Falcon Report

Falcons' Desmond Ridder on Bijan Robinson: 'Get the Ball in His Hands!'

Desmond Ridder and Bijan Robinson are arguably the two most important players in the Atlanta Falcons offense.

Jeremy Brener

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The Atlanta Falcons first-team offense is coming off a debut Friday night in which it led a scoreless drive of almost 10 minutes in the 13-13 tie against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Should the Falcons have scored on the opening drive, it likely would have led to a second Atlanta win in the preseason. However, a pick from quarterback Desmond Ridder led the long drive to no points in the first quarter.

Apart from that, the Falcons offense did its job of holding onto the football and killing clock, much in part to No. 8 overall pick Bijan Robinson, who made his professional debut.

“Bijan, he showed up a couple times, handed it to him," Ridder said. "We got that one right there. That probably would have been a touchdown before they called a challenge on it. He was back there, he said he felt comfortable. He's out there doing what he does. Just get the ball in his hands and let him go.” 

Robinson ran the ball four times on the drive for 20 yards and also caught a pass from Ridder for six yards. His presence was felt on the first carry of the game, where he racked up 12 yards.

Ridder knows his job. Keep the ball in the team's hands and feed his stars, especially Bijan. If he can limit his own mistakes and allow his skill players to cook, the Falcons could serve the city of Atlanta a playoff game or two in 2023.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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