Kurt Warner caught the attention of Falcons’ nation and the entire NFL media landscape when he posted a viral video breaking down several plays by the team. Warner highlighted several miscues by the offense including missed blocking assignments and poor play execution. The video sparked a debate revolved around questioning how much of the offense’s failures are on the shoulders of Desmond Ridder?
The breakdown showed several plays where Ridder had defenders in his face before he was able to get through his progressions. Defenders went unblocked and receivers were down the field instead of setting up blocks and the offensive line appeared to not be on the same page in terms of what their assignments were. The question now becomes if Taylor Heinicke can make the most of his opportunity despite these challenges being presented to Ridder as he tried to learn on the job how to read defenses and feel an NFL pass-rush.
Regardless of whoever’s shoulders the blame falls on, the bottom line is the offense is not functioning anywhere near the clip everyone expected to start the season. Everyone needs to do a better job from head coach to quarterback and offensive line. Kurt Warner pointed out several key issues in his video but five plays does not tell the story of eight games thus far this season.