I think a full Off-season of Ridder practicing as the #1 QB is going to make all the difference.

[The Falcon Jedi Knight]

RIdder so far has been "OK" ... given he has had limited practice time this season with the #1 Offense, but from what I have seen - AND CALL ME CRAZY! - but Ive been around this rodeo a long time here and I see all the ingredients for a star QB in the NFL in Ridder if he is developed correctly. I LOVE how careful he is with the ball, he doesn't turn it over, I LOVE his command and accuracy in the pocket, I LOVE he can run and escape when he needs to, and I LOVE the things i keep hearing about his Leadership in the huddle and locker room. I really like this guy, but he needs a FULL OFF-SEASON to truly develop into the QB expected when we drafted him. Sitting all year behind Marcus fng Mariota would kill most backup QBs development, and Im really hoping he has survived that debacle.

Im going to be a Ridder Fan until he proves otherwise but what I SEE is something special in the oven, and 2023 is going to be a Great Year for the Falcons.

 

[Jesus]

This rodeo?

There's a lot of clowns here, more like a circus.

[TheTrue7]

17 minutes ago, Jesus said:

This rodeo?

There's a lot of clowns here, more like a circus.

[FalconAge]

15 minutes ago, Jesus said:

This rodeo?

There's a lot of clowns here, more like a circus.

This season has been a rollercoaster complete with the dive towards the end so this must be a theme park.

[ShoNuff]

27 minutes ago, The Falcon Jedi Knight said:

RIdder so far has been "OK" ... given he has had limited practice time this season with the #1 Offense, but from what I have seen - AND CALL ME CRAZY! - but Ive been around this rodeo a long time here and I see all the ingredients for a star QB in the NFL in Ridder if he is developed correctly. I LOVE how careful he is with the ball, he doesn't turn it over, I LOVE his command and accuracy in the pocket, I LOVE he can run and escape when he needs to, and I LOVE the things i keep hearing about his Leadership in the huddle and locker room. I really like this guy, but he needs a FULL OFF-SEASON to truly develop into the QB expected when we drafted him. Sitting all year behind Marcus fng Mariota would kill most backup QBs development, and Im really hoping he has survived that debacle.

Im going to be a Ridder Fan until he proves otherwise but what I SEE is something special in the oven, and 2023 is going to be a Great Year for the Falcons.

 

And he has been spending a good of his practices being the Practice Squad QB, running stuff that the staff believe their opponent will be running.

I do agree, after getting some better WRs along with practicing with the 1st and 2nd stringers, he should look better.

[Lowndesfalc]

He should make a huge jump from year one to year two. Plus add a few pounds. Plus Pitts will be back plus any other receiver they sign in the offseason  and hopefully a defense that can get him a few more possessions  

Should be exciting! I can’t wait!!!🏈

[celtiksage]

I'm with OP. We've all seen what an outright disaster some previous top ranked QBs were in year 1 or turned into, and I'm talking Wilson, Fields, Haskins, Darnold, Rosen, possibly even Mayfield and Mariota, etc. That doesn't mean these guys won't improve or have a comeback somewhere down the line. It also shouldn't take away from all the excellent QBs that were drafted. With that said, Ridder hasn't looked near as bad as some of those guys did, and in some cases, he's shown more potential in his first 3 starts than they have or did. So far, I'm not disappointed in him and he'll only get better. How much better is yet to be determined. 

[TheUsualStuff]

54 minutes ago, Jesus said:

This rodeo?

There's a lot of clowns here, more like a circus.

There's clowns at the rodeo as well.

[andrews31cain21]

1 hour ago, Jesus said:

This rodeo?

There's a lot of clowns here, more like a circus.

Speeking of Clowns...whatever happend to Clownorg?

[Diesel_Bird]

I agree. I think a full off-season will do wonders for him and the offense. Hope We’re right 

[Killing Floor]

Look how much he’s improved in 3 weeks without that idiot Mariota hovering around. 

[falcndave]

I'm not sure of it. Hopefully this week will show some willingness to be a bit more aggressive in receiver selection. Having watched the all-22, there were other choices to be made on at least a handfull of plays. What I can't know is if that is coaching or his own reservations. 

[Vandy]

19 hours ago, celtiksage said:

I'm with OP. We've all seen what an outright disaster some previous top ranked QBs were in year 1 or turned into, and I'm talking Wilson, Fields, Haskins, Darnold, Rosen, possibly even Mayfield and Mariota, etc. That doesn't mean these guys won't improve or have a comeback somewhere down the line. It also shouldn't take away from all the excellent QBs that were drafted. With that said, Ridder hasn't looked near as bad as some of those guys did, and in some cases, he's shown more potential in his first 3 starts than they have or did. So far, I'm not disappointed in him and he'll only get better. How much better is yet to be determined. 

Ridder’s looked okay for a rookie’s 1st few games, nothing great but so far so good…but how would he have looked if thrown out there when TAFT was clamoring mid-season for the change to be made? Truth to tell, a major reason several of those QBs you mentioned never improved was because they were thrown out there to the wolves way too soon before they were ready. which is why the OP is being premature if not downright silly calling this transition a “debacle”. It was always gonna be messy, and Mariota handled it poorly,  but I think Arthur smith has handled it very well. 
 

[Dirtybirdluv]

I'm digging Ridder just wanna see all options used at this point. Don't wanna miss any good QB's whether it be FA or Draft. I think if he's not progressing next year you use all the draft capital we have and get one of these guys coming out in 24 i.e.(Maye, or Caleb)

[etherdome]

8 hours ago, Vandy said:

Ridder’s looked okay for a rookie’s 1st few games, nothing great but so far so good…but how would he have looked if thrown out there when TAFT was clamoring mid-season for the change to be made? Truth to tell, a major reason several of those QBs you mentioned never improved was because they were thrown out there to the wolves way before they were ready. which is why the OP is being premature if not downright silly calling this transition a “debacle”. It was always gonna be messy, and Mariota handled it poorly,  but I think Arthur smith has handled it very well. 
 

I think Ridder has been brought along in the right way for him.  I really don't have any questions or doubts about our starting QB next season.  In my opinion, AS was right to hold Ridder for most of the season.  Proof of this is the way Ridder has performed. 

[ADAMSVILLE GYM]

13 hours ago, TheUsualStuff said:

There's clowns at the rodeo as well.

My uncle “Bonnie” was a rodeo clown. THE toughest sumbich I’ve ever known. He would squeeze and break pony bottles like eggs over the trash can after he finished them. No cuts because his hands was like bricks. Weighed about 165-175. 

[INDFalcon]

11 hours ago, Killing Floor said:

Look how much he’s improved in 3 weeks without that idiot Mariota hovering around. 

From first game to third game his play is completely different. He has calmed down a lot. I also think coach should have started him a little earlier in this season itself. But with full off season practice, 2023 will be good for him especially if we land a Tackle, a proper center and G either through draft or free agency.

[Striker42]

12 minutes ago, INDFalcon said:

From first game to third game his play is completely different. He has calmed down a lot. I also think coach should have started him a little earlier in this season itself. But with full off season practice, 2023 will be good for him especially if we land a Tackle, a proper center and G either through draft or free agency.

This. Ridder should have been starting the second he had enough command of the playbook to do it. Our ridiculous playoff chase kept Mariota under center way longer than he should have.

I really liked what I saw from Ridder on Sunday. Plenty of zip on his passes, good accuracy, lots of poise, and he took care of the football. I really wish Pitts hadn't gotten hurt as I'd love to see what he could do with that monster on the field. 

Get Ridder some protection and get him a true deep threat, and I think you could see the offense take off. 

[dapanch420]

Lets give some credit to arthur smith, he knows this offense is lacking in some positions, so he makes it easy on ridder with short quick passes and a good running game. Whenever this team starts to get more talent on offense hes gonna open up this offense and that's when ridder will put up big numbers. Ridder is being brought up the right way, to not always look for the big plays and to take what the defense gives him.

[thanat0s]

This might be better examined after he has his 4th game, but I did a quick scan of some QBs and their 1st four starts to get an idea where DR is in the greater scheme of things..

I averaged those first 4 starts for Matt Ryan, Trevor Lawrence, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Kenny Picket and Deshaun Watson, and got this..

62% completions, 4TDs 4INTS and a passer rating of 83.

In his first 3 starts, Ridder is at 63%, 0/0 and 78. So, aside from his not being productive in the scoring column yet, he's basically on par with most NFL rookies (other than Rodgers, who wasn't a rookie). It's encouraging that he hasn't been a pick machine, like a lot of guys are early, too. 

All in all, I'm usually in the camp of, unless you know you've got your guy, you don't pass on a chance at a super blue chip if you're in the top ten. That being said, assuming he doesn't fall apart in this last game, I'm content in building other areas of the team (OL/DL/DB) and letting him try to earn the long term job in 23. 

They just need to get a proven vet to back him up for a year. Heck, if Matt's cut, he'd make a great backup for a year, especially if he envisions himself getting into coaching after retirement. Ridder could learn a lot from a HOFer.

[Herr Doktor]

[Sun Tzu 7]

There's a ton that goes into being a starting NFL QB.

The more you play the more film there is the more NFL defensive coordinators have to find out what you do well and do not do well.

Ridder has looked OK but it's been a small sample size.

Expect him to struggle next season and it happens all the time.

Rookie QB so the coaches don't put too much on their plate and keep things simple.

2nd year the coaches open up the playbook and put more on the plate of the QB and they struggle. Happens all the time hence the term sophomore slump.

 

[PokerSteve]

On 1/5/2023 at 6:30 PM, Jesus said:

This rodeo?

There's a lot of clowns here, more like a circus.

Yes, but we wuv you soooooo much, Jeebus!

[The Falcon Jedi Knight]

The Real Question is - is Arthur Smith's Offense the best Offense for a player like Ridder? I Yearn for Kyle Shannahan again - i mean wow you dont know what you got til its gone - I Loved that Zone Block West Coast scheme he ran that made Matt Ryan MVP and nearly won us a Superbowl. I like Arthur Smiths offense that it makes stars out of no-name RBs, and turned Cordaralle Patterson into an alien... Im OK with what we have going forward.

[JDaveG]

25 minutes ago, The Falcon Jedi Knight said:

The Real Question is - is Arthur Smith's Offense the best Offense for a player like Ridder? I Yearn for Kyle Shannahan again - i mean wow you dont know what you got til its gone - I Loved that Zone Block West Coast scheme he ran that made Matt Ryan MVP and nearly won us a Superbowl. I like Arthur Smiths offense that it makes stars out of no-name RBs, and turned Cordaralle Patterson into an alien... Im OK with what we have going forward.

They're strikingly similar offenses.  The key difference is Shanahan had the players and Smith does not.

Remember 2015?  This offense isn't even as good as that, but we don't have Julio, or Roddy White, or Hester.  Outside of London we don't even have Justin Hardy.  And without Pitts available, we don't even have Jacob Tamme.  I suppose Allgeier is as good as Freeman at least.  And this o-line might be better than that one was (this was before we fixed it in 2016).

Just put Julio and Roddy in 2015 form on this offense and tell me it wouldn't be significantly improved.