 We are back on the Falcons audible presented by AT&T. We are not only back But we're back after a bye week. We're as they say in the NFL world. We're energized We got our legs underneath ourselves Juvenated recharge good words fellas Dave. Did you do anything fun on your bye week? I did actually went to Arizona Visited my son who lives in Arizona. Yeah, I'm out there and they had a good time with him I had a couple live nations. Okay any golf. I mean you're in Arizona, too. It's cold in Arizona It's colder out there than it was here It's supposed to be in the desert. Yeah, I came out here for some fun and son. I see the son, but it ain't warming me up It was fun got to do some family. He's not gonna be home for Christmas for the first time We've ever had our oldest boys not gonna be with us for Christmas time So she had a little tear there, but cool to spend some three days with him kind of get a holiday mix with him Very good. You didn't have to drive this time, right? Yeah, no driving I couldn't find gasoline to pour my head DJ, how about you anything fun on your bye week or fun for me was being able to Have some family time. They had to take my little guy to practice to games All that kind of stuff sit back and watch a couple movies with the fam So for me that was all the fun I needed. Okay. Good. How about yourself good? Um spend time with the family made an attempt to go to the 7a state championship football game But didn't actually go because the traffic was so bad like we didn't even move Getting to the stadium. So my wife and I just decided to do a u-turn And we went back and we decided to take our daughter to go bowling and play some video games And so that was a little bit more fun There but uh, yeah, I was going to watch a football game. Just didn't actually make it inside traffic There was crazy. It was crazy. Uh parking was crazy. I did not expect that with a high school football game All right. So enough about our bye week. Atlanta was on their bye week They're back on an action this week and guys they're back in action with a new starting quarterback We will dive all into the desmond ridder situation We will briefly and I mean really briefly talk about the skit stealers game the last time at lennon was on the field But we'll fast forward We'll talk about the keys to beating the saints on the road and the current state of the nsc south and where Did the falcons still have a chance in the playoffs got a shot. Oh, so you're saying there's a chance All right, without further ado guys, let's talk about desmond ridder. Okay Hadn't really talked about him a whole lot third round pick Cincinnati two time aac offensive player of the year was actually the second quarterback taken off the board But it didn't happen until the third round. He did complete 60 percent of his passes in the preseason Three touchdown two picks for whatever Value you put in that right in this day and age in the preseason So dave, let me start with you It's hard to say what atlanta is getting in desmond ridder, but let's kind of start to hint at what does atlanta get with desmond ridder Well, you're getting a great big athlete that's six five six six that can run A guy that's extremely confident a guy that is the third all-time leading Winner as a quarterback in college football 46 wins Second to what the guy that's the oc with the cowboys now and In colt mccoy. I think are the three two quarterbacks that are ahead of him Um, so he won a lot of football games played in a lot of football games at Cincinnati And how does that translate? Well, I think that what it does is the guys used to be in on the field I think he's done a nice job of listening and learning As to how the system applies. What's there? What's not there having been on the sideline shock And I both can tell you having been on the sideline and then starting You see things that there are not being taken advantage of you see things that are being taken advantage of that You can go ahead and do yourself But then there's spots and we'll talk about that today some of the things that he can accentuate But it's a guy that I think really Showed out In practice and in the pre-season games from a know-how absorb the offense teammate leader all that stuff came to bear For arthur smith and this offensive staff daver gone as they watched him kind of go about his business And then how he's maintained kind of that work ethic waiting for his opportunity So I think you're going to get all of that now. There's all the unknown Because what's it going to be like to put him in there, but I think there's a lot of excitement around I don't know question There's always the question in the nfl when there's a quarterback that's drafted you could say hi anywhere in the first You know three rounds where desmond ridder has fallen Is the a throne to the wolves or do you let him learn and get his feet underneath himself and watch tape and learn from the Experiences from the starting quarterback that he's seen the entire season dj. I'm gonna ask you this question And I'm gonna try to put you back into your playing days Let's talk a little bit less about x's and o's for desmond ridder and say what it's like from going from Being in a meeting room Feel like you know everything that's going on But then how that gear changes once your feet actually step on the field and now you're running the offense And things are full speed ahead. You know, there's two ways that as a backup. I went about it and to be honest When you get into that role For me, I felt like nothing changed and I tell you why I say nothing changed because as the backup Archdiocese You're always one play away. Yeah, so in your mind You have to always be ready and this kind of goes back to that that old cliche You know stay ready so you don't have to get ready and that's kind of how your mindset has to be So when you're now the guy Well, if you're not already ready and prepared and preparing like you're already the starter Then it's a shock for you But I think guys who excel in this league or guys who are ready for that moment They go into the situation as the backup Thinking like they're the starter. So they go in already saying, okay, I'm gonna prepare every day Like I'm going to be the guy I'm gonna pray every day when I go out to practice So that these guys when I get into the huddle They know it's not a drop off and that's kind of how my mind said was when I got in the game I wanted to make sure that those other 10 guys around me knew exactly what they were going to get because they saw it in practice They saw it in the weight room. They saw it, you know in meeting rooms So that there wasn't a question when you got onto the field what kind of guy you're getting and I think you know for desmond ridder Arch mentioned confidence. That's something that I've talked to a couple of you about That's the number one thing they talk about with him is I mean the dude played like I already mentioned 46 I mean he got what 50 play 50 games in college 51. I think I mean I mean the next closest guy is the guy who's doing it right now doing pretty well and arches, you know Iowa State got my man Brock Purdy. So That tells you that does have some kind of impact a guy who's played a lot of football Who's confident now he comes into this moment that he will accept that challenge and be ready for it And then I go back to training camp They didn't bring any other quarterback in a training camp for any other backups When you have two or three guys in camp it takes away from the reps that you got Well, he got a lot of reps in training camp. He's got a lot of reps in practice I heard Richie Grant talk about him. I heard Caleb Hunley talk about him And they all talk glowingly about him That tells you that he's doing the right things inside the building as well as on the practice field That gives you some confidence. Like you said, well, we don't know what's gonna happen We all know it's totally different when you kick it off and guess what? It's the real deal. It's not pre-season anymore That's the boy that we don't know about But we know that from just the small sympathizers being around this guy That he won't take this moment for granted and he'll be ready Yeah, I will say as a player if you're trying to equate what the pre-season look like to what he's going to get now Obviously things ramp up because you're trying to make the playoffs or whatever you're trying to do win a regular season game But shock and I in you as well We don't discern when you're in the game and you're playing you got the uniform on and you've got guys around you're playing with I didn't think well, this is just a pre-season game. Yeah, I was playing my rear end. I was trying to make the team I was trying to prove that I deserve it to play And desmond's scramming out of the pocket against against detroit and finding bernie for that touchdown on fourth down That's an impactful play for him. Those are his last memories of being on the field And those are big big time moments so to be able to you know Downgrade what that was because it was pre-season. Yeah, I get as a priest But in a mind as a player, we're not thinking about it. We're inserted in the game. I'm not thinking well I don't have to really go that hard or they're not really going that hard because it's a pre-season That's not the way you play it. Yeah, and so you're going hard. It is live bullets It just they don't they're not going to count that game when we go play But you're counting in your mind from an experience standpoint. Yeah, no doubt Over 10,000 yards passing in college. You talked about the wins arch 87 passing touchdowns 65 percent passer his last two years The confidence is there One of the things that I feel like scouts general managers coaches when they go out and look for players Specifically quarterbacks. They want winners, right? They want guys that know how to win that expect to win And they hate to lose. That's what you're getting in desmond ridder Obviously things are going to change in the nfl dj. I want to come back to you with this question We've talked a lot about arthur smith and how well he has done as a play caller Working to the strengths of what he has on the field If you're arthur smith and granted this is not us saying this is what we want him to do This is your opinion How do you use desmond ridder early on in the game plan? To get him comfortable to get him up to speed is this a throw some short passes to let him feel Confident see the ball being completed or do you feel like this is the offense? Let him run with it I think to to start a game on the road I think it all starts with trying to get your quarterback some confidence getting them some those quick and easy throws are Definitely something that helped calm me down for me. I should tell my coach. Get me on the move Get me on the edge. Get me on the corner. I want to be able to have the run pass off So I can just dump it off or I can go and pick up four or five yards on the run Those are some of the things that I felt like from my opinion from the way I played that Those things helped me kind of get into the game. But then also there were times where Early in the ball game I turn around and I hand it off and we got four five six yards on first down I look up and it's second and four second and five. Yeah I feel a little bit better because I'm not in third long in the first drive of the game and have to You know throw a strike or have to stand in there and throw one The run game has been very crucial and I don't think you get away from that I don't think you get away from what has helped you get to this point Which is being every ball game and have a chance to win it So I think continue to have that run game going giving him some early Some early throws whether it's a little bubble screen Whether it's a little throw on a hitch whether it's you know, get him on the corner Whatever it may be I think those things build confidence in a quarterback early Especially on the road in a place like New Orleans of all places. Yeah, it's interesting It's such a great analogy by shock to talk about and you mentioned it getting some throws There's some ownership that the Desmond's going to have to take in that He's got to remember to stay fundamentally sound because he's going to be amped up He's going to be excited to be on the field. So if I've got a hitch route in a soft corner and I air mail it That's not building any confidence for me. So even though it's a short easy throw that I'm trying to help you out I'm david goner. I'm arthur smith and I called hitch or slant and it's there and I miss it Or a bubble screen I airman Now all of a sudden the anxiety starts to build a little bit As much as they'll try to help him and I certainly certainly will and I think shock is dead on on how they'll play call it He's got to really be fundamentally sound early in the football game with his footwork And all those kind of things because you're gonna you're going to be amped I remember my first start you're amped up and that ball tends to rise when you're amped up a little bit This guy's got the ability. Uh, certainly hope he has some success early Well, not only amped up, but there's he's also going to be playing in a stadium That's probably going to be loud and they're going to know that it's a quarterback making his first start And they're going to let that presence be known. No doubt, right? So it's not only going to be battling anxiety It's going to be battling crowd noise, which I always say you can put as many speakers as you want out on the practice field And crank up the volume as much as you want There's nothing the same as being inside a stadium when there's 60 70 80 000 people screaming that noise Is different than the noise you try to pipe in at practice Well on this place is different. Yeah, and I I had one of my early starts was in this building This is one of the toughest plays if not the the toughest place I've ever played Because of the the lack of affection Let's put it that way that st fans have for falcons and vice versa We try to do it here at mercedes-benz stadium But it is a loud loud building this the the sound does not escape They don't have a roof that opens up that has they have a concrete roof that it reverbs back down and it's really So for a first start for a guy, this couldn't be any more difficult A venue that you could design It's a rivalry game with everything on the line. Both these teams still think they have a chance maybe post season wise And you've got the fact it's your first start There's a lot going on to that here's something that that I hope is something that happens and From playing in this game playing in this building and knowing what it's like And we talked about how many games renter played in college and how many big games you played in This game feels like a college feel of a game like that atmosphere has the college rivalry of a game So i'm thinking If ruder's been in these games before he knows that environment that hopefully he can kind of lean back on that It's okay. This is what it felt like in college and it kind of calms them being on the role playing You know in a hostile environment. I know this is a little bit different But this is the one venue that always felt like the college atmosphere as opposed to A pro atmosphere where you know, it's kind of loud, but not really this is one atmosphere where it feels like college I'm just happened to pull it back up. I wanted to see his last game College football semifinal against alabama at the Goodyear cotton bowl classic. That's probably one. He's not reflecting No, you're the 276 not so much. Yeah, I'm thinking it was even worse than that for him Atmosphere right big time bowl game Where he was going with this one good analogy. I'm not thinking about that game Arch says not so much All right, so uh real quick Here's arthur smith's quote uh when they were talking about making the change for desmond ridder a lot of things factored into it But we've got confidence in desmond and again There's a risk anytime that you make a move But you've got to be able to take that if you want to break through And get out of this up and down inconsistency. We talked about that a lot throughout this season We've been in a lot of close games. We've made a lot of progress But our objective is to get over the hump and if it benefits us in the long term That's a really good thing for us. Well, see that's the key which you just read Rack is exactly people are thinking. Okay. Hey, we're gonna get a chance to look at what the quarter of young quarterback looks like That's a byproduct of the decision. That's just an ancillary piece. It's a good one It's a good ancillary, but you're trying to get a spark. Yeah This is an offense has scored less than 20 points several times here including your last two games that you've lost You're looking for a spark to spark this football team with the shots down the field or whatever it might be This kid is coming in for that that reason now to get a chance to look at him to see Watching play for a few games here at the end of the season. Okay, that's cool But that's not why they're doing it. It's exactly what you just said We're looking for a spark to try to make a run to the playoffs Well, and you guys talked about it like if he can come out make a couple of passes You talk about spark like that's when the rest of the team comes up to him and says I knew you could do it. We saw it in practice, right? And then all of a sudden when desmond ridder starts to feel all the support Trust me. He's gonna have all the support the teammates are gonna have his back But he makes a couple of throws a couple of first downs Then you get the defensive players on the sideline that are hyping him up when he comes off the sideline If they can score three or seven points, they're gonna say, let's go young fellow. Let's go do this Let's get a victory and I think we got to be real with this situation I think the fans have to understand this is not what ours just mentioned Well, we talked about just oh, you're just throwing him out there for whatever it may be That's what people may feel is happening. You just throwing him out there to see what he's about They put him out there because they feel like he gives them a chance to win And I think that's what fans have to realize is this is an opportunity for him to show what he's about But also this organization drafted him for a reason and they wanted him to come here For this unique opportunity to have a chance to go win. You got four games left in his regular season This is not just Try out my fire. Let's see what he's about. This is this guy gives us a chance to go win these next four games And pushing to the playoffs This episode in part brought to you by the home depot Everything you need for your next home improvement project is just a tap away on the home depot app The home depot app digital toolbox gives you access to how-to guides project calculators and image search So you'll know exactly what you need to pick up with the tap of the finger You can rent and reserve the right tools for the job Also browse through millions of items from top brands that you can have delivered right to your door Whatever your project find exactly what you need with the home depot app download the home depot app today Real quickly, let's just want I want to summarize the last time Atlanta was on the field Of course 1916 lost to Pittsburgh at home Marcus Mario to 13 to 24 167 yards of touchdown interception It was almost like we the Falcons were were like Just slowly bleeding field goals, right? Pittsburgh just seemed like field goal field goal field goal We try to get back in the game to kick another field goal So obviously this has something to do the kind of the icing on the cake is why we have a new quarterback. So arch Coming on the heels of the Pittsburgh game Atlanta had a bi-week New Orleans had a bi-week, right? So sometimes you say maybe you have a bi-week you get an advantage on your opponent New Orleans had a new Orleans had a bi-week as well Let's take it a little bit of a step back from Desmond Ritter What is Atlanta going to see this time around against New Orleans? Obviously, it's a different team when they faced them way back at the beginning of the season And what do you see as some of the other keys? Obviously Desmond Ritter has got to get off to a good start He's got to help the offense move down the field other keys for Atlanta coming away with a victory over New Orleans Well, as always guys are you know, we got to have london and guys make plays around the quarterback I don't care who starts a quarterback where there's tom brady or desmond ritter this weekend You got to have guys make plays around you So the run game is shocked talked about it's going to have to be A big part of what you continue to do your number four in the league running the football I guarantee you the saints are preparing down there and they're thinking okay young qb They're going to try to run it. Yep. Okay, so I'm going to gang up against the run Which could lend itself to some pretty spectacular moments for him if he can calm himself and make some throws One of the reasons I think desmond's playing this week and one of the reasons I was talking about with the spark There were opportunities missed against Pittsburgh. You had guys open for touchdowns There was two plays that we just flat missed that would have been touchdown passes That had you taken a shot at them and you missed them. So that's one of the reasons that desmond's getting the shot He's a he's a guy that can throw the ball Intermediately deep you and I watched him coming out He's got the ability to throw the ball in that intermediate deep area Maybe as well if not better than any of the young guys that came out So that's that's kind of bodes well for if some explosive plays I want to look at the other side of the football uh in in what new orleans is doing on the offensive side of the ball They struggled. Yep. Okay. They've turned the football over to the tune. I think 12 times they turn They're a minus 12 the giveaway takeaway ratio. I think they're second most turnovers in the league They're also the seventh most penalized team in the league This is a team that's struggling on their side of the football You think of alvin kamara and us in the run game They've run over the last five games for just 58 yards a game. What has been atlanta's bugaboo? Or or or deficit when it comes to looking at at the offense is their inability or Our defense is the ability to stop the run. Yep, right? And so you maybe you can extra my size some of those demons and and and stop the run game and force Them andie doll and these guys will throw the football. So That bodes well I think for the defensive side of the ball because you're gonna the young quarterback needs the other side of the ball To play well too. Yeah And new orleans is thinking the same thing We got to play better on the defensive side to help our guys out on offense But those are a couple things that stick out to me. They're now they can rush the passers still They're still they're 10th in the league in in sacks. I think 34 sacks on the year That's another that's a thing you're gonna have to combat Hopefully with run game short passing attack those kind of things That's kind of a quick thumbnail of what I've seen tape-wise Aren't you talked a few times this season about atlanta's need for more explosive plays And you just kind of touched on it like maybe this sets up well With new orleans thinking atlanta is going to try to run the football ball possession game Slow the game down for the young qb make sure that he's not stuck in third and 10 third and 12 third and 15 So maybe you get more man coverage. Maybe you get single high safety dj And there are a couple of options a couple of opportunities for him to hit a london downfield Somebody to make some of these explosive plays that have kind of been lacking throughout this season Yeah, no doubt about it I think those opportunities are going to be there and this is the reason why I think you like having ridder in this ball game because of what we talked about earlier having the confidence Having the ability to push the football down the field and the fact that this team knows For 11 straight games you rush for over a hundred yards So if you're coming to this game knowing a team is going to run the football Guess what you better be ready to stop the run. So that means here comes another hat into the box Okay, you got seven eight guys in the box now Well, you know, what's on the outside man coverage? And I like the fact that you have a guy in ridder who will take those chances I don't think he'll be gunshot at all to hey I got one on one on the outside with drake and I just got to give him a chance and that's what arts mentioned There are times where this season where we've had opportunities to give these guys just a chance Just to put it in the area and we haven't done that. So you have a guy like drake Who knows where cp's gonna line up? We know cp is the guy who can make a lot of plays on the outside as well So there are guys who can make plays on the on the perimeter and I think ridder's gonna do a good job Is giving these guys opportunities to make those throws But I think it's important where our mission early is when you have those opportunities You got to hit him and then when you have those chances And especially if it's early in the ball game, you're not so juiced and jacked up That you overthrow a guy by 10 15 yards because you juiced up So hopefully he can like ours mentioned sell himself down especially early in the ball game because they're gonna say All right, we're gonna force this young puck to to beat us with his arm. We want to see him do it Oh, yeah, we heard he's got a good arm. We've heard he's done his great stuff in college But this is a different league. Let's see him go do it versus this competition and see if okay We stopped the run game Can this guy go back and beat us with his arm? Let me preface this comment by saying that every team in the nfl presents challenges and it's difficult to win In the nfl However, I would also say that desmond ridder and the falcons. They're not going up against the philadelphia eagles this week They're not going up against the 49ers defense this week. They're not facing the buffalo bills They're facing a saint's team. That's four and nine That's three and four at home this season So they have not been dominant and they're coming off a game Their last game that they were up 16 to three midway through the fourth quarter and ended up losing 17 to 16 So they're not a team. That's necessarily in the greatest frame of mind either Right, so it's a good situation that leads me into my next conversation Is desmond ridder going on the road to face a divisional opponent with playoffs actually still within reach It's gonna most likely need to be as a division winner Because if you start looking at wild card There's a lot of other teams that have better records and a better divisional record for tiebreakers But dave Getting winning this division with a game against tamp at the end of the season is not completely out of reach It starts with it this week. They're gonna have to like this is one of the you you always talk about in broadcasting Is this a do or die? Is this a win? Yes, this is you have to win this game this week if you want to have Any possibility at the post season at the end of the year, but there's still a chance Yeah, and it couldn't laid it out any better rack. This is it must win scenario is something It's a cliche. We like to use division game late in the season in december With you with you jockeying with a couple of teams. It's a must-win situation You have to go win on the road in new orleans not easy place to go win rivalry game We've talked about all that kind of stuff. So I think it's any question. There's no reason to diminish the importance of the game I think that's great. I love the importance of the football game I think it gives you even another insight into what the young kid could be Potentially as you move forward an impactful game in december that a lot of your hopes are riding on all your hopes are riding Yeah, I mean probably not a better test site for a guy And still looking for that spark. I know that people want to keep saying well We need to see what he looks like we're we're all talking about how it's an opportunity to go win something And I think that's the perfect scenario to maybe take a look at your young quarterback Yeah, uh and guys listen you want to take a look at your quarterback You want to see if he is the future of the franchise you drafted it in the third rounds That means you thought really highly of them, but I went back to that point dj because at the end of the day These players these coaches you gain job security in the nfl by one thing Winning yeah, right like arthur smith. That's his job His job. Yes is to call plays to get people in the right position, but he has to win games That's what every coach in the nfl's job is if you don't win games, you're gone And these guys want to stay they want to prove to themselves to their coaching staff to the fan base that they're the right guy for the job So you make a change like this and you hope that all of your evaluation through the kid through the pre-jaff process and watching tape Starts to pay off. He's got some experience as far as watching tape. He's been able to study all season long Now it's his chance to go out and perform right and that's what the nfl is all about You got to perform you got to produce I think you look around the league and there There are a few teams right now who For you know lack of you know better word there The husbands and wives are looking for what trip they're going to go on because they're ready to play on the off season trip Because their season is done. Yeah, the Falcons are in a unique unique Place where they're still playing for the next season, which is the playoffs and coming into this season Nobody gave this organization a chance to say that in december They would be playing meaningful football and now you make a change Now you have guys who still believe there's an opportunity to go win ball games You still got guys who believe in this team guys are still fighting So there's still a lot to play for and like you mentioned winning ball games is what this league is all about And it doesn't matter if you know, you're a son Evans who played a tons of football in this league Or you're dead in the red again your first start The goal is the same and they're going to rally behind him because at the end of the day All you want to do is a win a game you want to go into You want to go into New Orleans and have a chance to win the ball in the end of the day I think that's what matters the most Is regardless of who's in there I think they will have faith in him and you got to realize he's been going against this defense All year long. He's been a scout team guy. So the defense understands what they're getting this guy So they know more than anybody else Going into this new all his games. What number four is going to be like when he steps on the field I'll tell you what it tastes good guys I've won in this building as a starter. It's tastes good So I'm hoping Des can get his I like a smile right there They walk and assuming they haven't changed it the walk from the visitor's locker room back Through the field up to the tunnel to the bus and then the flight back home is good after a saint victory No question. It's good, right? You walk right down the middle of that field Hey fellas, great job breaking it down this week. There you got it folks Desmond Ritter the new starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons Hopefully we broke it down for you as best as possible We'll be able to break it down more next week after we actually see some on field regular season action of the young fella Arts brings a dub back man. We try to get a dub man. Let's go, babe You want to uh, you want to win your way in the hearts of falcons fans go beat the saints No You'll get some people on your side real quick Thanks so much for watching the falcons audible presented by AT&T continue to like subscribe and review Spotify iTunes Atlanta Falcons dot com Um all the different avenues that you get your podcast content We appreciate you for joining us and we hope you join us next week as we break down Desmond Ritter Atlanta Falcons New Orleans Saints and everything leading up for the rest of december for DJ Shockley and Dave Archer I'm Derek wrackley. Thanks so much everyone. Have a great day