Chiefs DE confirms Falcons RT Jawaan Taylor’s pre-snap tell
On the CBS broadcast of the Falcons’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, analyst and future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt made the observation that Falcons right tackle Jawaan Taylor was telegraphing the offense’s play call with his pre-snap stance.
After the game, Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis confirmed Taylor’s tell to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I talked to J.J. about it earlier in the week,” Karlaftis told the AJC. “He and I know exactly what we were talking about. But, yeah, we kind of noticed that on film, as well, just to keep it at that.”
On the broadcast, Watt said that the positioning of Taylor’s right foot and hands tipped off whether the Falcons were going to run or pass.
He showed a graphic of the differences and analyzed a slow-motion replay of a play in which quarterback Michael Penix Jr. changed the play call at the line of scrimmage — apparently from a pass to a run — prompting Taylor to adjust his stance and the positioning of his hands.
“This is the type of stuff that the Chiefs are studying this week in getting tells in the game for Jawaan Taylor,” Watt said.
Questioned on the same matter, Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said that “Every team has tendencies; we’re aware of ours.”
Taylor declined an interview request after the game.
Taylor’s unwitting signals along with two false starts helped limit the Falcons to another dismal offensive performance. In the first three quarters, before the game was beyond the Falcons’ reach, they scored three points and gained 186 yards.
Often lined up opposite Taylor, Karlaftis had 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and a batted down pass.
It was most likely not the performance Taylor, who signed with the Falcons as a free agent in April after three years with the Chiefs, had hoped for against his former team.
“Obviously, (Taylor) is a tackle that I have the utmost love and respect for,” Karlaftis said. “We battled it out (Sunday). I wanted to go against him just because I have so much respect for him. It was a battle. He got the best of me on some, I got the best of him on others.”
