The winds of change

What next for the 1-6 Falcons?

Sundays home shellacking by the Rams is a further nail in Dan Quinn's metaphoric coaching coffin in Atlanta. After firing all his co-ordinators at the end of 2018 and taking over defensive play-calling duties himself this year, it's really the only outcome for a team that's simply performed well below it's perceived talent levels.

Quinn looked a beaten man at times during the post game press conference yesterday. The perennially upbeat Quinn looked shellshocked. The body language betrayed the words of his always positive message and his admission that "some of the other assistant coaches" have started sharing defensive play calling duties with him was shocking. You could construe this as a selfless team act of putting his ego to one side for a solution but it's also a direct acceptance that the man with overall responsibility cannot right the ship on a defense made in his name and under his control.

Quinn placed himself directly to the fore of the firing line when replacing Marquand Manuel and surely didn't envisage a regression in the defense from last year. Manuel was a relatively inexperienced defensive co-ordinator who suffered a host of injuries to key personnel with Deion Jones, Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen  missing a combined total of 36 games in 2018. Quinn probably assumed an improvement by default with the return of three team leaders. Neal was lost again early in 2019, but Quinn hasn't suffered the injury bug of his predecessor. His failure to improve the pass defense is most noticeable and damning. If Manuel's performance as DC got him fired, see how Quinn compares in 2019 through 7 games....(NFL rank in parentheses)

I don't think I can recall a time where there were so many holes in zones, where defensive backs would collide with each other freeing up receivers, where players didn't seem sure of their coverage assignments. The defense is meant to be simplified to play at speed. It's either execution or coaching.

Now I'm not suggesting the defense is the only problem here. For large parts of yesterday they were strong in run defense, but the pass rush remained timid and pass coverage confused. There are other issues in Atlanta too, the off season activity to upgrade the offensive line has not panned out. Two O-line signings in free agency and two first round picks spent have yet to see any better protection or running lanes. Matt Ryan limping down the tunnel following yet another day of almost constant harassment just summed up the problems on the other side of the ball too.

There's probably a decent argument (and I'll cover this separately another time) that the Front Office failures to draft or sign impact players in the trenches on either side of the ball is one of the root causes of this teams struggles but right now it's quite rightly Dan Quinn on the hot seat.

DQ seems like an honourable, decent guy, but his scheme just hasn't worked over a number of seasons now. With the Falcons offense, they don't need a top 5 defense to win, but sporting the worst defense outside of Miami is inexcusable. The Falcons often seem out coached. Their record against AFC teams points to under prepared even (DQ is 6-16 against the AFC and most recently 1-8).

Quinn, a specialist D-Line coach, also has to take a large proportion of blame for his failure to develop athletically talented players like Vic Beasley and Takk McKinley whom the Falcons spent 1st round picks on in 2015 and 2017.

What are the good points? The 2016 Draft Class remains a highlight, watching Keanu Neal, Deion Jones and Austin Hooper progress to top 10 players at their position as well as extensive roles for Devondre Campbell and Wes Schweitzer, arguably the best draft class in a long long time in Atlanta. Watching Ricardo Allen progress from practice squad under Smitty to defensive team leader under Quinn.

The Super Bowl run will long be remembered, mostly for the good reasons although tainted by the eventual result. Maybe watching Kyle Shanahan take the 49ers to 6-0 over the weekend is just salt in those wounds.

Dan Quinn 37-34, enough for 4th place in terms of wins as a head coach for the franchise.

It's time for a change.