During his opening statement to the media on the first “Tell the Truth Monday” of the season, Falcons coach Dan Quinn outlined what he liked from the 38-25 loss to the Seattle and what he didn’t like.
Here are the five issues that were discussed:
1. Both lines played well. “I thought we’d improve certainly on the line of scrimmage on both sides,” Quinn said. “I felt that way in the game. Our run-game, the play-pass that come off of that, some of the explosive plays and pass protection. I thought the same thing on the defensive side in the run game, and finding ways to affect the quarterback more than we had in the past. Those two things were things that I liked.”
2. Tackling is an issue. “Heading into the game, we worked hard on tackling during training camp. We ended the game with five missed tackles.”
3. Turnovers. Losing the turnover battle 2-0 didn’t sit well with Quinn.
4. Fourth down plays. "We were involved in five of them that had an impact on the game. Not just scoring, but on field position as well. Three of them on offense, the fake punt and as well as giving up a fourth down. Not only a first down, but a touchdown. I thought those were the turning points of the game. We still need work in those areas.
“Taking the ball away and certainly those fourth down moments. We certainly want to have the boldness. When the opportunities came to go after it, so when we didn’t nail those. We certainly missed on some opportunities and made it hard on ourselves.”
5. Tighter coverage. OK, we added this one for coach because of the 0 of 35 Next Gen Stat that said all of Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson’s 35 throws were into open windows, with no player within a yard of the intended receiver. How can the coverage get tighter?
“Yeah, that’s a fair question," Quinn said. "I would say what we know heading in that, I think we made it too easy in terms of disguise. That would be really more along the lines I would think of, of having multiple looks in coverage for a quarterback who is as accurate as Russ is. I’d say that’s for sure one that we’d like to have over and do different. More not just tighter, but more adjustments, more variations, I would say.”
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