Falcons 'Trust' Desmond Ridder; But Is Sample Size Enough?
The Atlanta Falcons walked out of their huddle following the two-minute warning of Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, trailing 19-17 and staring down a 3rd and 7 just outside of the red zone.
Atlanta was in prime position to score - but also needed a first down to keep the clock running and ensure it had the final possession.
After running the ball on four of the previous five plays, Falcons coach Arthur Smith couldn't have been faulted for keeping it on the ground and taking the go-ahead field goal ... but he opted to give rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder a chance to ice his first career win.
"We decided to be aggressive and say, 'let's trust Desmond and this unit,'" Smith said.
Ridder, making the start of his professional career, rewarded Smith's trust, delivering a small-window bullet to tight end MyCole Pruitt just past the sticks, ultimately resulting in a 14-yard catch-and-run.
The throw by Ridder came just six days after Smith said he had to see the young signal caller win and perform well in critical situations - and he checked both boxes, guiding a 12-play, 72-yard drive that ate up every last second of clock, setting up a game-winning 21-yard field goal by Younghoe Koo as the Falcons walked away with a 20-19 victory.
It was merely a continuation of Ridder's strong play in late-game scenarios, as he's now 17 of 23 for 156 yards in the fourth quarter across his first three starts. Better yet, when trailing with less than four minutes to go, he's six of eight for 58 yards while adding 18 more yards on the ground.
Ridder's completion percentage and rating are higher in the game's final frame than any of the first three, another indicator that he's wired the right way ... and Smith has noticed.
"I like the way he's been operating," said Smith. "That's three games in a row where I thought in the fourth quarter, when you need him, he's had great poise and demeanor. Shows the trust that we have in him and the offensive unit."
While the numbers and presence of "trust" are certainly important, so too is realizing the overall context of the situation - Ridder has only played three games thus far. There's not a whole lot to bank on for opposing defenses or Smith when he's going through his end-of-season evaluation.
But has the sample size been big enough? Smith shared his thoughts.
"I don't know what the perfect number is," Smith admitted. "It's just improvement, functioning - the minimum job requirement is delivering the football. Can he continue to improve? You can cut up stats however you need to, but you want to improve in the passing attack, be more balanced. He's done pretty well situationally."
Situational execution is perhaps the biggest thing Smith has stressed since Ridder took over, making his compliment particularly noteworthy. Beyond that, the 23-year-old has accomplished many of the feats Smith set out for him and has made progress each week.
Thus, small sample size or not, Ridder's three-game stint has been a productive one - and may have been enough to claim his spot as the starting quarterback next season.
The former Cincinnati Bearcat gets one more opportunity to make a statement this Sunday, when Atlanta hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and future Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady.
If Ridder is able to give Atlanta its first ever victory over Brady, he'll certainly finish in style ... and even while sample size concerns may still exist, they likely won't be enough to diminish Ridder's accomplishments.
The Falcons and Buccaneers are set to kick off at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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