Flick's Forum: Atlanta Falcons Need More from Desmond Ridder, and Fast
The final image of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder's first trip across the pond largely sums up his outing in Atlanta's 23-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Ridder dropped back to pass, looked to his right and started to throw - but had the ball knocked out of his hands by Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen before the ball started moving forward.
Jacksonville recovered the fumble, and the game was effectively over. It was Ridder's third turnover of the day. He arrived in London with just four total turnovers (three fumbles, one interception) across the first seven starts of his career.
The 24-year-old finished the day 19 of 31 for 191 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions (including a pick-six) and the aforementioned lost fumble.
With each start, more gets added to Ridder's resume, which was relatively bare when the Falcons named him the starter at the NFL owner's meetings in late March.
Ridder has now thrown for less than 200 yards in four of his eight starts, and barely eclipsed the mark at 201 in Atlanta's Week 3 loss to the Detroit Lions.
Over the last two weeks, the Falcons offense has mustered only 13 points. They've been outscored by 30 points in that timespan and went from a team exceeding outside expectations at 2-0 to one that looks all too familiar to those of years past.
Make no mistake - Atlanta needs more from its second-year signal caller under center, or this season, which was filled with so much optimism from the summer and first two weeks, may turn downhill sooner than many expected.
Desmond Ridder nearly matched his career total of turnovers in Sunday's game alone.
USA Today
That said, it's not all on Ridder. Falcons coach Arthur Smith was the first to take the blame postgame, and his passing concepts have come under scrutiny for a lack of spacing and verticality.
Atlanta's offensive line has been in disarray, with Ridder being sacked at least four times in every game except the Week 2 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
Further, the Falcons' rushing attack, which was a staple of last year's team, has hardly looked the part thus far. Atlanta's averaging 128 rushing yards per game, down from 160 a season ago, and has seen Tyler Allgeier post just 28 yards on 14 carries over the past two weeks.
Rookie phenom Bijan Robinson had success on the ground against Jacksonville, taking 14 carries for 105 yards with a long of 38, but Atlanta's running game still feels far off the consistently impressive unit it was last year.
These factors make Ridder's life difficult ... but the Falcons still need more production from under center if they want to reach their potential this season.
On that note, the odds Smith willingly turns the keys from Ridder to backup Taylor Heinicke any time in the coming weeks are slim-to-none.
Sure, it's a different situation from last year, when Smith rode with Marcus Mariota for 13 games before giving Ridder the starting role; Atlanta opted to stick with the veteran while Ridder, then a third-round rookie, learned the ropes and developed.
There's also the element that Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot knew Mariota was a one-year stopgap option who wouldn't cost them their jobs if he didn't produce. After all, that was just the second year of the duo's three-year plan.
This time around, the story is almost entirely reversed.
Heinicke is a veteran gunslinger who's unafraid to take shots and has a track record of being able to make game-winning plays. He's erratic and inconsistent, largely the opposite of Ridder, but also offers the potential to be more explosive.
During training camp, it felt like many of Atlanta's deep shots in team drills came with Heinicke under center, and Ridder's lack of connections - and attempts - downfield haven't helped ease any concerns.
That said, the Falcons' decision makers attached themselves to Ridder this offseason, selling free agents such as defensive lineman Calais Campbell that he was a key part of their long-term plans.
Atlanta won't just give up on Ridder after a few tough games. The fanbase and national media may, but the locker room certainly won't.
"That's my boy," receiver Drake London said. "I'm not going to ever give up on him. At the end of the day, whatever happens, happen. We're going to go out there and keep on fighting."
Ridder has won over his teammates with his leadership even in tough times, of which there have been many in recent weeks. Moving on from him so soon sends quite the poor message inside the locker room.
Veteran tight end Jonnu Smith, who's been a noticeable bright spot in the season's early stages, has seen several different quarterbacks in his seven-year career.
He knows what works and what doesn't ... and he knows that the way Ridder carries himself certainly fits into the former.
"Surprisingly, he's one of the guys on the sidelines still telling guys 'Let's go.' Really rare to see out of a young quarterback," Smith said. "I don't have to say much. It's so easy when things are going well - of course you want laughing and smiles, but when things hit the fan, you find out who that man really is.
"He's consistently encouraging us through those dull moments."
It's possible this may just be who Ridder is - an intangibly impressive quarterback who needs a stout rushing attack and quality offensive line to provide serviceable quarterback play.
On paper, the Falcons should be able to give him both ... but they haven't so far, and opponents have forced Ridder to beat them.
So far, he's 2-2. Mathematically average, which may reflect exactly where he's at in his current development.
But Smith thinks Ridder can be more. The Falcons have full belief in their quarterback and are prepared to ride the rollercoaster that may ensue ... and really, Atlanta put itself in a position where they have no other option.
So, the Falcons will roll with Ridder.
Now, it's up to him to prove them right - and he'll need to do much more than he has the past two weeks to accomplish that mission.
