Quinn likes what he sees from Falcons defense
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn saw good things from his defense that he’d like to see carry over Sunday when the team travels to Pittsburgh. Quinn said the defense – which gave up 43 points to the Saints and 37 points to the Bengals – has shown improvement.
He mentioned how the team’s tackling and pass rush has gotten better.
“I thought tackling was at the top of the list,” Quinn said. “We’re back down into single digits (for missed tackles) and that part of the game was certainly better. I thought from a pass-rush standpoint, it was much improved from the week prior.”
Quinn said he thought pressure from the ends and the tackles got better. This despite the team being without defensive end Derrick Shelby. The Falcons had three sacks against the Bengals, all of them courtesy of Takk McKinley and all coming in the second half.
With Shelby’s status uncertain and with tackle Grady Jarrett tweaking his ankle late in the game, the Falcons strengthened their roster by signing veteran Michael Bennett. He was released by Jacksonville, who drafted him out of Ohio State in the sixth round in 2015. Bennett (6-foot-2, 287) played 13 games in 2015 and had 10 tackles and one-half sack. He played only one game in 2017.
To make room on the roster the club waived defensive tackle Justin Zimmer.
There won’t be any final decision on Jarrett until later in the week, possible on game day. He sprained an ankle and it’s been difficult on him to get around.
“It was tough not having him go,” Quinn said. “You know how tough he is, so for him to have to be out and not be able to finish because he is as all-in as it gets and as tough as it gets. That was a tough blow for us.”
If Jarrett can’t go, he’ll join safeties Keanu Neal, Ricardo Allen and middle linebacker Deion Jones on the sideline. That will make things even tougher against Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, two of the league’s top offensive threats.
“It’s the explosiveness that their team has and so as good and explosive as Antonio is, they’ve got a full complement of guys that they use as receivers and tight ends and backs,” Quinn said. “They make it very challenging, just because of the different guys they go to in match-ups. Much like us where there was nine guys who caught passes (Sunday), they got a full arsenal and full stable of guys that they like to feature.”
SERIES HISTORY: 17th regular-season meeting. Steelers lead series, 13-2-1. Steelers have won the last two meetings: 27-20 in Atlanta in 2014 and 15-9 in overtime in Pittsburgh in 2010. Last Atlanta win was 41-38 in Atlanta in 2006. The Falcons have never won in Pittsburgh.
