Mike, Ali, and Beau react to the news that veteran pass rusher Za’Darius Smith, who has been expected to sign with the Cleveland Browns, has reportedly worked out for the Atlanta Falcons, explain why they think Smith's tenacity would make him a good fit for Jeff Ulbrich and the Falcons defense, and talk about what they want to see from the Falcons’ joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts this week.

Mike, Ali, and Beau react to the Associated Press putting out their preseason Top 25 college football rankings, react to the Ohio State Buckeyes and Oregon Ducks being ranked one and two respectively in the preseason AP Top 25 college football poll, react to the Alabama Crimson Tide being ranked outside of the Top 10 and coming in at number 13, react to the Clemson Tigers not being ranked in the Top 25 in the preseason AP Top 25 college football poll for the first time since 2011, react to the Georgia Bulldogs being ranked as the third best team in the country in the preseason AP college football poll, and explain why they think Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton taking next step this season will make Georgia an unstoppable force.

Mike, Ali, and Beau explain why they think the Falcons preseason opener was all about learning players strengths and weaknesses.

Mike, Ali, and Beau recap and react to the Atlanta Braves losing to the Minnesota Twins last night 4-2 in Minnesota in game one of their three game series, and explain why they think the Braves need more consistent hitting with runners in scoring position to be legit World Series contenders.

The Atlanta Falcons are looking to put their opening preseason loss against the Denver Broncos behind them this week as they pack up to travel to Indianapolis for joint practices with the Colts. But questions remain -- and are potentially renewed -- about the status of the team's Week 1 starter at quarterback after Tua Tagovailoa's disappointing performance.

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The Morning Shift’s full show on Monday, August 17th, 2026.

HR1 - Falcons struggled in 1st preseason game, but a lot of reactions have been overreactions

In hour one Mike, Ali, and Beau recap and react to the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Denver Broncos at home 27-7 on Friday night in their first preseason game of the year, explain why they think quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looked uncomfortable mentally in the Falcons preseason opener, explain why they think the Falcons focus going into their joint practices with the Indianapolis Colts this week must be fixing the small errors they had on Friday, let listeners call in and give their reactions to the game, explain why they think Right Tackle is still the Falcons biggest question mark after their first preseason game, and then close out hour one by recapping and reacting to the Atlanta Braves avoiding being swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 5-3 win at home yesterday.

HR2 - Can’t hit panic button on Falcons after 1st preseason game under new regime

In hour two Mike, Ali, and Beau recap and react to the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Denver Broncos at home 27-7 on Friday night in their first preseason game of the year, react to Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. getting suspended by the NFL for eight games due to violating the league's personal conduct policy when he was arrested on domestic violence charges in February, explain why they think an eight game suspension for Pearce Jr. always felt like the right number, hit the halftime portion of the show where they talk about some of the crazy and funny stories that happened over the weekend that you may’ve missed, including reacting to Cardinals outfielder Joshua Baez becoming the first player to hit a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the majors, explain why they think that feat will likely never be done again, continue to recap and react to the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Denver Broncos at home 27-7 on Friday night in their first preseason game of the year, explain why they think quarterback Tua Tagovailoa looking sped up and very uncomfortable in Friday’s preseason opener was the biggest surprise of the game, and then close out hour two by talking about the biggest news, rumors, and reports in the NFL as they go In The Huddle!

HR3 - Despite bad team performance some individual Falcons players played well Friday

In hour three Mike, Ali and Beau continue to recap and react to the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Denver Broncos at home 27-7 on Friday night in their first preseason game of the year, and explain why they think not much went right for the Falcons in their first preseason game besides their play on special teams.Then, The Morning Shift crew spends some time with former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, and now analyst for the Atlanta Falcons Radio Network Dave Archer! Ali, Mike, Beau, and Dave discuss what Dave thought the bright spots were in the Falcons first preseason game versus the Denver Broncos on Friday night, how Dave thought Falcons rookie linebackers Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. performed in the Falcons first preseason game Friday night and the first NFL game of their careers, Tua looking uncomfortable in the Falcons first preseason game Friday night, how long it will take for him to get comfortable, what has to happen for him to get comfortable as soon as possible, if Dave thinks the Falcons starters will play at all on Saturday in the team’s second preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts, and the Falcons special teams looking good under new Special Teams Coordinator Craig Aukerman.Finally, The Morning Shift crew closes out hour three by talking about what they learned during the show in ‘The More You Know’, and by answering people’s questions about anything in the Morning Mailbag!

Mike, Ali and Beau talk about what they learned during the show in ‘The More You Know’, and then close out hour three by answering people’s questions about anything in the Morning Mailbag!