PHOENIX -- Between episodes of "Weird Science" by New England coach and noted astrophysicist Bill Belichick, I thought I would post something every Falcons' fan should be interested in: Player comments about Dan Quinn, the Falcons' head coach in waiting and Seattle's defensive coordinator.
OK, wait. First this.
An actual astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Tweeted this about Belichick's claims that his team's footballs in the AFC title game were under-inflated because of "atmospheric" changes (never mind that that wouldn't explain why, even if one were to accept that fiction as gospel, these alleged changes didn't affect Indianapolis's footballs).
Here's what a really smart guy said:
I'll have more with Dr. Belichick's comments in a full column later.
Now, back to Quinn.
I'll have a full column on him posted late tomorrow and in Wednesday's AJC off Tuesday's Super Bowl Media Day. But until then, here are some comments culled from Seattle defenders, all of whom were careful not to talk as if Quinn already has taken the Falcons' job:
• Defensive end Cliff Avril: "He's obviously a great D-coordinator that any player from any position can go talk to. He's a D-line coach at heart, which is good for me. To have the defensive coordinator be the D-line coach is pretty cool because they kind of cater some things to you. He's the easiest guy to talk to. If you have questions, he's not going to jump down your throat or anything like that."
• Avril on how Quinn projects as a head coach: "You see the numbers from the last two years. Hopefully he can bring that with him. Obviously he knows what he's doing. I think he'll be a great head coach."
• Linebacker K.J. Wright: "I think he'll be a really good head coach. I don't expect him to be here next year. I know a lot of guys want him (back) but he should've been gone last year with what he did. But he'll be a good head coach and he'll surround himself with good offensive and defensive coordinators and he'll do a good job.
"It's just the enthusiasm that he brings. He’s fired up every day. He tells us, ‘Just get your mind right. This is what we’re going to focus on.’ When he becomes a head coach, especially when he takes over a struggling defense, he’ll come out there and get those guys right and everything else will take care of itself."
Like Atlanta?
"Yeah, let’s talk Atlanta. They’ve got a good offense but the defense is struggling. So if he comes out there and gets that defense right, they’re an automatic playoff team."
• Safety Kam Chancellor: "He's a great D-coordinator. One thing about D.Q. is he finds the strengths in everybody and he puts them in the right spot to do well. If you're great (covering) hook (patterns), he'll put you on hooks. If you're a great edge rusher, he'll put you on the edge. He does a great job of finding what you can do and makes that work."
That's all for now. I'll have more on Quinn Tuesday.
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