Tag Archives: Dan Quinn

Can the Hawks catch the Falcons’ backs?

October 13, 2016 cc 2 Comments

Over the offseason, the Seahawks talked about tweaking their defense to account for the short passing attacks some savvy offenses have used to beat them.

Although Miami and the Jets worked the short game with some success in the first month, they didn’t do it well enough to beat the Seahawks. But now the Hawks are about to face their first big test against a quarterback and skill players who are capable of beating them the way Tom Brady, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Andy Dalton and Cam Newton have in recent seasons.

Sure, Atlanta’s 300-yard man, Julio Jones, will have a fun matchup against Richard Sherman. But the Falcons the Hawks need to be most concerned about are running backs Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 6: Atlanta

October 11, 2016 cc Leave a comment

CHAWK LINES -- Falcons at Hawks.png

The game against the Falcons could be a barometer of where the Seahawks stand in the NFC.

Russell Wilson looks fine, and more injury updates.

Five Seahawks who are key to the final 12 games.

Frank Clark is playing a lot more this year, and DeShawn Shead has played every snap.

The Seahawks are producing more sacks this year despite blitzing at the same frequency as last year.

Dan Quinn said he has “a lot of gratitude” for Pete Carroll and the Seahawks setting him up to coach the Falcons.

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Coaches

Cable ‘absolutely’ wants to be a coach again

June 28, 2016 cc 1 Comment

Okung and Cable If Seahawks past and present have anything to say about it, Tom Cable will coach an NFL team again.

According to the Huffington Post, Cable “absolutely” wants to be a coach again, and everyone from Pete Carroll to Dan Quinn to Marshawn Lynch is lobbying on his behalf.

The first part of the Post piece is a rehash of stuff Cable has said in several offseason interviews: a progress report on Seattle’s mostly brand-new offensive line and a reiteration that the coaches are very focused on trying to pick up where they left off last season.

The interesting stuff comes at the end, where Cable says he wants to be a coach again — but only in the right circumstance, which he has observed firsthand on a Super Bowl team created by John Schneider, Carroll, Cable and others.

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Free agency, Schedule

Pre-draft look at 2016 opponents

April 3, 2016 cc 2 Comments

2016 opponents In the NFL, April is draft month. But it also has become schedule month.

Word is the NFL will release the schedule April 19-21, a week before the April 28-30 draft.

We already know their opponents, of course. Based on 2015 results, the Seahawks have the fifth-toughest schedule next season. There’s nothing new about that, though: Their 2015 schedule ranked fourth and their 2014 slate was sixth.

But those preseason rankings don’t reflect changes teams have made since the last season ended.

As we transition from free agency month into draft month, let’s see how Seattle’s opponents have changed since last season.

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NFL draft, The roster

Irvin reports make sense

April 30, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It’s no surprise that the Seahawks apparently won’t pick up Bruce Irvin’s $7.75 million option. We already have pointed out why they probably wouldn’t do it.

As for the Atlanta trade rumor, it certainly makes more sense than the Michael Bennett/Atlanta rumor from a few weeks ago.

The Seahawks apparently told Danny O’Neil of 710 ESPN that they are not trying to trade Irvin, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t listening to teams asking about him.

O’Neil wrote: “Trading Irvin is not something Seattle is planning to do or has actively pursued. In other words, any ‘chatter’ about a potential trade is occurring somewhere other than Seattle’s front office. The team is planning on having Irvin back at strong-side linebacker, where he has established himself as a strong starter.”

Of course, nothing there says the Hawks are not talking to the Falcons. It is quite possible that Dan Quinn (former Seattle DC now Atlanta’s coach) initiated talks with Seattle about Irvin.

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Coaches, Super Bowl XLIX

Dan Quinn’s swan song — and then what?

January 20, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seattle defense apparently will have some added incentive to put forth a stellar Super Bowl performance on Feb. 1: Sending coordinator Dan Quinn to Atlanta with a win.

The Falcons interviewed Quinn for a second time Monday in what reportedly was more of a formality as they already have decided to hire him. They reportedly had hoped to bring him out to Atlanta this week to announce the hiring, but his Seattle defense shut down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers for most of the game Sunday, giving Russell Wilson and Jermaine Kearse a chance to redeem themselves and send the Hawks back to the Super Bowl.

The Falcons reportedly already are securing Quinn’s staff — starting with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan — and likely will name him their coach the day after the Super Bowl.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll knows all of this, of course, and is not concerned a bit about losing Quinn or about it being a distraction leading up to the Super Bowl.

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CHAWK LINES

January 4, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Dan Quinn reportedly had interviews with five teams lined up.

Darrell Bevell and Quinn both reportedly interviewed with the Bills this weekend. Bevell previously talked with the Raiders, too.

Quinn seems to know who he wants to work with if he gets a top job.

Three Seahawks were named to the No. 1 All-Pro team, and two are on the second team.

Bobby Wagner was named NFC defensive player of the month.

Hugh Millen explains why the Seattle offense had trouble in the first half against the Rams but fared better in the second.

Pete Carroll was miked up for Sound FX, which let us hear a conversation he had with owner Paul Allen.

The offense set records this season despite changing drastically after the Percy Harvin trade, Bob Condotta writes.

Harvin will make a little extra money if the Seahawks win the Super Bowl again.

Former Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren says he has “gotten a couple of inquiries” from teams in search of new coaches.

Coaches, State of the team

Hawks would be fine even without Quinn, Cable, Bevell

January 1, 2015 cc 1 Comment

As Pete Carroll’s assistants interview with various teams this week, plenty of fans are wringing their hands at the prospect of losing them. But there is no reason to fret.

Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn reportedly is on interview lists of San Francisco, Atlanta and the New York Jets. Carroll said offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell already has interviewed with the Oakland Raiders. And Tom Cable will talk to the Jets as well this week.

In fact, Jets owner Woody Johnson reportedly is going to pull off a trifecta interview session in Seattle, talking to Seahawks pro personnel director Trent Kirchner about replacing former general manager John Idzik. Apparently Johnson is not put off by the idea of hiring another Seattle executive.

It seems very unlikely that Bevell or Cable will be hired away — even though they orchestrated the franchise’s best rushing offense ever (the third-best in the NFL since 1985, according to the team).

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State of the team, Week 14: At Philadelphia

More about that awesome defense

December 10, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seattle defense is the toast of the NFL again — now that Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell are healthy and the unit is playing perhaps the best it ever has.

Pete Carroll said it has been “significant” to get back Wagner, who missed five games with a toe injury, and Chancellor, who sat out two games with a groin issue and got to rest his bad ankles.

“I think the camaraderie of all those guys being back in there and feeling right has been resounding,” Carroll said Monday. “You can really feel it.”

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Week 8: At Carolina, X's & O's

Hawks adjusting pass-rush scheme to help Bennett and Avril

October 25, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Despite the efforts of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, the Seahawks’ pass rush just has not gotten the job done well enough so far this season.

Coach Pete Carroll has noticed it, and he and his coaches are finally taking corrective measures.

The Seahawks’ pass defense ranks in the bottom third of the league after being a top-10 unit in 2013. The Hawks ranked first in passer rating (63.4) and interceptions (28) last season, but they are 28th this year (103.9 rating, just two picks). After allowing just 59 percent completions last season, they are giving up 68.3 this year. And they are worse by many other measures as well.

The Hawks have just seven sacks, which ranks 27th, and the rush has suffered in the face of some of the league’s best quarterbacks — Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo.

“We’ve faced the best of the best so far,” Carroll said last week after Romo beat them, “and they’ve been able to hold us off a little bit. We haven’t been quite as effective.”

This week, after yet another game in which the Hawks got little to no pressure on the QB, Carroll said, “The inability to really disrupt the quarterback has been a factor. There are some things that we have to do that will change us a little bit from what we’ve been in the past. So we will make those moves.”

Continue reading Hawks adjusting pass-rush scheme to help Bennett and Avril →