Atlanta Falcons: 3 goals Marcus Mariota can accomplish this season

The Atlanta Falcons are less than two weeks away from their first pre-season game when fans will get their first look at veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota was a starter with Arthur Smith when they were both with the Titans before he was benched for Ryan Tannehill and spent time backing up Derek Carr with the Raiders.

A glass half-full line of thinking would point out that Mariota has had time to learn from his mistakes sitting behind one of the better quarterbacks in the league and will have grown as a quarterback from his time on the bench.  It is also worth pointing out that the last time Mariota started a full season his primary weapons were Tajae Sharpe, Corey Davis, Jonnu Smith, and Taywan Taylor were Mariota’s options.

The Falcons are a clear upgrade in that singular department with Kyle Pitts, Bryan Edwards, Drake London, and Cordarrelle Patterson all being obvious upgrades over Mariota’s weapons with the Titans.

Still, expectations shouldn’t be high for a quarterback who hasn’t been a starter for three years and is being brought in behind a bad offensive line as a bridge option. A successful season for Mariota will be leading the Falcons to respectability and keeping his job deep into the season. With this in mind let’s take a look at three realistic goals for the Atlanta quarterback to achieve this season.