SB Nation: What Falcons fans can expect from Desmond Ridder in his first NFL start

[Hashbrown3]

3 hours ago, Wjcorner said:

300 yards 3 TDs, a heated exchange with Cam Jordan followed by a stiff arm in the open field, and a dirty bird in the end zone 🧐

You should be ashamed of yourself son. 

🤩

[ADAMSVILLE GYM]

13 minutes ago, gazoo said:

Any further questions I can help you with junior?

Increasingly, HMO's (health maintenance organizations) find themselves wrestling with the moral implications of their allocation of resources. By what guideline–or guidelines–should they decide between investing in more preventive services and investing in more life-prolonging technology? Or ... How much of their money should they redirect from physical health to mental health?

Thanks in advance!!

[gazoo]

22 minutes ago, ADAMSVILLE GYM said:

Increasingly, HMO's (health maintenance organizations) find themselves wrestling with the moral implications of their allocation of resources. By what guideline–or guidelines–should they decide between investing in more preventive services and investing in more life-prolonging technology? Or ... How much of their money should they redirect from physical health to mental health?

Thanks in advance!!

Downward grows the root.
Outward grows the skin.
Upward grows the shoot.
What way blows the wind?
 

Well, it’s wayward, of course.

[Hashbrown3]

2 hours ago, Mister pudding said:

I think for the most part, we keep things safe. Keep running the footbal, a few screen passes, and play action. 

Ridder will thrive if we can stick to that game plan. 

I’m not disagreeing here with you Pudding.

And you probably already know this, but I’ll interject a brief continuation of your point.

It’s important to recognize that your statement is true for 3 reasons. 
1) It fits into the AS scheme

2) It fits Mariota

3) It works for a new rookie 

The good part is that we probably have more to look forward to with Desmond Ridder at the helm.

1)  Des has already gotten a firm grip on the basics of the AS scheme because of his work ethic, dedication, maturity & intelligence. He has excellent foundational experience in a pro style, Bearcat offense.

2)  What fits both Mariota & Ridder, doesn’t necessarily dictate or limit how far Desmond can take it, as it did for Marcus.

3)  Although it’s good that we stick to a game plan to help transition Ridder from being exposed to full on NFL game day speed & Defensive Coordinators, I see far greater potential than what we’ve seen from Mariota.  Namely, both pre & post-snap reads & throwing skills.

I do not wish to see him limited next year once he gets past the next 4 opponents.

[Hashbrown3]

I guess part of what I’m trying to say is maybe he can be even more than a Ryan Tannehill. Who is a pretty good NFL QB in recent years.

[gazoo]

1 hour ago, Falcons Fan MVP said:

Too bad Kyle Pitts won't be there to help him.  That would have made a big difference.

It would have been huge for his debut to have both London and Pitts out there at same time. Just hitting a hot slant route after Ridders presnap read could net a 35 yard reception with these big strong receivers.  
 

But London is likely going to feast. I know we are still going to be a running team but Ridders knows how to hit his receivers in stride allowing more YACs. So defenses will be forced to back off the LOS after a few short slants, crossing patterns etc turn into big chunk gains. They will have to start dropping safeties back off the line or get gouged.
 

[gazoo]

23 minutes ago, HASHBROWN3 said:

I guess part of what I’m trying to say is maybe he can be even more than a Ryan Tannehill. Who is a pretty good NFL QB in recent years.

Yes, that’s been my thinking, he has a shot at being even better than Tannehill. I think what makes me believe this is, Ridder just has that dog in him, he just wins, he’s a winner, he makes it happen. When he threw that amazing game winning TD in preseason on 4th down…..that’s the “it” factor. That’s the kind of stuff the greats do, making something out of nothing when the game is on the line.

Notice how many times in preseason he would be in several 2nd and longs and 3rd and long situations after his OL got a penalty, or his receiver would drop a good pass, yet he would make these incredible throws for 1st downs to keep the chains moving.  It was amazing really.

[ADAMSVILLE GYM]

1 hour ago, gazoo said:

Downward grows the root.
Outward grows the skin.
Upward grows the shoot.
What way blows the wind?
 

Well, it’s wayward, of course.

Wait a minute!! You offered to answer my question. You even called me “Junior” to drive home your seniority and ability to do so at will. 
 

Only to ask a question instead of answering it. THEN you give me some 1940’s “Kilroy was here” type s#it. 
 

shame on you. 
 

[Hashbrown3]

55 minutes ago, gazoo said:

Yes, that’s been my thinking, he has a shot at being even better than Tannehill. I think what makes me believe this is, Ridder just has that dog in him, he just wins, he’s a winner, he makes it happen. When he threw that amazing game winning TD in preseason on 4th down…..that’s the “it” factor. That’s the kind of stuff the greats do, making something out of nothing when the game is on the line.

Notice how many times in preseason he would be in several 2nd and longs and 3rd and long situations after his OL got a penalty, or his receiver would drop a good pass, yet he would make these incredible throws for 1st downs to keep the chains moving.  It was amazing really.

I don’t feel any of these observations are you just being your eternal optimistic self either Gaz. I wish there were more like you out there but for some reason people seem scared to be called a “homer”.  Sort of pathetic in its own weird way really.

We all sense there is something extremely intriguing about him. That “it factor” description def has some merit.

The scouts & NFL personnel people & even the media guys notice something special about him as well. 

A third round steal would unlock this franchise to another level if were to play out the way we all hope it would.

He has that “ I won’t let the NFL be too big for me” thing going on.  He had this same demeanor in high school & college.

We’ve seen QB’s with these same leadership traits do well in the NFL.

Both Tom Brady & Matt Ryan had that dedication & mental prowess. So did guys like Peyton Manning.

Lots of examples of those who weren’t necessarily physically gifted, but had that same will to succeed.  

There’s no guarantee he’ll be a good one. Let alone near the caliber of those guys I just mentioned.

But Desmond actually has the athletic traits to go along with that mindset as well.  It’s fascinating watching him speak & the way he acts.

That confidence isn’t arrogant either. It’s an ingrained quality of self improvement & deep sense of commitment to his craft & his personal development.

That’s the part that gives me the most hope & encouragement for the long term. 

[Falconus Prime]

4 hours ago, dirtybirds233 said:

That IQ (or the intangibles as some say) is what sold me on him pre-draft. In watching 3-4 game reels for that QB class, Ridder was the only one that stood out to me as a QB that actually sits in the pocket, goes through his reads, adjusted the offense based on the defensive look, and wasn't aided by constant one-read looks or solely relied on his athleticism to make plays. 

The foundation is there for him and I think he's going to end up being a pretty good QB once he adjusts to the speed of an NFL defense. 

I see him as a quarterback, whose intangibles might not be quite as good as Matt Ryan, but has better mobility. 

[JDaveG]

9 minutes ago, Falconus Prime said:

I see him as a quarterback, whose intangibles might not be quite as good as Matt Ryan, but has better mobility. 

I think his intangibles are better than Matt Ryan.  The only intangible we don't know about that I think might be worse is durability.

It's his innate accuracy that is worse than Ryan (which is a tangible physical attribute), and I think that's mostly a mechanics issue that can be sorted out.  But his drive and work ethic are at least as good, and I think in terms of having that winning moxie, he's actually better than Ryan.  That doesn't mean he'll be anywhere near as good as Ryan, but if he isn't, it will likely be physical tools or injuries that keeps him from achieving that level of success.

[gazoo]

12 minutes ago, JDaveG said:

I think in terms of having that winning moxie, he's actually better than Ryan.

Me too, I think the intangible “it” factor of Ridder is actually better than Ryan’s was as well. 
 

I’ve been watching the NFL for 6 decades and have seen this it factor plenty. The first guy I really noticed it in was Joe Montana. The dude wasn’t athletically gifted at all, a 3 round pick with what was said the be too weak of an arm to play in NFL. Montana might have some bad games now and the , but ALWAYS when push came to shove, when the game was on the line, he’d plY outside himself and his physical tools. If the game was within 6 points with over 1 minute on the clock, 1st and 10 at his 20 yard line, you could bet the house he’d win the game on the last drive. Brady in his past also played outside himself with game on the line. 

[gazoo]

42 minutes ago, HASHBROWN3 said:

I don’t feel any of these observations are you just being your eternal optimistic self either Gaz. I wish there were more like you out there but for some reason people seem scared to be called a “homer”.  Sort of pathetic in its own weird way really.

We all sense there is something extremely intriguing about him. That “it factor” description def has some merit.

The scouts & NFL personnel people & even the media guys notice something special about him as well. 

A third round steal would unlock this franchise to another level if were to play out the way we all hope it would.

He has that “ I won’t let the NFL be too big for me” thing going on.  He had this same demeanor in high school & college.

We’ve seen QB’s with these same leadership traits do well in the NFL.

Both Tom Brady & Matt Ryan had that dedication & mental prowess. So did guys like Peyton Manning.

Lots of examples of those who weren’t necessarily physically gifted, but had that same will to succeed.  

There’s no guarantee he’ll be a good one. Let alone near the caliber of those guys I just mentioned.

But Desmond actually has the athletic traits to go along with that mindset as well.  It’s fascinating watching him speak & the way he acts.

That confidence isn’t arrogant either. It’s an ingrained quality of self improvement & deep sense of commitment to his craft & his personal development.

That’s the part that gives me the most hope & encouragement for the long term. 

So true, it’s not just us seeing there may be something very special here, you are seeing national pundits and experts breaking down his film showing the same level of excitement for Ridder.

I think Ridder snuck up on a lot of them, but the combine and his preseason play made a lot of them take a closer look. And they clearly like a lot about what they see.

[The Falcon Jedi Knight]

6 hours ago, Wjcorner said:

300 yards 3 TDs, a heated exchange with Cam Jordan followed by a stiff arm in the open field, and a dirty bird in the end zone 🧐

That's exactly right.

[PokerSteve]

6 hours ago, Mister pudding said:

I think for the most part, we keep things safe. Keep running the footbal, a few screen passes, and play action. 

Ridder will thrive if we can stick to that game plan. 

All you really need for AS's scheme to work is to pass enough to keep the other team's D from stacking the box. But, I think we're going to get a lot more than that from Ridder very soon if not this first Sunday.

[RoddyWhite84]

8 hours ago, FalconsFanSince194eva said:

Im about to…….

 

Shout out to Bob Saget lol

[Mister pudding]

1 hour ago, PokerSteve said:

All you really need for AS's scheme to work is to pass enough to keep the other team's D from stacking the box. But, I think we're going to get a lot more than that from Ridder very soon if not this first Sunday.

Yeah, basically. You don't need to pass a ton when the run game is working, but keep them honest. Hopefully Ridder hits those receivers Mariota couldn't. That's all we need really

[FalconsFanSince194eva]

55 minutes ago, RoddyWhite84 said:

Shout out to Bob Saget lol

R.I.P to a real one. 

[BirdNerd]

I believe it can be different for Ridder for a couple of reasons - first we have a running game and a good one at that. It has had us in every game this season and when you think of all the somewhat avg throws you’d expect any QB on this level to make yet Mariota couldn’t - Ridder will be fine because he CAN make those throws. Those were throws that were not needle threaders either y’all know what I’m talking bout - throws missed that shouldn’t have been.

Second - Ridder seems to be more mature than your average rookie QB - there doesn’t appear to be any Zach Wilson level immaturity to him. He seems older than he actually is - now I know it’ll be diff when the stew actually gets thrown in the hot pot, but he APPEARS to be more suited to handle it better than your avg rook. We’ll see

Edited December 17, 2022 by BirdNerd