Dan Quinn Addresses Offensive Line Issues

Dan Quinn met with the media after yesterday’s practice, the first after the poor performance from the Atlanta Falcons offensive line versus the Miami Dolphins Saturday night.

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Dan Quinn said in the post-game press conference that he would need to look at the tape to have a better feel about how to solve the issues plaguing the Atlanta Falcons offensive line.  After practice yesterday, Quinn said the following about the film review session, “When we clean up the things in the meeting room, the biggest things is: Can we take the corrections we have and bring them out to the field?  For us, we’re still right in the middle of that competition, trying to get the connection right with the five guys who are going to line up and play.”

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Quinn mentioned that the corrections were a part of yesterday morning’s walk through and the Atlanta Falcons will still experiment with more combinations to see what sticks.  Normally I would be okay with the idea of mixing and matching to try to discover the best possible combination up front, but we’re inside of two weeks before the Atlanta Falcons’ first regular season game.  At this juncture, the only player I know for sure that will start up front for the Atlanta Falcons is Left Tackle Jake Matthews, assuming he’s healthy.

According to Dan Quinn, Jake Matthews was one of several Atlanta Falcons sidelined with injuries in Monday’s practice, Jake’s a back issue.  With Matthews likely out for the final preseason game and Tyler Polumbus having a lingering lower leg injury that occurred against Miami, will the Atlanta Falcons look to bring in a veteran Offensive Tackle like Jake Long to help with depth on the outside?

Quinn said that the previous meetings with Jake Long went well and that the Atlanta Falcons organization hold Jake in high regard.  Dan Quinn said, “I’ll wait to see where we’re at in regards to the injuries before we would move forward in that way in terms of future players.”

Dan Quinn said that though James Stone has had a tough time at guard in camp, the team believes that he will grow through cross-training on the interior.  Stone played mostly at center last season in Joe Hawley‘s absence.

Coach Quinn praised Mike Person‘s running blocking skills and like how strong Jon Asamoah is in pass protection.  From the sound of it, it seems like both are definitely looking good in Quinn’s eyes.  Though the Atlanta Falcons certainly have their issues up front, Dan Quinn will focus on what his players are good at as opposed to their weaknesses.

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The only issue with that is that on the offensive line, you’re going to need players that can both run block and pass protect at a high level.  Sure, a guy can play better at one or the other, but Atlanta will need players that are versatile up front if Dan Quinn wants Kyle Shanahan’s highly discussed zone blocking scheme to work.  13 Days between now and Monday Night Football with the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 1.  Rise Up, Atlanta!

Next: Jake Long: Atlanta Falcons Still Consider Signing OT

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