Tag: Dan Quinn

Dan Quinn tells team there’s no time to dwell on loss to Buccaneers

The Falcons’ 35–22 loss to the Buccaneers was as frustrating as it gets, but the team must quickly shift focus to Week 13 with the New Orleans Saints coming to town for a Thursday night Thanksgiving battle.

The Falcons’ 35–22 loss to the Buccaneers was as frustrating as it gets, but the team must quickly shift focus to Week 13 with the New Orleans Saints coming to town for a Thursday night Thanksgiving battle.

In his postgame press conference, head coach Dan Quinn said he had told his players they didn’t have any time to dwell on Sunday’s letdown:

After suffering an eighth loss, the playoffs aren’t a real possibility for the Falcons this season. Still, getting two wins over a very good Saints team in less than a month would be a satisfying achievement in its own right.

The crowds at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta have been getting smaller and this team owes it to the fans to put on a respectable performance at home on Thanksgiving.

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Things we learned from Sunday of Week 12 of NFL season

Touchdown Wire’s Pat Yasinskas shares 9 things we learned from Sunday’s Week 12 NFL games.

The NFL results from Week 12 were supposed to set up two huge matchups for Week 13. Umm, looks like that may not happen.

The big games were supposed to be Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns in a rematch after the Week 11 game in which Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett clobbered Rudolph over the head with a helmet in a melee that caused Garrett to be suspended indefinitely and 33 players to be fined for their roles in the incident. Cleveland fans set the stage by hitting a Rudolph pinata with a helmet. That seemed to set up a monster rematch for next week.

The other huge game that seemed to be looming was an AFC West showdown between Kansas City and Oakland. The Chiefs, 7-4, were on bye Sunday. The Raiders entered the day at 6-4 and all they had to do was beat the lowly New York Jets to enter next week’s game in a tie with the Chiefs.

But, suddenly, some of the luster was taken off both games by what happened Sunday. Let’s take a closer look at that we examine nine things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 12.

9. The Raiders aren’t as good as we thought

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Raiders had seemed to turn the corner and had a shot at winning the division or at least making the playoffs. People were talking about Jon Gruden as Coach of the Year. Those things still could happen, but they’re not nearly as likely after a 34-3 loss to the Jets. Gruden, who seemed to have the perfect relationship with Derek Carr, benched his quarterback in the third quarter. Carr had thrown for just 127 passes and an interception. There’s no question Carr will be back as the starter against Kansas City. But things aren’t looking as rosy for the Raiders as they would have been with a victory over the Jets.

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Dan Quinn says Falcons DE Vic Beasley has benefited from moving around

Head coach Dan Quinn talked on Wednesday about defensive end Vic Beasley, who’s recorded 2.5 sacks over the past two games. Quinn said the team’s decision to move Beasley around has helped him find success.

The Falcons have come alive defensively over the past two weeks, with some minor coaching and schematic changes effectively getting this team out of its slump.

Much has been made about Jeff Ulbrich and Raheem Morris taking over the play-calling duties, along with Ricardo Allen’s switch to strong safety, but another change has helped the defense become more effective.

Head coach Dan Quinn talked on Wednesday about defensive end Vic Beasley, who’s recorded 2.5 sacks over the past two games. Quinn said the team’s decision to move Beasley around has helped him find success.

Earlier this season, Beasley had become ineffective as a speed rusher that wasn’t getting to the quarterback. Freeing him up to switch sides has given opposing offensive lines problems.

The overall defensive communication has significantly improved as well, which has helped the entire unit play significantly better over the past two weeks.

Atlanta will look to win a third straight game when it hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. The Falcons are currently 4.5-point favorites for their Week 12 matchup.

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Falcons coach Dan Quinn comments on Chris Lindstrom’s injury status

Falcons rookie guard Chris Lindstrom broke his foot in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Ten weeks later, he’s still on the injured reserve list.

Falcons rookie guard Chris Lindstrom broke his foot in the team’s Week 1 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Ten weeks later, he’s still on the injured reserve list.

Head coach Dan Quinn gave an update on Lindstrom’s status Monday, per team reporter William McFadden:

Quinn would also comment on tight end Austin Hooper and running back Devonta Freeman, saying they are both likely to miss Wednesday’s practice at the very least:

Hooper was initially reported to be out about a month with an MCL sprain, but Quinn disputed this claim. Freeman, meanwhile, has an injured foot that kept him sidelined on Sunday.

We shall see how much time these two offensive starters wind up missing. The Falcons managed just fine without them during their Week 11 win over the Panthers due to another dominant defensive performance.

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Examining the Falcons’ defensive resurgence over the past two weeks

Since the Falcons returned from their Week 9 bye, they’ve defeated two division rivals by playing suffocating defense.

Since the Falcons returned from their Week 9 bye, they’ve defeated two division rivals by playing suffocating defense.

With seven sacks and just two interceptions over the team’s first eight games, opposing offenses had done pretty much whatever they wanted to Atlanta while the team sputtered to a 1-7 start.

That hasn’t been the case over the past two weeks, however, as the Falcons have racked up 11 sacks and four interceptions, more than doubling the team’s season totals in both categories in just two games.

Atlanta has held its previous two opponents to under 10 points, allowing 6.0 points per game since Week 10. The team’s defensive pressure rate has skyrocketed to a level we hadn’t previously seen this year, and it’s had an effect on the entire defense.

As Aaron Freeman highlights below, Atlanta’s third-down conversion percentage has been the lowest in the NFL, at 19.2 percent:

The Falcons made some defensive coaching changes over the bye week, bringing linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich and former wide receivers coach Raheem Morris over to share the team’s defensive coordinator duties.

Dan Quinn, who took over as the team’s defensive coordinator after Atlanta parted with Marquand Manuel in the offseason, was not getting the job done and made the right call in stepping back.

It’s not to say that Quinn doesn’t deserve credit for the team’s defensive turnaround, just sometimes head coaches are better suited to focus on the big picture.

The Falcons aren’t doing much differently, and while the return of Desmond Trufant definitely helped the secondary, as DE Vic Beasley said after Sunday’s game, the difference has been execution:

Fans don’t care about who gets the credit, they just want to see the Falcons play up to their potential — the way they have over the past two weeks.

Something is definitely clicking for this defense. Atlanta likely won’t make the playoffs, but if the team keeps up this level of play, things will at least be interesting down the stretch.

That would have been hard to believe just a few weeks ago.

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9 things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 11

Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Kirk Cousins are the headliners on the list of things we learned in Week 11 of the 2019 NFL season.

Here are nine things we learned from Sunday’s games of Week 11 and what they mean for the future:

9. Changing of the QB in Chicago?

Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

After the Rams took a 17-10 lead with less than four minutes left, the Bears surprisingly yanked quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and inserted backup Chase Daniel. It didn’t help, but it spoke volumes. Trubisky had no apparent injury. But, like he has been most of the season, Trubisky was ineffective. He completed 24 of 43 passes for 190 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Daniel is not a long-term answer. But, neither is Trubisky, the second overall pick in 2017. His time in Chicago likely is coming to an end. The Bears almost certainly will sign a free agent (Teddy Bridgewater?) or draft a quarterback.

8. The Raiders are for real

Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

The Raiders have some of the most dedicated fans in the league. They never were a negative factor during the battle to get a new stadium in Oakland. That fiasco was between local government and the team. With the team moving to Las Vegas next year, wouldn’t it be nice to see Oakland fans enjoy a home playoff game before the team leaves? Winning the AFC West might be a stretch. But it’s no stretch to picture the Raiders in the playoffs. Sunday’s victory over winless Cincinnati might not seem like a huge deal. But it was important. The Raiders are 6-4 and very much in contention for the playoffs. Suddenly, their Dec. 1 game with Kansas City is looming large in the AFC West.

7. Kirk Cousins will get another huge contract

David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota quarterback has been on fire since Week 5, after being publicly criticized by receiver Adam Thielen. Cousins had another big game Sunday, throwing for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Vikings to a 27-23 win over Denver after rallying from a 20-0 deficit. A lot of people laughed when the Vikings signed Cousins to a fully guaranteed three-year, $84 million contract last year. But no one is laughing now. Cousins still has next year left on the contract. But, if he keeps playing like he has been in recent weeks, Cousins will get an even bigger contract for 2021.

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Falcons coach Dan Quinn uses Myles Garrett suspension as teaching moment

Thursday night’s controversial finish to the AFC South matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers has possibly overtaken Colin Kaepernick’s workout as the NFL’s biggest story.

The Falcons have been uncharacteristically quiet for a 2-7 team with a coach on the hot seat. Outside of Devonta Freeman’s skirmish with Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald, there hasn’t been a lot of drama or division in the locker room.

Thursday night’s controversial finish to the AFC South matchup between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers has possibly overtaken Colin Kaepernick’s workout as the NFL’s biggest story.

Browns DE Myles Garrett was suspended for the remainder of the year for swinging his helmet at Steelers QB Mason Rudolph after the two got tied up on the ground:

As reported by Falcons reporter William McFadden, head coach Dan Quinn said he spoke to the team about the incident at Friday’s practice, emphasizing the need for the players to keep their cool during high-intensity division games:

We talked about division games, and they’re more heated for sure. Both teams know each other so well. The term we use sometimes is you’ve got to stare right into the face of temptation, and have that poise to do that at the end, even when it’s really hard.

Atlanta plays NFC South rival Carolina in Week 11, so this message is coming at a perfect time for the team as it tries to build on last week’s win over the Saints.

The Falcons are currently 5.5-point underdogs for Sunday’s road matchup with the Panthers.

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Watch: Jeff Ulbrich downplays defensive play-calling changes

Just before the kickoff of Sunday’s game against the Saints, it was reported that Falcons linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich would take over the team’s defensive play-calling duties.

Just before the kickoff of Sunday’s game against the Saints, it was reported that Falcons linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich would take over the team’s defensive play-calling duties.

After holding New Orleans to just nine points, Ulbrich was quickly credited for the team’s defensive turnaround. It was later explained that assistant coach Raheem Morris had called plays on third downs, while Ulbrich called them on first and second downs.

Speaking to the media on Wendesday, Ulbrich downplayed the coaching changes as a key factor in the Falcons’ performance.

Instead, he credited the players and head coach Dan Quinn, which you can watch below in a tweet from ESPN’s Vaughn McClure:

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Dan Quinn impressed with Kaleb McGary’s fight against Cam Jordan

Prior to the Falcons’ Week 10 defensive outburst, they had recorded just seven total sacks through their first eight games. In contrast, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan had personally tallied eight sacks entering Sunday’s game.

Prior to the Falcons’ Week 10 defensive outburst, they had recorded just seven total sacks through their first eight games. In contrast, Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan had personally tallied eight sacks entering Sunday’s contest.

Atlanta’s shocking six-sack performance become the biggest headline from the team’s 26-9 upset win over New Orleans, although the offensive line deserves some credit as well.

The Falcons kept the Saints’ powerful offense off of the field by winning the time of possession battle, thanks in large part to the way they played up front against one of the best defenses in the NFL this season.

Atlanta’s offensive line allowed just one sack and kept an injured Matt Ryan upright for most of the day. Rookie right tackle Kaleb McGary has been solid for most of the year, but was especially good on Sunday.

He held Jordan in check and never once shied away from the challenge. Watch for yourself as Brian Baldinger breaks down the team’s offensive line play below:

Falcons coach Dan Quinn noticed as well, appreciating the way McGary battled against one of the league’s best defensive ends.

Atlanta could get their other first-round pick, guard Chris Lindstrom, back in a few weeks, although it may take another season to know what the team has in the former Boston College standout.

For now, the Falcons have to feel pretty good about what they’ve seen from McGary.

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Dan Quinn says he has a lot of respect for Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

When a player totals 1,385 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns in just nine games, he ought to earn the respect of just about everyone.

Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey has set the NFL on fire in 2019, racking up 1,385 all-purpose yards and 14 touchdowns through just nine games.

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, who sees McCaffrey twice a year, is just as impressed as everyone else.

Speaking on Monday ahead of Atlanta’s Week 11 matchup with Carolina, Quinn said he was most impressed with McCaffrey’s growth as an every-down back.

Coming into the draft a few years ago, many labeled McCaffrey as a third-down back that was not worthy of a high draft pick. The Panthers ignored those critics and took the talented all-purpose back in the first round.

The move would pay off as McCaffrey is legitimately in the MVP discussion this season. The Falcons, despite a 2-7 start, will look to win their second straight NFC South game when they take on Carolina this Sunday.

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