Dan Quinn speaks to how team continues to live with Super Bowl 51

In an appearance on NFL’s The Rich Eisen Show, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was asked about that thing you never like for people to bring up if they can afford not to.

Yes, Super Bowl 51. What else do we try to avoid talking about ‘round these parts?

Quinn gives the answer we’re accustomed to hearing: you have lots of experiences in the NFL that shape you; the team can grow and become stronger, harder, more resilient through that experience; they hope to rectify it one day.

Nothing super new, but it always bears mentioning when Quinn brings it up. It sure is weird to hear Eisen say “two years ago” with it, because, well, it will be two years in the winter, which is really something.

The one thing Quinn did say that was worth noting was that, indeed, different teams have different experiences. The Falcons have two draft classes and a couple of free agents on the team now who were probably giggling at 28-3 jokes before joining the organization (look, it’s probably true), and don’t have that looming over their head. The team is still primarily made up of guys who still feel the sting, and are extra motivated to avenge things.

But, it’s interesting that, indeed, this will linger with us longer than it will linger with the Falcons as a whole as new faces filter in. This isn’t going to doom the franchise forever (*knocks on wood*), like some folks hastily thought it might. It’s a painful memory, but it becomes more and more of a linger instead of a throb as time goes on.

So, while Quinn kind of is settling in to a prepared statement whenever he’s asked about the loss, he does give some keen insight into why this may become less and less relevant to the team as we get further away from it, which, y’know, works.