EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder is getting the tough love treatment.
“So, we’re gonna be hard on Desmond because he’s a good player, and he can take that kind of coaching,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said after the 24-16 exhibition loss to the Jets on Monday night. “He understands we’re not waiting on him as a rookie. Like, we’re trying to speed him up.”
Ridder played through a slew of penalties and had the Falcons on the 1-yard line. Left guard Jalen Mayfield committed a false start that stalled the drive. Smith was seen coaching Ridder and center Matt Hennessy on the sidelines after the series with what appeared to be harsh words.
“I’ll keep that behind closed doors, but there’s an expectation,” Smith said. “Don’t shoot yourself in the foot down there. It’s (a) pretty good way to put it.”
Ridder, the third-round draft pick, will start the season as the backup to Marcus Mariota.
The Falcons had to settle for two field goals on Ridder-led drives. Both were slowed by penalties.
“They are critical,” Smith said. “A lot of lessons learned, and I got high expectations for Desmond.”
Ridder completed 10 of 13 passes for 143 yards.
“So, he made some good throws,” Smith said. “There are some things he’s got to clean up, especially in the operation.”
Ridder felt his second NFL game went relatively well.
“I felt good,” Ridder said. “Obviously, on the field it looks like we’re ready to roll. I’ve got a couple of things to clean up myself, play calls, getting the operations run. Just really executing.”
Overall, the Falcons committed 13 penalties for 121 yards.
“But we kind of hurt ourselves right there in the second quarter,” Ridder said. “Getting good drives and then coming back and getting self-inflicted penalties. That starts with me and goes to the (offensive) linemen and everyone else. I think we’ll learn from it.”
Ridder tried not to let the penalties get him frustrated.
“Just staying calm with everything that was going on with all of the penalties,” Ridder said. “All of the bigger plays. Some positive and some negative. Just staying under control.”
On the first drive, Ridder couldn’t overcome a holding call by tackle Rick Leonard and Mayfield’s false start.
“That’s just how it is in the game of football,” Ridder said. “You’re going to have setbacks. You’re going to have negative plays that happen. But the most important play is the next play.”
On the Falcons’ next possession, Ridder was called for intentional grounding on the first play to set up a second-and-20. He promptly connected with Jared Bernhardt for a 34-yard gain.
“It might have looked good out there, (but) some of the play calls didn’t come on my end getting them out to the (offensive) line as well as I wanted to. A few mishaps in there,” Ridder said.
Ridder did a good job of spreading around the ball.
“Just taking what they give me,” Ridder said. “Not doing too much. Just doing what I’m asked. The offensive line did a great job of giving me time to have a pocket. … So, shoutout to all of the guys on the (offensive) line out there because they gave me plenty of time.”
Ridder sensed that the second unit missed out on some golden scoring opportunities.
“We feel like it’s our last play, and Coach coaches like it’s our last play,” Ridder said of stalling on the 1-yard line. “We’re not going to take anything for granted. It doesn’t matter who’s in there in the game. We want to go in there and play tough, hard football.”
He didn’t mind the tough coaching from Smith.
“It’s hard not to get emotional about a game that you love,” Ridder said.
Smith likes how Ridder remained unflappable during the slew of penalty flags.
“We overcame, I think he (connected with) Bernie a few times to get back on track,” Smith said. “But there were some other things procedure-wise that he’s got to clean up. And he knows that, and he will.”
The Falcons are set to face the Jaguars in joint practices on Wednesday and Thursday. They will play the Jaguars at 3 p.m. Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the exhibition-season finale.
“Just continue to stack days,” Ridder said. “Just continuing to keep getting better. Everyone execute the game plan fully inside and out. Just come ready to work every single day.”
Smith is looking forward to the additional joint-practice work, too.
“Absolutely,” Smith said. “Excited to have Jacksonville in there. You know, I think the world of (Jacksonville coach) Doug Pederson and his staff. We will get good work, and I’m excited to get back to Atlanta.”
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