After a couple of joint practices with the Dolphins last week, the Falcons did not play quarterback Desmond Ridder in their preseason opener.
But that’s slated to change when Atlanta takes on Cincinnati this weekend.
Even though Ridder has done good work in practice, with head coach Arthur Smith consistently praising the young signal-caller, there are some things that the club wants to see in a game setting.
On Tuesday, Smith specifically talked about Ridder navigating the pocket to avoid hits, since that’s something teams can’t fully simulate in practice.
“We’re not going to try to scheme up some chunk plays so we can feel good about some trick play or something that like for some hype video or whatever,” Smith said. “We need to execute, improve, take another step, get ready, feel the pocket so he’s ready to go Week One. That’s the thing you can’t see during practice — the consequence of holding the ball too long or you don’t move up, execute through your reads, all that stuff. Managing the offense. Those are the things.
“Maybe I’m messed up but I don’t think between me and [Bengals head coach] Zac Taylor, we’re going to try to trick each other. We’re going to try to execute, come up with a good plan and see if we can improve and get ready for the season.”
Neither Ridder nor his expected backup Taylor Heinicke played against the Dolphins last week, with Logan Woodside taking all the reps at quarterback. We’ll see if Ridder can continue to make strides within the Falcons offense on Friday night.
