FanPost

We are now seeing the Dan Quinn Defense



Eleven days ago I made a declarative statement: That Dan Quinn should take over playcalling from Richard Smith. This was in light of a 17 point meltdown borne of soft "cover 3 shell" defense deployed by Smith which ultimately led to a 33-30 defeat by San Diego. We had seen this passive coverage time and again, ad nauseum, particularly in losses to Seattle and the Chargers as well as wins that should have been total blowouts (for example the 45-32 win against the Saints).

The soft coverages were reminiscent of the Mike Smith/ Nolan "bend but let you back into the game" defenses. A similar ranking, 26th-31st and a similar point yield (28.4) and low sack totals. A call was made for Quinn to assert his influence on the defense after the Charger loss and the results have been palpable. With no adjustments seemingly made to offenses prior to the loss, the Packers game showed an interesting difference. Before, Quinn would wear a headset to keep in communication with the press box and coordinators; this time he had, in addition, a play chart which he could be seen to examine.

In the first half, Aaron Rodgers was bewildering the Falcon defense, shredding it with both his feet and legs in response to the soft zone. He led the Packers to 24 points, almost moving at will. The second half, however, was a distinct Quinn stamp: The defense was deployed in a 4-1-6 alignment with Vic Beasley acting as the "1" and spying Rodgers. The result? Two sacks, 8 points yielded and a win. Was this a Richard Smith tactic or a Dan Quinn one? You decide.

Over the succeeding two games after the loss and a call for Quinn to take command, the pass rush has increased significantly as well as the overall aggressive nature (See the Neal and Collins hits for reference). After the post 11 days ago, 92.9 announcer Mark Zeno, a Green Bay beat reporter as well as our own reporter Mark Bradley subsequently mirrored the comments (proving once again that everyone reads the Falcoholic) that Quinn should call the defense.

Whether or not this is truth or wishful thinking, the fact is that Quinn was not hired as an administrator or delegator, such as John Harbaugh of the Ravens, but because of his defensive mind. That mind needs to be paired with the league's top-ranked offense in order to give the Falcons a formidable defense. If Quinn accomplishes this, the team has as good of a chance as any team to make it to the Super Bowl...And this is as close to a guarantee that you will ever get from me.

<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>