3 Biggest questions facing the Atlanta Falcons are week one

1. Will Arthur Smith trust Desmond Ridder moving forward?

There are the obvious concerns about the pass protection issues and whether or not Ridder is a franchise quarterback. However, neither of these are going to matter if Arthur Smith continues to call the offense he did against the Carolina Panthers.

Ridder was far below a game manager simply handing the ball off or throwing screen passes. Rarely was Ridder trusted to throw the ball past the line of scrimmage. The few times that Desmond was allowed to test the defense good things happened including an impressive deep ball to Kyle Pitts that locked this game away.

We get it Arthur Smith you don't care about fantasy numbers and rightly so winning is all that matters. Winning in this league requires at least a semblance of a passing attack, however, and if Smith doesn't trust Ridder enough to run it you cannot start the second year quarterback it really is that simple.

Clear improvements need to be made in pass protection to allow Desmond more comfort but if you're a franchise quarterback you find a way despite the issues. Failing to go over 100 passing yards until very late in the game isn't a path to success. Jessie Bates isn't going to bail you out every week.