5 Seahawks takeaways from Super Bowl 51
By Keith Myers
2. The Seahawks miss Dan Quinn
With no disrespect meant for Kris Richard, who is a good coach in his own right, but the Seattle Seahawks have missed Dan Quinn. Atlanta’s defense looked fast, physical,l and they attacked the football, at least until they got tired.
The Seahawks defense looked like that under Quinn. Since Quinn left for Atlanta, Seattle defense has being more passive and reactive. They don’t attack as much, and consequently they don’t collect turnovers in the same way.
The Seahawks averaged 32 takeaways per year under Quinn. They averaged 21 per season since he left.
There are a lot of factors involved there, but the loss of Quinn should not be overlooked. His young Falcons defense looks a lot like Seattle’s used to look. In last night’s game, it was the turnovers created by the defense that led to Atlanta’s big lead early in the game.
Ultimately, Quinn’s team was undone by a lack of depth on defense and some poor clock management by his offense. He’ll learn and get better, and his team will be back in contention next season.