PHOENIX – Here's more from Falcons coach in-waiting Dan Quinn from his Wednesday media session:
On his defensive coaching style: "I think our guys will just never back down from a challenge. One of the words we use a lot is fast and physical. We don't play tons of different styles of defense, but the things that we do play we play well. It's not what we play, it's how we play it. I think those guys with the intensity and the challenges that they face it's a great group to be apart of."
On if he coaches his players more or just focuses on coaching the system: "That's a good question. I would say more towards the players. We really try to feature what those guys do best. When we do that, we put them in their best spots to play like they're capable of, and that's when we're at our best. We're trying to be the best fundamental team above all. That's our tackling, that's the way we go after the football. When you have too much scheme, sometimes it's hard to work on all the things you have to and you can make effort the top priority of your game. For us, it's a real balance between how much scheme we do compared to here's the things that the players do best."
On what Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor has to do to stop Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski: "Nothing that he doesn't normally do. It's the physical play. He's a terrific tackler. Of course when he plays our three-deep, he's an important guy for us to play in the hooks. When we play man-to-man, certainly will have linebackers and safeties featured on him. That's where Kam's at his best when he's down closer to the line of scrimmage."
On preparation for New England's complicated formations: "I think different teams have different challenges as you go through. For them, that was another package that they do, so I think they're able to attack in a number of different ways. You have to go through all the process whether they want to play empty, whether they want to play ineligible positions at receiver spots. All those are ones that we practice, so it's a great challenge but one that we're definitely looking forward to."
On how his game plan fits in with team's defensive philosophy to win possessions: "As you know, they have a big package too, so whatever style they're going to play, it could be three receivers, four receivers, they can get big to play. Fortunately for us we have enough pressures if we want to play into a nickel game or if they want to get big and run the ball. Just look at the two examples between the Baltimore game and the Indy game. Baltimore they had like 13 or 14 runs for the game. In the Indy game, it was in the 40s. As you go into it when you're playing these type of teams that really game plan for that team, you really have to be ready for what's about to come. It could be a number of different things when they go to play that way. For us, playing San Francisco was that way. Our style, in terms of how we play and the attitude is really the thing that matters the most to us. The way we go after the ball, the way we tackle, those are the things that make us hard to beat."
On the simplicity of the Seahawks defensive scheme: "It allows you to be kind of be freed up mentally. It allows you to even play faster. There's not another check. There's not another alert. We think you're able to play even faster when you don't do as many schemes. For us, one of things we say is it's not what we play or what we call, it's how we play it. That style and that attitude that all these guys have like Kam (Chancellor) and ET (Earl Thomas) and (Byron) Maxwell, the way they play is the biggest difference."
On whether or not guys like cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Earl Thomas can stay within the scheme when they don't get a lot of action in a game: "I think they can. That's really the challenge, especially with (Richard) Sherman. There's so many times where action didn't go his way. It could be like, 'Well, I'm going to go take a chance and try to make a play here.' That took extreme discipline by him to say, 'I need to play within the system. When my opportunities come here, then I'll go get the ball.' There were games where he just didn't get a lot of activity to his side. It's a really challenge for him to focus to do that and same with ET (Earl Thomas) where he's such a ball hawk. He so wants to go get it, but it's like, 'Okay, I've got to make sure what I do first to help out the team.'"
On New England's time of possession in a game: "That's what's hard for us. They're just so consistent on these possessions that they're able to keep the ball away from Russ (Russell Wilson) and the guys. For us, we want to steal a couple of possessions by taking the ball. That's one of the things that we practice so hard in terms of getting our takeaways. The third down in this game is going to be critical. Just knowing that we can get them off the field. They're such an effective group. They can use Gronk (Rob Gronkowski) and even Shane Vereen to that extent as a third down player. ET (Earl Thomas) in specific, he's a huge factor for us. He totally is just by the way he plays. He's such a relentless competitor. You have to go back and look at it, but after he dislocated his shoulder, he came back and hit (Eddie) Lacy as hard as he could with the same shoulder. I think that play sums up his intensity that he has because the naturally thing would be, 'Okay, I'm going to hit this dude with my other shoulder.' It was just the opposite. It was, 'I'm going to stay true to who I am.' He's such a unique guy. We try to celebrate tat uniqueness with him. He's very thoughtful in what he's trying to say, but he's such a competitor. If 10 is the high, he's an 11. He comes to walk-through with a mouthpiece in. He wants to feel like it's game day. Those are like the little things that probably nobody knows about. His intensity level doesn't change."
On if Earl Thomas will be the x-factor for his defense in this game: "I certainly think he's going to be a factor because of the speed that he plays with. How can he not be? He's such an intense guy. He would be, and I think Kam Chancellor would be too. We ask Kam to do so many different things where he plays hook in the three deep, he plays man-to-man. He's as physical of tackler as we get. For the players, that's like big brother. Don't mess with that dude. Their intensity, their mindset, I think those two guys would be guys to talk about."
On how he manages the secondary to corral the energy in the secondary: "Well, this is going to sound funny but that intensity those guys play with, they practice like that. It's not like where they just pick it up on game day. I think that's one of the great things about their intensity. Their practice habits are terrific. I've been around some really good guys from different teams. In terms of bringing it to practice. When I was in San Francisco, Bryant Young was that way. Every practice on it. During my time in Miami, Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas had that. Junior Seau was that way. There's very few guys that are on it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday where the intensity doesn't stop. The mindset doesn't stop. That's what's one of the really cool things about those guys. It's not okay to let a ball get completed on them in walk-though. We might have a walk-through session and if there's a ball thrown in (Richard) Sherman's direction, the guy doesn't catch it. There's just this great tremendous competitive side of them. They feed off it with one another. You have it, I have it, we all have it. Those are pretty cool things."
On if he has to dial it back in practice so guys don't fight: "Not necessarily from a fight standpoint. At times we'll just say, 'Hey, be a great teammate.' One of our rules of our team is protecting our team. A great teammate can do a lot of good things. As competitive as it gets sometimes at practice, as he heated as it does get, I think we always come back and know what we're competing for so our team can play as well as it can. There's no time where it's cool and you and me are at odds."
On what allows guys to step up when called upon in the secondary: "I think one guy we don't talk about enough is Kris Richard, the defensive backs coach. He has developed and had a huge impact on a lot of these guys. We have real belief in our system in terms of style and how we play. There's so many things that a new player or a young player might get caught up in all the different ways, so we really try to feature what the guys do best. Fortunately for us we're able to play with corners who have length at the line of scrimmage, and then just the way that our safeties play right now with Kam (Chancellor) and ET (Earl Thomas), it matches up perfectly."
On Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas: "Their roles are different, but their value to our team is so critical. Kam who plays in our hooks in all our three-deeps. He plays a lot of man-to-man. He's as physical of a tackler that you'll find. He works at it hard, really hard. Not just the contact, it's tracking a guy and knowing how to tackle. Those are some of the important things for us. He's a player where just the intensity that he brings to our team is huge."
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
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