Atlanta Falcons Tailgate Podcast Show

Atlanta Falcons Draft 2012, Asante Samuel, Bounty Gate

On this special off-season edition of the Atlanta Falcons Tailgate Podcast Show, show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons 2012 NFL Draft choices and how their choices would solidify some of last years weaknesses. They also talk about the exciting news of picking up Asante Samuel, the sudden death of NFL Great Junior Seau, the current New Orleans Saints "Bounty Gate" scandal, a brief look at the Falcons 2012 schedule and a lot more. Also for a bonus, hear an interview with Thomas Dimitroff held the 1st day of the draft with ESPN's Colin Cowherd.

Links: AtlantaFalcons.com

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Cheerleading for the Atlanta Falcons

with Sabrina C.

On this special off-season edition of the Atlanta Falcons Tailgate Podcast Show, Sabrina C., who has been a member of the Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders for 3 years joins the show.

Host Eric Dye & Atlanta Falcon Cheerleader Sabrina discuss:

• Where did you get your start as a cheerleader?
• What was it like walking out on the field the very first time as an NFL cheerleader?
• What is your favorite part about being a part of the NFL & a cheerleader for the Atlanta Falcons?
• You are only at home games, what do you find yourself doing when the Falcons play on the road?
• Are there opportunities to travel to Falcons away games?
• Are you involved with any community or charity work?
• How would one or an organization go about requesting the Atlanta Falcon Cheerleaders to make an appearance?
• When are the Falcon Cheerleader calendars released?

Sabrina is originally from Jacksonville, FL and a graduate of Louisiana Tech University.  She has cheered for the Falcons since 2009, and continues to teach and dance at studios and events throughout Atlanta.  Sabrina is the proud owner of 2 dogs, 5 cats, and one snake.  She says that animals and dancing are her passions.  Always an avid football fan, combining football and performing makes the role of an Atlanta Falcons Cheerleader such an ideal position for Sabrina.  Find her on facebook as "Falcons Sabrina" or on Twitter @AFC_Sabrina.

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Atlanta Falcons: Aftermath of another post season loss

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons frustrating loss at the New York Giants. After much promise the last 2 seasons to go deep into the playoffs, they go deep to help console the listening Atlanta Falcon fan.

Key Links:

Falcons Press Conference with Arthur Blank

Falcons presser: Blank was ‘angry’ with season

EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff addresses concerns

Note: Next broadcast potentially will be after the NFL Draft or with breaking news worthy.

Thanks for listening to the Atlanta Falcons Tailgate Podcast Show during this 2011 season.

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Atlanta Falcons at New York Giants: Playoffs

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons thumping of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to clinch the #5 seed of the NFC in the playoffs. They talk about the upcoming 1st round playoff game at the New York Giants, Falcons Playoff History, and the easiest road to the Super Bowl with a few predictions that may have you smile. Your comments and questions are always welcome as we would mention you on the show. Headline of the Week: According to Giants defensive end Justin Tuck, the Falcons' offensive line are less dirty birds and more just dirtbags.

Quick Facts:

» The Falcons & Giants are 10-10 overall.

» Last Falcons Playoff win was in 2004 againts the St. Louis Rams.

» These two teams have never met in the postseason. The Giants lost the NFL's first NFL Championship game in 1933. The Falcons started play in 1966.

» The Falcons could also have trouble rushing the football. Turner is averaging just 56 yards running per game with a poor 3.3 yards per carry average.

» The Giants' run defense has struggled this season, giving up 126.1 yards per game coming into Week 17. That said, they shut down the Dallas ground attack Sunday night (49 yards allowed).

» Ryan enters off his best season, throwing 29 touchdown passes to tie the Giants' Eli Manning for the league's sixth-highest total. That figure, along with Ryan's 4,177 yards and 92.2 passer rating are career bests, with receivers Roddy White and rookie Julio Jones combining for 2,252 yards and 16 TDs.

» Eli Manning's season was notable since he led the Giants to five victories when they trailed in the final period.

» While the Giants are last in the league with 89.2 rushing yards per game, the Falcons have demonstrated more balance with an average of 114.6 thanks to Michael Turner. Turner is third in the NFL with 1,340 yards on the ground.

» Turner, however, has been bottled up to total 81 yards on 28 carries in the Falcons' last two playoff losses.

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons: Week 17

Sunday, January 1, 2012 (Notice: 4:15pm EST)

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons miserable loss to the New Orleans Saints as well as looking ahead to the Falcons next game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their home regular season finale. They also discuss key games to watch during Week 1y that will solidy the Playoff picture that are important to the playoff picture and how it will have an effect on the Falcons road to the Super Bowl. Listen to an off the wall prediction on the show that very well could happen. An Atlanta Falcons NFC Championship home game?

Game Notes:

• Who can forget the first meeting, when the Falcons jumped offside on defense, costing them a chance to get the ball late and make a comeback. These teams have gone in opposite directions since then. Tampa's defense has been brutal, but Matt Ryan has been preyed on by the Bucs' secondary in the past -- he has nine picks against them, nearly twice as many as against any other foe.
• Atlanta tries to reach double-digit wins in a second consecutive year for the first time Sunday when it hosts a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team looking to avoid closing the season on a 10-game losing streak.
• The Atlanta Falcons have made franchise history by clinching a second straight playoff berth, but if they don't make improvements on both sides of the ball, the team could be in line for another quick postseason exit.
• "We kind of understand where we're at and know that we'll be playing in January, but it's important for us to play well this week heading into the playoffs," quarterback Matt Ryan said.
• Tampa Bay expected to contend for the South title after going 10-6 last season and opening 4-2 in 2011, including a 16-13 victory over Atlanta on Sept. 25, but the team is limping to the finish with its longest single-season skid since opening 0-9 in 1985.
• A league high-tying 36 turnovers has been one of the team's glaring weaknesses. Last season, the Buccaneers had 19 - sixth-fewest in the NFL.
• Tampa Bay's last 10-game losing streak came in 1977 when it dropped its first 12 to extend the franchise's 0-26 start.
• The Falcons are in a second straight postseason for the first time in their 46-year history but now would like to reach 10 wins for the third time in Smith's four years at the helm.

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Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints: Week 16

Monday Night @ 8:30pm on ESPN

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons impressive win over the Jaguars, recap of Week 15, looking ahead to the Falcons next road, divisional, rival, & Monday Night game against the New Orleans Saints. They also discuss games to watch during Week 16 that are important to the playoff picture that would effect the Falcons. Also hear bonus content from an earlier interview on the Dan Patrick Show this week with Matt Ryan, who is considered the best quarterback--according to Matt Ryan.

Show Notes:

• The Falcons simply need to win either of their final two games to return to the playoffs. If Atlanta wins both contests and the Saints drop two straight, the Falcons would win their second consecutive South title by virtue of a better record within the division.
• The Saints, who totaled 573 yards in a 42-20 road rout of Minnesota last Sunday, have scored at least 31 points in three of their last four games. They have not allowed more than 24 points during the six-game winning streak that has followed a 31-21 defeat at St. Louis on Oct. 30.
• With an NFL-leading 4,780 passing yards, Brees is 305 shy of breaking Dan Marino's single-season NFL record (5,084) set in 1984.
• New Orleans has won two straight and nine of 11 against Atlanta, but needed overtime to win their first 2011 meeting and lost 27-24 at home to the Falcons in 2010. Each of the last four games between the teams has been decided by three points - three of them won by the Saints.
• Roddy White caught 10 passes for 135 yards and two TDs against the Jaguars. It was the third time in five games he recorded at least 120 receiving yards. White, who has five touchdowns in those five contests, has averaged 112.8 yards and scored three times during his last four games against the Saints.
• Michael Turner has rushed for 265 yards and two TDs on 50 carries in his last two games at the Superdome.

Key Links:

Is Matt Ryan the NFL’s best? Nope. Is he good enough? Yep

John Abraham named NFC defensive player of the week

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Jacksonville Jaguars at Atlanta Falcons: Week 15

Thursday Night @ 8:20pm on NFL Network

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons come from behind road win over the Panthers, recap of Week 14, looking ahead to the Falcons next game at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They also discuss games to watch during Week 15 that are important to the playoff picture that would effect the Falcons.They also mention the health of Mike Smith and their thoughts on Sunday's chest pains that had him check into a Charlotte Hospital prior to flying back to Atlanta.

Show Notes:

Carolina Panthers - The numbers:

• Matt Ryan threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to rookie Julio Jones.
• The Atlanta Falcons erased a 16-point deficit to defeat the Carolina Panthers 31-23 on Sunday.
• First time in 18 years to come from behind by as much as 16 points to win since 1993 vs. 49ers.
• Ryan threw for 318 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns passing.
• For the Panthers (4-8), it was the sixth time this season they've lost after being ahead or tied in the fourth quarter.
• Ryan has won six of his past seven starts against the Panthers.
• The victory was the 16th time that Ryan has led his team to victory in the fourth quarter or overtime.
• Atlanta Falcons (8-5) and now in the 5th seed of the NFC Playoffs.

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9):

• Falcons’ offense has become more explosive
• Falcons enter into Week 15 #9 in the NFL Power Rankings.
• Jacksonville comes off a big win vs Bucanneers 41-14
• Overall record vs Jaguars (1-3)
• Falcons last played Jacksonville Jaguars September 16, 2007 and lost 13-7.
• Falcons sole victory vs Jaguars came at home December 28, 2003, 21-14.

Lastest News:

REPORT: Mike Smith has to undergo further testing

NFL approves Shahid Khan as Jaguars' next owner

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Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers: Week 14

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons road loss over the Texans, recap Week 13, a look ahead the Falcons next game at the Carolian Panthers. They also discuss games to watch during Week 14.They give special tribute to new College Fall of Fame inductee and former Atlanta Falcon great Deion Sanders.

Falcons could look to Turner to blaze path to playoffs

By Associated Press

The Atlanta Falcons are in the thick of the NFC wild-card race, and re-establishing their running game may improve those postseason chances.

Capitalizing on a pair of key injuries combined with Michael Turner's historical success against the Carolina Panthers could play a big part in that.

The Falcons (7-5) are tied with Chicago and Detroit for the wild-card lead heading into the final four weeks of the regular season.

With Turner on the cusp of matching a 23-year-old franchise record, the Falcons look to rebound from a loss by sweeping another season series from the NFC South rival on Sunday.

Atlanta's postseason hopes took a slight hit with last week's 17-10 loss at Houston as the team was held to 70 yards rushing - its second-lowest total of the season. Turner accounted for 44 on 14 carries after gaining 60 yards on 19 rushes in a 24-14 win over Minnesota the previous week.

Turner has dominated the Panthers (4-8) to the tune of 707 yards with an average of 4.7 per carry and 11 touchdowns in the past seven meetings.

Turner is one rushing touchdown shy of tying Gerald Riggs' franchise record of 48 set in 1988.

Turner also needs eight yards to reach 1,000 for a second consecutive season and third time in four years.

The Panthers' running game is also formidable, ranking fifth in the league at 137.6 yards per game - 364 total while winning the last two games.

That's partly due to rookie Cam Newton, who has 518 rushing yards and a 5.2 average per attempt while setting the single-season record for touchdowns on the ground by a quarterback with 13.

Newton has six rushing TDs over the last three games, while throwing for two. He ran for three scores and threw for another in last week's 38-19 win at Tampa Bay.

Carolina has been soft against the run -- no reason for the Falcons to get unbalanced and pass-happy here. Michael Turner needs more than 14 carries; Ryan has no business chucking it 50 times. Linebacker Curtis Lofton is playing like a beast for the Falcons. Wonder if he shadows Newton some?

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Atlanta Falcons at Houston Texans: Week 13

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons win over the Vikings, recap Week 12, a look ahead the Falcons road game vs. the Houston Texans and key games to watch during Week 13.

Defense Notable:

After shutting down Minnesota, the Falcons’ defense moved into the top 10 for the first time this late in the season under Falcons coach Mike Smith.

The pass defense (245.7 yards per game) is ranked 23rd. The run defense (83.5) is ranked second. Overall, the defense (329.2) is ranked ninth in the league. The defense was ranked 15th last week, but they jumped up six spots after shutting down Minnesota.

A top 10 defense is almost prerequisite to winning a Super Bowl title.

Eleven of the past 15 Super Bowl winners had a defense that ranked in the top 10 during the regular season.

The Falcons are set to face rookie quarterbacks in their next three games and could solidify their spot in the top 10 before they face New Orleans on Dec. 26. Key Falcon Headlines Coming into Week 13: Grimes out likely 2-3 weeks

Falcons cornerback Brent Grimes underwent successful surgery to repair his right knee Thursday.

“We’ve been in communication with him, and he’s finished with the procedure,” coach Mike Smith said.

The Falcons have not set a timetable for his return, but players with similar surgeries are out two to three weeks, according to Dr. Jonathan Glashow, an orthopedic surgeon and co-chief of sports medicine at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Grimes had been playing with the injury since the Detroit game Oct. 23 Taylor Jonathan Yates of Marietta's Pope High School will make the start against his hometown Falcons.

The 24-year-old rookie has been pressed into a starting role after the Texans lost Matt Schaub (foot) and backup Leinart (broken collarbone) to season-ending injuries in back-to-back weeks.

A fifth-round draft pick, Yates was inactive for the first 10 games and moved to the No. 2 spot only after Schaub’s injury.

Copyright AJC. Game Notes: Atlanta (7-4) is one game behind the Saints and in a three-way tie with Chicago and Detroit for the two wild-card spots.

"We've always said that we always want to position ourselves to be a relevant team in November and December, and the teams that have sustainability are the ones that are relevant in November and December," coach Mike Smith said.

While the Falcons have been surging, they've hardly dominated opponents. One week after building a 20-point lead and escaping with a 23-17 win over Tennessee, Atlanta held on for a 24-14 victory over Minnesota on Sunday.

The Falcons took a 17-0 lead into halftime last week but needed to hold off a Vikings rally, making a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter.

"As much as we like to blow a team out, we understand that can't happen all the time," linebacker Curtis Lofton said. "The concerning part for me as a team is our consistency throughout the game. We have to figure out a way to put four good quarters together, rather than in chunks.

Matt Ryan went 27 of 34 for 262 yards and three TDs, recording a season-best 128.2 quarterback rating. The Falcons are 20-0 when Ryan posts a rating over 100.0.

Ryan has been looking Roddy White's way often over the last two weeks, as the three-time Pro Bowl receiver has 17 receptions for 267 yards and a score in those contests.

The Falcons will be without starting cornerback Brent Grimes due to a knee injury that will keep him out at least two weeks. Atlanta is thin at the position with nickel back Kelvin Hayden doubtful to play.

Atlanta and Houston have met twice, with the Falcons taking the most recent matchup 26-16 on Sept. 30, 2007.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

=> This show will be re-broadcast LIVE on HerbFM - December 4th, Sunday Morning at 11:30am EST.

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Minnesota Vikings at Atlanta Falcons: Week 12

Larry Munson (9/28/1922 – 11/20/2011)

In this special edition of the Atlanta Falcons Tailgate Podcast Show, we commemorate this show to former radio voice of the Atlanta Falcons (1989-92) and legendary voice of the University of Georgia Bulldogs (1966-2008) Larry Munson. We hope you enjoy our Falcon version of the Larry Munson Commemoration.

Show hosts Eric Dye & Eric Arrambide discuss the Falcons "no huddle offense", the decision to go for it on 4th down "again" (more questionable) and the near consequences of that decision to name a few. They rewind this last weeks game against the Tennessee Titans and look ahead to this weeks game against the Minnesota Vikings as well as go over the news from around the NFL, last weeks games and key games to look for this coming week (Week 12) including Thanksgiving Day.

Minnesota Vikings vs Atlanta Falcons

Keys & Notes

• Overall Record vs. Vikings: Atlanta Falcons trails Minnesota Vikings (10-16)
• In the last meeting between these teams in 2008, Turner rushed for 70 yards and a TD on 19 carries in Atlanta's 24-17 victory. Ryan, who is 23-4 in regular-season games at home, passed for 134 yards and a touchdown.
• The Vikings, 3-10 on the road since the start of last season.
• Minnesota is trying to avoid its first 2-9 start since its 1961 inaugural season.
• Michael Turner, the two-time Pro Bowl running back is averaging 105.6 yards over his last five games, while Minnesota is allowing an average of 125.0 rushing yards in its last five.
• Ryan, has recorded back-to-back 300-yard passing games for the first time in his career.
• Turner is fifth in the NFL in rushing yards, fourth in rushing TDs, and second in rushing attempts.
• Peterson, who enters Week 12 sixth in the league in rushing with 872 yards and an NFL-best 11 rushing touchdowns.

Injury Report for Week 12: Vikings @ Falcons

• Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who’s been battling a right hamstring injury, will return to practice Thursday, according to coach Mike Smith.“We anticipate him being out on the practice field tomorrow, “ Smith said. “It will be encouraging to see him out practicing and not out working out with our athletic performance department. He’s done a nice job in his rehabilitation. So, tomorrow we’ll give him an opportunity. If it goes well, we’ll progress to Friday and give him back-to-back days of work.”Jones injured his left hamstring against Green Bay on Oct. 9. He missed the Carolina and Detroit games. He came back against Indianapolis on Nov. 6 and caught three passes for 131 yards and scored two touchdowns. He left the New Orleans game with an injured right hamstring. He didn’t play last week against TennesseeJones has 30 catches for 498 yards and two touchdowns.
• Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier is hopeful that running back Adrian Peterson, who suffered a grade 1 left high ankle sprain last week in the first quarter against Oakland, will be able to play against the Falcons on Sunday.“We are going to see how he progresses in the next day or two,” Frazier said on Wednesday. “Hopefully on Friday, we’ll see if we can get him out of that boot and see if he can move around some. Then we’ll make a determination from there.”The grade one sprain is the least severe of the three high ankle sprains.If Peterson is not able to play, Frazier he will start second-year running back Toby Gerhart. Also, Lorenzo Booker would see some action.

Recap from Coach Mike Smith Post Game Press Conference vs Tennessee Titans

Falcons coach Mike Smith was pleased with the victory over Tennessee, but  not with the red zone offense (2 of 6) or the third down defense (8 or 14).

Here’s what Smith had to say after the Falcons’ 23-17 victory over the Titans on Sunday:

OPENING STATEMENT: Obviously, we came into this ball game looking to get back on track. That was our number one objective and we got that accomplished. We made it a little bit harder than it needed to be. We have a number of things to address and get fixed. Whether [if] you win by a large amount or you win by one, you always have things that you have to get fixed. It’s a learning process for our team. This team bounced back and they showed their resiliency of a very mature football team.

ON MICHAEL TURNER’S SHOWING: Michael Turner ran the ball extremely hard. He ran down behind his pads. We did a nice job blocking. I thought that we put ourselves in the best situation with calling it at the line of scrimmage to get the best number count. Michael ran extremely hard today and the guys did a nice job blocking up front, as well as on the perimeter with our wide receivers.

ON NO-HUDDLE AND 11 PERSONNEL GROUPING: It sounds like a broken record, but we have these discussions during the week. We have strategic planning and that was the way we were going to approach this game. Again, it’s based on how things happen and how the game plays out between series. We thought it was working very effectively for us and felt that it was the best way to give us the opportunity to win the ballgame.

ON PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENT: Red zone efficiency; we’ve got to be more efficient down there in the red zone. You’ve got to score touchdowns when you’re down in the red zone. It’s very important in this League to score touchdowns and not kick field goals. We were not very efficient in the red zone. You can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. Our third down efficiency today was not what it needed to be. You can’t give up fourth down. You can’t give up fourth down and 16 at the end of the ball game to allow them to keep the track going. Those are a couple of things that we need to address.

ON REBOUNDING: It says a lot about the guys. Regardless of the outcome, we know it’s a long season. Regardless of the outcome, we have to move on to the next football game. Our guys have done an outstanding job since we’ve been here.  .  .  We don’t let things linger. When we get back out on that field on Wednesday we wipe our slate clean and we move on.

ON THE RUN DEFENSE SHUTTING DOWN CHRIS JOHNSON: One of the ‘musts’ that we had going into this ballgame was that we must stop Chris Johnson. This guy is a dynamic running back and if he gets around the edge and around the corner and if we don’t leverage the ball properly, then we are going to not have success. We did a very good job. I thought Jonathan Babineaux was a very good tempo setter for us today inside playing defensive tackle.

ON MATT RYAN RUNNING THE NO HUDDLE: I think Matt continues to show his maturity in terms of what he’s able to handle. I thought he did a very good job running the no-huddle offense. I think he was over 100 on his quarterback rating and I think when he has that type of rating then we definitely enhance our chances of winning.

ON TENNESSEE’S JAKE LOCKER: He threw the two touchdown passes. I think he was nine out of 19, but he was very successful when he threw the ball downfield. He had the two touchdown passes and obviously we’ve got to be better in our defense of the pass plays in the fourth quarter.

Courtesy of AJC.

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