The Atlanta Falcons are rolling into Houston to face the Texans on Sunday. In doing so, they’ll face quarterback Deshaun Watson; a former Falcons ball boy that their coach, Dan Quinn, lauds.
“I think number one, when you’re seeing quarterbacks that can move and get going, this is one tough competitor,” said Quinn in a conference call with Houston media Wednesday.
Watson is a dual-threat quarterback. He can scorch Quinn’s Falcons defense with his arm or his legs. Through four games, he six touchdowns over the air and three on the ground.
“He can be in the pocket, and if there is a protection that moves or a rusher that gets to him, he’s ready to fight and go after it and shake the guy off and keep moving and playing,” said Quinn. “That would be one thing I would say that I was very impressed with, and then past that, his ability to create. There could be a second play, which he gets outside the pocket, he’s able to rip it, he can hurt you with his legs, so I would say the toughness and then I’d call it a little bit of ingenuity, where he can create plays on the run.”
Watson’s ability to scramble is complimented by wide receivers that can perform the scramble drill (get open, come back to the quarterback). For Quinn, that’s not easy to replicate in practice.
“I think the receivers do a good job of knowing the scramble rules and where to go if he does break contain,” said Quinn. “Those are hard to practice for, as you can imagine, because you can’t just design a scramble, you have to kind of work it into practice, and he’s certainly excellent at it.”
The Falcons must figure out how to contain Watson. If not, Quinn and Co. may be leaving Houston with a 1-4 record; Watson: 3-2.
