- 2 days ago
Beau Morgan and Mike Johnson react to the Falcons "Saturday Night Lights" practice at Lanier High School. They break down Olu Fashanu taking first-team reps at right tackle and Zachariah Branch's usage. Plus, catch an exclusive interview with Falcons safety Xavier Watts on his Year 2 growth, pairing up with Jessie Bates III, and his favorite off-field ride.
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00:01We were the only two radio guys out there at Lanier High School on Saturday night, being able to give
00:06you guys the first-hand knowledge.
00:08Now, of course, a full media contingent, but you and I had a chance to kind of give a little
00:12West Durham Dave Archer a play-by-play as we watched the Falcons, I don't want to say march up
00:18and down the field.
00:19There really wasn't a move-the-ball period, but just kind of seeing kind of the differences in personnel packages
00:24and everything else, position battles, situational specifics.
00:30I'm only going to give you one, though.
00:32You've got one shot to nail this.
00:33Don't clear the board on me.
00:35What was your biggest takeaway?
00:36Just one.
00:37Just biggest takeaway from Saturday night.
00:41Yikes.
00:43Well, I don't know.
00:44I don't know because I don't want to take anything you might say, but I would just say, I'll go
00:47this.
00:47First thing that popped in my head was how much action Oney Anwa was getting in the first-team reps
00:53at right tackle.
00:54Yeah, that's a big one.
00:55That one went to me, and I talked about it.
00:58I went on with John Fricke yesterday.
01:00On his show on Sunday morning, and he asked about what was surprising me, and I said, that one, honestly,
01:08that one surprised me a lot because I just kind of expected,
01:14for one, I expected Oney Anwa to be a guard, and two, I expected Jarrell to not maybe walk away
01:21with that, but to be ahead of a rookie.
01:26For sure.
01:27Who went to Ohio State, but also, I think his most playing time he got in college football was with
01:34Rice, and again, was a seventh-round draft pick that we didn't even think would be playing tackle.
01:39So, that was my biggest probably takeaway, or the one that's still sticking with me.
01:45Now, there's another one, but I think you'll handle that one.
01:47Yeah, well, I'm assuming you're talking about Zachary Branch.
01:51No, there's another one, too.
01:52Okay.
01:53Zachary Branch was going to be my biggest one because we talked about it a little bit, and we talked
01:57about it on Saturday nights.
01:58Like, we go in, and we talked to Dave Archer before the Falcons took the field, and I'm like, man,
02:03he's been the belle of the ball.
02:05Like, Zachary Branch has been everything that you kind of thought he would be at this point, and he's made
02:10such an impact, and he's so unique in his skill set.
02:13I think, not just on this roster, per se, but what you've had in years past at the wide receiver
02:18position, and then everything starts rolling,
02:23and the first-string offense is out there, and you're in 12 personnel or 21 or whatever else you're rolling
02:30out there,
02:30and I don't think we saw Zachary Branch catch one ball.
02:34Like, I don't think we saw him catch one ball, and I thought, man, that's such a departure.
02:40Now, of course, this is situational, a lot of red area type stuff, a lot of tight red, but that's
02:46where we kind of expect him to excel,
02:48and I just, I thought it was, look, I don't think it's the end of the game.
02:54You know, I don't think this is one of those things where that's definitely going to be how it is,
02:57but we talked about yesterday 10 personnel and establishing things and a hierarchy,
03:01and yet, at certain times of the practice, he was nowhere to be found in some of those drills.
03:06It was a little bit, I don't know, just altered the way I've been thinking about him throughout most of
03:10camp.
03:10Well, I think it tells you that now I'm just going to throw him in there and say, you know
03:16what,
03:16you're second, you're the number two receiver because you've had some good practices,
03:21and the fans love you, and the media thinks you should be number two.
03:24It's kind of what you and I talked about on Friday, like, no, I don't expect him to be the
03:29second receiver,
03:31and to be quite honest with you, I expect Kyle Pitts to be the number two receiver on this team,
03:36and I think he's paid like it.
03:39I don't know whether it'll be some of it, whether some of it will be out of tight end
03:44and some of it will be out of receiver or whatever.
03:48I just don't expect him to be the number two, and the branch stuff was that he didn't get any
03:56that I could recall reps of the first team.
03:59It was a little bit surprising.
04:00Now, look, we were doing a radio show, and we were still watching and trying to make eye contact
04:04and make sure we're up on everything we can, so we probably missed a play here or there,
04:11but it was surprising.
04:13I also go back to the fact of how many times they were under center
04:19and only in shotgun and no pistol.
04:21It was surprising.
04:22And it's not that I expect them to be in pistol a ton,
04:27but to not show any of it, not even run a rep, and maybe we would have gotten to that
04:32point,
04:32was a little bit like, okay, well, they're going to use that significantly less
04:38than they have in the past couple years.
04:40I don't think there's any doubt.
04:41That was a huge takeaway as well.
04:43That was the first time we really – you know, the practices have been so disjointed.
04:48Hey, you don't have Bajan.
04:49Hey, you don't have Tua.
04:51Hey, you don't have Michael Penix.
04:52And so if you're operating with Jack Strand, I think a lot of us look at it and go,
04:55okay, well, kind of one arm tied behind your back in terms of what you're being doing.
04:58But Tua fully dressed out and Bajan fully dressed out
05:01and everything kind of operating really everybody in the field
05:04other than Jawan Taylor on the offensive side of the ball
05:07and then Jesse Bates defensively.
05:08So, yeah, it was a little bit eye-opening to see a lot of those takeaways.
05:13Quick reminder, Falcons Monday on Sports Radio 92.9 The Game
05:15is presented by Ticketmaster, the official ticket marketplace
05:18of Atlanta Falcons Radio Network.
05:21All right, so you and I on Friday got a chance to catch up with Xavier Watt.
05:25Really fun conversation.
05:27He was very insightful.
05:30You could tell every question we asked he was thinking in depth about.
05:34But started off the interview by just saying, hey, man, how'd practice go today?
05:37Yeah, it was a good little day.
05:39Got the pads on, so always a little fun when the pads are on.
05:42But, you know, just coming out here, stacking days.
05:44You know, we're in a dog day as a training camp.
05:45But, you know, just putting the pieces together and getting ready for the season.
05:48Talk to us a little bit about everything else going on other than practice today.
05:51You got roommates.
05:52Obviously, y'all are dorming it up.
05:54Who are you rooming with?
05:55What's the vibe like?
05:56What's the, you know, look, coffee maker, Xbox, whatever else is going on there, man?
06:00Yeah, I got me, Jesse Bates, Cindy Brown, and Jamie Robinson.
06:06It's a pretty quiet room.
06:07You know, we're all quiet type of guys, all about our business.
06:10You know, we come back to the dorms.
06:12I'll be in my room as soon as I get back.
06:14So as soon as camp is over, I go straight to my room.
06:16So I go to sleep.
06:17But, you know, everybody else is all about their business, too.
06:19Well, let's talk a little bit about kind of that dynamic.
06:22Obviously, Sidney comes in this year, and you and Jesse are well-established.
06:25One of the best safety teams in the NFL.
06:27So last year, the people that are close to the Falcons knew about you,
06:31but then obviously you explode on the scene from a national perspective.
06:34What was the key to that and really getting up to speed really quickly in Jeff Holbrook's defense?
06:39I feel like just confidence.
06:41You know, I've always believed in myself and, you know, kind of throughout OTAs and training camp,
06:46I was getting comfortable, learning the defense from Coach Brick,
06:48and then, you know, like I said, having good vets like AJ and Jesse kind of bringing me along
06:52and just learning from those guys kind of just helping me get up to speed.
06:55Well, speaking of that, you know, I do the radio for the team.
06:57I get to travel with them, and I've seen Jesse and, you know, helping guys,
07:00watching film right after games and stuff.
07:02What was it like kind of learning from Jesse in year one?
07:05Yeah, I mean, he's the ultimate pro.
07:07He's, what, a year nine, year ten.
07:09I mean, he's seen a lot of football.
07:11He's played a lot of football.
07:12So I'd be doing a disservice to myself not to learn from him, not to ask him questions,
07:16not to take any tips from him.
07:18So, I mean, he's just the ultimate gamer, ultimate film watcher, and, you know, he's, like I said, the ultimate
07:23pro.
07:24So just learning from him has been awesome.
07:26When you got to Notre Dame, you had been a two-way player in high school,
07:30pretty good two-way player, by the way.
07:31And then you go there as a receiver, injuries pop up, and they move you to defense.
07:35What was that transition like from, because you had been in the offensive meetings and stuff,
07:39and now you're going back to defense?
07:41Yeah, it's actually crazy that Coach Reese is here, and I was playing receiver with him.
07:45But just switching over was, it was a struggle because I wanted to play receiver,
07:49but I also wanted to help the team out.
07:51So, you know, I just wanted to get in the field as well.
07:54But just learning the defense and switching over to linebacker was a little different.
07:58But, you know, as time went on, I started to get more comfortable.
08:01Like I said, I played it in high school, so it wasn't too crazy,
08:04but at the college level it was a little different.
08:06Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Marcus Freeman was your D.C. first, right,
08:10and then became your head coach.
08:12What was the late plan for Coach Freeman?
08:13Yeah, Coach Freeman is awesome.
08:16Awesome D.C., awesome head coach.
08:18You know, he's very detailed in the way he teaches,
08:20and, you know, he's just a great all-around guy.
08:23You know, he makes you want to play for him, and, you know, he's a great person.
08:27All right, how does it go every day?
08:29Now, you're not necessarily one-on-one every time.
08:31You're not on the outside, but it's safety.
08:32You get lined up on some of these receivers.
08:33What's it going against some of these guys that we have over here,
08:35like Drake and Kyle and Bajon at times?
08:38I mean, it's great practice.
08:39You know, those are some of the best guys at their respective positions in the league.
08:42So, I mean, just getting those reps against them, you know,
08:45just sets me up to come in the game and be successful.
08:47Hanging out with safety, Xavier Watts out here, live from Atlanta Falcons training camp.
08:51A couple more things before we let you go.
08:52First and foremost, you mentioned the wide receiver thing.
08:55Got good hands.
08:56All right, you bust on the scene last year, start getting interceptions, big turnovers.
09:00I think it would be easy for a guy in your position to say,
09:02oh, man, I'm pretty good, like let's just status quo.
09:04But we know that's not the truth.
09:06You come into training camp, you work on different things.
09:08What's been the focus for you so far throughout this training camp
09:11in terms of just sending your game to the next level?
09:13I think just reading the defense, not reading the defense, reading the offense even more
09:17in terms of, you know, what formations they're in, knowing what they're going to do.
09:22I mean, every formation and kind of structure of offense has a story to tell.
09:27So, kind of just reading it quicker than I did last year.
09:29You know, I missed out on a couple things,
09:31and I wish I could have back from not reading the offense correctly
09:35and knowing what's coming.
09:36So, just taking that next step and reading things.
09:39I joke with these guys all the time, man.
09:41Going into the second year, you really have had your first offseason,
09:43really of your whole life because, you know, when you're in college,
09:46you're going through the mat drills and the winter workouts and stuff like that.
09:49What did you get into this offseason, man?
09:50How did you get away?
09:51When that last game ended and they're like, hey, see you in April,
09:54that's kind of a surreal feeling.
09:56Yeah, like I said, it was my first true break.
09:58And honestly, I think it was the best time of my life.
10:01It was awesome.
10:03Like I said, I've never had so much time free in my life because, like I said,
10:07college, you get two, three weeks off and you're doing mat drills right away.
10:10So, this break was awesome.
10:12I enjoyed it.
10:13I went to a lot of different places, seen family, seen friends,
10:16so it was a good time.
10:17Yeah, we sit out here at 5 a.m.
10:19and we see you guys start rolling through.
10:20And I get a lot of car envy, truck envy.
10:23There's Raptors, Hellcats, the TRXs.
10:25What are you rolling through here in?
10:26I know you've had to upgrade, right?
10:28Yeah, I got a little Audi, a little RSQ8, and then I got a Ford Raptor, a Bronco Raptor.
10:38Dude, those Bronco, how bad is that?
10:40Those Bronco Raptors are sick, man.
10:42Broncos are cool.
10:43I mean, everybody got a Ford Raptor truck.
10:46I like being a little different.
10:47Get you a little Bronco.
10:48You can take the tops off, so it looks nice.
10:51All right, Xavier Watts, appreciate your time, man.
10:52Good luck this season.
10:53Thank you, guys.
10:53And shout out to Xavier Watts for taking a little bit of time to hang out with us on Friday,
10:56man.
10:56I thought he was his – well, I thought the word was calculated.
11:00Like, you know what I mean?
11:00Like, you could tell that every time you ask a question, it was not just, hey, here's my answer.
11:05It was like, well, let me think about that for a second.
11:07Yeah, actually, yeah.
11:09Yeah, he was – well, the funny thing I noticed is, you know, some guys look like they're miserable doing
11:14interviews,
11:14and some guys sound like they're miserable doing interviews.
11:16Some guys can clearly, like, really enjoy it.
11:19But he looked like he cared about his answers, but he's a very calm dude.
11:26Like, a lot – like, I was kind of shy that, you know, he seemed calm because he could tell,
11:30like,
11:30talking about his Bronco Raptor, he was like, yeah, man, that thing's bad.
11:34I want a Bronco Raptor.
11:36Hey, somebody help me up.
11:39Yeah, right.
11:40Right, right.
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