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INDIANAPOLIS -- At the front of everyone’s mind when it comes to the Atlanta Falcons is the lead they gave up in Super Bowl LI as the Patriots stormed back from down 28-3 to win in overtime. 

It was the largest comeback in Super Bowl history and one of the all-time great collapses in NFL history, maybe sports history. Because of the meltdown, there were bound to be a lot of questions for Dan Quinn at the NFL combine. He tried to cut them off at the pass and curb the inquiries as best he could by letting everyone know he has watched the game.

No he is not over it yet. 

“One of the questions that you may ask, ‘Have you watched the game?’ Yes, I have. A lot. You have to own that. The calls. The things you can do differently. That’s not unlike most Sunday nights for me where I wrestle with all three phases, could there be something different, as a head coach those are the moments that I do have to own,” Quinn said. “What I can tell you and share from that experience, this connection with our team and the brotherhood that these guys have is so real and so strong. I love these guys and it’s fun to be a part of it. When they asked me if I watched it. I say ‘Yes. I am past it. I am not over it.’ I don’t think I ever will be and that’s a good thing. Those kind of experiences propel you to have the kind of offseasons that you like to have. The analogy that I use for our team is that we are fighters. 

“Those who cover our team on a regular basis we talk about boxing quite a bit. We got our asses knocked down on the canvas. You get back up and you go fight again. That’s kind of what this offseason is about for us. With that I’m glad to open it up for some questions.”

It was a strong opening salvo for Quinn because it threw the elephant in the room right on the middle of the table and let everyone know he’s not hiding from history and that he’s going to own the loss. The worst thing you can do is refuse to talk about it and let it linger until it festers into a legitimate problem. 

Quinn’s not completely over it though. That much is clear. He admitted it. 

“Number one, you have to own it. There are consequences good and bad when you make plays and when you don’t,” Quinn said. “Owning those decisions, can we execute on this play better. When the opportunity comes to making a sack or creating a turnover, owning those scenarios. End of the games ones are always fluid and always changing, but what I can tell you is that being in that experience and battling for it at the highest level. You can’t duplicate that. We actually had on-the-job training and there is something that you totally gain from that. 

“We’ll be stronger for it. It’s tough and painful to go through when you have a difficult loss. It doesn’t define us. We have got a team that’s totally on the rise. We are going to battle like crazy this offseason to become even better moving forward.”

And he’s looking for help on how to deal with the backbreaking loss. He found an interesting option to discuss the gag in Warriors coach Steve Kerr, a great coach in his own right, who knows a lot about a brutal loss.

The Warriors were up 3-1 over the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals last year and gagged away an NBA championship to LeBron James and crew. It was an unfathomable way to give up a huge lead, but Golden State had to move on and try to make another run at a championship in 2017.

So Quinn, while speaking with Alex Marvez and Rick Neuheisel on Sirius XM Radio, said he sought out the basketball coach to learn about how a team can get over a brutal loss and try to get ready for the next year. 

“Honestly, just knowing that when you come back, the lessons that you learned, let it motivate you again,” Quinn said of what he learned from the conversation. “Have a great training camp and offseason.”

All you can do is move on and try to forget the pain. Unfortunately for the Falcons, it’s probably easier said than done. The 2017 season is going to be telling when it comes to how the react.