Following a 19-16 loss to Pittsburgh, Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith made it known that all positions, including quarterback, would be evaluated entering the team’s bye week.
Just a few weeks ago, Smith said “nothing’s changed” when asked if he’d consider a switch from Marcus Mariota to rookie Desmond Ridder behind center.
During Monday’s press conference, Smith said “we are still working through that” when asked about the quarterback situation. He also reiterated that Atlanta (5-8) will evaluate every position following its fourth loss in its last five games.
“It’s at every position … whether you’re making a call at left guard or anywhere else on the field,” Smith said. “What you don’t want to do is have a knee-jerk reaction, which I don’t think after 13 games you are.
“What we try to do every Monday is be objective and tell the truth in the meetings. And there’s a way to do that without taking shots at anybody’s dignity or whatever. We’ll never do that. It’s called coaching and being objective and correcting things. And it starts with myself. You’ve got to hold yourself accountable first.”
Mariota garnered criticism after he missed a number of wide-open receivers in the loss to the Steelers. His interception on the Falcons’ final drive sealed the victory for Pittsburgh (5-7).
Ridder, the 74th overall pick in the draft, has yet to be given a shot behind center. But the talented dual-threat could be given a look in order to give the Falcons’ struggling offense a shot of momentum down the stretch.
“We will have some very intense meetings in the next couple of days,” Smith said. “Obviously, I know where we’re at. We understand, too, (that we’ve) been in some close games lately and we need to get back over the hump. There will be changes made. Everything that we decide to do, I will be as transparent as possible.”
Not all of Atlanta’s struggles can be pinned on the quarterback. Penalties at key times have caused drives to stall. And due to the Falcons’ lack of explosiveness, that has often resulted in kicking field goals rather than scoring touchdowns.
“You never going to be really good if you’re in a lot of third-and longs,” Smith said. “Certainly, need to be better than what we’ve been the last five weeks. We’ve been in too many; maybe a hold here and gotten off track. I thought we’ve protected pretty well for the most part against some pretty good fronts. But when you get off schedule, those third-and-9-pluses are hard to convert.”
Despite the team’s struggles, Smith is not giving up hope with four games left and the NFC South title still in play.
“We are in a unique spot,” Smith said. “We have a quarter of the season left and we have a late bye. It’s the latest bye that I’ve been a part of. We have to figure out a way to get over the hump.”
–Smith said he expects to get guards Elijah Wilkinson (knee) and Chuma Edoga (knee), nose tackle Jalen Dalton (toe) and linebacker Arnold Ebiketie (forearm) back following the bye week. He also said there’s “a chance to get (center) Matt Hennessey back.”
–Mariota has completed 184 of 300 passes (61.3 percent) for 2,219 yards and 15 touchdowns, with nine interceptions. He’s also the Falcons’ third-leading rusher with 438 yards and four scores.
–Field Level Media