3 Current and former Atlanta Falcons that regressed under Arthur Smith

3. Taylor Heinicke

Desmond Ridder is disqualified based on never starting for another franchise but it is hard to believe Smith made him any better with what we have seen. Heinicke has bounced around the league before finally winning the starting job with Washington. The veteran backup may not be a starter but clearly has gotten worse under Arthur Smith as well.

The player that we watched in his first stint as a starter and at Chicago last week isn't the guy who started for Washington. Yes, Heinicke made mistakes in Washington and clearly had his limits. But there was a reason he continued to fight his way into the starting lineup. Heinicke continues a trend of quarterbacks regressing when they play with Arthur Smith.

Ryan Tannehill is the obvious exception but that was when Smith was a coordinator and not in full control of the team. There is no questioning his ability as an OC he has an impressive resume. However, to say that as a head coach, he has let the team down and not set the quarterback position up for success is more than fair. As long as Arthur Smith is in control there is little reason to believe this will change.