3 Things the Atlanta Facons learned about Desmond Ridder in Tampa
By Nick Halden
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1. Desmond Ridder continued Atlanta Falcons early momentum
The Atlanta Falcons struggled for the first five games this season starting out very slowly. Unable to get anything going on the first drive and struggled to find positive plays on first down. One of the few good things that happened against Washington was Ridder leading Atlanta to a first-drive touchdown. It was one of the few good moments for Ridder against a Washington team that is looking to be an increasingly bad loss.
Ridder set the tone yet again for the Falcons on Sunday against Tampa taking full advantage of great field position. Forget the rest of the game and just focus on what Ridder and the Falcons did well on the first drive. Desmond threw a pretty tight window ball to Hodge to set the tone and finished the drive with a touchdown run to get the Atlanta offense going early.
It is clear that Ridder and the Atlanta offense have stressed the need to start fast and in each of the last two weeks Ridder has come in and executed Atlanta's first drive at a high level that helped set the tone. Regardless of how the games ended, it is a great sign for Ridder and the Falcons.