The Atlanta Falcons blew another lead on Sunday against the Chicago Bears and fans everywhere are questioning when Dan Quinn will be fired.
Well, it looks like it might not be anytime soon considering the players have Quinn’s back and are publically owning up to their own mistakes.
“We know what he means to us,” Falcons running back Todd Gurley told reporters after the loss. “We did not finish for him. We did not finish for each other. We did not finish for the Falcons. We did not finish for the brotherhood. This has nothing to do with him.”
The Falcons allowed the Bears to score 20 points in the fourth quarter of their 30-26 comeback victory.
A Tale of Two Halves
After blowing a big lead to the Cowboys in Week 2, Quinn had emphasized the need for Atlanta to finish the game.
The message seemed to have clicked in the players’ heads as they were up 16-10 at the half on Sunday and another 10 points in the third,
And then things changed for Atlanta. The Bears’ quarterback Nick Foles threw three touchdown passes, and Atlanta failed to execute on offense. They had just one first down in the fourth quarter.
“We haven’t been good enough as an offense the last two weeks, but as players, you go out there and you try and make the call come to life,” Quarterback Matt Ryan told reporters. “That’s where we’ve got to put our focus.”
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Atlanta Has the Talent
Falcons’ rising star wide receiver Calvin Ridley, who led the team in receiving on Sunday, also defended Quinn after the game.
“It’s on us,” Ridley told reporters. “He’s not playing. It’s on us. We’ve got to win games. We’ve got to be better as players and get the win, that’s all it is.”
Ridley entered Week 3 tied for third in the league in receiving yards.
Matty Ice also made it clear he has Quinn’s back.
“You know, we’ve got his back,” Ryan said. “We’ve got to play better as players, and that’s what you have to focus on.”
In the past three weeks, we have seen a glimpse of what Atlanta is capable of. The Falcons have the talent on both sides of the ball to win games, but they just need to put all of the pieces together. Ryan believes they’re close to doing that.
Atlanta Needs to Keep Going
Defensive end Dante Fowler to the initiative to address the team after the loss.
“Our back is against the wall and right now these are the times to see how we’re built, Fowler said via the Atlanta Falcons official website. What kind of team are we? What kind of players are we? Are we going to sit here and just go in the gutter and just quit or are we going to keep fighting? All I know how to do is fight and keep swinging.”
Quinn agrees with Fowler’s message and he believes he and the guys can turn this around.
“Yeah, our backs are to the wall,” Quinn said in response to Fowler. “We recognize that. So that’s fight like crazy together to do that. When you’re cornered you fight harder and you dig deeper, and I think that’s what this team will do.”
The Falcons take on the Green Bay Packers in Week 4.
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Falcons Stick Up for Dan Quinn, Blame Themselves