FLOWERY BRANCH – Gil Brandt and Alex Marvez of SiriusXM NFL Radio concluded their stay at the Falcons training camp on Monday and then headed up the road to Spartanburg, S.C. to visit the Carolina Panthers.
During the wrap-up of their show they shared with their listeners what they thought about the Falcons.
Here are a couple of highlights followed by the transcript:
THE QUICK HITS
--Marvez believes the Falcons are a 9-7, 10-6 team.
--Marvez and Brandt are worried about the secondary.
--Brandt likes Desmond Trufant. He noted that theTrufants -- Desmond, Marcus and Isaiah -- are tough in part because their father was a boxer.
--Brandt called Matt Ryan a “very, very, very good” quarterback. Note, he stopped short of calling him great, which he did call wide receivers Julio Jones and Roddy White.
--Brandt doesn’t think Dwight Lowery is a safety at all. Before his injury he was running No. 1 at free safety.
---Marvez thinks safety William Moore looks more like a linebacker after bulking up and questioned his cover skills.
--Marvez is worried about Robert Alford at left cornerback and both are concerned about Josh Wilson at nickel back. He’s had and “up and down” career Brandt noted.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
--Marvez is concerned about the running game and if Steven Jackson can stay healthy.
HERE'S THE FULL TRANSCRIPT
BRANDT: I think the offensive line is going to be a big help. It looks like if you can control the line of scrimmage, you've got a chance. I didn't realize it as much on offense until I started thinking about last year. I think this is a team that if they start fast, and they start against New Orleans, If they start fast, they've got a real good chance. This is a team that has a very, very, very good quarterback. When you have a good quarterback and you have two really great receivers like they do, you can make things happen. But they've got to get those receivers healthy."
MARVEZ: My area of concern is the secondary. I worry about it on a couple levels. The nickel situation, it is Josh Wilson and Robert McClain, they are competing.
BRANDT: And Josh Wilson, two years ago, played really well at Washington. He's a cornerback from the University of Maryland and has been an up-and-down guy. But two years ago, with the Redskins, he was a stellar player. He's still under 30 years of age.
MARVEZ: Hopefully he can catch lightning in a bottle once again. You're hoping that Desmond Trufant is starting to emerge and as you pointed out Gil over the second half of last season the light bulb was turning on. Robert Alford though, I think has a little bit of a ways to go, their second-round pick last year.
BRANDT: I think he does, but he's got really good quick feet and he can make some plays with his feet. But I think Trufant and the whole Trufant family is pretty tough. His father was a great boxer . . .(and the family) has three great football players.
MARVEZ: The safety position, right now at strong safety you have William Moore. It's funny. He looks a little bit more like a linebacker than a safety to me to be quite honest with you. I don't think you want to get him matched up in coverage too much.
BRANDT: No.
MARVEZ: But he does lay the hammer down, I'll tell you that. At free safety, it's a little bit of a mess. Dwight Lowery has had a concussion. He's been out.
BRANDT: And, I'm not sure Dwight Lowery is a safety. I think he's more of a corner really.
Credit: Michael Cunningham
Credit: Michael Cunningham
MARVEZ: They've got him listed as a safety. He's more of a cover safety. Dez Southward is the future at the position. But he's been banged up as well with a leg injury so they signed Tyrell Johnson, who was out of the league last year. A former second-round pick by the Vikings. I'm just not sold on the safety spot either. . . . I do think this Falcons team will be able to scheme some pass-rush even without an elite pass-rusher. I just wonder about the back end. On offense, Levine Toilolo will be a tight end. You have to replace Tony Gonzalez and I worry about this running game. Steven Jackson, I don't think he can stay healthy. Thomas Dimitroff, when we talked to him about it, he didn't seem concerned. He said he'll be ready for week one. I'm sure he would be on a maintenance program anyway at this point of his career. Do they have the backs to help take some of the pressure off of Matt Ryan and at least provide some balance so that it isn't just pass, pass, pass, all the time?
BRANDT: That's the (question.) If they get the running back from Oregon State, Jackson, back, it's going to help them a great deal.
MARVEZ: So overall, where do you see them in the NFC South? …..Are the Falcons the best in the NFC South? Second-best? Where do you think they are?
BRANDT: I would have to say, right now, they are the second-best. I would have to say that New Orleans is the best, but I think sometimes when you only win four games people look at and they don't take you quite as seriously as if you win 12.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
MARVEZ: I do think this is a Falcons team that could have a five-game rebound. Maybe six. I look at them as a 9-7, 10-6 type of team. The big question is will that be good enough to make the post-season. It's the toughest conference in football. That's where the juice is right now. If the Cardinals couldn't make it at 10-6 (last season), I just don't know if 9-7 gets you in the playoffs.
BRANDT: You're absolutely right. Because there is a good chance that you're going to have three teams come out of the NFC North or NFC West.
MARVEZ: It will be a fascinating thing to watch with this Falcons team. But I think they'll be exciting. I'm wondering about Julio and Roddy. Julio said there is possibility that each receiver (could get) 1,500 yards. (That's ) never happened before in NFL history. The guys who came closest were Brett Perriman and Herman Moore.
BRANDT: With the Detroit Lions out of Miami of Florida and Northwestern (High)and Herman Moore was the big, tall guy from Virginia.
MARVEZ: The second-most prolific duo was Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce in 2000, the greatest show on turf. We'll see what Julio and Roddy can do on the Georgia Dome turf.
Date Practice Times (public availability)
Tuesday, August 5 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Wednesday, August 6 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Thursday, August 7 Pregame Walkthrough (No Media Availability)
Friday, August 8 Falcons vs. Miami Dolphins
Georgia Dome
7:00 p.m. ET – CW69
Saturday, August 9 Practice 4:30 – 5:45 p.m. (open to the public)
Sunday, August 10 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Monday, August 11 Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Tuesday, August 12 Practice 10:00 a.m. – 12:35 p.m. (open to the public)
Wednesday, August 13 Combined Practice w/ Houston Texans (Houston, TX)
Thursday, August 14 Combined Practice w/ Houston Texans (Houston, TX)
Friday, August 15 Pregame Walkthrough (No Media Availability)
Saturday, August 16 Falcons at Houston Texans
NRG Stadium
8:00 p.m. ET – CW69
Sunday, August 17 Players’ Day Off (No Media Availability)
Monday, August 18 Practice 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (closed to the public)
Break Camp
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