Falcons HC Arthur Smith Brushes Off QB Situation

Getty Marcus Mariota of the Atlanta Falcons.

Atlanta Falcons fans are calling for Desmond Ridder to take over the starting quarterback job.

However, according to head coach Arthur Smith, they’re not going to get their wish anytime soon.

“If we were going to make a change, I’d tell you,” Smith said on Monday, November 14, via Tori McElhaney of the Falcons’ official website. “You’d see it at practice.”

While critics and fans are worried about the current QB situation in Atlanta with Marcus Mariota in charge, Smith doesn’t see a problem with it.

“There is no situation. There was never a situation, ever. Never,” he said.

“… You lose two games in five days and everybody wants to panic, but we’re right in the middle of it. We’re not where we want to be but the reality of it is that you’re right in the middle of a playoff race.”

Smith Is Putting Everyone At Fault

Through 10 weeks, Mariota has completed 62 percent of his passes this season for 1,747 yards and 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions. He’s also added 347 yards and three scores on the ground.

Those are not exactly Pro Bowl numbers, but they’ve been good enough to keep the Falcons in a playoff race.

And Smith has noted several times now that football is a team effort, so you can’t put all of the blame on Mariota.

“There are a couple plays where you can certainly put the blame on him. But there’s blame to go around operationally,” Smith said. “If there’s pressure right there, I don’t know what to tell the quarterback when he’s looking down to pick the ball up because it’s a low snap, he gets up and there’s a defender right in his face. That’s kind of hard to overcome there. It’s the little things that add up to it that we can do better, and we have at times. I wouldn’t pinpoint just on one player.”

Marcus Mariota Is Holding Himself Accountable

Mariota is well aware that he needs to do a better job.

For starters, he understands that he needs to get his receivers involved more, including tight end Kyle Pitts.

But if we are being honest, that is hard to do when the offensive line is atrocious when it comes to blocking for the pass.

Nonetheless, Mariota takes full responsibility.

“I think it comes down to me, I just got to give those guys a chance,” Mariota said during a press conference on Nov. 8. “Guys are finding a way to get open and sometimes it’s not necessarily the perfect throw. I think coming back in this season I’ve kind of tried to flush that perfectionist in me, that’s probably what my last hurdle is.

“I think some of those deep shots have always been — the kind of guy that wants the guy to just kind of catch it on the run, but with the guys that we have, the players that we have sometimes it’s giving those guys just a chance to go up and get it. I’m working on those things, those are things that we go out there and practice, so hopefully, that will transcend onto the field.”

We saw Mariota struggle to target Pitts on Thursday Night against the Panthers and nearly throw five total interceptions, but hopefully, he can correct those mistakes over the mini-bye and redeem himself against the Chicago Bears in Week 11.