Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder + how Falcons can rebound from Steelers loss | Falcons Final Whistle

46 had the holding call

@claude griffin my bad on that one. Jake had one either earlier in the drive or the previous one that was a killer

@Erik Hill Jake may have had the false start.

@Kenjie Davis correct

Yes but the Steelers marched down the field and could of scored the winning field goal, but they decided to run the clock out and get the delay of game and punt.

Going to be a tough first year behind that O-line. I’m hoping they want to fix that before putting him in.

We got the bears old OC so I don’t think we have many good choices right now x] But I agree. 4th quarter play calling has been especially dreadful. Not to mention last weeks entire first half.

@Frank T I fee l you, But be happy with either of them starting next year, as long as we seal up out real problem areas. Oline/DLine. Remember, A Solid Define carried Peyton Manning through to the super bowl on his last year In the NFL, when he was throwing pick after pick. We have more offense than he did then, already, and they won a super bowl. People put way too much emphasis on a “great QB” now adays, especially the fans. For Example, Matt Ryan is pretty good, but on a colts team with no 0-line and no run game, it quickly becomes a waste of money having a star QB in the backfield. Too many people want us to dig ourselves in that hole by wasting top picks on a QB when we need so much more, to be a great team. We could get the best qb in the draft, and it wont matter if we don’t fix that O-line and Defense. Will be another year of giving up the most pressure, while applying the least pressure. We are set at the QB position.

@J A lot of holes on the team to be addressed for sure. But there is very little that can be done about them at the tail end of the season. We will have to wait till this off-season. I feel like the only move we can make now is at the QB position. It’s not an either or scenario. It’s a what can we do right at this moment to set the team up for success in the long run.

​@Frank T I rather see Ridder come in behind an improved O-line over the offseason, and have the ability to get comfortable, than to go in now and have to run for his life and hand the ball off 70% of the time. There’s a big risk with that.
For Example: Panthers 3rd round pick Matt Corral got injured for the season this year, he was picked just after Ridder. Mariota got injured 3 times his first year. Justin Fields is taking a beating every game as the most sacked, least passing yards per game QB due to his weak O-line. I wouldn’t want to risk that for our future star QB.

@J Respectfully disagree. Falcons are actually better than average in terms of QB sacked per game. Incidentally, Chicago is almost dead last. Should Falcons get better? Absolutely. But they are not horrendous. I also don’t know if we really know if we should continue to invest in Ridder until we see him in real live NFL games. Would I like to see Ridder stepping into a better situation? Of course I do. But if we were in a better situation, then we wouldn’t be talking about Ridder starting over Mariota right now. Will Ridder perform just as badly or worse as Mariota or will he offer some glimmer of hope for next season? I think that’s what we’re looking for. Lastly, there is always risk of injury, even if QB protection improves by 0.5 / game and climbs to the top of the league in that regard.

​@Frank T We are ranked 28th in pass protection so it is that bad, Mariota just knows how to get rid of it quickly instead of trying to do too much like Fields. Look at Tom Brady. He has an Elite O-line in every team he plays with. That’s one of the biggest things that make him great. If we gave Matt Ryan that O-line he could have been the next Tom Brady. Tom Brady can’t carry the Colts either. Mahomes for another example, has the #3 ranked O-line in the league. Bills #8 O-line.
Here’s Ridder at the Peach Bowl: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRiMMYOopl4&t=413s&ab_channel=ESPNCollegeFootball
from 6:38
Entire 2nd half he was under continuous pressure and shut down, even turning over the ball. He’s great when he can drop back and read the play, but we Falcons can’t even give our QB time to finish a drop back half the time. Putting him in now would be like sending your kid to school with a bowl cut, large backpack full of books, and a uniform into a public school. Man will be eaten alive. Then people will blame him, and we waste a draft pick to appease the fans. Know how to keep him 100% healthy until then? Bench him.
Like I said earlier, I’m talking from The Falcons Coaching perspective. They want him safe, and to have 10 years of great football. Not tout him in before the team is ready to protect him, and turn him into a bust like Baker Mayfield.

The highlights didn’t show the lowlights — of Mariota missing on passes repeatedly, even when the receivers were wide open the ball was uncatchable. It’s a credit to the defense that they kept the Steelers below 20. They forced Pittsburgh to kick FGs multiple times vs allowing TDs. Yes, tackling was terrible early on, however they settled down somewhat. If the O could have been decent, the D was good enough to deliver a win. The time of possession was low because the Offense was terrible on 3rd down.

@John Barnard The Steelers Offense had 12 more plays and had the ball over 5min longer then the falcons, Not going to win games like that! The penalties killed us at crucial times.

They only had 19pts defense done they job the last 4,5 games offense is pedestrian

Literally every bad throw he’s thrown there was someone in his face or the snap was low you can watch every throw from the first game and see it. I see where you coming from still not convinced though

Agreed. If Mariota had an extra half second last week on those deep throws, they would have been perfect. He has to rush through his progressions and decide IMMEDIETLY if he needs to just run away as there is no pocket to sit in. Name all the good QBs: Brady, Mahomes, Josh Allen, all with top 10 rated Offensive lines. We have a bottom 5 Pass protection O-line, only 2 of 5 guys there can actually pass block. So we either run the ball 80% of the time, or fix it. Sadly Mariota gets the blame, and once ridder goes in and fails behind that line as well, people will think he is a bust. I don’t know if he is, but it will definitely look like he is if he goes in behind that line. We even got destroyed Behind the line of scrimmage on many run plays last week.

Look man. It you’re still trying to make excuses for Mariota after some of the mistakes he’s made, you’re delusional.

We could’ve been in a way worst situation we were predicted to go 2-15 were 5-8 2nd place in the division with a chance at playoffs thanks to Mariota no qb is perfect they all make mistakes so im just doing what any TRUE fan would do bud!

@Brandon Austin Facts. Tom Brady has a much better O-lien than us, and he is struggling as well. Lots of Tough defenses this year. We even beat the 49ers who beat the Dolphins. They had some injuries, but we had even more injuries. Hell yeah!

Yup. Media and aniti-fans seem to think they are the GM.

The last 5 games defense held teams 21pts or less other than that you’re mostly correct

@dt chevy 73 Allowing 21 ppg is not good defense.

Facts. Every close game we’ve lost this year, is because Smith abandons the game plan, especially in the 4th quarter, and goes to the shotgun formation. Our O-line is bottom 5 in the league in pass protection. Mariota’s rushing yards have declined as well as Smith opts to try and force a “pass attack” when literally our entire team is built to run, play action, rpo, and run.