A look at how Dan Quinn has quietly dominated the NFC
Although the Falcons took an ugly loss to the Eagles, Dan Quinn has been surprisingly great against the rest of the NFC.
The Atlanta Falcons under Dan Quinn have made the playoffs the last two seasons and looks to do so again for a third consecutive time in four seasons.
One underrated aspect of Quinn’s success has been his ability to beat conference opponents. The National Football Conference (NFC) is stacked this year with so many teams who can make a legit argument for winning the conference. One thing that stands out has been the fact that the Falcons are the only team in 2017 to make the playoffs in 2016.
As a matter of fact, the numbers look even more impressive when you consider, the Falcons three NFC loses in 2017 were by a combined 18 points and each loss came against a playoff team.
This year the Falcons have added even more talent on both sides of the ball and have invested a ton of resources into the special teams unit. With a coach who has had success winning in conference, you can rest assure the Falcons will be competitive this season. If history serves us correct, Quinn should once again be at least 9-3 against the conference and with the team playing the AFC North this year, a 12-4 record seems very possible.
QUINN
NFC
NFC
NFC
NFCAFC
AFCRECORD
TOTAL
PLAYOFFS
PLAYOFFW
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
2015
1
5
4
2
5
7
12
3
1
4
8
8
16
0
0
0
2016
5
1
4
2
9
3
12
2
2
4
11
5
16
2
1
3
2017
4
2
5
1
9
3
12
1
3
4
10
6
16
1
1
2
TOTAL
10
8
13
5
23
13
36
6
6
12
29
19
48
3
2
5
WIN PERCENTAGE
63.9% 50.0% 60.4% 60.0%For comparison I have created a chart for New Orleans Saint’s Head Coach, Sean Payton. Even though Quinn has a much smaller sample size, he is already outpacing Payton in terms of NFC wins and loses. Payton after 3 years averaged 6.6 wins and 5.3 loses while Quinn has averaged 7.6 wins and 4.3 loses.
PAYTON
NFC
NFC
NFC
NFCAFC
AFCRECORD
TOTALPLAYOFFS
PLAYOFF
W
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
W
L
2006
4
2
5
1
9
3
12
1
3
4
10
6
16
1
1
2
2007
3
3
3
3
6
6
12
1
3
4
7
9
16
0
0
0
2008
2
4
3
3
5
7
12
3
1
4
8
8
16
0
0
0
2009
4
2
5
1
9
3
12
4
0
4
13
3
16
3
0
3
2010
4
2
5
1
9
3
12
2
2
4
11
5
16
0
1
1
2011
5
1
4
2
9
3
12
4
0
4
13
3
16
1
1
2
2012
3
3
2
4
5
7
12
2
2
4
7
9
16
0
0
0
2013
5
1
4
2
9
3
12
2
2
4
11
5
16
1
1
2
2014
3
3
3
3
6
6
12
1
3
4
7
9
16
0
0
0
2015
3
3
2
4
5
7
12
2
2
4
7
9
16
0
0
0
2016
2
4
4
2
6
6
12
1
3
4
7
9
16
0
0
0
2017
4
2
4
2
8
4
12
3
1
4
11
5
16
1
1
2
*2018
TOTAL
42
30
44
28
86
58
144
26
22
48
112
80
192
7
5
12
WIN PERCENTAGE
59.7% 54.2% 58.3% 58.3%Every team plays 12 conference (6 division) games and 4 non conference games. If you can win conference games, your team has a strong shot at making the playoffs. Quinn has the roster posed to do the same thing again in 2018.