On Marcus Mariota and Desmond Ridder, Arthur Smith and NFC South after Tom Brady comeback

Ray King from Asheville, N.C.

Hi Scott, It’s time. It’s time to shake things up. I haven’t said anything about our quarterback situation, but there is a situation. Marcus Mariota is a good guy, a team player, and knows how to extend plays. But there’s a problem. When it comes time to pass the ball the likelihood of him completing it is usually a mystery. I have seen enough of his passing game to lead me to believe that it’s not going to improve that much. Again, I like the dude. He has character and humility, but he’s not the one who’s going to get us to the next level. Yes, I understand it’s a team effort but it’s time to shake things up and give Desmond Ridder a shot, don’t you think? Let’s play him against the Saints and get his career started against our archrival. He’s got the moxie to do it! Rise Up!

Bair: I picked this question about replacing Mariota because it was rational, objective and well constructed. Thanks for the comment, Ray. I have zero issue addressing controversial topics when they’re phrased like this.

I have said countless times in these mailbags that I wouldn’t anticipate a quarterback switch until the Falcons were eliminated from the playoffs. I’m not so certain in that opinion anymore, considering recent developments. The Falcons have lost four of five. Their season is on the brink. And, yes, poor quarterback play has a lot to do with their current predicament.

While there’s a give-and-take with Mariota – for every bad play made, he makes another good one few quarterbacks could execute – the scales have started to tip in the negative direction. The Falcons also likely have to win out, or darn close to it. 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. Is he better than the alternative? Or is it time to get Ridder a shot? Can he handle the pressure of needing to win, win, win? This is a huge decision the Falcons staff has to weigh. We’ll have to see what they do after the bye.