Most quarterbacks are divisive among NFL fan bases; there are exceptions — Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, etc. However, Desmond Ridder isn’t one of them.
Depending on who you ask, the Falcons quarterback either deserves patience and is on the verge of showing he’s the next franchise quarterback, or he’s already proven incapable of being the answer.
If you ask me, Ridder has been serviceable at times and not so much in others. He’s shown marginal improvement throughout the 2023 campaign, but I’m not quite sure that’s good enough. Complacency at the most important position in sports is how franchises stall out.
However, if you ask Todd Bowles, head coach of the Buccaneers, he’s underrated.
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles called Desmond Ridder "very underrated" earlier this week:
"He's got control of the offense. He knows where to go with the ball. He's always dangerous with his feet. I think he's very underrated, but he's a very accurate passer."
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) December 8, 2023
To be fair, Bowles has seen the best of Desmond Ridder. Earlier in the year when these two teams faced off, it was arguably the best passing game of his career, completing 76% of his passes for 250 yards and adding 38 yards on the ground with a touchdown.
However, the performance wasn’t without mistakes; in fact, there were three of them — three red zone fumbles. The Falcons should’ve run away with the game but continued to shoot themselves in the foot.
So, Todd Bowles isn’t wrong in his assessment, if we are just considering Ridder’s Week 7 performance. Unfortunately for Falcons fans, that hasn’t been the case all season.
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Photographer: Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire
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