Dirty Birds Dispatch: Former Falcons coach high on 2025 team
It’s Week Zero on the NFL schedule.
With the injuries to offensive tackles Kaleb McGary and Storm Norton, the Falcons are scrambling to fortify the position before the season opener with the Bucs.
In the meantime, former coach Mike Smith discusses the team’s prospects.
CATCHING UP WITH COACH
Former Falcons coach Mike Smith is enjoying retirement.
Lots of golf and fishing for him.
But the winningest coach in franchise history (66-46 from 2008-2015) still keeps an eye on his former squad and has contacts in the building. He recently did an interview with Betway.com and discussed the team and the 2025 season.
Here are coach Smith’s takes.
🗣️ On the offense: “Well, most Falcons fans right now are really excited about Michael Penix Jr. and rightly so. He’s been the talk of the radio stations, TV shows and everybody’s talking about what Penix Jr. is going to do.
“He had an opportunity to come in and play last year as a rookie, the last three games, and he really did a nice job.
“There’s a lot of pressure on Michael.”
🗣️ On Drake London: “(Penix has) a real strong supporting cast, starting with Drake London, who had a great season last year with 100 catches, nine touchdowns and over 1,200 yards. He’s primed to have a big, big season in my opinion.
“Then they’ve got Ray-Ray McCloud III, who really (made) some noise in training camp.”
🗣️ On Kyle Pitts: “They’ve got Kyle Pitts, who’s not really played up to the level that everybody has expected. But I’ve talked to some people in Atlanta, and they’re really excited about his offseason. He’s really done a good job in the offseason.
“So, they’ve got the pieces around Penix (on the offense). It’s going to be fun to watch them.
“And we’ve not even talked about (running back) Bijan Robinson yet, who had over 1,400 rushing yards with 14 touchdowns last year. The Falcons put a load on his back last year, and he was absolutely fine with it.”
🗣️ On Walker and Pearce: “Last year, the Falcons were 31st in the (NFL) with 31 total sacks. For context, the Denver Broncos, who led the league, had 63 sacks. So, they’ve got to get better at rushing the passer, and they have addressed that, and they have put a lot of resources into that over the offseason.
“They have addressed that in the draft with the first four picks that they took.
“They took James Pearce Jr. (in the first round of the NFL draft). He (was) a star of training camp. They love his motor and his production. He’s disruptive. He’s got a great attitude and they’re really excited about him.
“They got Jalon Walker, too, from Georgia. He’s the guy who has got the skill set to be a really good player. We’ve just got to get him healthy … as he’s missed some time.”
🗣️ On if Penix can lead the Falcons to the playoffs: “I’m real high on (Penix).
“I think they’ve got the running back, they’ve got the tight end, they’ve got receivers. If I had any question about them on the offensive side of the ball, it would be can they hold up and win the line of scrimmage. But they’re excited about their offensive line.
“I do feel good about them, and they are due. The NFL is cyclical.”
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MAILBAG TIME
Reader Brian Huber asked about right tackle Kaleb McGary and his season-ending injury: “Why won’t the Falcons say what his injury actually is? Lower leg could be anything. I understood before cut down day being vague, but do you know what the injury actually is?”
🤔 Ledbetter: I don’t know. My years of experience says it looked like a blown out knee because he was carted off and couldn’t put any pressure on the leg. I don’t know why they are being so secretive or why it took a week to read the MRI. I’ll ask the coach for some specifics.
Send potential Falcons mailbag questions to dledbetter@ajc.com, and you may see them answered next week.
GERMAN ENGINEERING
Peter O’Reilly — the NFL’s executive vice president, club business, international and league events — discussed with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the league’s plans for the Falcons trip to Berlin.
At 9:30 a.m. EST on Nov. 9, the Falcons will play the Colts at Olympic Stadium.
“We are thrilled about that matchup with the Colts and the Falcons,” O’Reilly said. “Both of those clubs do have (marketing) rights in Germany. We’ve got a lengthy list of clubs with rights there. I think it’s 10 clubs.”
It will be the NFL’s first regular-season matchup played in Berlin and the third international game for the Falcons in the past five seasons.
“There is a long history of American football there,” O’Reilly said. “History going back to the NFL Europe days. Going in there with (an exhibition game) a few years ago just created this huge opportunity for fans there.”
Through the NFL’s Global Markets Program, the Falcons were the fifth team to be awarded marketing rights in Germany. A total of 11 teams have such rights, including the Colts and the Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Yes, the games are big, but I love what teams like the Falcons are doing on a year-around basis to engage fans there, to connect with them,” O’Reilly said.
SCHEFTER’S TOP FANTASY PICK
ESPN analyst Adam Schefter picked Falcons running back Bijan Robinson as his “Cheat Sheet” No. 1 fantasy pick over Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
“The Falcons should be, with all of that talent, should be a offense,” Damien Woody chimed in.
Mike Tannenbaum noted that McGary is out for the season and his backup, Storm Norton, is also hurt.
“That means you get to run the football more and use more screen passes,” Schefter said. “That’s why Bijan Robinson comes in as the No. 1 pick.”
THE HOPE DEPARTMENT
We promised to spread some hope in the newsletter. So, here’s something for Falcons fans to cling to this week.
It was pointed out on the NFL conference call Wednesday that for 35 consecutive years, four new teams have made the playoffs. There is hope for the Falcons after seven consecutive seasons failing to make them.
🔮 Odds in the NFC South: The good folks over at Betonline.ag gave exact NFC South lines. The Buccaneers have the best odds to win the NFC South followed by the Falcons, Panthers and Saints.
🔮 Get out the vote: Most fans in our poll believe the Falcons will win from eight to 10 games. Eight won’t get them to the playoffs, but 10 wins probably would do the trick.
REVAMPED DEFENSE
The Falcons could start four rookies on defense if Walker, Pearce, safety Xavier Watts and nickel back Billy Bowman Jr. all crack the lineup.
“Both of those guys have come in and prepared really hard, shown a maturity about them,” Falcons defensive pass-game coordinator Mike Rutenberg said of Watts and Bowman.
Overall, the defense figures to have six new starters, with only defensive tackle David Onyemata, linebacker Kaden Elliss, cornerback A.J. Terrell, cornerback Mike Hughes and safety Jessie Bates III back from last season.
😤 Jersey gate: Bowman wore jersey No. 5 at Oklahoma, but with the Falcons he has to sport 33. London has 5.
“I love my number,” Bowman said. “I’m cool with 33 right now, but I probably will switch at some point.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
The Falcons recently whittled things down to their initial 53-man roster. Outside linebackers coach Jacquies Smith discussed his role in helping make tough decisions.
It's a collective thing. We all at it working together. That's why we're all on the staff. We put our brain trust ... together when it comes to my position. That's the only thing that I can control. I don't speak (about) anything else. Then I go from there.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Dirty Bird Dispatch. Questions? Suggestions? Contact us at dledbetter@ajc.com. Follow @DorlandoAJC on X, too.
See you next week.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
