Falcons stomp Saints behind dominant run game, 45-24
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
29 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Oct 6, 2026
Published
Tue, October 6, 2026
8
Player insights
4
Players mentioned
Topics
Michael Penix Jr.Bijan RobinsonDrake LondonChris Olave
Player analysis
Player insights
Bijan Robinson
PositiveMatchup0:06
Thrived in primetime against the Saints, continuing a pattern of elite performance in nationally televised games. The source emphasizes that Robinson and the Falcons defense 'kick in to another level when they play in these sorts of games,' referencing the memorable Bills game from last year and noting that Robinson is 'amazing in prime time.'
Insight pagePositiveUsage0:09
Dominated the Saints run defense with elite vision and cutting ability behind the line of scrimmage; made a signature cut on the third play of the game that set the tone, then repeated that performance throughout the contest. The source notes Robinson's unique ability to see and make cuts behind the line that only he seems capable of executing, turning what appear to be modest holes into explosive runs.
Insight pageChris Olave
PositiveProjection0:08
Continues to play at a superstar level for the Saints despite the team's offensive struggles. The source notes Olave 'is a superstar' and 'is playing incredibly well and continues to play incredibly well,' and that his elite talent allows the Saints to have 'some games and moments where it looks fine' because 'Chris Olave is better than most of the corners he's going to face.'
Insight pageDrake London
PositiveRole0:19
Part of the Falcons' efficient offensive scheme under Tommy Reese; involved in constraint plays that set up other receivers, such as running an over route on the Dotson touchdown play that helped freeze the defense and allow Dotson to break free on the post.
Insight pagePositiveRole19:20
London ran an over route as part of a constraint play setup on the Dotson touchdown; the source highlighted how the Falcons' offensive scheme layers plays and sets up concepts over the course of the game, with London's route being part of the strategic offensive design.
Insight pageMichael Penix Jr.
PositiveRole0:12
Operating in a highly efficient offensive system under Tommy Reese that emphasizes play action (43% rate) and short, high-percentage throws. Penix had only 20 total pass attempts in the game, averaging 2.57 seconds to throw, and faced just four quarterback pressures from the Saints defense due to the Falcons' scheme design and efficient execution.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:14
Delivered an MVP-caliber performance in the Falcons' dominant win, with the source questioning whether Penix can be argued as the most valuable player in the NFL this year from a pure value standpoint. The source notes Penix averaged 2.7 air yards per attempt on throws without play action and 2.57 average time to throw overall, benefiting from the Falcons' efficient offensive scheme that uses 43% play action rate.
Insight pageNegativeProjection26:22
Penix was 'fine' and 'okay' in the Falcons' 45-24 win over the Saints; the source noted he can throw the ball really well down the field and benefits from the Falcons' scheme, but has clear limitations: he doesn't throw the middle of the field effectively, lacks creativity on the move, has limited improvisation tools, and is a one-speed, one-trajectory thrower who struggles when pushed off rhythm. The source emphasized this was a 'well-called Michael Penix game' where the offense schemed around his strengths (play action, downfield throws in rhythm) rather than exposing his weaknesses.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Welcome to The Athletic Football Show brought to you by the U.S.
0:03Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card. I'm Robert Mays. Big win for the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football.
0:09Huge night for B. John Robinson, that entire run game.
0:11A tough night for the Saints run defense and their ability to run the ball on offense.
0:16Just a convincing win for the Falcons for the second straight week in primetime.
0:20So much stuff to dig into with that performance and some of the stuff that stuck out from it.
0:26We did it all with me, Derek and Dave.
0:28Let's get to that conversation right now. We like to complicate it on this show because it's fun, right?
0:34We appreciate the complexities of football as a sport because there's always a lot going on and it's fun to dive into it.
0:40But at its core, this game can be very simple.
0:43If you can't run the ball and you can't stop the run, you're going to get your ass kicked.
0:48And that is precisely what happened tonight in the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints.
0:54That's what's happened to the Saints for a lot of this season.
0:57And this was about as bad as it's looked.
1:00I mean, it was what, the first or second play of the game?
1:04But Bijan Robinson does the thing again where he just makes third play of the game.
1:08Okay. It's a little bit of credit. I'll give him credit for having two decent plays of defense.
1:13And then, yeah, third play of the game. He makes a cut behind the line that it only feels like he can always see and make.
1:21And just, it's one of those things where like sometimes the hole looks so wide open on some of his runs, but
1:27him even getting to the hole at all is kind of the magic in the way that he can cut and see things behind the line of scrimmage.
1:35And then obviously takes off. And then it felt like they did that 10 more times for the rest of this game.
1:41The Saints run defense was good last year. It was, it was, it was good last year.
1:46It was like the strength. When you're trying to build a case for why the Saints defense was what it was in
1:52the back half of last season when they were like a borderline top seven unit.
1:57It's because the run defense was very good. And I know they're a little bit banged up right now.
2:02Right. Carl Granderson's hurt. Cade Nellis is hurt. Everybody's banged up.
2:05The Falcons didn't have their left tackle in this game.
2:08We're going to get into that. We're going to get into the state of the Atlanta Falcons roster and why I not
2:14really, I don't need the tears from the Saints about who they're, who's not playing in this game.
2:19That performance and what their run defenses looked like all season.
2:23Carl Granderson and Cade Nellis are not the difference in you going from what your run defense looked like in the back
2:29half of last year to what it looked like tonight.
2:32And Derrik, rightfully, you pointed this out when they played the Ravens and I expected it to get at least a little
2:38bit better over the course of the year because they were a very good run defense unit.
2:43Last year and it just hasn't. So I don't really, it doesn't really matter if you're out a couple starters.
2:48It shouldn't look like that. Thank you for saying that.
2:51And I'll even add that Pete Werner was like not guaranteed to play in this game.
2:56They were monitoring his health heading in, but I felt like I was taking crazy pills to, you know, three quarters of the way through.
3:03It just felt like they kept bringing up how beat up the Saints were on defense.
3:08And I was like, I do not see the absence that should make this understandable.
3:12Like every team is beat up and like Cade Nellis is a phenomenal football player, but there's, there's nothing here from a
3:18personnel standpoint that makes me think it's okay to give up a 58% rushing success rate.
3:23Let be John Robinson and Brian Robinson basically do whatever they wanted to you.
3:27Like this is as healthy as you could possibly expect to be in the NFL in a regular week.
3:32And it didn't hold water with me. And I thought it was weird that they brought it up as often as they did.
3:39I want to just go through some of the players on the Atlanta Falcons today that played more than 20 snaps in their front seven.
3:46Okay. LaCale London, Kendall Daniels, who is like a fifth round rookie.
3:49Mason Smith, who was traded right before the season in a our trash for your trash for Rooka Rolla road trade.
3:55Zach Harrison. By the way. Yeah. Zach, Zach Harrison and a smart trade, right?
3:59Where it's like, I don't think he fits our system, but he might fit yours.
4:03And I think they needed more of a run stuffer.
4:06And so they traded for Mason Smith, whatever. So Mason Smith, who was traded in a player for player swap where both
4:13teams were tired of the guys that they had.
4:15Cam Thomas, who's making $3 million this year. Yassir Abdullah, who I believe is still on his rookie deal and is making next to nothing this season.
4:23Samson Ebu Cam, who can't be making any money.
4:25Brandon Dorlis, who's a mid-round pick. Gervon Dexter, who they traded for a fifth round pick before the season started.
4:31Harold Perkins, who's also a rookie. These are the guys who are making up the Atlanta Falcons front seven right now.
4:37And I don't mean to poke fun at them.
4:40They put on one hell of a performance. They destroyed the Saints offensive line in this game.
4:44They deserve a ton of credit. And you know who else deserves a ton of credit?
4:49Jeff Ulbricht's one hell of a football coach. Hell yeah, he is.
4:52Two years in a row. For two years in a row, the Atlanta Falcons are trotting out all these dudes.
4:58Last year, they had better players. Last year, they had – we talk about players being out.
5:03James Pierce thing is what it is as to why he's not playing.
5:07Jalen Walker was the best player in this front seven.
5:10He has not played a down. He won't play this entire year.
5:13David Onyemata was the one veteran they had last year.
5:16He's not on the roster anymore. This was a top ten defense coming into the year, and they absolutely beat the shit out of the Saints today.
5:24They deserve so much credit. Again, getting back to the point at the beginning, at its core, this is a simple game.
5:30This is about attitude. It's about physicality. And you watch the way that group played.
5:34Oh, yeah, AJ Terrell isn't out there too, by the way.
5:37You watch how that group played, and it just – it's incredible what they're bringing from an attitude mentality mindset whenever that group is on the field.
5:45And you think about what Jeff Ulbricht did with the Jets and what this group looks like, and he just deserves a ton of credit.
5:52That entire staff deserves so much credit for how those guys are playing right now.
5:56It's really impressive. I know you were focusing on the front seven, but Sidney Brown was all over the damn place in this game.
6:03Like, they got a – they got, like, a sack out of Xavier Watts, who continues to look like a really fun player.
6:10Like, and the broadcast did a good job. Everybody knows Bijan is amazing in prime time.
6:14This Falcons defense kicks in to another level when they play in these sorts of games.
6:19I mean, that Bills game from last year around this time of year is burned into my brain, and they flipped a
6:25lot of it over, and they're beat to shit.
6:28And obviously, the Saints are not the Josh Allen Bills, but they still went into New Orleans and beat the hell out
6:34of an offense that has looked very, very proficient and very exciting for a lot of the first three weeks of the season.
6:40And I think the world of Jeff Ulbrich, man.
6:43I love watching his team play. I just can't believe that they – and, like, this offensive line for the Saints is
6:49imperfect, and they're a little bit banged up. They obviously don't have their left tackle either.
6:54It's a quarterback that I've joked is, like, pretty slow off his spot when he's going to get pressured.
6:59But the fact that they were still – it's not even just them scheming it up stuff.
7:04Like, guys like you mentioned, Robert, Cam Thomas is just, like, winning clean inside moves on some of these.
7:10You see Abdullah. Yeah. They were just winning, bringing forward the entire game.
7:13They had almost a 50% pressure rate without blitzing in this game.
7:17If you look at the next-gen numbers, like, that – there was some fancy stuff.
7:21Like, they got home on a couple pressures. They're going to do a little bit of that.
7:26But it's not as if this was we're bringing the house all day and the Saints have no answer for it.
7:32Like, this is – we're just winning over the course of the game with these dudes.
7:36And that's something to be really proud of. Like, that's something that makes me take notice.
7:41Yeah. Like, they were just really cool. And especially, too, to kick into that gear, not just with the pass rush stuff,
7:47because obviously, like, schematically they do some of that.
7:50The Saints, like you mentioned, could not run the ball.
7:53And they haven't run the ball at all this year.
7:55But this, like, if we're just looking at the names on the rosters, you should be able to do it a little bit against this Falcons front.
8:03And the fact that they couldn't really do it at all and continue to end these games kind of abandon it.
8:09And I don't really blame them for that. That, to me, is like – again, there are so many exciting parts about
8:15this Saints offense and team, and we'll talk about that.
8:18But like you said, if you can't run the ball and you can't stop the run, you're never going to control a game.
8:25It's kind of like what the Dallas Cowboys were last year, where they couldn't stop the run and they couldn't run the
8:31ball as well as they wanted once they got a little bit banged up.
8:35And this is like if you took that roster and made them 30% worse.
8:39All right, before we move on, let's take a quick break.
8:42When I was excited about what the Saints could do in the NFC South this year, part of the enthusiasm was driven
8:48by the fact that I really liked what they did in the passing game last year.
8:53I really liked what I saw from Tyler Shuck.
8:56I was excited about what he could do with Olave and Jordan Tyson, even with Tyson getting hurt.
9:01Think, okay, you still have a quarterback that showed some flashes as a rookie.
9:05Chris Olave is a superstar. He's playing incredibly well and continues to play incredibly well.
9:09You invested in the run game. You put more on the quarterback in terms of how you played last year.
9:15If you look at just run action rate, how often they were running the ball.
9:19I mean, this was an offense that was putting a burden on the quarterback in the same way that the Bengals do with Joe Burrow, with a rookie.
9:27Like, that just shouldn't be the case. And I expected them to ease some of that this year.
9:32You invest in ETN and free agency. You sign David Edwards and free agency.
9:36Let's have a little bit more of a cohesive offense where everything fits together.
9:40We can lean on the run game a little bit.
9:43Losing ETN and Kelvin Banks shouldn't torpedo that entire thing.
9:46Like, you still should have a plan. Like you said, Derek, Jake Matthews got hurt in the middle of this game.
9:52I know that Bajan is walking through the door for the Falcons, but this is a team that signed Juwan Taylor off
9:58the street before the season started and has their backup left tackle for 50 of the 60 snaps on offense.
10:04And they're running the ball at will. Like, there's no explanation as to why the Falcons should be able to do that
10:10and why you can't do anything on the ground if you're the Saints.
10:14Correct me if I'm wrong, but, and I understand it's a big disappointing loss, but Kelvin Banks is the only problem right now.
10:20Correct. Like the rest of that stuff. No, I just mean the line.
10:24I just mean the offensive line. And even Achan, they weren't using him as much as you would think given the amount of money they gave him.
10:32Absolutely. And so this is, you can try to explain it away because of who's not playing, but one, I don't think that's a reasonable argument.
10:39Two, it's a hard argument to make when you look at what's happening on the other side.
10:44Tyler Shuck has currently thrown 180 passes this year.
10:46That's got it. Is that leading? Like, on pace stats this early in the season are not worth getting excited about, but
10:53like, he would be on pace to set like an NFL record.
10:56Like, throwing more than 700 pass attempts is silly shit.
10:59And honestly, if I was looking for Kopi, I'm coming out of this game as a Saints fan.
11:04The fact that this is Tyler Shuck's life and he doesn't look completely overwhelmed and like it's breaking him is pretty encouraging
11:10because nobody is supposed to throw the ball that often, let alone a second year player.
11:15It's so hard to play offense this way. It's just so incredibly hard to play offense this way.
11:20What you're putting on your quarterback and what you're putting on your offensive line.
11:24The offensive line is going to look worse when you're doing this to them.
11:28You're laying them out to dry. The Falcons defense deserves a ton of credit.
11:32But if you're going to play this way, you're asking so much from that group up front.
11:37I'm looking at the stats right now. Tyler Shuck threw nine passes or excuse me.
11:41Tyler Shuck threw 11 passes with with play action today.
11:4411. That's how many Michael Penix threw without play action.
11:47Tyler Shuck threw 37 passes without play action in this game.
11:50I assume a huge portion of those were from the gun.
11:53All you're asking when you're doing that is for the other team's front to tee off the entire game.
11:59And it allows a group that doesn't have any defined stars and has a lot of guys who are waiver claims and
12:05low price free agent signings to look like they did and control the game the way that they did today.
12:11And if you look at the other side, like what the Falcons offense looks like, 43% play action.
12:16On throws without play action in this game, Michael Penix averaged 2.7 air yards per attempt.
12:20Which is hilarious. On the game, even with a 50% play action rate, he averaged 2.57 average time to throw.
12:26They had four quarterback pressures the Saints did in this game because of what the Falcons' plan looks like and how the quarterback plays.
12:33The Saints finished. They gave up 25. It's not hard to explain.
12:36It's just a very easy way to understand how the game unfolds that way.
12:40How many attempts in this game did it feel like Tyler Shuck heaving a prayer 25-plus yards downfield with just a red
12:47streak darting into the picture to smash him? Especially in the second half, it was every other snap.
12:52And you know what this feels like to me?
12:54This feels like a lot what happened to the Justin Herbert, Kellen Moore, Los Angeles Chargers.
12:59Where they could not run the ball the way that they wanted.
13:02And they had a quarterback that like, Dave, I think you make a great point of like them asking him to throw this much.
13:09I think there's like an intoxication of like because Shuck can do it.
13:13Like he can live in the dropback world fairly well.
13:16But when you're asking any quarterback to do it this much, it's going to be really, really, really difficult.
13:21And then putting this on a second-year player when your star left tackle is banged up.
13:26That's just way too much. And again, it feels like that 2023 Herbert season where you're going to have some games and moments where it looks fine.
13:33Because Chris Olave is better than most of the corners he's going to face.
13:37And Shuck sees it well enough when, like you said, he's not having a red streak cross his face every single time he drops back.
13:44But you're going to have these games like this where you get a little bit outgunned.
13:49You get behind on the scoreboard early because your defense sucks.
13:52And shit, now we're just throwing the ball 50 times and we never have an answer for anything.
13:57Shuck had 39 pass attempts from the shotgun in this game.
14:00It's 39. Tough way to live. That's double the amount of attempts that Michael Penix had, period, in the whole football game.
14:07The Falcons are, I mean, the way they look the first couple weeks, are we ready to make a real earnest argument
14:13that Michael Penix is the MVP of the league?
14:15No, but I... If we're talking about pure value, can you really make an argument that Michael Penix has not been the
14:22most valuable player in the NFL this year? I was going to come in here...
14:26I would. I was going to come in here and say my, the Falcons can win the division take from August doesn't
14:32look so silly with Michael Penix in the lineup.
14:35That's silly at all. Why would it be silly?
14:37I'm feeling pretty good about that. Well, I would guess they had the lowest odds.
14:42Did they not? Yeah, absolutely. They did. Oh, in the moment, it might have looked silly.
14:46Right now, why would it look silly? They're 2-2.
14:49They're tied with everybody else. I do want to say, I'm curious to see.
14:53So, it's Baltimore, Chicago, and San Francisco up next.
14:55All at home, by the way. So, you got a three-game homestand against some pretty good teams, some teams that we feel pretty strongly about.
15:02I'm curious to see how real it is. I'm very impressed by what they've done these last two weeks, and we should,
15:09mea culpa, because we had a lot of fun joking about the Falcons playing all these primetime games.
15:14They're just nuking everybody in primetime. Like, this is incredible.
15:17Yeah, they're ridiculous blowouts that aren't worth watching, just like we expected.
15:20Yeah, exactly. I do. I want to see it.
15:23I want to see these next few weeks and see just how real it looks against some teams I respect a little bit more.
15:30They play the Ravens and the Bears in back-to-back weeks, so those are the two best teams in the league.
15:35And so, that's going to be a really good measuring stick, just to see where the Falcons are right now.
15:41Sneaking shit like this into the show for the rest of the year.
15:45It's good, though. It's a good fit. I appreciate, after having done this show for two years, where it was like, I
15:51can't believe in the Bears, I can't believe in the Bears, I can't believe.
15:55I love just sneaking in like, ah, they're the best team.
15:58The Falcons, I think, mindset with the staff coming into the year, when it's a first-year staff and it's a weird season, right?
16:05In the sense that they didn't do a lot this offseason when it comes to big swings.
16:09They—it was an interstitial year. It was, all right, let's keep our powder dry.
16:13Let's figure out who we are. and then maybe we could be a little bit aggressive next year when we got some money to throw around.
16:21The last crew pushed all their chips in, used a lot of resources, obviously, spent a lot of money.
16:26Let's untangle some of that. Let's figure out where we are and let's move forward.
16:31So the fact that that was the mindset heading into the year, understandably, I think they still believe that division was winnable
16:37based on how much uncertainty there was in all these other places.
16:40I think that has proven to be fair, right?
16:43The Panthers' offense looks good, but the Panthers' offense has a bunch of injuries.
16:47They're an imperfect team. I think the Falcons absolutely can be competitive in that division.
16:51If you think about it just in the multi-year view, you have to feel really good about them looking like this as
16:57soon as they get the quarterback back in a year where they were kind of in a holding pattern.
17:03My weird fear now is that Tommy Reese and Jeff Ulbrich aren't here next year based on how the last couple weeks have gone.
17:10That's a fear I didn't think I would have to have coming into the season, but it might be a little bit
17:16quick, but I'm starting to get there with what this team has looked like on both sides of the ball over the last couple weeks.
17:23Reese feels a little premature, although you never know if a guy's got like play-calling sauce.
17:28Teams obviously value that tremendously. Ulbrich. Happens fast. Ulbrich, I'm all the way there with you, though.
17:32Like what he did last year, his track record with the Jets when he was under Sala, and now doing this again
17:39with a defense that came into the year with zero headliners available.
17:42I mean, if he keeps this up even relatively consistently over the rest of the year, that's pretty easy for me to believe.
17:49The other takeaway I wanted to throw in there, I think it's really cool that, obviously, I don't think anybody in the NFC South is a juggernaut.
17:56I still think this is a team that's, or a division where like the winner of this is probably going to be
18:03maybe the three, but probably the four seed. But so often this division has felt tragic.
18:07I, like this is not a tragic division. This is a very exciting division.
18:11Like Bryce Young. The books are tragic. Yes. The team that hasn't been tragic over the last few years is the one that's tragic.
18:18Ironically. Everyone else is very watchable. Ironically, the team that's been the most put together over the last four years is the tragic one.
18:25But like all these other teams, even the Saints, even after this shit show, have reason for like optimism and like I'm excited to watch them play.
18:33And that's a cool change of pace. Like this is an interesting division to me, even if I know the teams aren't fully, you know, well-rounded.
18:40The Reese thing I'm interested in, because like I'm probably with Dave, I think usually these guys need like two years to
18:46prove it in some way, but like sometimes they don't.
18:49You got to be a comet for it to be a year.
18:53You got to do what Liam Cohen did in Tampa for you to feel really good about it, where it's like that
18:59guy's a made man after one year, no questions asked.
19:02We'll see what happens with the Falcons and Tommy Reese, but I'm very encouraged by I think what we've seen so far.
19:08It's been awesome. Obviously, you know, we can throw out the Cooper Rush games, whatever.
19:12Since Michael Penix has been back, they just have a cleared vision for the offense.
19:16And I like how they layer stuff like their screen game.
19:20And even going back to Cleveland, these two Stefanski and Reese, their screen game has been really, really impressive.
19:25And you saw a little bit of that tonight.
19:28And I just think that some of the ways that they kind of tying together, like some of their boot stuff, like
19:34they had been booting and getting some of that stuff to work all game.
19:38And then the Dotson touchdown, they run him on like the, he looks like he's going to run a corner on top
19:44of Drake London running an over route from the other side.
19:47And he snaps it back off to the post because it's a good like constraint play off of what they'd been doing the whole game.
19:54And like them just being able to set that stuff up over the course of the game.
19:59It was why I was kind of excited about this staff in this offense going in.
20:04And I just didn't know what we were going to get out of the quarterback.
20:08But if they have enough strengths from him that they feel like they can build this thing on, I trust their ability to get there.
20:15That play is a Shanahan classic. Oh, absolutely. That's that hiccup play where we've seen them do that a million different times.
20:21But you've got to set it up. You've got to make teams earn it.
20:25George Kittle scored that touchdown against the Packers on Sunday Night Football like 15 years ago on that play, like 12 years ago.
20:32I guess George Kittle was in the league 15 years ago.
20:35George Kittle's only been in the league for like eight or nine years.
20:39Like let's, we don't have to. It was very early in his career.
20:43It feels like forever ago. He scored that. I mean, I've seen that play a million different times.
20:48They were extremely excited about the staff. Just extremely excited about the makeup of the staff.
20:52Because this is, we talked about this. This is Tommy Reese's first time from day one as the play caller.
20:58They got Tanner Engstrand to come along as their passing game coordinator from the Jets.
21:02And I think one of the bits of influence you've seen from that is that, the Ben Johnson system and just like
21:08what they were doing with the Lions. There's a lot of pre-snap kills and checks and cans.
21:13And it gives you the opportunity to get into the best play pretty often.
21:17And if you watch how often Michael Penix is getting in and out of stuff at the line of scrimmage, I think
21:24that's something they've really been able to lean on.
21:26And then Robert Prince came over from Miami and this team has used a lot more motion than Kevin Stefanski teams have used in previous years.
21:34And so I think that there's a lot of stuff that they were able to pull from coming into the year.
21:40And they've been able to really build it into a cohesive thing.
21:43And the vision is very clear because I think they have a really good understanding of how they want to play.
21:49And I think Tommy deserves a lot of credit for putting that together in the way that they have over the first
21:55month of the season as soon as Michael Penix got back.
21:58Anything else from you guys about Falcons Saints? I have a desperate plea.
22:02It's something that has bugged me for a long time.
22:05And this feels like a good opportunity to put it on wax.
22:08Enough of the delayed sequels. We don't need another act 20 years after the fact.
22:13Like, we didn't need the Happy Gilmore movie. We didn't need the Space Jam sequel.
22:17And as cool as it sounded to do Falcon Saints in Monday night to celebrate the anniversary of the Dome, how does that feel now?
22:24How does that feel 20 years after the fact where you're like, this will be great.
22:29We'll beat the Falcons just like we did in 2006.
22:31And it'll be this positive memory and everybody will love it.
22:35And 06 is untouchable. That'll be, as a New Orleanian, that'll be a special moment forever.
22:39But to give... I want you to be clear about that.
22:42Like, I want you to be clear that this is like a very important thing to you.
22:47You are not like an outsider who is looking at this.
22:50No, no, no. 2006 Saints are one of the more important things that's ever happened in your sporting life.
22:56I am not being glib. I lived it. I wasn't in the building in 06, but like, I lived in New Orleans at that time.
23:03It was a very special memory. And as cool as it sounds, and I would have said this before the game, as
23:09cool as it sounds to play this game 20 years later, like, bring back all those memories.
23:14And they did such a cool job. The halftime show was amazing.
23:17They really played it up. And like I said, it's not going to, like, tarnish 2006.
23:22That meant so much to the city and was about so much more that you can't completely touch it.
23:27But Falcons fans are going to point to this from now on.
23:31Like, when you showed the Gleason photo or the Gleason play, they're like, oh yeah, what about 45-24?
23:36And like, part of me thinks we would have just been better off leaving 06 there by itself as a singular night.
23:42And we didn't need a part 2 20 years later.
23:45And, I mean, it's too late now, but it's one of those things where it sounds like a good idea in theory,
23:51but you do have to play the football game and you just handed your biggest rival a nice bit of ammunition in this ongoing feud.
23:58And I don't, I just don't know if I would have done it.
24:02I don't think you can capture the Saints-Falcons energy better than I think that you just did.
24:07I mean, that was perfect. It's one of the only true, like, I hate you rival reasons.
24:12This is, this, I like, this is one of the top three rivalries in the sport.
24:16If you want to talk about Bears-Packers or Steelers-Ravens or, you know, there's a few others.
24:21Like, sure, fine. But this is, this is top three, top five.
24:24And it is pure spite. And to, to hand the Falcons a dub like this on the, on a night that is
24:31very important to the city of New Orleans, it just, I don't know.
24:34It's a little bit of an unforced error in my opinion.
24:37But, but what if they had won? What if they had won in a convincing fashion?
24:42Like, doesn't that make it all the sweeter is the fact that you have now a second go around of beating the
24:48team that you hate the most in a night that was supposed to be special?
24:53Absolutely. But, I mean, yeah, if you want to tell me no risk it, no biscuit, fine.
24:57But like, just, I don't know, protect, protect these holy memories.
25:01That's, that's my cowardly opinion. But like I said, you're not really ever going to tarnish what happened in 2006.
25:06But like, now, now this is part of the story and it didn't have to be.
25:11I'm of two minds about it because I think that there would have been a different time in my life where I probably would have agreed with you.
25:19And then I think about what Ben Johnson has done over the last two years and how the downside of what he's,
25:25the downside of what he's doing is extremely real.
25:28I think the downside is there. The, the moment that the Packers win a game against the Bears in convincing fashion and
25:34blow them out and when that, whenever that happens, they're going to hear about it.
25:38But at the same time, even if you're making the stakes a little bit higher, when you win, it does make it a little bit sweeter.
25:46And so, it cuts both ways. I understand what you're saying, but I've, and I think I've kind of danced on that
25:52line a lot over the last year or so as I've watched the coach of the team I root for openly antagonize
25:58the other fan base and the other staff with absolutely no disregard whatsoever.
26:02There's, there's an argument on both sides of it, but that was like at halftime when Trombone Shorty was putting on this,
26:08like this incredible show, I was like, ah, this, this doesn't hit the same when you're getting run out of your own building.
26:15Like this isn't as fun as it was in 2006.
26:17Derek, before we get out of here, what'd you think of the Pennix game tonight?
26:22He was fine. I thought that he was okay.
26:24I was a lot more impressed by the way that it was called and if he's going to have, again, he can
26:31throw the ball really well down the field. I think that they schemed enough of that stuff up, but he didn't throw
26:37the middle of the field and I think that that's really going to be like what is going to change my mind
26:43at some point if we get there. I think the other, he just doesn't, he's not a creative thrower when it comes
26:49to like doing things on the move. He doesn't have a lot of clubs in the bag.
26:54Like that's always going to be something that he struggles with and even that throw where he's trying to pop the ball
27:01over, I think it was Chase Young to be John in the flat.
27:04It just, he struggles with that stuff. Like he's just, he's kind of a one speed, one trajectory thrower and it's beautiful
27:10when he's able to do that stuff in rhythm, but when he's pushed off of it, you feel the cracks a little bit.
27:17And so, I think it was kind of a Michael Penix game.
27:20It was a well-called Michael Penix game, I think is what we got from the Falcons tonight.
27:25And when you have this running game and when you're asking him off play action to push the ball down the field,
27:32I think this can be a really cool offense.
27:34But I also feel like we saw tonight some of his limitations in a way that we didn't really see against the Packers because we didn't have to.
27:42Yeah, there's limitations. We can talk about that like as the year goes on, but so long as those two other guys
27:48are on the roster and one of these guys and Stefanski and Reese are calling the offense, I think they'll be okay.
27:55Yeah, I do have enough faith in that. It's a little different than the skill position players they had in Cleveland over the last couple years.
28:02A little bit. A little bit than Jerry Judy.
28:05You feel the difference a little bit. All right, that is all we've got for tonight.
28:09If you're watching this on YouTube, please go check out the Week 4 Hangover.
28:13If you're watching this on Tuesday, me and Derek broke down three games from the Sunday slate, chatted a little bit about
28:19the Sunday night game, also hit Chargers-Seahawks regrettably, and then dug into Cardinals-Giants.
28:23Got plenty more stuff coming this week for now.
28:26That's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you very soon.
28:30Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode.
28:35If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating.
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