FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – Veteran cornerback Desmond Trufant provided some hints to highly anticipated question: What will the Falcons' defense look like with Dan Quinn calling the shots?
"We're playing really aggressive," Trufant said. "Windows are going to be a lot tighter this year, we have a couple new things we're doing up front as well. DQ is just an aggressive coach, confidence is through the roof. He believes in us and we have to go out there and perform. We're going to be a lot closer to guys more consistently, that's our plan. We're going to be up in guys faces, challenging [them]. That's what they want us to do so were going to do it."
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Following the 2018 season where the Falcons went 7-9 and missed the postseason for the first time since 2015, Quinn parted ways with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong.
Rather than hiring someone else to take over the defense, Quinn made the decision to take the reins back himself. This won't be the first time Quinn has assumed the duties of defensive coordinator as he took over play-calling midway through the 2016 season when the Falcons earned a trip to Super Bowl LI.
However, this will be the first time Quinn will call the defense for an entire season in addition to his duties as head coach.
From the day Quinn arrived in Atlanta for his introductory press conference, Quinn promised the Falcons' brand of football will be the following: Fast and physical.
Quinn didn't see the identity he wanted his defense to play with come through on a consistent basis and that's why changes were made. The Falcons finished with the 25
th-ranked defense in 2018, allowing 26.4 points per game.
This offseason, Quinn and his defensive staff went through an extensive review process. During that time, they found some tweaks would need to be made.
And based off Trufant's comments, it appears that Falcons fans can expect to see a more aggressive approach from the Falcons in 2019.
