With the Coronavirus pandemic ongoing, traditional interviews featuring new signees are non-existent, but Falcons reporters did have the opportunity to join Atlanta’s prized offseason addition on a conference call, and it produced a lot of information that should have fans thrilled about their new pass rusher.
We will get to that in a second, however, because the best quote I read regarding Fowler did not come from himself. It came from his former college football coach at Florida, Will Muschamp. The now South Carolina head man said — regarding Fowler — “He’s a violent, violent football player.”
”He’s a violent, violent football player,’’ former Florida coach Will Muschamp told me about new Falcon Dante Fowler Jr.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) April 2, 2020
Pretty simple quote, right? There’s no reason it should have me ready to run through a wall over five months away from the NFL season. But it does because of who he is replacing.
When looking at Fowler and Vic Beasley, there are several similarities — their draft class, how high they were picked, their athletic profiles, and their inconsistent production early on in their careers. Many people have brought this up, and there is nothing wrong with doing that, but their playing styles could not be more different.
Let’s just be straight up about it: Beasley was soft. Despite the fact that he was built like a Greek god and looked like he could push a 400-pound man from one side of the field to the other without breaking a sweat, he hated physical contact, and there were questions about his love for the game coming out of college. That’s not the case for Fowler, who wants to inflict as much physical pain on his opponents as possible every snap. That’s the guy I want on my team, and that’s why I’m confident he will be a significant upgrade over Beasley.
But back to what Fowler told reporters in his interview. First of all, he admitted Dan Quinn played a considerable role in his recruitment to Atlanta. Quinn coached Fowler back when he was a defensive line coach for the Florida Gators, and apparently, their relationship is even deeper than that.
Dante Fowler Jr. on conference call said his relationship with Dan Quinn from Quinn recruiting him to Florida played a big part in coming to Falcons. Had Thanksgiving with Quinn and his wife at one point.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) April 2, 2020
Fowler also commented on his development as a pass rusher. He said he entered the league a “street fighter” and had to develop more discipline as a pass rusher, which most recently resulted in a career-high 11.5 sacks for the Rams last year. His PFF grade has also improved in each season since coming into the league.
Dante Fowler Jr. said he came into the league as a ”street fighter’’ and had to become more disciplined as a rusher.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) April 2, 2020
And even though 11.5 sacks was easily a career-best, Fowler thought he could have easily had around 16 and has his sites set on Michael Strahan’s record.
Fowler said he thought he should have had like 16 sacks last season instead of 11.5. Missed some layups, he admitted. Also thought he got robbed on some sacks.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) April 2, 2020
Dante Fowler Jr. said his goal is to beat Michael Strahan’s NFL sack record. Said double digits at least every year.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) April 2, 2020
As a first impression, Fowler’s saying all the right things, and from the way his career has progressed, it all falls in line. Last year could only be the beginning. He has five years of experience and is still only 25 years old. Hopefully, Fowler can back up these comments on the field in a few months.
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