Arthur Smith Defends Key Falcons Player

(Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

In his second year with the franchise, quarterback Desmond Ridder has led the Atlanta Falcons to a 3-3 record after their first six games of the 2023 season.

Last week, Ridder and the Falcons suffered a bit of a surprising loss when they fell at home to the Washington Commanders by a final score of 24-16.

In the matchup, Ridder did end up throwing for 307 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw a trio of interceptions, all of which made a big impact on the final result of the game.

Atlanta head coach Arthur Smith recently commented on some of the criticism that Ridder has faced this season as the team’s starting quarterback (via Pat McAfee on Twitter).

“[Desmond] has made a lot of really good plays. As a young quarterback, [mistakes] are going to happen. [But during] the last two weeks, he has thrown over 300 both times.”

“You can play pretty well 90% of the game but if you have a couple critical errors they’re gonna get magnified..

Desmond has made a lot of really good plays and as a young QB things are gonna happen”

Artie Smith #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/goacM2hpgJ

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 19, 2023

In the world we currently live in, where instant gratification has become more of a desire, sometimes we forget that young players in the NFL are going to make mistakes, especially at the quarterback position.

Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts, and Josh Allen all made plenty of mistakes during the first portion of their pro careers, but they were able to make corrections and develop into some of the top quarterbacks in the league today.

Last week’s game against Washington was only Ridder’s 10th-career start since he entered the NFL last season.

So far, the Falcons’ young quarterback has a 5-5 record in the league, and that is a better record than what Burrow, Hurts, or Allen had during their first 10 starts in the NFL.

Ridder still has plenty of room to grow, but there’s no reason to give up on him just yet, which is why it sounds like Smith isn’t really too worried about any mistakes he’s made this season.

The post Arthur Smith Defends Key Falcons Player appeared first on The Cold Wire.