season. There should still be some pride to say you want to end it on a positive note. You want to stop this losing streak and you want to at least play like the professionals that you are like show something. I think that’s where that comment, that question was going and I can understand that, right? But the guy that’s that probably would would do that or would say something, he in street clothes. Drake London. That’s true. Drake London. Street clothes. No, you got a point there. you. Yeah, that’s that’s that’s the guy that’s the guy that could throw a chair potentially. You know what I’m saying? Or have a light-skinned fit. You know what I’m saying? Like that’s And back it up. And back it up, right? And back it up with play. Hey, give me the rock. Stop playing around. Not a lightkinned fit, but Okay. I mean, that’s real. That’s new, dude. Like, we got to, you know what I’m saying? We got to spice this thing up. You know what I’m saying? Like, you know, when we have these conversations, you know, this is how I I have to laugh at pain. You do. You know what I mean? I have to laugh at it. You know, I’ll give you the last word on this one because Jarvis just just took me he took me out with that one. He sent me he sent me with that one. And I just thought that was an interesting response from Kirk Cousins on that question. Kirk Kirk’s good, man. Kirk got whatever he’s got. Kirk Kirk like I don’t want to be here. So I’m they want to I’m here to collect a check, ladies and gentlemen, and the heck out of here next year. Um the the other person who who would throw a chair is probably Michael Penn. You can see the competitiveness in in him. He would be that’s a good ticked off right now. And again, that’s not a shot of Kirk. It’s just like, you know, they they made this bet with Kirk. He knows he’s going to be around. He’s the face of the franchise. That’s why he was held hostage this year. He he wanted out. He told them, “I want out.” And they were like, “No, you can’t go. We’re leaving here with something.” And they ain’t leaving here with nothing but a losing record. So there you go. There’s your last word, T. There’s your last word. Well, we got through it. We got through it. This was We got to come up with a name because we have manic Monday. We have therapy Thursday. What is Sunday after these Sundays look like they do? Saucy. Saucy Sunday. I’m with it because y’all have been real saucy today. Thanks to our everydayers who were also saucy in the chat, right, for making the Falcon Squad Show your first listen of the day. Be sure to stop by Locked on Falcons with your host Aaron Freeman for more postgame coverage shortly. And the Falcon Squad show and Locked on Falcons are of course part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And despite it all, we’ll still see you next time.

Atlanta Falcons embarrassed at home as special teams disappoint—can Raheem Morris recover before the season’s end?

Tenitra Batiste, Aaron Freeman, and Jarvis Davis break down the Falcons’ 37-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, spotlighting the costly 100-yard touchdown return from Rasheed Shaheed and ongoing coverage breakdowns. The conversation highlights James Pearce Jr.’s defensive surge, Kirk Cousins’ struggles to spark the offense, and the questionable game management decisions that allow top playmakers like Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson to go underused. With mounting pressure on special teams coordinator Marquise Williams and doubts swirling about team leadership, the crew debates potential firings, offensive identity crises, and whether the fan base can rally behind a squad that’s losing both games and faith.

Will Atlanta address glaring issues before facing new NFC rivals? Don’t miss insider commentary and candid analysis as the Falcons’ season slides toward deeper uncertainty.

#atlantafalcons #nfl

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOFalcons?sid=YouTube

Locked On NFL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNFL

Become a Locked On Falcons Insider for in-depth analysis every day!
https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonfalcons

Join our Discord server!
https://discord.gg/lockedonfalcons

Everydayer Club
If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.

Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonfalcons.supercast.com/

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

Aura Frames
For a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames – named #1 by Wirecutter – by using promo code LOCKEDON at checkout.

PrizePicks
Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.
Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

Mint Mobile
Turn your expensive wireless present into a huge wireless savings future by switching to Mint. Shop Mint Unlimited Plans at http://MINTMOBILE.com/LOCKEDONNFL.
Disclaimer: Limited time offer. Upfront payment of: $45 for 3-mo., $90 for 6-mo., or $180 for 12-mo. plan required ($15/mo. equivalent). Taxes & fees Initial plan term only. Greater than 35GB may slow when network is busy. Capable device required. Availability, speed, & coverage varies. See https://mintmobile.com.

Zocdoc
Stop putting off your doctor’s appointments and get the care you need.
Go to https://Zocdoc.com/lockedonnfl to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.

FanDuel
If you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit https://FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at https://sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit https://FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit https://ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit https://ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)