Is there cause for concern after CB Quinton Dunbar’s Seahawks debut?
Sep 19, 2020, 11:03 AM | Updated: 11:04 am
Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar made his Seattle debut in a Week 1 win over Atlanta. (AP)
(AP)
After a roller coaster offseason that saw him get traded, face a major legal issue that caused him to miss practices before he was ultimately not charged with a crime before finally joining his new team, the Seahawks, in person, Quinton Dunbar made his Seattle debut in a Week 1 win over the Atlanta Falcons in a game where he got the start at outside cornerback and played 86% of the team’s defensive snaps.
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While the Seahawks got the win and Dunbar made a few big plays, such as helping stop a jet sweep run that caused Seattle issues defensively last year and also breaking up a pass, Dunbar wasn’t the best in coverage, allowing six catches on 10 attempts for 108 yards per Pro Football Reference.
The Seahawks acquired Dunbar from Washington with the hope that he would add another premier corner to the defense opposite Pro Bowler Shaquill Griffin. After giving up over 100 yards in coverage in his first game with Seattle, should the Seahawks and their fans be concerned with Dunbar going forward?
“Yes and no,” former NFL quarterback Jake Heaps said on 710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom, Jake and Stacy on Wednesday. “When you look at Quinton Dunbar in Week 1, it is concerning. It was something that I was not expecting to see, but you factor in the fact that he did not practice as much as they would have liked him to in training camp, you just have to put it and chalk it up to he’s still shaking and knocking off the rust to his game.”
Shortly after the Seahawks acquired Dunbar from Washington for a fifth-round draft pick, he was accused of armed robbery in Florida, which resulted in a warrant for his arrest. Dunbar turned himself in, maintaining his innocence the entire time, and when players were reporting to training camp, he was placed on the NFL’s Commissioner’s Exempt List, meaning he couldn’t practice.
Later, prosecutors announced Dunbar would not be charged due to a lack of evidence, and he was removed from the Commissioner’s Exempt List and joined the Seahawks after missing the start of camp. He later left camp due to a family matter before rejoining the team after a few days away.
Heaps thinks Dunbar will ultimately get better as he gets back in the swing of things, but he did take issue with one part of Dunbar’s game last week that surprised him.
“The one thing that did concern me that I will definitely keep an eye on moving forward was the fact that Quinton Dunbar was playing off in his coverage,” he said. “He has done that in the past but predominantly, he is an in your face-type of corner and he likes to play press. And to see him not play press to me just showed he wasn’t confident in where he’s at currently in his game. I hope and expect that as the weeks go on, that his play will improve, his confidence will improve, and you will see him challenge receivers at the line of scrimmage more often.
“So long-term, I’m not worried about Quinton Dunbar, and certainly after Week 1 and heading into Week 2, you hope that he can bounce back after a poor Week 1 performance.”
Listen to the entire second hour of Wednesday’s Tom, Jake and Stacy at this link or in the player below.
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