Getty Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons.
After a disappointing Thursday Night road loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons are on tap to face the Chicago Bears at home.
And while the Falcons are still holding on to playoff hopes with starting quarterback Marcus Mariota behind the wheel, many believe it’s time to hand rookie Desmond Ridder the keys, including former NFL cornerback, Richard Sherman.
“At this point, you gotta bring somebody else in,” Sherman said during Thursday night’s broadcast. “He’s making rookie mistakes as a veteran, you can’t have it. You have a good game plan…you run the ball…you don’t turn the ball over. This is carelessness.”
Richard Sherman on Falcons QB Marcus Mariota:
“At this point, you’ve gotta bring somebody else in. He’s making rookie mistakes, and as a veteran, you can’t have it. You have a good gameplan… you run the ball… you don’t turn the ball over. This is carelessness.” 🏈 #TNF
Arthur Smith Leaves QB1 Job Up in the Air
Mariota finished the Falcons’ 25-15 loss to Carolina by making 19 0f 30 completions for 186 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, which should have been four.
After the game, reporters asked head coach Arthur Smith if he thought about putting Ridder in at all, and he said no.
The media followed up with Smith on Friday about Mariota starting in Week 11, and he left it up in the air.
“Here’s why I think those questions sometimes are comical,” Smith said on Nov. 11. “I understand why you have to ask them. It’s an important position, but our feeling about every position is we are objective. We have done the same thing all year. We evaluate everything week to week. There will always be competition, and it’s our job to make sure we are doing the right thing for the team whether it’s at left guard, kicker, punter, safety, corner, the L5 on kickoff, right guard on punt. We are going to look at everything every week and try to keep the competition going.”
Ridder has yet to play a regular-season game this year, so reporters were curious about what Smith thought about his development so far.
Smith gave another runaround answer.
“You can try to pin me down,” Smith said. “You can ask it seven different ways, and I’m going to give you the same line I’ve been giving you all year. I understand the question and understand why you ask. It’s about the quarterback. That’s a premium job in this league. It’s our job to make sure we are doing the best thing for the team short term and long term.”
Leaving the job up in the air could mean the Falcons are not fully committed to Mariota in Week 11, which means fans could get their wish.
Then again, it could also mean that Smith doesn’t think Ridder is ready.
Can a Mini Bye Help This Falcons Team?
The Falcons are off on Sunday, meaning they will get an extra day’s rest, which will hopefully give them a clearer head entering Week 11.
However, Mariota believes times have changed and says that he’ll be back at work before the new week begins.
“That used to be the old adage that you waited for the bye,” he said following the Falcons’ loss. “I don’t know of anybody who is doing that anymore because of the amount of data you are able to get at such a fast clip now. The way the business has gone, the amount of help you have, every team’s self-scouts happen a lot quicker. That’s something you do every week so you’re trying to stay on top of it.”