Flick's Forum: Atlanta Falcons Brought QB Instability Upon Themselves

The Atlanta Falcons will be starting their fourth quarterback in the coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot era when Taylor Heinicke takes the field this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

Remember the days when Matt Ryan eclipsing 4,000 passing yards in a season was almost a foregone conclusion?

For an entire decade, Ryan, a stalwart as the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, hit that mark. He was steady and reliable for 14 years. Since he was traded in Mar. 2022, the position has been anything but.

And really, Falcons coach Arthur Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot have nobody to blame but themselves.

It all started with a failed fever dream pursuit of now-Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson that strained relations with Ryan and resulted in the sudden departure of the franchise's all-time leading passer.

Watson has struggled mightily in Cleveland. The Falcons appear to have dodged that bullet - but Ryan's exit, which came amidst a regression but signals a lack of replacement plan, resembles the arc of a boomerang, and Atlanta's now feeling the deepest effects of its decision that spring.

The day they traded Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, the Falcons signed Marcus Mariota as a bridge quarterback. The draft was one of the weakest in recent memory in terms of quality of signal callers. Kenny Pickett, selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the only one off the board in the first two rounds.

Atlanta opted for Desmond Ridder, a proven winner at the University of Cincinnati lauded for his intangibles, in the third round.

Drafting starting quarterbacks in the first round is a risky ambition, but one that has netted many success stories - drafting one in the third round is just flat out risky.

The Falcons started Mariota for the first 13 games of last season. Some argued that was too long. The counter is that Atlanta didn't feel Ridder was ready and wanted to get a representative sample. That part makes sense.

Ridder fell to the third round for a reason, and the Falcons ultimately invested in his development while Mariota struggled down the stretch, losing four of his final five starts.

Under Smith, the Falcons have often tried to bring their non-first round rookies along slowly, but in an age where so many quarterbacks play early, Ridder didn't - and Mariota took Atlanta's season down with him.

Of course, there's always more than just one position, and Ryan's franchise record-setting run ultimately didn't give Atlanta a Super Bowl ... but quarterback play was a clear downfall for the Falcons in 2022.

Ridder's four-game tryout at the end of the year gave Smith and Fontenot confidence he could become a long-term answer - but the sample size evidently proved too small.

After eight games with Ridder under center, the Falcons are turning to veteran backup Taylor Heinicke as the starter this Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings.

Ridder departed Sunday's 28-23 loss to the Titans at halftime amidst evaluation for a concussion with Atlanta trailing 14-3 and having only 89 total yards of offense to its name.

During the second half, with Heinicke under center, the Falcons posted 20 points and gained 253 total yards.

Atlanta Falcons coach Arthur Smith opted to start Taylor Heinicke at quarterback over Desmond Ridder for this Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings / ClutchPoints

Ridder was cleared from concussion protocol in the third quarter, but Smith stuck with Heinicke. Ridder was monitored throughout this week and cleared to play Sunday, but Heinicke still gets the nod.

“There’s a lot of variables," Smith said. "Considering the last 72 hours, just kind of where we’re at going into this week, is going with Taylor. That’s why he’s here right now. Des went through all of those tests. He’s cleared. He’ll be available, but right now, in the short-term, it will be Taylor this Sunday.”

Smith used the phrase "short-term" three times in Wednesday's press conference alone and added the decision "isn't some grand statement for forever."

So, to recap the current situation: the Falcons are tied for the lead in the NFC South at 4-4 and don't know who's going to start at quarterback for them after Sunday.

Ridder led the NFL with 12 giveaways, but he was in the midst of his most productive stretch as a professional prior to his difficult first half in Tennessee. In the three games leading up to last Sunday, he'd averaged 297.3 passing yards per game, second most in the league.

Still, Atlanta struggled to execute in the red zone and averaged only 17.7 points in those three contests despite putting up over 400 total yards of offense in each.

Heinicke brought a spark when taking over for an injured Carson Wentz last season with the Washington Commanders, winning five of his first six starts, but faltered at season's end and saw Wentz and then-rookie Sam Howell receive snaps.

Against the Titans, Heinicke gave Atlanta's offense its most productive half this season - but can the spark sustain?

Perhaps more importantly, if it does, is there any avenue to where the Falcons confidently go into next season with Heinicke as their starter?

There's been little in Heinicke's 24 career starts to say the answer to either of these questions is "yes" - and so, Atlanta's looking at its third consecutive offseason filled with quarterback questions.

When Heinicke takes the field for the first offensive snap just after 1 p.m. Sunday, he'll be the third signal caller to start for Atlanta in the past 14 games.

And that, by all accounts, is quite the indictment on Smith, Fontenot and the rest of the Falcons decision makers.