Sitting down with this weeks Atlanta Falcons opponent – Seattle Seahawks

The Atlanta Falcons will welcome the Seattle Seahawks to Mercedez Benz Sunday afternoon in a game many expect to the final home game for current Falcons coach Dan Quinn.

Whether Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank actually fires Dan Quinn during the bye-week is not something we will discuss here, it is very appropriate that the Seahawks could be the last team he faces as the Atlanta Falcons head coach.

As we all know, every decision that Dan Quinn has made this year has been the wrong one and no matter how hard the Falcons seem to fight, they fall even deeper into the hole. At some point, you would think the Atlanta Falcons would catch a break and be able to put it all together. Is this the day they are able to do just that?

That remains to be seen. More than likely they will be without Matt Ryan and Grady Jarrett, which makes winning Sunday that much more difficult.

What about the Seahawks? How are they feeling about the game? We recently sat down with 12th Man Rising site expert, Lee Vowell, to talk about the Seahawks and he sees things going on Sunday and what has been the biggest surprise for the Seahawks.

BD: What has been the biggest surprise in the first seven games?

LV: The complete lack of pass rush from the defensive line. Seattle made moves to try to get the line better in 2019 by trading for Jadeveon Clowney and signing Ziggy Ansah. Ansah has not played much due to various injuries and hasn’t played well when he has played. Clowney has been good but has also been double-teamed more than any other end in the NFL because he’s getting no help from anyone else. If this lack of rush doesn’t change, Seattle will miss the playoffs.

BD: We all know how well Russell is playing, who’s not getting enough credit for the Seahawks?

LV: Shaquill Griffin. Sure, the cornerback has no interceptions this season but teams are definitely throwing away from him at this point. He is in his third season and digressed last year. This year he seems to have made the jump the Seahawks expected from him last year. Seattle has six interceptions on the season. Four of them are from tipped passes by Griffin. He hasn’t picked off one yet but he will.

BD: What matchup are you excited to see most Sunday?

LV: Wilson versus the Falcons secondary. Through the first six weeks of the year, Wilson had a quarterback rating of over 100 in each game. Last week against the Ravens, Wilson threw a terrible interception (his only one of the season so far) and just seemed off. Throughout his career when Wilson has had a bad game he almost always comes back with a great one. Against a bad Atlanta secondary, Wilson should have a great day.

BD: Which rookie has surprised you the most?

LV: Seattle had a nice draft class on paper but very few of them have done much in the regular season. D.K. Metcalf has had his moments and Marquise Blair was good against the Ravens and will soon be the long-term full-time starter at strong safety for Seattle. But the biggest surprise to me has been the first-round pick, L.J. Collier. It’s not that Collier has been good; He has actually been a healthy scratch in several games. I did not expect Collier to be great in his rookie season, but I also did not expect him to completely fall on his face.

BD: How much longer does Pete Carroll have left in him?

LV: As long as Pete wants. He stays in incredible shape, has no desire to gain more responsibility other than coaching and personnel moves and is good at what he does. Is he perfect? No. Does he find ways to mess up clock management a lot? Yes. But Seattle has been as successful as they have over the last decade because of Carroll. Whomever Seattle finds to replace him when Carroll does decide to step down will not be as good of a coach as Carroll is.

BD: Will you take Dan Quinn back?

LV: I hate that Quinn is seemingly beginning to see the end of his days in Atlanta. The strange thing is that the Falcons defense is so bad and that is what Quinn has done well for most of his career: Coach good defense. If Seattle were going to be looking for a defensive coordinator in 2020, Quinn would be a good fit but Seattle won’t.