The Atlanta Falcons have a good problem at quarterback
There is an old saw about football.
If you have two (or more) quarterbacks, you have none.
However, the Atlanta Falcons might be turning that on its head.
This past offseason the Falcons signed Marcus Mariota, the former second-overall selection, to a two-year deal. Then in the draft, Atlanta managed to wait until the third round to draft a quarterback, adding Desmond Ridder with the 74th-overall selection.
Prior to drafting Ridder, Atlanta added a ton of talent, including wide receiver Drake London, pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie, and linebacker Troy Anderson.
Through two preseason games, both quarterbacks have played well. While Ridder is getting the bulk of attention, which is likely to be expected with a rookie, Mariota has been nearly perfect in limited action.
That might make for a good problem for Atlanta this fall.
How Ridder has impressed
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For many, Ridder was the top quarterback in the 2022 draft class. Those who ranked him at the top pointed to his mental acumen, and ability to run an NFL offense almost immediately.
For those evaluators, the early returns are right in line with how they viewed Ridder coming out of college. Anticipation throws, adjusted expectations when the defense rolled their safeties, and smart decisions with the football were staples of his career at Cincinnati.
This early completion, from the second quarter against the Detroit Lions in the first week of the preseason, is a prime example:
Anticipation throws like these are great signs that a quarterback is reading the field well, diagnosing what is happening in the secondary, trusting his eyes and reads and letting it rip. This was a trait of Ridder’s in college, and it is great to see such throws early in his NFL career.
This continued on Monday night against the New York Jets. Ridder hit on 10 of 13 passes for 143 yards in the outing, and again his mental acumen stood out. Take this completion from late in the second quarter, as Ridder executes a run fake before setting up in the pocket to execute a Flood concept to the right side of the field:
As noted earlier, Ridder had success on Dagger concepts in his first preseason game. Near the end of the first half against the Jets, Atlanta dialed up another Dagger concept for the rookie, which he executed to perfection:
This is an incredible throw. Ridder comes out of the mesh with the running back, and spots a linebacker dropping to try and pick up the tight end crossing the field. With the linebacker retreating, Ridder knows he has a chance to be aggressive with the throw, and takes his shot. The rookie puts this into the proverbial shoebox, leading to a 17-yard gain.
Ridder has been extremely impressive this preseason, and his coach has taken notice. Smith was visibly upset at times Monday night, directing some of his criticism at his rookie quarterback over penalties and mistakes. After the game, Smith shared why he was upset with Ridder.
“I got high expectations for Desmond,” Smith said. “So, we’re going to be hard on Desmond, ’cause he’s a good player, and he can take that kind of coaching. And he understands, we’re not waiting on him as a rookie, we’re trying to speed him up. He made some good throws. There’s some stuff he has to clean up, especially on the operation.”
Atlanta might not be waiting on him as a rookie, but there is a veteran who might have something to say about the matter…
Do not count out Mariota
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Monday night was Mariota’s most extensive action of the preseason yet. He did see action against the Lions in Atlanta’s first preseason game, hitting on both of his passing attempts and adding three rushing attempts for 23 yards and a touchdown.
In the game against Detroit, we saw Mariota make throws on the move on boot-action concepts like this one, where he connects with rookie Drake London on the crossing route:
This is one of those moments where holding the post-safety in place actually matters on a vertical route to the outside. Pitts is working out of a condensed split, and his route only takes him to the bottom of the numbers. There is a chance that the post-safety can make a play on this throw with a good read and jump, but by freezing him in the middle of the field — and flashing the ball on the crossing route — Mariota holds him in place.
Atlanta fans saw another example of Mariota on boot-action, as he hits the receiver in the flat on this design:
Atlanta dials up a pair of half-field concepts on his play. On the right side they run a Drift concept, with the inside receiver sitting down on a curl while the outside receiver runs the Drift route, breaking inside a bit deeper downfield and looking for space.
On the left side, they run a Hoss concept, with the outside receiver hitching up while the inside receiver runs the seam route.
New York drops into Cover 6 — Quarter-Quarter-Half — with the cornerback over the hitch playing off coverage as he drops into his quarter of the field. Mariota sees this and knows he has free access to the hitch route. So again, he takes what the defense gives him, getting the throw out on-time and in-rhythm.
Then there is the touchdown Mariota hit on, which is a ball that is also thrown into the proverbial shoebox:
Again, Mariota does a good job with his eyes on this touchdown. The Jets are in single-high Cover 1 on this play, with the post-safety looking to read Mariota’s eyes. The QB freezes him in the middle of the field, using the dig route as bait, before flashing his eyes outside to throw the post route to Olamide Zaccheaus. Mariota drills in this throw well before the safety arrives, and the Falcons are on the board.
Again, the old saw holds that if you have two quarterbacks, you have none. Right now, the Falcons are turning that on its head a bit. Mariota, the veteran, is performing well and is likely their Week 1 starter. But the rookie appears to be ahead of schedule, and is certainly pushing the veteran from behind. The question might not be if Ridder starts this season, but when.
Which is perhaps a good question to have for the Falcons.
