Birds of a feather: Falcons open season with familiar Seahawks

AP photo by Danny Karnik / Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett, left, makes the catch under coverage from Atlanta Falcons defensive back Kendall Sheffield on Oct. 27, 2019, in Atlanta. The Seattle Seahawks won 27-20.
AP photo by Danny Karnik / Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett, left, makes the catch under coverage from Atlanta Falcons defensive back Kendall Sheffield on Oct. 27, 2019, in Atlanta. The Seattle Seahawks won 27-20.

ATLANTA - The offseason program was virtual. There were no preseason games to work out the kinks or gauge the opposition. Any familiarity will be welcomed in the opening week of the NFL season.

In that respect, there should be a bit of comfort when the Atlanta Falcons host the Seattle Seahawks in a mostly empty stadium Sunday afternoon. These teams are certainly well acquainted with each other.

Atlanta coach Dan Quinn used to be the defensive coordinator in Seattle, so he has a good feel for his former employer. Likewise for the Seahawks, who are quite familiar with Quinn's tendencies.

If that wasn't enough, this will be the fifth meeting in five seasons between the NFC teams.

"We've seen these guys before," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "We pretty much know their staff, and they know us, too. It's not like there's a brand-new coach and it's the first game and we haven't seen anything."

Still, it will be a most unusual opener. The Falcons are not allowing fans into 71,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Stadium for at least their first two home games because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's definitely going to be different," Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said. "But I think the intensity level will be there. When you look at other sports - what's gone on in basketball, what's gone on in hockey, what's gone on in baseball - the quality of play has been really good. The intensity has been there."

The Seahawks, who went 11-5 in 2019 and reached the divisional round of the playoffs, feel like they're positioned to make another run at the Super Bowl.

"I'm excited about our group," perennial All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "We have a really good, talented group."

photo AP photo by John Bazemore / Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn, left, speaks with Seattle Seahawks counterpart Pete Carroll after after their teams played on Oct. 27, 2019, in Atlanta.

Coming off their second straight 7-9 season, the Falcons are eager to get off to a good start. Last year, they lost seven of their first eight games before rebounding to go 6-2 over the rest of the season.

"Nobody wants to start 1-7," defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. "But for us to finish the way we did last year does say a lot."

Ryan has a couple of new weapons at his disposal.

Running back Todd Gurley was signed in free agency to bolster the running game, which ranked 30th in the league last season with just 85.1 yards per game. If Gurley can stay healthy, that should make the play-action passing attack much more effective.

Which brings us to tight end Hayden Hurst. Acquired from the Baltimore Ravens in a trade, Hurst has good speed for his position and gives Ryan an intriguing option in the middle of the field, especially with receivers Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley drawing so much attention on the outside.

"It's really, really difficult for defenses to key in on all three," Ryan said.

On the other side of the ball, the Falcons must get more pressure on the quarterback to have any chance of returning to the playoffs. Last season, Atlanta managed just 28 sacks, the second-lowest total in the league.

Newcomer Dante Fowler Jr. is expected to provide a boost to the pass rush after recording 11.5 sacks for the Los Angeles Rams in 2019. The Falcons also are counting on more production out of Takk McKinley, a 2017 first-round pick who has been a disappointment so far but should certainly have plenty of motivation after the team declined the fifth-year option on his contract.

An improved pass rush would take some of the heat off Atlanta's youthful secondary. Cornerbacks will be under the microscope after longtime stalwart Desmond Trufant was released in a salary cap move.

The Falcons will be relying on rookie first-round pick A.J. Terrell, second-year player Kendall Sheffield and third-year player Isaiah Oliver. Terrell has impressed teammates with his quiet swagger, while Oliver made a big leap in the second half of the 2019 season.

For Seattle, one of the big offseason questions was whether Seattle will allow quarterback Russell Wilson to open up the passing attack early in games. The Seahawks have generally been conservative in the first half, which has often put Wilson in the position of having to lead comebacks.

Wilson's supporting cast could be as good as any he has had in his career, and there's certainly a case to be made for letting him be more aggressive right from the start: Seattle is 57-0 when leading by four or more points at halftime since 2012.

On defense, a pair of offseason acquisitions could have the Seahawks' secondary considered one of the best in the league again.

Adding All-Pro safety Jamal Adams in a blockbuster July trade was a definitive sign the Seahawks believe they are contenders, bringing the sort of versatility the defense hasn't had since the team won back-to-back NFC titles - with one Super Bowl victory - in 2013-14.

Not to be overlooked was the addition of cornerback Quinton Dunbar, although his off-field legal troubles in Florida limited his participation in the offseason program and kept him out early in training camp.

Despite the concerns around the coronavirus, Seattle was sticking with its normal schedule of leaving on Friday for an East Coast road trip.

Carroll acknowledged the unknowns with how this first journey during a pandemic would go.

"I'm really curious about it," he said. "We've worked so hard to get to this point, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to carry it over."

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