Unfortunately for the NFC South, there is not a lot of national intrigue for the NFL division, currently led by the Atlanta Falcons, however there was some interest in the Falcons, largely due to the fact that the franchise chose to go with Desmond Ridder as the starting quarterback, when there was an opportunity to “draft some of these young quarterbacks or go out in free agency,” NFL Network, Chief National Reporter, Steve Wyche, told Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden when he joined the Steakhouse on Wednesday.
Wyche’s comments were made in response to Shapiro and Golden’s question as to how Ridder’s start to the season appears to be viewed be viewed by national media, to which the Chief National Reporter told the midday duo that from the start of the season, the Falcons’ decision to role with the second year, third round draft pick as QB1 drew the most attention and all eyes would be on seeing how “it would play out”. And while Ridder has drawn some heavy criticism through his first seven starts, whether warranted or not, Wyche shared some insight worth noting on how the Falcons situation should be viewed.
“Here’s something that was brought to my attention by an offensive coach, who I have tremendous respect for, he’s not with the Falcons. He said some times when you’re developing a young quarterback and you want to protect him by running the ball, you’re actually doing him a disservice because if you’re running the ball on first down, running the ball on second down, next thing you’re third and seven and you’re expecting this young quarterback, who you’re trying to protect, to move the sticks and he doesn’t make it, then you’re compounding some of the pressure you’re building on this guy,” Wyche said of the conversation he had with an NFL coach.
Wyche added that he believes because of the Falcons being a “run heavy offense”, the mistakes of Ridder are magnified due to the fact that “he’s really not getting into a passing rhythm”. Click link above to here Wyche’s comments in their entirety:
