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RENTON, Wash. Nike Shoes Outlet Wholesale . – Almost every day during training camp and often during the season, Dan Quinn would put on large padded gloves and essentially go through a sparring session with the Seattle Seahawks defensive linemen as they warmed up for practice working on pass rushing techniques.Once Quinn got into the position of being a defensive co-ordinator — after years of working as a position coach — he was not going to become someone who watched and coached from afar.This is a people business. We love the Xs and Os but the Jimmys and the Joes are what make this thing go, Seattle defensive backs coach Kris Richard said. His ability to capture people and make them feel exactly what they are. You have worth. You have value. So he values you, which is awesome.Quinns name has been the most talked about in coaching circles since the end of the regular season because of the job hes done as Seattles defensive co-ordinator the past two seasons. All signs point to Quinn becoming the next head coach in Atlanta after having a second interview with the Falcons the day after the NFC championship victory over Green Bay.When asked about the second interview Falcons this week, Quinn said he appreciated all the opportunities hes had and then channeled his own version of Marshawn Lynch.Thanks for asking, he said with a grin.But before anything can be formalized in Atlanta, Quinns task at hand is preparing Seattle to try and slow down Tom Brady and New England in the Super Bowl next Sunday.Ask around and you see why Quinn has become so appreciated in Seattle and why so many teams were eager to talk with him each of the past two years. Players and colleagues speak of his personality and work ethic. Quinn is not a screamer, but a teacher that no one wants to let down.Its why Seattles defence has been so successful. Its built on being physical and tough, but also the accountability that everyone is going to do their assignment. That directive starts with Pete Carroll, but gets passed through his coaches, like Quinn.Its a communication thing, Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner explained. Its not, You have to be here. Its more, Why were you here? This is what I feel. What do you feel? and there is a middle ground. Versus maybe somebody just saying, This is what I want, and there is no ifs ands or buts about it. Its a communication (factor), its a trust factor and a belief factor.What Quinn has helped create is record setting. Seattle was one of three defences in league history to lead the NFL in scoring defence in three straight seasons. They were the first team since the Chicago Bears in 1985-86 to lead the league in total defence and scoring defence in consecutive seasons. The numbers Seattle has posted lend credence to the argument the Seahawks are among the best of this generation.He stayed true to who he is. Thats whats helped him be successful, said former Seattle defensive co-ordinator and current Jacksonville head coach Gus Bradley. Thats what hell do, Im sure, if he gets an opportunity to be a head coach.To that end, Quinns arrival in Seattle brought a different level of defensive aggressiveness. While Bradley was revered by his players, he was sometimes thought to be too passive. Some of that was situational. Bradley was coaching a defence that included Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor and Wagner. They were talented and pointed toward success, but still very young.Quinn believed in that youth as long as there was a high level of accountability. He was willing to let Seattle play a significant amount of man-to-man defence with Thomas the only protection in the back. The rest of Seattles coverages are simplified. There isnt a lot of disguise and confusion with Seattles defence. In turn, the Seahawks play faster and are more efficient.When he came here after we lost Gus Bradley we didnt have an identity. I think (Quinn) came and gave us an identity, Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin said. Respected us as players. Told us this is what we wanted, this is what he expected. Guys go out there and play for him. Hes a players coach. Petes a players coach so as long as you respect them and do what youve got to do theyll give you a little leeway.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Air Force 1 Wholesale Cheap . Even that couldnt slow them down against the New Orleans Hornets. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook scored 31 points apiece and the Thunder overcame injuries to two key backups to beat New Orleans 101-93 Monday night for their 10th straight home win. Nike Shox Mens Clearance . — Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season. STANFORD, Calif. — Tangible evidence of a job well done. Its a phrase Stanford coach David Shaw often preaches to motivate his players, referring to what they can show theyve accomplished — not what others might say they have or havent. At the end of another grueling regular season, Shaw and his team has plenty of proof of success. Now they hope for even more. Wayne Lyons intercepted two passes by Tommy Rees late in the fourth quarter, and No. 8 Stanford held off No. 25 Notre Dame 27-20 on Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. The Cardinal (10-2) captured the Legends Trophy — the kind of evidence Shaw covets — given to the winner of the series. And theyll get a chance for an even bigger piece of hardware when they visit No. 13 Arizona State in the Pac-12 championship game next. „The first team meeting on Monday I showed them a picture of the trophy,“ Shaw said. „The freshmen hadnt seen it. It was here for three years, and it was gone. I wanted to make sure they looked at it. We talk about it, people can jump on and off our bandwagon, tell us they love us and tell us they hate us, but when theres a trophy on the line, all you do is point to the trophy. Theres no defence, theres nothing we can say or they can say about us. You win a game and you get a trophy.“ Stanford will go for its second straight Pac-12 title trophy and Rose Bowl berth at Arizona State on Saturday. The Sun Devils, whose only league loss came at Stanford, secured home-field advantage for the championship game after beating rival Arizona 58-21 late Saturday night. Stanfords final tuneup for the title game turned out to be a tough test. The Cardinal overcame two interceptions by Kevin Hogan and a penalty that wiped away another touchdown to win their 16th consecutive home game. Tyler Gaffney ran for 189 yards and a touchdown to cap his sensational Senior Day, and Hogan threw for 158 yards and TD pass to Devon Cajuste to help the Cardinal take a 21-6 lead in the third quarter. Rees nearly rallied the Fighting Irish (8-4) by throwing two touchdown passes later in the quarter. But interceptions on Notre Dames final two drives dashed the comeback. „We took it to them and we were fortunate to come out on top,“ Gaffney said. Along with injuries to both lines, the back end of Notre Dame defence also played short-handed. Safeties Elijah Shumate and Eilar Hardy did not travel to Stanford due to a violation of team rules, and the Cardinal took advantage. Gaffney plowed through the Irish line from a yard out to give the Cardinal a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter. The buncched formation was similar to the one Notre Dame stopped Stepfan Taylor on last year to win in overtime, a stinging loss that the Cardinal regrouped from to roll off eight straight victories, including the Pac-12 title and the Rose Bowl. Cheap Nike Shoes Wholesale. . Backup Anthony Wilkerson capped the opening drive of the second half in similar fashion. He ran for a 20-yard TD run on third-and-9 to put Stanford ahead 21-6. Notre Dame drove deep in Cardinal territory on its first and final drives of the first half before settling for field goals each time. With Stanford seemingly ready to turn the game into a rout, Rees threw touchdown passes to TJ Jones and DaVaris Daniels late in the third quarter before missing his targets late. „Not good enough obviously. Proud of the guys and my teammates and how we fought all year but you dont come to Notre Dame to go 8-4, and everyone understands that,“ Rees said. „You have to be better.“ The Cardinal will likely have to be better against the Sun Devils if they want to keep the Pac-12 title trophy another year. Stanford had no problem sustaining drives but struggled to finish them with touchdowns in the second half, twice settling for field goals. On one of them, a holding penalty on right guard Kevin Danser — only the second one by a Stanford offensive lineman all season — erased a touchdown rushing for Gaffney. Bennett Jackson and Austin Collinsworth each intercepted a pass by Hogan, and officials also called a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Alex Carter — originally ruled targeting, which would be an automatic ejection, before it was overturned on a video review — that led to a Notre Dame touchdown. Just as it has so many times over the past two seasons, the Cardinal defence still bailed out the offence in the end. Lyons intercepted an underthrown pass by Rees, the 36th straight game the Cardinal have forced a turnover. And after the Irish stopped Stanford three-and-out, Lyons leaped high to intercept another pass by Rees on Stanfords 30 with 2:24 left. „I was in the right place at the right time,“ Lyons said after his first multiple-interception game at any level. Rees finished 16-for-34 passing for 199 yards. He passed Jimmy Clausen (60) for second on Notre Dames career list with 61 touchdown passes, behind only Brady Quinn (95). After losing to Alabama in the championship game, the Irish will have to wait to find out what lower-tier bowl theyll land. „Its not where we want to be, 8-4 is not where we want to be,“ Irish coach Brian Kelly said. „We come to Notre Dame to win football games.“ ‚ ‚ ‚