The Atlanta Falcons need to bench a few players who have been awful
The Atlanta Falcons have had a couple disappointing results over the past two games and have put themselves behind the eight ball in the division.
Usually when a team loses a couple in a row then jobs will be called for and that is exactly what we are going to do here. These players have not stepped up consistently enough to warrant staying on the field.
One is pretty obvious as most people are calling for him to be benched for a different, more exciting player, you can probably guess who that is.
The other two are a little less obvious but have been just as bad. There may not be many options to replace them with but it still needs to happen because they have cost this team numerous times, especially over the past couple of games.
Sometimes things need to be changed up in order to get a boost, so it is time for that to happen because things haven’t worked. The definition of crazy is doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
These three players need to take a seat for the next while in order to get their feet under them.
The Atlanta Falcons need to bench quarterback Marcus Mariota
Wow, I bet this one wasn’t obvious and you couldn’t see this coming. Marcus Mariota has been given every opportunity to prove himself and while he has had some impressive moments, he has made way too many head-scratching mistakes.
The two things that stand out more than anything are his horrible deep accuracy and his inconsistent accuracy to any area of the field. Nothing showed that more than his primetime performance against Carolina.
There are no more excuses left for him, Desmond Ridder needs to take the field going forward.
You have two options if you are the Falcons, keep rolling with Mariota and live with the inaccuracy and mistakes, or ride with the rookie Desmond Ridder who could be great or could be on Mariota’s level.
Sure, Ridder could be worse than Marcus but at least you played all of your cards instead of insisting that the veteran will somehow become a player that he has never been since he was drafted in 2015.
The answer seems quite obvious, start Desmond Ridder who could turn into a star and change the dynamic of this team.
The Atlanta Falcons need to bench center Drew Dalman
Unfortunately, the Atlanta Falcons backed themselves into a corner with this one. Last year, Matt Hennessy started at center for this team and then ended up splitting reps late in the season with Drew Dalman.
Going into the season it seemed to be a hotly contested competition between the two centers and Arthur Smith decided to go with the player he drafted — Drew Dalman.
It seemed like the smart decision for the first few weeks but since then it has been a mess.
You had Hennessy sitting behind him until they decided to put him at left guard where he ended up getting injured and put on injured reserve after his first start at the position. Now, they may not have the option to bench Dalman, but honestly, it still seems like the right decision.
Dalman has been awful in pass protection, even worse than Hennessy was last year, and then against the Panthers, he struggled to even snap the ball. There were numerous times when Mariota was thrown off by a low snap, which is exactly what you cannot have with your center.
The Atlanta Falcons need to bench linebacker Mykal Walker
There is a bigger issue with the Atlanta Falcons’ defense than the linebackers and that is cornerback. Rashad Fenton and Cornell Armstrong could be here instead but they won’t have the job once A.J. Terrell returns.
Mykal Walker has been the leader of the defense but he has not shown that he deserves to stay on the field, to be honest. You see him constantly running the wrong way, shooting through the wrong gap, or just missing a tackle. It has been quite ugly.
To his credit, Dean Pees has sat Walker down on the bench for the rookie Troy Anderson. Anderson hasn’t been great but has been a little more consistent than Walker.
At least with Anderson, he is in his first season, is an incredible athlete, and will only continue to learn. Walker is still young and has shown the ability to be really good, but he is in his third year and is struggling more than ever.
Troy Anderson should be the starting linebacker next to Rashan Evans because he has proven to be a better option than Mykal Walker.