Falcons did Desmond Ridder no favors waiting to start him

We will finally get to see someone other than Marcus Mariota start games for the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday as they have decided to start their rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder.

While better late than never, the Falcons did the rookie no favors waiting this long to start him as he will now start his first two games on the road in two of the loudest venues in the NFL.

The Falcons never should have waited this long to start Desmond Ridder

It is hard enough to play the quarterback position on the professional level but try making your first start in a place where every fan absolutely despises you and then traveling to a playoff team’s stadium that has some passionate fans. That is the exact position the Falcons have put Desmond Ridder in.

Ridder will be traveling to New Orleans to play his first NFL game in a stadium where the fans want nothing more than to see him fail. Although their team is quite bad, they will be motivated to mess you up. 

Then fast forward a week and he will then be traveling to Baltimore to play in front of a crowd who is watching their team make their way to the playoffs. Even when the Ravens aren’t playing great, their fans show up and make a lot of noise.

Honestly, it should have all been avoided by starting him before this point so that he could get his feet wet and be prepared to take to the road and play in front of large crowds.

But, what is done is done and all we can do is hope that Desmond Ridder can weather the storm and play well enough to lead the Falcons to some wins. If there is one rookie that can do it, it is him as he had to lead an overmatched Cincinnati team in the College Football Playoffs against mighty Alabama early this year. He has the experience to get things done.