1. The no-spin zone: Commanders coach Dan Quinn has his team off to a 5-2 start this season.
The former Falcons head coach from 2015-20 stays in contact with current Falcons coach Raheem Morris, who was on his staff for the duration of his tenure.
“We still keep up,” Quinn told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution during a one-on-one interview at Commanders Park in Ashburn, Virginia, on Friday. “We are always following each other, give it a text or call. Hit him on this game we played last week (versus Baltimore). What do you think? Someone that you’re close with, you’ll always keep up with.”
Both Quinn and Morris landed job in the latest coaching cycle and are off to good starts.
The Falcons are is first place in the NFC South, by virtue of their 36-30 overtime win over the Bucs (4-3) on Oct. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Commanders are set to host the Falcons on Dec. 29.
Both were popular candidates for head-coach vacancies over the offseason. Quinn interviewed with five teams and Morris with four.
Morris was the interim after Quinn was fired five games into the 2020 season.
“Every once in a while, you get the right person at the right job, at the right time,” Quinn said. “That’s Raheem in Atlanta. He’s always been the right person. This is the right time for him, there, in that city, with this team. I’d imagine there is a certain energy following this team as well in Atlanta.”
Both are on their second head coaching jobs. Morris was head coach of the Bucs 2009-11.
“He’s got the rare ability, street smarts, football smarts, connection (and) football acumen,” Quinn said. “There are a lot of people who know it in the book, but can’t teach it. There are lot of guys who know how to play, but can’t articulate it. Rah is the rare one who can motivate you. He can talk tough. Whatever is needed to help a player reach their potential. He’s the type of person that you want to do that.”
The Commanders’ revival has been led by quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was taken second overall in the 2024 NFL draft. He suffered a rib injury in the win over the Panthers on Sunday.
Quinn has enjoyed Daniels, a former Arizona State and LSU standout, working their zone-read attack.
“There is definitely an art to it,” Quinn said. “It takes a lot of reps. More often than not, with the different looks, it looks better with the pre-planning.”
If Daniels can’t play, former Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota is his backup.
“There’s a lot that we want to get better at,” Quinn said.
Former assistant general Scott Pioli noted on social media there are six current NFL head coaches from Quinn’s 2016 staff. In addition to Quinn and Morris, there’s San Francisco’s Kyle Shanahan, Miami’s Mike McDaniel, Green Bay’s Matt LeFleur and Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich.
2. Blitzing number: The Falcons added a sack to boost their total to six on the season, last in the NFL. The Giants lead the league with 31 sacks.
The Falcons have blitzed 97 times, according to Pro Football Reference’s advanced stats.
In addition to the six sacks, the Falcons have 22 knockdowns and 15 quarterback hurries.
Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has the highest pressure number (hurries plus knockdowns plus sacks) at nine. Linebacker Kaden Elliss, who’s been sent on 23 blitzes, has a seven without a sack.
Outside linebackers Matthew Judon and Arnold Ebiketie have a five.
“I don’t go emotional with it, but there’s certainly spots and areas that you (must) talk about,” Morris said about the Falcons’ blitzing plan. “We (must) be more aggressive.”
That will leave the secondary in more man-to-man coverage.
“Those spots came up (against the Seahawks), having to be more aggressive,” Morris said. “When you (must) get more possessions and dictate the terms of how you want to play the game.”
3. Demone Harris update: Outside linebacker Demone Harris made his debut with the Falcons in the game against Seattle after being promoted from the practice squad. He forced an intentional grounding call. He also had one of the third-down penalties to keep the drive alive, but was absolved by Morris.
“He just didn’t want him to get bumped into by his own teammate and (he) hit the quarterback’s legs,” Morris said. “But for him to be around the quarterback, him setting edges, you know, he forced the intentional grounding when he was holding on to (Seattle QB Geno Smith).”
He could find his way back to the active roster soon.
“He did a lot of really good things,” Morris said. “I was really proud of him and how he was able to show up and play for his team. When we talked about it, I told you guys, when we practice with his guys, they’re extensions of our roster and they’re showing every single week.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
4. Kyle Pitts update: Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts is being highly scrutinized this season.
He has caught 25 of 37 targets for 328 yards and a touchdown. He’s on pace for 61 catches for 797 yards and 2.4 touchdowns.
Morris was asked about Pitts and kind of backed into how he’s doing.
“It’s such a result-driven business, but it’s hard to say that anybody is where we want to be right now,” Morris said. “You want to be the Chiefs. You want to be undefeated, right? Do we like our positioning? Yes. We’re in prime position to do the things that we want to do, that we talked about, that we’ve spoken about.
“Would you like to (have won against Seattle?) Yes. But you know what? You better learn that lesson from that loss. I think that’s important for all of us.
“No different than what Kyle’s doing. I think he had a little bit more success in the last couple of weeks. I think he still has to continue to get better with the growth mindset of what we need to get better at and what he needs to do better in order for that to be even bigger. In order for us to have more success as an offense, as a team, in general.”
Former Falcons center Todd “Mud” McClure, a Ring of Honor member, didn’t like Pitts’ effort on a pass throwing to him in the Carolina game.
Morris was asked what specifically Pitts needs to do better. He gave a word-salad answer.
“With Kyle, it’s like everything we talked about, the detail in every play that we go out there and we do,” Morris said. “I do love the fact that he’s given us a serious uptick in blocking. So, he’s doing a serious different job in that stuff. It’s been great.
“I love the fact that he’s catching the ball, and he’s getting vertical. I love the fact that he’s gotten more targets the last couple of weeks. So, all of those things can improve. But, all of us, from a standpoint of detail and what we want to do moving forward, in order to be able to come out and take over games, which I think we’re capable of doing with the guys that we have.”
5. The return of Ridder: Former Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder was signed by the Raiders off the Cardinals’ practice squad.
Aidan O’Connell, who suffered an injured thumb, and Gardner Minshew are the only other quarterbacks on the Raiders roster. Rookie Carter Bradley is on their practice squad.
Ridder took over for Mariota in 2022 and entered 2023 as the starter. He was benched for Taylor Heinicke.
Ridder was 322-of-503 passing (64%) for 3,544 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions during his stint with the Falcons. He posted an 8-9 record as a starter.
Ridder was selected in the third round of the 2022 draft after a spectacular career at Cincinnati.
Credit: P C
Credit: P C
6. Cousins part of “Kidde Cause For Alarm Donation” event: Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins was out doing some community service Monday.
He help Kidde, a fire safety brand, donate $300,000 worth of smoke and carbon monoxide alarms to fire departments in the Atlanta area as part of their “Cause for Alarm” campaign.
The program is planned to support communities with higher-risk of fire-related incidents, including families without smoke alarms. The Home Depot and the Marietta fire department were apart of the program.
Attendees also received educational materials, including fire safety toolkits designed for families and children.
7. Series history: This will the 63rd regular-season meeting between the Falcons and Buccaneers. The series is tied, 31-31. The Falcons won the most recent meeting 36-30 in overtime Oct. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
8. Where to watch, listen, livestream Falcons at Bucs: What you should know about Sunday’s game between the Falcons (4-3) and the Buccaneers (4-3), which is set for 1 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
TV: Fox 5 – Play-by-Play: Adam Amin. Analyst: Greg Olsen. Sideline reporter: Pam Oliver.
Local radio: 92.9 The Game. Play-by-play: Wes Durham. Analyst: Dave Archer. Executive producer: Beau Morgan. Engineer: Jake Cook. Pregame/Postgame show – Hosts: Chris Goforth and Mike Johnson. Dylan Matthews and Orin Romain (studio producers). Dylan Matthews (network studio producer) and Chris Thomas (local studio producer).
Satellite radio: SiriusXM NFL Radio. Falcons channel 382. Buccaneers channel 228 and on the App.
Livestream: Streaming inside the Atlanta market: Fans in the Atlanta market can stream the game on the Atlanta Falcons app. NFL app (subscription required). Out of the country: GamePass International. There are several other subscription services.
9. Depth chart: Here’s a look at the Falcons’ official 53-man depth chart heading into Sunday’s game with the Bucs:
Here’s the depth chart:
OFFENSE
QB: Kirk Cousins, Michael Penix Jr.
RB: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, Avery Williams, Jase McClellan
WR: Drake London
WR: Darnell Mooney, Casey Washington
SWR: Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge
TE: Kyle Pitts
TE: Charlie Woerner, Ross Dwelley
LT: Jake Matthews, Brandon Parker
LG: Matthew Bergeron, Kyle Hinton, Elijah Wilkinson
C: Ryan Neuzil, Matt Hennessy, Jovaughn Gwyn
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Kyle Hinton
RT: Kaleb McGary, Storm Norton
DEFENSE
ROLB: James Smith-Williams, DeAngelo Malone
DE: Grady Jarrett, Kentavious Street, Eddie Goldman
NT: David Onyemata, Ruke Orhorhoro
DE: Zach Harrison, Ta’Quon Graham, Brandon Dorlus
LOLB: Matthew Judon, Arnold Ebiketie
IL: Kaden Elliss, JD Bertrand
ILB: Troy Andersen, Nate Landman
LCB: A.J. Terrell, Kevin King
RCB: Mike Hughes, Clark Phillips III
NCB: Dee Alford, Antonio Hamilton Sr.
SS: Justin Simmons, Richie Grant
FS: Jessie Bates III
Special teams
K: Younghoe Koo
P: Bradley Pinion
LS: Liam McCullough
KR: Avery Williams, Ray-Ray McCloud, Mike Hughes
PR: Avery Williams, Mike Hughes
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