Dan Quinn ecstatic about Falcons’ new start time: ‘The later, the better for us’

At least one head coach, John Harbaugh of the Baltimore Ravens, has publicly criticized the NFL for moving his team’s start time for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. ET.

Although the idea is to have teams in playoff contention all playing at the same time, Harbaugh’s biggest complaint is that it’ll work against the Ravens’ home-field advantage by keeping the crowd down.

‘We’re pumped that it’s in the afternoon for us’

However, Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn is thrilled that his club had its NFC South showdown against the Carolina Panthers moved from 1 to 4:25.

“The later, the better for us,” Quinn told Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan on Movin’ The Chains. “We’re pumped that it’s in the afternoon for us. We like that time slot, we like the night one as well.

‘We’ll get the fans there early and it’s going to be a hell of an environment’

“It just has more juice and more energy the more the day goes on. We were thrilled to see it got moved back a little bit in time. We’ll get the fans there early and it’s going to be a hell of an environment. Every time you get to play in the division, it’s a lot of fun.

“And then now, with the stakes being even higher, you get to ramp it up even more.”