Seattle Seahawks 38, Atlanta Falcons 25
Q. You had two accurate sacks on the opening possession of the game. Did Seattle make any adjustments after that in their pass protection after that first opening series?
DAN QUINN: I don't know if there was necessarily an adjustment. There was some, you know, chip that took on, but that's pretty normal for that space. When he can get outside the pocket, I thought we had some other chances to sack him later, but he did escape on a few. So I thought early on, having those two was a good start. But there wasn't too many specific things other than some normal chips that you would expect.
Q. On the fourth and five play where Russ hits CK, what was the coverage going on and was he expecting coverage over the top?
DAN QUINN: No, he was not expecting coverage over the top, so it was a man-to-man or a single-high defense and so just, you know, challenging -- nothing too different about that play.
Q. How did you think your offense started off and then progressed through the game? Seems like maybe had issues on third and fourth down. Was that a matter of play selection, execution or a little bit of both?
DAN QUINN: I'd say probably when you have an 0-for like that, it's a little bit of both. Imagine probably three of them were on the offense and one on the team side of things. We certainly wanted to be bold, and I think knowing that, with the group that we have, we're going to continue to do that.
So I would say some were execution ones. Some just, say, hey, you'd like to have a different call in those spaces, but against a good quarterback, you want to be bold. You want to stay aggressive.
I think the first part of your question was what I liked early on. Early on, I liked the run game and play pass that went with it. I thought the offensive line all game did a good job in protection, even when the score was down a few scores and they could pin their ears back and go, so I thought that was something I was looking forward to seeing from our group and they responded.
Q. Todd Gurley got off to a strong start. What did you think of his debut as a Falcon?
DAN QUINN: I had a sense that by the training camp that he had, that he'd play well and perform well. I think it really shifted for me in the third quarter, the two scorers weren't able to stay in quite the same space, when you're down a couple, you're just thinking of your possessions, getting a score, getting another one. It would be nice to continue into that space into the fourth quarter, but as the game went in terms of carries and staying in it, that wasn't how we could play at that time.
Q. Was there a point in the game where you noticed the fans obviously not being here, especially maybe third -- when Seattle had the ball, how it would have -- inaudible.
DAN QUINN: Can you try that one more time? It just got broken up a little bit on me, please.
Q. The noticeable absence of fans, was there a particular point in the game where you noticed it more maybe when Seattle had a third-and-long situation -- not getting the support from the home crowd?
DAN QUINN: Yeah, you appreciate those for sure. I would say in the beginning, not being able to share in that moment with them, and certainly the third downs, usually the biggest advantages that go on. But hopefully we'll get to that space sometime this year, but more than anything, for us being able to execute in those spaces is a big deal.
Q. The decision to go for the fake punt in the close game in the third quarter --
DAN QUINN: If we had the right look we were going to go do it, and so when the look came up, we executed it and so we didn't get there due to the fumble. But we were looking for a certain look, and if you don't have it, you can check out of it. There can be a time where you call fake punts but the look isn't right for you and you kick it away.
And so in this game, that was one we added, the look we were looking for, so not executing that one and obviously turned the ball over that was a big part.
Q. Any option to check out of that so you could have punted the ball?
DAN QUINN: We could have if the look had been one that we didn't want, so yes, he did the right call by executing the fake. We didn't execute the play correctly but he had the right call.
Q. What did you see out of the tackling -- been an issue in the off-season -- lack of preseason games did, it hurt you more than you would have thought?
DAN QUINN: Well, that's a good one, I think we really came in ready. So when you don't get what you want, obviously you get discouraged and you're pissed about it. But I thought in the run game, I thought defensively, those were some good run defensive plays and tackles to go. Not having enough chances to affect them, the long third down one that turned out to be a penalty thought in the end of the first half, that was a big play for it, but past that, it wasn't sloppy in that space of a ballgame, I didn't feel on both sides. There wasn't a lot of penalties. Didn't seem like a lot of missed tackles on either side.
Q. Generally you said you were happy with the way Todd carried the ball early on, he got away from the running game based on the score in the second half?
DAN QUINN: That's correct.
Q. Any injury update on Dennard?
DAN QUINN: He was able to come back and play.
Q. What did you say to the guys afterwards?
DAN QUINN: I just mainly said, hey, when you don't get what you want, you put the work in, it gets frustrating. And I know we'll make a big jump from Week 1 into Week 2 and so we are playing at our best heading into the next game.
And so that's really all I wanted them to focus on was just being at their best -- teams I've been a part of that were good, just keep getting better and keep getting better and I certainly see that to be the case today as we move into next week. Yeah, we're pissed and upset, and it's because we thought we'd thrown a great camp to be ready to play, and when it doesn't go your way, obviously you're upset.
Q. Did you have to shift anything offensively to make up for the presence Jamal Adams was making out there?
DAN QUINN: No, not from the one blitz, obviously, that was one where he came off the edge to get the sack on to Matt. That was a good play by them with zero blitz where they are able to go, but not past that, I thought there was some really physical plays by both sides, by our receivers, so I couldn't have been more impressed, certainly at the end with Julio and Cal, and I think everyone is seeing the improvement that Calvin has been making. I think that showed up some today, as well.
Q. Speaking of improvement, the defensive line as a whole, getting the pressure early on to Russ, was that an important factor for you?
DAN QUINN: Yeah, because he's a hard guy to get to, and tad having the first one off on the keeper and Grady having him -- another one to knock him out of some potential field goal ranges. I know those guys have been working hard on that space and I would hope to see continued improvement in that. We have work to do but at the end of it.
Like I said we're disappointed that we didn't play the game we wanted to play today and we'll give Seattle credit in that space. I would anticipate us coming back and playing like hell again next week.
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