Why the Falcons are in for a 'rude awakening' this season | The Exempt List
Yahoo Sports NFL writer Charles McDonald is joined by The Ringer's Steven Ruiz to discuss Atlanta's offseason and their decision to draft Michael Penix Jr. instead of a defensive player. Hear the full conversation on “The Exempt List with Charles McDonald” - part of the “Zero Blitz” podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
So the Falcons, my favorite team, I was gonna say that sounded personal.
That sounded like something you really felt.
No, it is, it is personal.
It is personal because I still am not over how hard my phone and my Twitter Betches blew up when they pick Pennix and they did have an absolutely puzzling off season.
And then I think when you look at where they were last year and where they are now and what they've added, I don't know how much better they've gotten.
Like you add her cousins, which is obviously a big upgrade from where they were.
You get Darnell Mooney.
So like your offense in theory should be set, but like on defense, they didn't add anything unless you're, you're banking on like group, the Clemson defensive tackle, they draft around to becoming something right away, which I think is a little foolhardy to believe that you have Grady Jarrett coming off an AC L injury and he's, you know, 30 plus.
So who knows how that's going to turn out and quietly, you know, II I felt this during the season, but my fan pride wouldn't let me say it.
That defense was pretty overrated last year.
They were beaten up on a lot of bad offenses and they kind of wasted the off season.
I don't think they're nearly as good as they think they are.
I, I think this could be a pretty rude awakening for them once they start playing some of the better offenses in the league.
Yeah.
And there is a model for the Kirk Cousins off season.
Like, look at what Tampa Bay did when they got Brady.
They didn't waste their, their resources on a backup.
They didn't waste the resources on kind of like building the foundation.
They're like, screw that.
We're going all in the defense was loaded already.
And they, they really leaned into that rather than like, oh, we're gonna have our cake and eat it too.
Like the talking points with the, the pennix thing.
It just makes no sense to me like they're like, oh, yeah.
Now we have our quarterback for right now and we're set up for the future.
It's like you're the Falcons.
You don't get to do long term planning.
No.
Like that's what the cheats and the and teams like that get to do not you.
So, I it really does feel like a, a wasted opportunity.
I thought the PIC pick like I'm not a big fan of him as a prospect, but my analysis of that pick goes far beyond that.
I just think it's a wasted opportunity.
I think the opportunity cost of not taking maybe an impact defensive player there.
I know they, that's what they were mocked to, to take with Dallas Turner was, it's like 80% of the mocks he was going to them and I really think that would have helped them take a larger step this year because I, like you said, they don't have dudes on defense, especially dudes that you can, you can craft a game plan around and you don't have time in Atlanta.
You have a 36 year old quarterback with AAA Bad Achilles.
Yeah.
Yeah.
No, II, I think the Falcons have done, uh, a tremendously poor job of self scouting this off season.
Like they, they, they seem to think of themselves as like a super bowl contender, which is just not, not even close to reality the most, the most egregious thing though, over the last couple of years, which they couldn't really follow the Bucks model here too is they should have just went back to the old throwbacks.
I, I really think that's the genesis of all their problems is these terrible uniforms.