Falcons coach Dan Quinn was miffed.
While his defensive line was struggling early in Dallas last Sunday, Quinn could be seen on the sidelines freely and vigorously exercising his first amendment rights as he pulled the group together.
“He was going off, but it was more positive criticism than anything,” defensive end Tyson Jackson said. “He was just telling us that it was all about us and that we were making our own mistakes out there. It wasn’t like they were just gashing us. There were missed tackles and missed-fitting on certain blitzes. We allowed those guys to get a lot of yards.”
The linemen took Quinn’s “positive criticism” to heart and made a remarkable turnaround. The defensive line rotation, which features nine players, held Dallas to minus-4 yards rushing in the second half after giving up 131 yards in the first 30 minutes.
Quinn hasn’t seen the footage of his sideline performance yet.
“It was certainly not calculated at any point,” Quinn said. “… However, I love the competition with the guys. They know I totally support them and back them.
“I just want us to play at our best. So I would imagine it would have been a time we were at our best and I was excited for them or we were not at our best and I wanted to get excited for them.”
Against the Cowboys, the Falcons opened in their base 4-3 defense with Jackson at left end, tackle Ra’Shede Hagemen, nose tackle Paul Soliai and right end Vic Beasley. In the previous two games, they had opened in a 3-3-5 nickel package with left end Adrian Clayborn, nose tackle Jonathan Babineaux and right end Beasley.
“As we get into each game, some games call for more of a nickel package,” Quinn said. “Some games call for more of a base. As each game goes though, it kind of works its way out in terms of balance.”
In addition to the two different starting groups, the Falcons also rotate end Kroy Bierman, tackle Grady Jarrett and end Malliciah Goodman. Against the Giants in the second game, they only played eight linemen while Goodman was out with a triceps injury.
“(Defensive line coach) Bryan (Cox) has done a really good job of rotating the guys,” Quinn said. “We just want to have enough guys who can finish for two minutes at the end of the half and the end of the game.
“So many games come down to that. So let’s make sure our rushers are available to keep battling forth so that we just don’t run out of gas with our pass rush.”
The rotational plan worked to near perfection in the second half against Dallas. After shutting down the Cowboys and taking a 32-28 lead, Beasley came with a big sack on third down with 10:04 to play to force a punt.
“That was a huge stop for us,” Quinn said.
During practice, Quinn works with the ends and outside linebackers, the group that probably took the brunt of his Sunday “excitement.”
“We knew that we played a bad first half,” Soliai said. “We just have to play a full game now. … We just have to play a complete game now.”
The players respected Quinn’s passion in the heat of battle.
“He’s a very passionate guy,” linebacker Paul Worrilow said. “It’s no secret he loves this game. When you have that, it’s contagious.”
Quarterback Matt Ryan enjoyed the moment.
“Dan is awesome to be around,” Ryan said. “There is no doubt about it. He wants to win as much as much as anybody else. Mike Smith was fiery, too. So I’ve been around guys that are like that. I think the team responds well to it.”
Once the defensive line started play better, the rest of the defense locked in.
“You’re only as good as the people up front,” defensive coordinator Richard Smith said.
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