The worst place you can be in the NFL is on the hamster wheel of not being good enough to seriously compete for Super Bowls but good enough that you’ll never be in a position to draft a franchise-altering player. The Falcons could soon find themselves on that perpetual cycle.
Atlanta doesn’t have an elite coach that can squeeze the absolute most out of its talent. Arthur Smith’s run game is diverse and consistently effective, but his passing concepts leave a lot to be desired. The talent on the offense isn’t great enough to overcome those shortcomings either, especially at the quarterback position.
The defensive talent is much improved but also not great enough to carry the offense. Ryan Nielsen has been a fresh of breath air; however, I subscribe to the agenda that talent is more important than scheme on that side of the ball.
Even still, the Falcons can win a Super Bowl with the bones that are in place. That is similar talent on both sides of the ball with the coaching staff in place, but the most important position in sports cannot be handled in a complacent manner.
Desmond Ridder could (MAYBE) win a Super Bowl if everything was perfect around him, but that’s rarely been the case. The truth of the matter is he caps the ceiling of this team. Ridder could potentially develop into a serviceable quarterback, but every move should be measured against raising the Lombardi Trophy.
Complacency at signal caller will keep the Falcons on the hamster wheel of never being good enough to compete for championships but keep them out of a draft position to land that franchise quarterback.
—
Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.