Falcons 'Rally Around' Rookie QB Desmond Ridder in First Start
Locker room support for the starting quarterback hasn’t been an issue of late for the Atlanta Falcons.
From 14-year franchise staple Matt Ryan to the 13-game stretch of veteran Marcus Mariota, the Falcons had a pair of respected leaders under center.
But when coach Arthur Smith made the switch to rookie Desmond Ridder, there was an element of unknown surrounding how the team would react.
Ridder, who was regarded as a tremendous leader at the University of Cincinnati, began the process to do the same in Atlanta from the moment he arrived at minicamp, even waking up roommates early in the morning while studying the playbook.
The 23-year-old continued to impress as Mariota’s backup throughout the season, coming in early and staying after practice to throw with receivers, building chemistry for when his time finally came.
That time proved to be Sunday, an eventual 21-18 Falcons loss to the New Orleans Saints, in which Ridder went 13 of 26 passing for 97 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions while running for 38 yards on six attempts.
Despite having never played an NFL snap, Ridder had full command of the offense, per Smith, and said he wasn’t really thrown off by any of the looks New Orleans’ defense gave him, a tall task for any quarterback let alone a rookie in his professional debut.
Smith said he “didn’t see him flinch” and operated well, a continuation of the work he did leading into Sunday, including bye-week throwing sessions with multiple pass catchers.
In essence, Ridder was doing the right things to establish himself as a leader, but there remained some doubt – so, how did he do with the team throughout his week of preparation and then on the sideline Sunday? Smith weighed in.
"I thought it was good,” Smith said. “His demeanor, great. His interactions with the players. It's a huge learning experience - you go in here, play the Saints, play a veteran defense. Certainly didn't go well early, and to his credit, he settled down, the team settled down - they seemed to rally around him."
The idea of the Falcons being able to “rally around” Ridder, a rookie quarterback on the road in a hostile environment with playoff stakes on the line, is certainly a positive reflection, speaking volumes to his intangible characteristics.
While self-admittedly nervous, Ridder wasn’t scared. Confidence was expressed by Smith, Ridder and his teammates all week, and Atlanta put words into action, throwing a deep pass to Cordarrelle Patterson on the very first play from scrimmage.
It fell incomplete – but sent a message that the Falcons had belief in their young signal caller. This only continued from there, as Atlanta battled back from an early 14-0 deficit to pull within three in the fourth quarter before coming up just short.
But Ridder, who graded his individual performance as a C-minus or D, gave his team a chance – and earned respect from his team in the process.
"I feel like they responded to me pretty well,” Ridder said. “They saw my preparation throughout the week and saw that we were being efficient in and out of the huddle, not stuttering on calls, not doing anything a typical rookie would do. I felt like coming into this game, as long as I was doing everything that I needed to do, those boys were going to be behind me, and they were.”
Perhaps the biggest step in being a starting quarterback is winning over the locker room, and while Ridder didn’t win his first start on the field, he seems to have been highly successful off it.
The next step is merging the two, and with a full game under his belt, Ridder will look to do exactly that Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens – and he’ll have the locker room behind him as he does it.
You can follow Daniel Flick on Twitter @DFlickDraft
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