Dan Quinn offered no definitive answer or explanation Monday for the pickle that the Falcons are in, nor how they got themselves in so much vinegar. But the head coach said the team plans to keep battling like mad after getting walloped 53-32 Sunday by the Texans.
And front and center is trying to figure out how to pressure opposing quarterbacks. Houston quarterback DeShaun Watson, who was sacked almost mercilessly in the first four games, was not sacked and hit just once by the Falcons Sunday.
Atlanta has but five sacks total in five games
“We’ve got lots to work on. We went even further than that,” Quinn said Monday. “Why we’re not affecting the quarterback, that’s definitely at the front of the list.”
The Falcons (1-4) have a lot to work on as they decamp in Phoenix this week before Sunday’s game at Arizona (1-3-1).
They have done nothing consistently well this season.
The Texans on Sunday racked up 592 yards of total offense, and converted 10-of-13 third downs into first downs or touchdowns. It was as rough a day as the Falcons have endured in more than a quarter century. After the game, a few Texans suggested that the Falcons’ defense was easy to figure out, that they knew what to expect.
Yet, in the post-game sweat, Quinn – who this year is doubling as defensive coordinator – said that if the Falcons need to simplify their defense to pump execution, then that’s what they’ll do. The Texans were just about equally successful against the Falcons whether they were in man coverage or zone.
On Monday, when asked about reconciling those two potential realities, Quinn said, “How do you play better? I would say overall a scheme has certain strengths and weaknesses.”
Atlanta’s pass rush has been significantly weak. There may be no obvious fix.
Whatever the Falcons did did not work against the Texans.
Watson completed 28-of-33 passes for a career-high 426 yards and five touchdown. Wide receiver Will Fuller – the Texans’ No. 2 receiver – caught a career-high 14 passes for 217 yards and three touchdowns. Houston ran off nearly two dozen plays that went for 20 or more yards, mostly by pass.
What must be done to prevent that kind of flood in the future?
“First, you put in disguise,” Quinn said of building a game plan. “The key is right call at the right time.”
The calls were almost all wrong in the second half Sunday, when the Texans outscored the Falcons 37-15.
It was a bad day. Third downs were particularly awful for the defense. Maybe that wouldn’t have been the case if the Falcons were better earlier. Perhaps there’s a focal point to be found.
“I’d say No. 1, play better on first and second down,” Quinn said. “That’s first.”
Whatever is going on with the Falcons, and that appears to be as difficult to figure out for coaches as perhaps it is for fans it’s hard to put a finger upon. They have felt good about their practices day after day, week after week, but the Sunday product has mostly been rotten.
“I think what gets maddening for coaches and players, these guys are working,” Quinn said. “That’s the frustrating part of all of us.”
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