4 Reasons Arthur Smith has lost the Atlanta Falcons fanbase

2. The handling of the quarterback situation

If you want to blame ownership for chasing after Deshaun Watson and alienating Matt Ryan that is more than fair. However, it was Arthur Smith who continued to start Jalen Mayfield and allowed Matt to take an unhealthy level of punishment in his final season in Atlanta. Ryan was consistently running for his life and had one reliable receiver to throw the ball to. It was clear Arthur Smith wanted his own guy and didn't set Ryan up for any level of success.

The very next season the Falcons brought in Marcus Mariota and drafted Desmond Ridder. Mariota clearly wasn't getting the job done and needed to be benched. Smith stuck with the veteran for far too long. This was Atlanta's chance to evaluate Desmond Ridder and find out he wasn't the guy they believed him to be.

Instead, the Falcons kept Ridder as the starter, didn't play him consistent preseason snaps, and handed him the starting job without competition. That has resulted in the terrible season we have watched at the quarterback position. Smith made matters worse by saying Ridder was the quarterback the rest of the season and going back on this as soon as the Falcons lost to the Panthers. For the handling of the quarterback position alone, Smith deserves to be looking for a new landing spot.