Getty Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons.
Many Atlanta Falcons fans and critics are calling for the team to bench veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota and start rookie Desmond Ridder.
But despite what the doubters have to say, Mariota’s teammates stand behind him.
“We ride with our guy. We ride with Marcus,” Atlanta’s tight end MyCole Pruitt said following Week 13’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, via Sports Illustrated. “He’s gotten us to this point. We still feel like we can win games, and I got Marcus’ back to the end. I hope the fans will too.”
The Falcons, now 5-8, are still in the playoff picture, though their chances are dwindling down.
Sure, Mariota is a reason the Falcons are in this position, but it is also because they are in by far the worst conference in the league: the NFC South.
Pruitt isn’t the only teammate that has Mariota’s back.
“He’s our quarterback,” offensive tackle Kaleb McGary said. “He’s a great teammate, a great person, and I am sure he has his plays that aren’t the best, but so do the rest of us.”
Changes Looming in Atlanta
The Falcons finally entered their bye week for Week 14 and while the players get some time to rejuvenate, a lot will be happening behind the scenes, according to head coach Arthur smith.
“We will have some very intense meetings in the next couple of days,” Smith told reporters on Monday, December 4. “Obviously, I know where we’re at. We understand, too, that we’ve been in some close games lately and we need to get back over the hump. There will be changes made. Everything that we decide to do I will be as transparent as possible.”
This could mean we could see a change at quarterback but it also might not mean that as Smith has been very vague with his responses when asked about the current QB situation.
“[We’re] still working through that,” smith said.
The Falcons have four important games coming up after the bye: New Orleans Saints, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If they plan on saving their season, they will need to win all four.
Should Atlanta Finish the Season With Mariota?
So, the Falcons have a slim chance of making the playoffs. Is it time to shoot their show with the rookie or should they close it out with Mariota?
There are plenty of reasons to consider both, but the main reason that it might not be a good idea to throw the rookie into the fire is because of uncertainty––which then leads to disappointment.
Scott Bair of the team’s official website explained it best in his Tuesday mailbag:
“They need a spark.
“Could Desmond Ridder provide that? We have no idea. He’s a rookie with zero NFL snaps in the regular season. He could struggle mightily. If there’s one certainty, he’ll make some rookie mistakes if given the opportunity. We don’t know if he’ll have one. That hasn’t been determined yet. We also don’t know how he’s doing in practice or meetings. We haven’t seen him work in quite some time. The coaches know, however. That’s a major factor in whether they make a change or not. Is not simply a matter if Mariota isn’t doing enough.”
There’s a lot of pressure for Ridder to come in and win and then win again and keep winning. At least with Mariota, if he loses, fans and coaches know his time as the starter is up when the season concludes.
With Ridder, he’s expected to be the future and timing is everything.