Falcons adding Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons sent shockwaves through Atlanta camp

Drew Dalman was busy putting in the work to be the best center possible for the Atlanta Falcons. Then, general manager Terry Fontenot decided to make a few high-profile splashes to help the other side of the ball.

While Dalman, on behalf of CoolMitt, spoke to The Blogging Dirty Podcast for FanSided, even he recognized how big of a deal this was for his team trying to go from good to great.

Adding perennial Pro Bowlers like Matthew Judon to the front-seven and Justin Simmons to the back-end certainly moved the needle. Both moves came together very quickly, with Judon being floated for a trade maybe a day or so before hand, and Simmons signing with Atlanta over the course of a week. Outside noise does nothing for professionals like Dalman, but even he was taken aback.

Anytime there are a series of moves like this, it is hard to not pay attention to them, as Dalman said.

"Yeah, it was interesting. It's probably my fault. I stick my head pretty deep in the sand during training camp. So I really had no idea any of it was going on. Then obviously, news broke and people were talking about it. And as you mentioned, I think anytime you add players like that, it's exciting to see what the role is gonna be ... and how it's gonna move the needle for the team."

He is most excited about how these two defensive players are potentially going to help this team.

"So yeah, I think everybody is excited and happy about it. Obviously, our number one goal is to just improve and be the best football team we can. So if those guys help, that's something we're really happy about."

Here is the entire interview I had with Dalman on The Blogging Dirty Podcast on behalf of CoolMitt.

Let's discuss how these two marquee defensive additions will help make Dalman's job much easier.

Drew Dalman touches on Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons additions

In an ideal world for an offensive lineman of Dalman's caliber, you want to finish the game with a series of runs, followed by a few quarterback kneels. Running the ball chews up the clock. It allows offensive linemen at all five positions to be the aggressor, as opposed to the reactor with the pass rush during a drop-back by the quarterback. Linemen like Dalman love to road grade the opposition relentlessly.

So with adding Judon, the Falcons are gaining a perennial Pro Bowl pass rusher to wreak havoc on obvious passing situations throughout the game. You get a few of those pressures to turn into hurries, sacks or mistakes by the opposing quarterback, it affords the offense more chances to possess the football. Atlanta has been largely horrific at rushing the passer for nearly two decades.

As far as Simmons is concerned, it is about creating a few more incompletions in the secondary, a few more turnovers and a few more changes of possession. Atlanta has been at its best throughout my entire life when the defensive backfield is flying around and making plays to help the defense. Run defense has usually been strong, but the secondary has kind of been the litmus test for the franchise.

I think for Dalman and the rest of the offense, these two marquee defensive additions take some pressure off the team to score on every drive. It might be able to if Kirk Cousins is able to unlock all that there is in Zac Robinson's scheme, but baby steps first. Overall, getting a little bit more dynamic on defense will afford the Falcons more opportunities to play winning and complementary football.

Though their roles still need to be defined, Dalman and I are eager to see what these guys can do.

Drew Dalman spoke with FanSided over on The Blogging Dirty Podcast on behalf of CoolMitt.