Coach Dan Quinn said Monday that the bye week hits the Falcons at just the right time.
Quinn said coaches on all sides of the ball — offensively, defensively and on special teams — will be looking at the minutia of the season’s first half and should be ready to address any problems next week.
“We are going to find (ways to improve) and go attack every single spot that we can,” Quinn said. “That’s our mindset and that’s what we’ll go do.”
Entering the offweek with three losses in the last four games, Quinn said he wants the Falcons to use the week off to rest their bodies — everybody is “dealing with something” at this point of the season — and return to practice Monday ready to “let it rip.”
Defensive lineman Adrian Clayborn said he was disappointed with team’s second straight loss, Sunday’s 17-16 flop at San Francisco. But he said the Falcons’ six wins in nine games speak to the team’s talent.
“Nobody wants to leave like this,” Clayborn said. “Maybe it’s what we needed, to come back ready to end the season.”
Over the bye week, Quinn said he challenged the Falcons to think about what they’ve accomplished and how to improve.
“The challenge that comes for the players (is to) look back to the start of training camp. Are you happy with where your game is right now?” Quinn said. “Can we get rested up? Can we get our treatment right? Can we get our bodies back?”
Rookie linebacker Vic Beasley said he’ll use the downtime he usually spends practicing to study.
“It’s tough at first, but over the course of the game and game experience, now it’s coming natural to me,” Beasley said. “I think I’ve done decent. There’s a lot of room for improvement and a lot of production out there waiting for me.”
Beasley picked off one of 49ers quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s two interceptions Sunday.
Despite the setbacks, Quinn said one of the high notes going into the bye week was not allowing a turnover for the first time in five games.
“The turnover part in some games, that was hard,” Quinn said. “For us to have that part cleaned up and for us to go into a plus-two for a turnover margin and for the penalties go down, those are the things that we want to keep getting better at week after week.”
The Falcons were penalized six times for 63 yards on Sunday, after being flagged 11 times for 134 yards against Tennessee the week before. Quinn said he challenged his team not replay mistakes of the past.
“We were really challenged the last two weeks. That part was hard,” Quinn said. “Really for us, the opportunities were there for us to have a chance and it didn’t come through like we want.”
Quinn said for the coaching staff, the bye week brings time for evaluation on what the best way is to match players with their style of play.
“We’ll come back, get fresh, get rested up and get ready to come back after the bye and go for it in a big way,” Quinn said.
About the Author
