The loss to the Chargers was frustrating on many levels. The team continues to play the duo of Cornell Armstrong and Darren Hall as the starting outside CBs in spite of the way they were repeatedly torched by Joe Burrow and even P.J. Walker. Justin Herbert wasn't quite as effective, but he put together two touchdown drives in the second quarter by going after the young corners in key situations. And the play calling on offense has was at times atrocious. After two scoring drives to open the game based on runs and short passes (with Mariota completing 6 of 8 attempts), the offense suddenly became obsessed with the deep pass. For the rest of the half, Mariota completed only 1 of 5 attempts, with the lone completion gaining a mere 4 yards. Three of the incompletions were deep passes, and he was also sacked twice for 15 yards - meaning that the passing game lost a net of 11 yards for those three drives. But after the game, defensive coordinator Dean Pees emphasized to one of the writers for the team's web site that his biggest takeaway from the game was one particular play that was successful. It was an on-the-fly adjustment, having the defense play something that they hadn't even practiced in response to something they saw from the Chargers. It was a third down play on the drive following Drake London's fumble. The Chargers offense had taken over at midfield, and this particular third down play limited them to a field goal. Pees noted that he wouldn't have been able to make such a call last season, and that the success on that play showed that the youngsters are learning the system well enough to do things they wouldn't have been able to do even a month ago. So it's worth noting that this defense is ridiculously young and inexperienced - but they're learning, and Pees is happy with their progress. Terrell is still OUT for tonight, but there's a good shot he'll be returning in the next game or two. And it shouldn't be too long before the team deems the newly acquired Fenton ready for game action. And on offense, Cordarrelle Patterson is back, which potentially helps out the pass game, as he was the team's third leading receiver last year and frequently lines up as a WR. Now we just have to get rid of the moments of obsession with the deep ball. Run on first down, incomplete deep pass on second down, sack while looking for the deep pass on third down, punt is NOT a winning combination. But getting back to the defense... Terrell, linebacker Mykal Walker and safety Jaylinn Hawkins were drafted in 2020 and are starters this year. Richie Grant, Darren Hall, Ta'Quon Graham and Ade Ogundeji were drafted last year. All four are starting now and likely to be opening day starters next year. Arnold Ebiketie and Troy Andersen from this year's draft class are likely to step into starting roles next year as well, with DeAngelo Malone pushing for more playing time in rotation. The young core is in place, and all of them are under contract for 2023. And the coach with decades of experience says they're starting to get the hang of things. That's reason to think that for the first time in many, many years, Atlanta just might have a defense that is actually GOOD in 2023. The offense will have a little more work to do with so many players on one-year deals. But at some point Mariota will pass the baton to Desmond Ridder. Cordarrelle Patterson, Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley will still be under contract for the run game, as will Kyle Pitts and Drake London for the passing game. That's a pretty good start.
Arthur Smith didn’t consider benching Marcus Mariota, won’t say who starts next week Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota played an ugly game on Thursday night, but he was never in danger of being benched. That’s the word from Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, who said after the game that he never considered turning to rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder. However, Smith would not say definitively that Mariota will remain the starter for the Falcons’ next game, November 20 against the Bears. “I know those are popular narratives, those are the easy questions to ask,” Smith said. “But as a whole football team, we’ve got to do a better job, starting with myself. So, we look every week to make sure we’ve got the right guys in the right spots.” When asked a follow-up question about whether Mariota or Ridder will go, Smith declined to focus specifically on the quarterback position. “You can make it about the quarterback, how about the team?” Smith said. “We had an opportunity at the end of the fourth quarter the last two weeks, and a lot of different ways, and a lot of different phases where we’ve got to get better. And we’ve got an opportunity to do that with seven games left.” The Falcons do have an opportunity to make the playoffs, thanks to the overall weakness of the AFC South. But they’re not going to win much if Mariota keeps playing like he did on Thursday night. PFT
The hard part is that you guys are probably still going to be tied for first place after this weekend is over. But if Mariota is going to play like a rookie might as well play a rookie.
AFC South ??? PFT got a little sloppy there. Arthur Smith hit on a couple of solid points. Mariota's game was dicey, but it was really the play calling and the situations that the team was in that made the difference. It truly is a whole-team thing, and it really does start with the coaching staff. The play calls on offense in these last two games were atrocious. But along the lines of the QB question, sooner or later they do need to get Ridder some game experience. Partly to help with his development but mainly to get a chance to see what they have in the rookie. Next week would be a perfect opportunity to have him start.
If Im coach, I definitely start, Mariota. IF, he struggles, then I think its time for Ridder to get some PT. Dont think they wanna quite give the notion that they are throwing in the towel just yet. Mariota has been up and down and after the Panthers thing, he just may be up... lets hope so. 2 of the next 3 games are at home and the 3 opponents are winnable games, in my opinion. They may be sitting pretty going into the late bye.
I'll say that Mariota isn't the problem, as he's in the middle of the pack (14th) with a passer rating of 89.9. That's far better than pretty much everyone's expectations, and the play calls (deeper passes) have done more harm than good to his stats. He pressed and made some ugly throws under pressure against Carolina, but most QBs in those same situations would be hard pressed to do significantly better. It's not all on him when the game plan itself is off target. So the public relations side of getting Ridder some action would be a tricky balance between not appearing to be throwing in the towel vs not throwing Mariota under the bus. But Arthur Smith has been quite adamant about not caring what the media has to say. And while he did specifically say that he didn't have any thoughts of benching Mariota during the Panthers game, he would not say who would be starting against the Bears. If I were there, I'd openly say to the media during the upcoming week that we need to start getting Ridder some game experience. He's the backup after all, and down the stretch (or even in the postseason) he could be needed at a moment's notice. So the plan would be to start Mariota and have him play one or two series, then play Ridder for the rest of the first half - figuring that to be two or maybe three possessions. But I do strongly believe that the team should get Ridder some playing time - even if it's just one or two series here and there.
One thing I should have made more clear... in the original post, I was referring to passing the baton to Ridder in 2023, or perhaps even 2024 after Mariota's contract has expired. I was noting the pieces already under contract for 2023 that he'd have to work with in the offense. I'm not on the wagon to make Ridder the starter for the rest of the season just to bench Mariota. He wasn't particularly good against Carolina, but to me the sequence of play calls became atrocious for long stretches. It really was the worst of the Bengals game combined with the worst of the Chargers game. I posted that thought in the NFL News and Notes thread after two particular series in the second quarter. Here's the sequence of events that drove me to say just before halftime that the Falcons deserved to lose: Carolina was up 3-0. The Falcons defense stopped another Carolina drive, pushing them back out of field goal range thanks to the bad weather. The punt pins Atlanta deep, starting at the 3-yard line. The Falcons run Allgeier up the A-gap for 3-yards. Next play is running Allgeier to the right side B-gap for 3-yards. The third down play is running Allgeier up the A-gap for 3-yards. Fourth down = punt. Carolina then scores a touchdown in just two plays. 10-0. Next series... deep pass (incomplete) to Zaccheaus. Second down, deep pass to Pitts = intercepted. For whatever reason, the team seems to abandon shorter passes at times and go either run-only or focus only on 20+ yard pass attempts. Is it just that Mariota is locking in solely on his "A" receiver downfield and not checking down to the shorter pass targets? Are the guys running the shorter routes just not doing a good job of getting open? (Atlanta had that problem for a few years when Matt Ryan was quarterback. Receivers like Harry Douglas and Drew Davis didn't seem to understand that the idea was to get AWAY from the other team's cornerback.) The other part of that definitely falls on Smith and OC Dave Ragone. They kept running the ball non-stop against the Bengals even when they were down by three scores. "Run first" is old school football. "Run only" is one-dimensional and has no chance of success.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith plans to stick with Marcus Mariota at quarterback Many Atlanta Falcons fans hoped the coaching staff would use the mini-bye after last Thursday's loss to Carolina to prep rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder for his first action. Nope. Head coach Arthur Smith said Monday he plans to stick with Marcus Mariota under center. "There's no situation. There was never a situation, ever," Smith insisted when asked about the QB situation. "You understand why the questions get asked," Smith added. "You lose two games in five days and everybody wants to panic. We're right in the middle of it. We're not where we want to be, but the reality is we're right in the middle of a playoff race with a conference opponent coming in here -- a game we need to win." Frankly, were it not for a gifted overtime win against Carolina in Week 8, we'd be talking about four consecutive defeats, not just two in five days. Mariota hasn't just struggled in recent games. It's been weeks since he looked anything close to an NFL-caliber passer. Yes, his rushing ability opens things up for an offense that wants to pound it on the ground. But when the Falcons get in must-pass situations, Mariota has been a liability of late. The QB has one game above 250-plus passing yards, and it took him OT to get there in Week 8. Mariota has 12 touchdown passes to seven interceptions. Last week he was abysmal when the Falcons got down, throwing a bad pick, and making some boneheaded plays. The calls for Ridder have grown louder and louder, but Smith has resisted entertaining even the possibility of seeing what the rookie could do. "If we we're going to make a change, I'd tell you," Smith said. "… Everything is up for grabs every week. If we felt that one move would certainly be the difference in us winning and losing, we'd make it. We're not at that point at a lot of spots." With the Falcons sitting at 4-6, one game behind the Bucs in the division, Smith likely doesn't want to bench a QB while still in the hunt. Maybe a few more losses could change his mind. One thing has become clear, though: Mariota isn't the future under center. That reality necessitates Atlanta finding out if Ridder might be the guy at some point this season before using a first-round pick on another young QB. The longer Smith waits, the more the sample size dwindles, and the more diluted the situation becomes -- as we've seen from the likes of Davis Mills and Drew Lock in previous seasons showing promise as rookies against soft schedules before bottoming out. Unless Smith and his staff have already decided based on practices that Ridder isn't good enough to be an NFL starter, it's time to see what the rookie can do. NFL.com
Sticking with Mariota is the safe play. Most coaches don’t want to take a chance when their team is in playoff contention.
I do agree with Arthur Smith that "there is no situation" with Mariota. All the same, you don't have to bench Mariota as the starter in order to work in some playing time for Ridder. That's what I want to see. Give Ridder two or three consecutive series in the first half after Mariota has already played a few drives. If he plays well or if the game ends up with a "garbage time" situation, give him another series or two later on. The fact that you're in the hunt for the postseason is exactly why you SHOULD get the rookie that game experience - he's your backup QB, you have a starter with a history of getting banged up, and to date your backup hasn't thrown a single regular season pass. You might need him at a moment's notice. You don't want him coming in cold and taking his very first career snap in the final week of the season with the division title on the line after Mariota suddenly takes a shot to the head on a running play and is forced out of the game for 20-30 minutes to be evaluated under the concussion protocol. The sooner you get Ridder a bit of playing time, the sooner he and the coaches can start making adjustments and corrections to whatever he does wrong, making him better down the stretch.
