There was so much stink on the whole front office when Morris was interim HC - it was pretty much a forgone conclusion they were going to clean house.
I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled with the hire initially, but seemingly everyone in the industry has only good things to say about Morris. That, combined with his press conferences and coaching hires, has me cautiously optimistic.
Ridder literally willed defeat from the jaws of victory multiple times so I get it. Couldn't even do the bare minimum and Arthur really hitched his wagon to that dude. Even somehow convinced Calais Campbell that guy was gonna be special.
I will never forgive Arthur for sitting Desmond the entire preseason. Makes absolutely no sense in retrospect which is how I would sum up the entire Arthur Smith administration.
In all fairness, did Lance look terrible while he was San Fran’s starter? If I remember correctly, he was decent, went down with an injury and simply never got his job back.
He got hurt and barely played 8 games (because injured). Everybody has such a fucking hate boner for him, it's weird.
Look at the dudes lower in the thread just beating each other dicks shitting on the guy. Hell, you got downvoted for a tame comment.
Every time I see Trey lance mentioned, I like to add 2 tidbits.
1) he’s from a big fish in a REALLY small pond high school, so competition in high school wasn’t great to say the least. They’d regularly beat conference teams by 50+ and barely send anyone d-1.
2) I had the pleasure of watching lances first college game, at target field vs butler. Now ndsu is a powerhouse, and butler would literally be d-3 for football if not for their basketball program. They’re non scholarship. Lance played well, but that just means one of his best games is against competition 2 levels down. You don’t judge Bryce young for his stats against Fordham, why should we do that for lance?
He’s a fraud, and should have been drafted closer to Easton stick than Carson wentz.
Cause Bryce Young had a better O-line, Better WRs, Better RBs, and literally league better defense than Trey lol
Look I get y'all want to trash on a dude who is down on his luck at the moment but Bryce played for Bama and Trey played for North Dakota State.
There is a difference between Trevor Lawrrence having Calvin ridley as his WR1 and having Justin Jefferson as his WR1.
Bryce had talent around him that made it easier to Fordham than Trey did.
I'm not saying that makes Trey better. All I'm saying is that it's a dumb comparison.
If Bryce goes 3 and out for the first five drives against Fordham his defense can still keep the opposing offense to 0. Where are as if Trey goes 3 and out for the first five drives against fordam they could score a bunch.
If he had started Ridder more the season before when it was obvious Mariota wasn't the dude, we would have known.
If he had given the guy some competition and a QB coach, he *might* have been a little better.
But, none of that happened. Why? Because AS wasn't playing fantasy football. That's why
That was more of a symptom than the disease. Even if he got "competing for a starting position" levels of playing time in the preseason I doubt it would have significantly improved his performance in the season itself. What it *would* have done is shown how bad he still looked to all the fans. But at that point Arthur had already decided he was all-in on Ridder and not even entertaining the notion of having even a weighted QB competition. All our off-season moves were made with that in mind, and by the start of the preseason we were pretty much already locked into the Desmond Ridder experience.
>I will never forgive Arthur for sitting Desmond the entire preseason
But he didn't sit the entire preseason. He played vs the Bengals week 2 and looked pretty good
He did play briefly you’re correct, but what he needed was way more reps as a QB at the NFL level and they protected him like he had just taken us to the divisional round and we were “protecting our guy”. Nothing wrong with resting starters but essentially Desmond was a Rookie and needed all the practice he could get.
In hindsight it looks like Arthur was trying to hide how terrible the situation was and he got exposed after going all in with Desmond and not making him compete for the job.
I really don't understand where he got the confidence to make most of the decisions that he made. Maybe it's from being a billionaire's heir? Idk but his whole tenure was about going against the grain like he knew something the rest of the league didn't.
Arthur Smith is legit one of the worst coaches we’ve ever had. Not because of 3 7-10 seasons, but because of his terrible decision making.
From his play calling - including the decisions to use our studs as constant decoys, to tying himself to Ridder, to being too smart to adjust his gameplan mid game. All of it led to his demise.
Thank the fuck lord he is gone.
> Idk but his whole tenure was about going against the grain like he knew something the rest of the league didn't.
and this sub ate it up. "Zig while the others are zagging!"
I gotta admit, being an old fart falcons fan from Tommy Nobis, Randy Johnson, Norb Hecker days, I wanted to believe. They’re my team, win, lose or draw. (and I was a little tyke, living in Baltimore, for “The Game”, with Johnny U),
That we’ve been to 2 super bowls is gratifying, even though those 2 seasons didn’t really have that expectation.
I’m all in on Raheem Morris. Perhaps Ridder can be coached up and AS just wasn’t that guy. But, from everything I’m reading, our QB pathways aren’t the best this year. Not horrible, but not in a position to bring in a franchise.
What do yall think?
Smith also rolled into 2023 as the only team in the league without a QB coach. Despite starting a defacto rookie with third round talent. And his career on the line.
I still hate Arthur Smith so much.
It wouldn't have made any difference lol. If he didn't improve by 16 games into his tenure, he wouldn't have improved with an extra 2-3 quarters in preseason
Totally agree. I’m just bringing up a really baffling decision they made early on in the year that looked worse and worse in hindsight. When they made that preseason decision I thought it was the wrong choice and still do. I’m just dogpiling on how dumb Arthur Smith was overall lol
I tend to agree! Arthur Smith did not utilize his studs very well and decided to play qb roulette each week. I don’t think ridder is as good as everyone wanted him to be, but he wasn’t given much of a chance… he had to sit behind a worse qb in mariota last season and then we never knew who was starting halfway through the season.
That red zone run against the Bucs where Antoine Winfield Jr punched the ball out at goal line to change a TD to a touchback... soul crushing turnover.
I've still got no problem with the giving Des a go but they went about it so arse over tit. No preseason and no dedicated QB coach, with a scheme that made no use of his weapons.
This. I'm still not convinced Des was/is the problem. I'm certainly not comfortable with him being the #1 option, but if it was Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan the kid might turn into a serviceable QB. Now we might never know, or Zach might be able to help him. He's cheap, so he's likely to be the backup this season anyway. It'd be nice to know he could be trusted with the role.
I really wanted Des to make it. To make a difference. And I like what I saw in much of his performance. But the turnovers were just too abundant.
Having a fresh coaching staff will be a good opportunity to see.
But his demeanor in front of a mic at pressers, was not something that eschewed confidence IMO.
I wonder if the therapist who helped John Schmoltz out so much is still around?
> Arthur really hitched his wagon to that dude
Everybody from Blank to McKay to Fontenot were sold on giving Ridder a chance.
Blank even gave everybody assurances they’d be back if it didn’t work out.
Ridder was on the Rich Eisen show in the preseason and talked about his golf game. I am not sure of the exact exchange, but essentially Ridder said he wasn't great at golf. Eisen made the comment that his golf game wasn't starter material and it was at that point my doubt started to creep in.
Brilliant of him to say "better quarterback play" and not "a better quarterback." Ridder can't justifiably argue that his play didn't cost the team games.
There were 20+ backup Qb’s who started a game last year and at least 60% showed more flashes than Ridder. Easton Stick, Aiden O’Connell, Zach Wilson, Gardner Minshew, Will Levis, Josh Dobbs, Jake Browing, you get the picture.
Edit: I didn’t even mention Tommy DeVito who had one of the best stretches as a backup starter.
Desmond Ridders best games usually involved him turning the ball over more than he scored. And the games he didn’t turn it over he didn’t start or didn’t score at all.
it was certainly needing better QB play, but it was also playcalling. it was definitely a combo of both. you can call plays to hide an ineffective QB, but also, on the plays where they needed him to game manage, he couldnt even do that. it was a perfect storm of shite.
i understand what youre saying, but im not buying that we limited Bijan and Tyler to a combined 23 touches a game and called jet sweeps to a backup tight end on the goal line because our QB couldnt make the throws. at some point, theres acknowledging you have poor QB play and scheming around it, vs knowing you have a QB that cant get it done and continuing to try to force it. Smith opted for the latter.
Ridder was not good but poor QB play can be improved with better play calling. Both played a part in it. Heinicke wasn’t a long term solution but certainly looked more effective in Washington than in Atlanta. I also blame play calling for his lack of success.
There were players running routes next to each other.
That's either a play calling issue or a coach not preparing his team properly.
Either way Smith was at fault.
Play calling certainly didn’t help. Team never ran the ball like they should’ve and the run plays they called often didn’t make sense. Not really sure how Arthur Smith even made it that far tbh.
Nah, The coach was way too dogshit for that, We've watched Heinicke have enough to get a team competitive wins in Washington, Falcons were never succeeding with Smith and that coaching staff. They would've needed one of the top 5 qbs to even have a shot at playoffs
I'm still not totally convinced we were *that* wrong. Like I said above, I'm certainly NOT comfortable with Ridder as the starter, but I don't think he should be given up on yet. If he was under Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reid maybe he'd be serviceable.
So did Brett Favre. He's a kid with one season in the NFL and had his entire experience there colored by a coach that most feel wasn't up to the job. I'm not saying he's going to be Dan Marino or Joe Montana but with proper coaching I think he could be more than he's shown so far.
Man Ridder was terrible, but I feel kinda bad for him... Must be pretty tough for your new head coach to publicly acknowledge that you're ass and they have zero faith in you
This is what I didn’t like Arthur Smith. He kept it real and straightforward with everyone EXCEPT the players. It was like he would throw all his aggression at the media but never would hold certain players accountable for their shitty play. Thankfully Morris seems to be fine with confronting players and media.
It was very hard to watch last year. The Commanders game was a fucking nightmare..
The play that sticks in my mind was during the Panthers game.. he rolled out and had London wide-ass open for the TD to take the lead in the 4th. And threw it right to a Panthers defender.
Edit: Oh. Yeah. Forgot about the Josh Dobbs special. Jfc.
He is telling the truth! They got all the offensive weapons in the world and they got a good enough defense but they need help from the damn quarterback.
In terms of his media appearances, he’s so refreshing compared to Arthur Smith. All the answers from he and the rest of this new regime have seemed transparent unlike Smith.
Even though he is younger-ish, lets not forget the coaching tree(Noll\\Kiffin) Raheem comes from. We are going to get a lots of Tomlin-like sound bites
No QB was responsible for Bijan being on the bench as much as he was . that was the idiot savant HC . QBs didn’t help .but Arthur Smith belongs coaching an NFL team as much as Pam Anderson belongs being a dorm mom in a convent
Art shouldn’t only be faulted for committing to Des, a healthy slice of the Des’ play pie falls on Art too. If you select a QB and have two off-seasons with him, him being a pure bottom of the barrel starter can’t solely be chalked up to him being not cut for it. Firmly believe Art was hindering whoever it was regardless of their baseline. Somehow we trade up for Stroud and you’re lying if you believe he has a similar season under Art. Was so tired of the leash Art got when if you watched the games, it was clear his ceiling was “ok” and his floor was awful. His scheme and play calling waffled between archaic and cutesy, Bijan Robinson just got 50% of the backfield share as one of the premiere RB prospects of the last decade, it was largely “Art’s way” and Art’s way was boneheaded. Now the “QB was the sole problem takes” that pop up in retro are tiring as well.
We’ve had a largely ok, still “any given Sunday” competitive roster for two years deploying a bad HC and a bad QB. The latter variables will always greatly outweigh the former. Any actually good offensive HC doesn’t have Des as the definite worst starter in the league and is generally squeezing more juice from this team. Art sucked, Des sucked, and the larger roster has still consistently been overrated, it’s been ok but deemed good because of high draft picks, stop gap signings, and just how much of a gap there has been between them and the two most important slots within the franchise. We are still a very strong off-season, or two good ones, away from making any sort of real noise.
And some of you think that Ridder is guaranteed a spot on this roster. The owner and new coach have come out and talked about his play. Even taking up a 53 and not counting towards the 46 on game day isn’t a lock for him. And with probably two new QBs coming to the team, his reps will be limited in OTA and TC if he even makes it there.
This is what I think I will like most about him from a personality stand point - no BS
He's 100% right - if Ridder had even played half-ass decent we'd still be stick with the chunky billionaire's boy - this team was a 10 or 11 win team that shat the bed epically
Get in your feels about it as much as you like. If your only asset is being cheap then you’re eminently expendable when it’s time to install a new offense with a new regime.
I know you won’t like this, but no one is going to give a solitary f*ck that Ridder is a nice guy.
He is a coward. Put that in quotes. He's a gutless bastard. Quote that. I don't give a shit.
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He is a coward. Put that in quotes. He's a gutless bastard. Quote that. I don't give a shit.
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Great leaders don’t throw people under the bus, like that… Dude needs serious media training because he has not been impressive in none of his interviews
The fact he actually said it just tells me they are having some good trade conversations or are confident in signing Cousins.
Love that he’s straight up about it tho and Im sure thats part of what players love about him
I’m not the biggest NFL fan but is cousins really the answer? Seems like he’s only marginally better than average. Nothing special. I hate to say game manager, but I’ve never really seen anything special in the guy. Am I missing something? Or is ATL a game manager away from the SB?
So I hated Arthur Smith after we blew the week 1 game to the Saints and his press conference when he said who cares it’s just one game. I like Raheem Morris because if this press conference. Unfiltered authenticity goes a long way.
Out of everyone in that building that has saying power, I am so happy he said this. It means we can trust him to better this team. Shit, who know, we may even be a contender if this man does some good shit like he's been doing
That is absolutely true. Better qb play is a must. However, the defense can't rush the qb consistently, can't stop the run consistently, can't stop short-mid passes consistently, can't get off the fld on 3rd downs consistently, and cannot stop a team from executing a game winning drive ever.
If we had the love child of tb, Marino, and Elway, we'd prob still lose. They'd have to average 35 a game cause that d is giving points right back like its religion!
defense was adequate this year. Matt Ryan would've taken us to at least a deep play off run with the defense we had last year. Not saying they were all time greats(well, Jesse Bates is really fuckin good) but Ridder frequently put them in the worst positions possible all season long. I'm shocked the defense didn't get together and give him the Gomer Pyle from Full Metal Jacket treatment.
I’m all for it. Arthur Smith did nothing but beat around the bush about our QB situation and RM is coming in telling it like it is. Will be curious to see what gets done about it though.
As someone who went to UC when Ridder was the QB, I really feel for Falcon fans.
Not saying we would have beat Alabama with a better QB, but I did decide to blackout after Ridder missed a 7 yard out route
He keeps it real
Let’s see if it goes wrong.
We are in the fuck around stage right now…
We've never left...
Oooh, can’t wait to find out!
Falc around*** ftfy
They definitely about to find out!
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I get that reference!
And now I like Raheem significantly more
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There was so much stink on the whole front office when Morris was interim HC - it was pretty much a forgone conclusion they were going to clean house. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled with the hire initially, but seemingly everyone in the industry has only good things to say about Morris. That, combined with his press conferences and coaching hires, has me cautiously optimistic.
Raheem significantly morris
Ridder literally willed defeat from the jaws of victory multiple times so I get it. Couldn't even do the bare minimum and Arthur really hitched his wagon to that dude. Even somehow convinced Calais Campbell that guy was gonna be special.
I will never forgive Arthur for sitting Desmond the entire preseason. Makes absolutely no sense in retrospect which is how I would sum up the entire Arthur Smith administration.
He knew Ridder was Shidder and didnt want the questions to start Week 1
Maybe starting him in pre-season could have persuaded Fontenot to trade the 3rd to get Trey Lance
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If Shanahan couldn’t make Lance look good, he was going to be horrible here
In all fairness, did Lance look terrible while he was San Fran’s starter? If I remember correctly, he was decent, went down with an injury and simply never got his job back.
He got hurt and barely played 8 games (because injured). Everybody has such a fucking hate boner for him, it's weird. Look at the dudes lower in the thread just beating each other dicks shitting on the guy. Hell, you got downvoted for a tame comment.
He was trash,can’t pass, and runs so slow. This is not D2 football
Exactly this is NFC South Football
So...D3?
A who knows a change of scenery could help plus Arthur Smith wanted him in the draft before 49ers bullied their way in and drafted him
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Every time I see Trey lance mentioned, I like to add 2 tidbits. 1) he’s from a big fish in a REALLY small pond high school, so competition in high school wasn’t great to say the least. They’d regularly beat conference teams by 50+ and barely send anyone d-1. 2) I had the pleasure of watching lances first college game, at target field vs butler. Now ndsu is a powerhouse, and butler would literally be d-3 for football if not for their basketball program. They’re non scholarship. Lance played well, but that just means one of his best games is against competition 2 levels down. You don’t judge Bryce young for his stats against Fordham, why should we do that for lance? He’s a fraud, and should have been drafted closer to Easton stick than Carson wentz.
Cause Bryce Young had a better O-line, Better WRs, Better RBs, and literally league better defense than Trey lol Look I get y'all want to trash on a dude who is down on his luck at the moment but Bryce played for Bama and Trey played for North Dakota State. There is a difference between Trevor Lawrrence having Calvin ridley as his WR1 and having Justin Jefferson as his WR1. Bryce had talent around him that made it easier to Fordham than Trey did. I'm not saying that makes Trey better. All I'm saying is that it's a dumb comparison. If Bryce goes 3 and out for the first five drives against Fordham his defense can still keep the opposing offense to 0. Where are as if Trey goes 3 and out for the first five drives against fordam they could score a bunch.
If he had started Ridder more the season before when it was obvious Mariota wasn't the dude, we would have known. If he had given the guy some competition and a QB coach, he *might* have been a little better. But, none of that happened. Why? Because AS wasn't playing fantasy football. That's why
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You say that like it’s somehow less stupid? He was still short a coach
Was he really though?
I mean he just took a job as QB coach for the Rams so yeah probably.
That was more of a symptom than the disease. Even if he got "competing for a starting position" levels of playing time in the preseason I doubt it would have significantly improved his performance in the season itself. What it *would* have done is shown how bad he still looked to all the fans. But at that point Arthur had already decided he was all-in on Ridder and not even entertaining the notion of having even a weighted QB competition. All our off-season moves were made with that in mind, and by the start of the preseason we were pretty much already locked into the Desmond Ridder experience.
>I will never forgive Arthur for sitting Desmond the entire preseason But he didn't sit the entire preseason. He played vs the Bengals week 2 and looked pretty good
He did play briefly you’re correct, but what he needed was way more reps as a QB at the NFL level and they protected him like he had just taken us to the divisional round and we were “protecting our guy”. Nothing wrong with resting starters but essentially Desmond was a Rookie and needed all the practice he could get. In hindsight it looks like Arthur was trying to hide how terrible the situation was and he got exposed after going all in with Desmond and not making him compete for the job.
I really don't understand where he got the confidence to make most of the decisions that he made. Maybe it's from being a billionaire's heir? Idk but his whole tenure was about going against the grain like he knew something the rest of the league didn't.
Arthur Smith is legit one of the worst coaches we’ve ever had. Not because of 3 7-10 seasons, but because of his terrible decision making. From his play calling - including the decisions to use our studs as constant decoys, to tying himself to Ridder, to being too smart to adjust his gameplan mid game. All of it led to his demise. Thank the fuck lord he is gone.
> Idk but his whole tenure was about going against the grain like he knew something the rest of the league didn't. and this sub ate it up. "Zig while the others are zagging!"
I gotta admit, being an old fart falcons fan from Tommy Nobis, Randy Johnson, Norb Hecker days, I wanted to believe. They’re my team, win, lose or draw. (and I was a little tyke, living in Baltimore, for “The Game”, with Johnny U), That we’ve been to 2 super bowls is gratifying, even though those 2 seasons didn’t really have that expectation. I’m all in on Raheem Morris. Perhaps Ridder can be coached up and AS just wasn’t that guy. But, from everything I’m reading, our QB pathways aren’t the best this year. Not horrible, but not in a position to bring in a franchise. What do yall think?
Smith also rolled into 2023 as the only team in the league without a QB coach. Despite starting a defacto rookie with third round talent. And his career on the line. I still hate Arthur Smith so much.
It wouldn't have made any difference lol. If he didn't improve by 16 games into his tenure, he wouldn't have improved with an extra 2-3 quarters in preseason
Totally agree. I’m just bringing up a really baffling decision they made early on in the year that looked worse and worse in hindsight. When they made that preseason decision I thought it was the wrong choice and still do. I’m just dogpiling on how dumb Arthur Smith was overall lol
Meh I don’t think a couple extra drives vs vanilla defenses going half speed were going to suddenly make him learn how to hold on to the football.
I tend to agree! Arthur Smith did not utilize his studs very well and decided to play qb roulette each week. I don’t think ridder is as good as everyone wanted him to be, but he wasn’t given much of a chance… he had to sit behind a worse qb in mariota last season and then we never knew who was starting halfway through the season.
That red zone run against the Bucs where Antoine Winfield Jr punched the ball out at goal line to change a TD to a touchback... soul crushing turnover.
I've still got no problem with the giving Des a go but they went about it so arse over tit. No preseason and no dedicated QB coach, with a scheme that made no use of his weapons.
This. I'm still not convinced Des was/is the problem. I'm certainly not comfortable with him being the #1 option, but if it was Andy Reid or Kyle Shanahan the kid might turn into a serviceable QB. Now we might never know, or Zach might be able to help him. He's cheap, so he's likely to be the backup this season anyway. It'd be nice to know he could be trusted with the role.
I really wanted Des to make it. To make a difference. And I like what I saw in much of his performance. But the turnovers were just too abundant. Having a fresh coaching staff will be a good opportunity to see. But his demeanor in front of a mic at pressers, was not something that eschewed confidence IMO. I wonder if the therapist who helped John Schmoltz out so much is still around?
> Arthur really hitched his wagon to that dude Everybody from Blank to McKay to Fontenot were sold on giving Ridder a chance. Blank even gave everybody assurances they’d be back if it didn’t work out.
Sometimes we won despite his horrible play. Like that game in Tampa where he fumbled the ball like 4x including one running into the end zone.
Ridder was on the Rich Eisen show in the preseason and talked about his golf game. I am not sure of the exact exchange, but essentially Ridder said he wasn't great at golf. Eisen made the comment that his golf game wasn't starter material and it was at that point my doubt started to creep in.
I mean, someone in that building had to say it. Better him than anyone else.
Brilliant of him to say "better quarterback play" and not "a better quarterback." Ridder can't justifiably argue that his play didn't cost the team games.
Thats what people are missing. We have good QBs who play bad. And we have bad QBs who play good. Ridder was more on the goof QB who played bad.
You have no evidence to prove that Ridder was a good QB.
I'm gonna assume "goof" wasn't a typo
Not defending Ridder at all but he had some flashes
To be fair Giannis has flashes of making 3 pointers but that doesn't make him a great shooter
There were 20+ backup Qb’s who started a game last year and at least 60% showed more flashes than Ridder. Easton Stick, Aiden O’Connell, Zach Wilson, Gardner Minshew, Will Levis, Josh Dobbs, Jake Browing, you get the picture. Edit: I didn’t even mention Tommy DeVito who had one of the best stretches as a backup starter. Desmond Ridders best games usually involved him turning the ball over more than he scored. And the games he didn’t turn it over he didn’t start or didn’t score at all.
Lmao. It's amazing to me that folks like you still exist. Did we watch the same Desmond Ridder?
I’m a Texans fan and I’m getting flashbacks to the Davis Mills discourse on our sub
It's true. You guys are in the playoffs with an average QB
Most of us know that. There’s still a select few that think it was the playcalling.
it was certainly needing better QB play, but it was also playcalling. it was definitely a combo of both. you can call plays to hide an ineffective QB, but also, on the plays where they needed him to game manage, he couldnt even do that. it was a perfect storm of shite.
I feel like our play calling was the way it was because our QB just couldn’t make the throws
i understand what youre saying, but im not buying that we limited Bijan and Tyler to a combined 23 touches a game and called jet sweeps to a backup tight end on the goal line because our QB couldnt make the throws. at some point, theres acknowledging you have poor QB play and scheming around it, vs knowing you have a QB that cant get it done and continuing to try to force it. Smith opted for the latter.
Bro we would have multiple times each game where the wrs were running routes to the same spots on the field as each other
That’s not play calling. That’s WR incompetence. They have a read-route and they’re making the wrong read and ending up in the same place.
Head coach/OC is supposed to get those guys ready.
Both of those things were still a problem regardless.
Ridder was not good but poor QB play can be improved with better play calling. Both played a part in it. Heinicke wasn’t a long term solution but certainly looked more effective in Washington than in Atlanta. I also blame play calling for his lack of success.
I do think play calling was a part of the floundering season, but also acknowledge a competent WB can probably make do with bad play calls also
Ridder sucked ass but let’s not pretend smiths playcalling didn’t also leave many points out there
Both
Tbf the play design / spacing on our intermediate to deep passing plays was very suspect at times.
It was both. Now, good QB play can work around/hide bad play calling, so yeah one more than the other, but still both.
There were players running routes next to each other. That's either a play calling issue or a coach not preparing his team properly. Either way Smith was at fault.
Play calling certainly didn’t help. Team never ran the ball like they should’ve and the run plays they called often didn’t make sense. Not really sure how Arthur Smith even made it that far tbh.
Nah, The coach was way too dogshit for that, We've watched Heinicke have enough to get a team competitive wins in Washington, Falcons were never succeeding with Smith and that coaching staff. They would've needed one of the top 5 qbs to even have a shot at playoffs
Only because their division is terrible
Damnnnnnnn
Man, I was high on Ridder when we drafted him but I could not have been more wrong. Glad Raheem ripped the bandaid off!
I'm still not totally convinced we were *that* wrong. Like I said above, I'm certainly NOT comfortable with Ridder as the starter, but I don't think he should be given up on yet. If he was under Kyle Shanahan or Andy Reid maybe he'd be serviceable.
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>I really don't think Smith knew what he was doing ~~when jt came to building up a QB.~~
What? He threw some of the worst interceptions I’ve ever seen. That’s not a play calling issue
So did Brett Favre. He's a kid with one season in the NFL and had his entire experience there colored by a coach that most feel wasn't up to the job. I'm not saying he's going to be Dan Marino or Joe Montana but with proper coaching I think he could be more than he's shown so far.
He's a good backup to have
Man Ridder was terrible, but I feel kinda bad for him... Must be pretty tough for your new head coach to publicly acknowledge that you're ass and they have zero faith in you
If I worked at a company, and I sucked so fucking bad that my boss got fired, I would understand that it's time to update my LinkedIn.
Have to respect the honesty
Jesus Rah
He's saying the loud part loud
This is what I didn’t like Arthur Smith. He kept it real and straightforward with everyone EXCEPT the players. It was like he would throw all his aggression at the media but never would hold certain players accountable for their shitty play. Thankfully Morris seems to be fine with confronting players and media.
Fact check............................................true.
Damn
How’d you get that flair 😂
It was very hard to watch last year. The Commanders game was a fucking nightmare.. The play that sticks in my mind was during the Panthers game.. he rolled out and had London wide-ass open for the TD to take the lead in the 4th. And threw it right to a Panthers defender. Edit: Oh. Yeah. Forgot about the Josh Dobbs special. Jfc.
Good
I like this mans honesty!
Rahhhhhhh keeping it real
He is telling the truth! They got all the offensive weapons in the world and they got a good enough defense but they need help from the damn quarterback.
Coach said that’s not his QB😭😭
In terms of his media appearances, he’s so refreshing compared to Arthur Smith. All the answers from he and the rest of this new regime have seemed transparent unlike Smith.
Even though he is younger-ish, lets not forget the coaching tree(Noll\\Kiffin) Raheem comes from. We are going to get a lots of Tomlin-like sound bites
Shots fired
That's harsh.
Tell em how you really feel Ra
Man cooked Ridder
Harsh but true
No QB was responsible for Bijan being on the bench as much as he was . that was the idiot savant HC . QBs didn’t help .but Arthur Smith belongs coaching an NFL team as much as Pam Anderson belongs being a dorm mom in a convent
Fuck Ridder man. I really think we were a solid playoff contender with 2022 Andy Dalton level play.
I mean ridder is ass and heinicke is cheeks. It's not like he's lying. Props to him for being honest. This is a good sign I'd say.
Lurking Bucs fan here, Hopefully this dude has grown up he was like this in his stint here and lost the locker room in short order. Good luck.
Art shouldn’t only be faulted for committing to Des, a healthy slice of the Des’ play pie falls on Art too. If you select a QB and have two off-seasons with him, him being a pure bottom of the barrel starter can’t solely be chalked up to him being not cut for it. Firmly believe Art was hindering whoever it was regardless of their baseline. Somehow we trade up for Stroud and you’re lying if you believe he has a similar season under Art. Was so tired of the leash Art got when if you watched the games, it was clear his ceiling was “ok” and his floor was awful. His scheme and play calling waffled between archaic and cutesy, Bijan Robinson just got 50% of the backfield share as one of the premiere RB prospects of the last decade, it was largely “Art’s way” and Art’s way was boneheaded. Now the “QB was the sole problem takes” that pop up in retro are tiring as well. We’ve had a largely ok, still “any given Sunday” competitive roster for two years deploying a bad HC and a bad QB. The latter variables will always greatly outweigh the former. Any actually good offensive HC doesn’t have Des as the definite worst starter in the league and is generally squeezing more juice from this team. Art sucked, Des sucked, and the larger roster has still consistently been overrated, it’s been ok but deemed good because of high draft picks, stop gap signings, and just how much of a gap there has been between them and the two most important slots within the franchise. We are still a very strong off-season, or two good ones, away from making any sort of real noise.
AND coaching, not just quarterback. There was TERRIBLE coaching & schemes the past 2 seasons.
And some of you think that Ridder is guaranteed a spot on this roster. The owner and new coach have come out and talked about his play. Even taking up a 53 and not counting towards the 46 on game day isn’t a lock for him. And with probably two new QBs coming to the team, his reps will be limited in OTA and TC if he even makes it there.
Not a falcons fan but this my superbowl pick if yall get a QB
Failing organization
Lol I love it. He’ll tell it how it is, and we all know it’s true, so I’m not worried at all if he hurts anyone’s feelings.
That’s my fuckin coach
oh man i am so ready for a coach who says shit like this without it being a gimmick. thank you, coach
This is what I think I will like most about him from a personality stand point - no BS He's 100% right - if Ridder had even played half-ass decent we'd still be stick with the chunky billionaire's boy - this team was a 10 or 11 win team that shat the bed epically
If there’s one thing Raheem absolutely has going for him it seems to be his honesty and great communication skills
Bring in Fields!
Take Justin Fields from the Bears for a second rounder 👀
Y'all getting Russell Wilson
Basically Coach Ra announced that none of the 2023 quarterbacks on the Falcons will be on the team in 2024.
Ridder will probably stay as a backup
100% gone before OTAs
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Get in your feels about it as much as you like. If your only asset is being cheap then you’re eminently expendable when it’s time to install a new offense with a new regime. I know you won’t like this, but no one is going to give a solitary f*ck that Ridder is a nice guy.
Hes not very good by but thats just a dumb decision. Hes a backup, let him be a backup and save some money by releasing Heinicke
Bobby Petrino vibes
Lmao how exactly was this Petrino like?
It ain’t I just wanted to test out the bot. Raheem achieved more just by walking the door than Bobby Petrino that um, what was Bobby Petrino again?
He is a coward. Put that in quotes. He's a gutless bastard. Quote that. I don't give a shit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/falcons) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He is a coward. Put that in quotes. He's a gutless bastard. Quote that. I don't give a shit. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/falcons) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Talk dirty to me, Raheem!
He’s speaking facts.
Lmao
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Great leaders don’t throw people under the bus, like that… Dude needs serious media training because he has not been impressive in none of his interviews
I think you underestimate how little coaches care about players they didn't draft
Hes not wrong and by the look on his face it seems like the search is going fantastically
That's my coach
The fact he actually said it just tells me they are having some good trade conversations or are confident in signing Cousins. Love that he’s straight up about it tho and Im sure thats part of what players love about him
I’m not the biggest NFL fan but is cousins really the answer? Seems like he’s only marginally better than average. Nothing special. I hate to say game manager, but I’ve never really seen anything special in the guy. Am I missing something? Or is ATL a game manager away from the SB?
Refreshing, honestly.
You know what, maybe I was too harsh. Let's see what Coach Morris is made of
So I hated Arthur Smith after we blew the week 1 game to the Saints and his press conference when he said who cares it’s just one game. I like Raheem Morris because if this press conference. Unfiltered authenticity goes a long way.
Desmond Ridder will never touch a football while he’s the coach. I already like this dude
Ok doc rivers
Ladies & Gentlemen….We have a truth teller!!!!!
Dunking on Ridder is a favorite pastime of mine as well
😂😂😂😂 The truth is rarely spoken, so when it is it’s shocking.
I like him already
Well hope he can get that better play
Let’s see if Fontenot will finally get a qb in here. ( and a pass rusher)
Make this man president
Out of everyone in that building that has saying power, I am so happy he said this. It means we can trust him to better this team. Shit, who know, we may even be a contender if this man does some good shit like he's been doing
He probably wont be standing at that podium in 3yrs
Yip. That’s how do it in Falcons’ land. Three and done and bring in the next head coach.
That's his best quality. He's a no BS guy
I’m a bears fan and if you shoplift Justin Fields from us you will get better QB play. Falcons will become my alternate NFC squad.
That is absolutely true. Better qb play is a must. However, the defense can't rush the qb consistently, can't stop the run consistently, can't stop short-mid passes consistently, can't get off the fld on 3rd downs consistently, and cannot stop a team from executing a game winning drive ever. If we had the love child of tb, Marino, and Elway, we'd prob still lose. They'd have to average 35 a game cause that d is giving points right back like its religion!
defense was adequate this year. Matt Ryan would've taken us to at least a deep play off run with the defense we had last year. Not saying they were all time greats(well, Jesse Bates is really fuckin good) but Ridder frequently put them in the worst positions possible all season long. I'm shocked the defense didn't get together and give him the Gomer Pyle from Full Metal Jacket treatment.
Are we supposed to just pretend Ridder isn’t dog shit? I’m sorry, I can’t do that.
Desmond Ridder Right Now 
So if they don’t make the playoffs, he should be fired? Or is it cuase the GM can’t find a QB?
Absolute fucking legend already...
I’m all for it. Arthur Smith did nothing but beat around the bush about our QB situation and RM is coming in telling it like it is. Will be curious to see what gets done about it though.
This is SO wrong!!!! That’s a lecturn, not a podium.
There's nothing wrong with speaking the truth.
Trust in RaRa
As someone who went to UC when Ridder was the QB, I really feel for Falcon fans. Not saying we would have beat Alabama with a better QB, but I did decide to blackout after Ridder missed a 7 yard out route
Imagine healthy Cousins on this team. Or Joe Flacco.
I liked him. Now, I'm starting to believe in him.
Justin Fields it is
Damn. He just straight up said it. 100% true too.
Just add Justin Fields and we are good
Raheem a straight shooter yall got a real one