Here’s what Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder had to say after the 24-15 win over the Saints on Sunday:
On his mindset this week after being named the starter again: “I mean, this week was huge as a team for a whole. It was go out there and get a win, however it came, good, bad, ugly, go out there and get a win. And that’s what we did, came out here and played as a team, both offense, defense, and special teams. Obviously, a lot of things we can go back and clean up. A lot of things we can be better at but we’re pretty happy because we came out of here with a win.
On being able to respond after the turnovers: “I mean, it’s always the next-play mentality. No matter what happens, good, bad, ugly, just move on to the next play. And not only with myself, but everyone on the field, everyone’s got to move on; everyone’s got to keep going and play each play as a new play, and obviously we got the matchup we wanted, Bijan on the backer, [I] was able to give him a ball. The O line did a heck of a job all day of giving me enough time to stand in the pocket, deliver a ball, and they did a heck of a job in the run game, moving the line of scrimmage, not only the offensive line, but defensive line as well. That’s through our team is where we’re going to live and die at is our front five.
On the offense being able to seal the game by running the ball: “It was huge. You know, all week they were challenged to go back and be that line that we know they can be. They stepped up to the challenge and did a great job. And right there before we took that field with like seven minutes left, Drew Dalman, our center, told me, he said, hey, let’s end this game with the ball in our hands, and I said, yes, sir, let’s go. And obviously we did, and we came back. And the defense, great job of shutting them down, and we were able to finish with the ball in our hands. Obviously, [Younghoe] Koo coming down and making the kick, but yeah, it was a huge drive.”
On offensive coordinator Dave Ragone moving up to the coaches’ booth and how that impacted the game: “Like you said, it was just another set of eyes being at that level. Usually, it’s Art and Rags up here, and then we got our assistant coach [Patrick] Kramer up in the box. But, yeah, it’s another set of eyes. It’s able to see from a different vantage point and then, you know, communicating with them on the sideline, communicating with Kramer on the sideline. And then, like we said, too Taylor [Heinicke] and Logan [Woodside] do a great job of being another two sets of eyes just to be able to help me out there in whatever I need.”
On getting involved in the run game and whether that is something the team will look to continue to do: “It had nothing to do with the offensive scheme or anything like that. We saw throughout the entirety of their season that they struggled with quarterback play extension, with quarterbacks scrambling up and out of the pocket. So that we knew if one, two and possibly three wasn’t there, that three was probably going to be my legs and just take off and go. I got off a couple of the reads and just found an open spot in the pocket and got out.”
On Jessie Bates III 92-yard interception return touchdown and what was going through his head on that play: “That’s huge. Obviously, that’s a huge momentum swing in any game when you get a pick six, especially one that long. It obviously kind of deflates the other team. But for us as an offense, we kind of had to stay ready, because at that point -- and then they go back out on the field. It felt like we hadn’t been on the field for quite some time. It was a great job with the offense coming back out and responding, but obviously like you said, a great job with the defense stepping up, creating the turnover and creating points off that turnover.”
On Jessie Bates III being a game changer and how he impacts the team: “Like you said, energy and then play making, the way he’s able to play the field, play that safety position, be able to be all over the field and confuse quarterbacks. I mean, he does a great job of it. That’s obviously, you know, why he’s our number one safety back there, and like you said, just the energy. He’s not only a great energy provider, but he’s a great leader on this team, great person to have on our team, and he’s just going to continue to do great things for us.”
On his touchdown pass to Bijan Robinson: “It was the same play we ran earlier that I kind of scrambled on down there in the red zone and like almost ran into Kyle [Pitts]. It was the same exact play. That one was zone coverage. This one we got matched up in man. Felt pressure, took my drop, saw the matchup with him and Demario [Davis] and just put up a ball for him to go get.”
On the importance of this game and whether it felt like a relief to win: “I wouldn’t say relief. More so just excited, just excited to go out there and get the win. Obviously, having a tough three or four weeks, just being able to go out here and get a win at home is huge.”
On Arthur Smith talking about the intent of Wednesday’s practice and what he remembers from it: “Wednesday was a day that we went out there. I mean, it’s week 12. A lot of guys on Wednesday when you put the pads on can go out there and maybe have a softer practice or a jog-through practice or not full speed, but what we do in our style of play is full speed and pads, you know, almost every time we can do it. So our intent out there on Wednesday was just fast, physical, great energy, great practice. The weather wasn’t perfect, but it was what we needed. And like we said, it was just a great one to start off the week with.”
On whether he has done anything specifically to try and foster a culture of good energy: “No. I mean, like I said, I think my entire time just coming out this week was playing free, playing fast and having fun. I think I did that out there in practice and obviously did it today.”
On the 95-yard drive in the fourth quarter: “Like we said, I think the number one thing for the key of all the drives was the guys up front. Those five men up front did a heck of a job of, like we said, giving me enough time, blocking for Bijan, blocking for CP [Cordarrelle Patterson], blocking for Tyler [Allgeier], and did everything that they could do to move the line of scrimmage.”
On Dave Ragone moving up to the coaches’ booth: “Like we said, it was just another set of eyes up there. Being able to communicate, having another set of eyes not only up in the box, but like we said, we got multiple on the field with Taylor and Logan and Coach Kramer, but it was just another set of eyes to give a different perspective and hopefully be able to communicate and see things better.”
On his first interception of the game: “I was just going to Bijan. I probably threw it about six inches too far inside. He kind of -- you know, there was hands up down there in the red zone, [he] might have lost it, whatever it was. [It has] got to be a better ball. Got to put it on him.
On the final drive and whether the offensive linemen were fired up about running the ball: “The linemen were all juiced up. Like we said earlier, we had to challenge them earlier in the week to go out and play their brand of ball, which is tough, nasty and physical and move that defensive line, and which we did. We wore them down in that fourth quarter, was able to possess that ball for the last five-and-a-half, six minutes, whatever it may have been, and they did a heck of a job of being able to get up there and keep the ball moving forward. Props to Bijan, Tyler and CP of all being able to go out there and take control of the ball, get those first downs and keep it moving.”
On having the division lead going into December: “That just means we’ve got to show up every week to be able to play. We obviously knew this game was huge for that, which was one of the driving reasons of going out here and getting a win. But now we’ve got to keep it. We haven’t won back-to-back games since the first two weeks. We’ve got to go on the road against the Jets who are a great team, great up front on both sides of the ball and we’ve got to be able to go out there and get a win.”
On what it felt like to get pulled and then now be back to being the starting quarterback: “Honestly, you know, it taught me how to be a true backup. It taught me that you’re obviously preparing as the starter every single day. But like I told someone earlier in the week, you know, I don’t think I’ve actually been a backup in my career. I’ve never came off the bench in the fourth quarter of a game to go in and have to play and go win a game. So, for me, that taught me not only respect that you got to have for backups, but just the ability that it doesn’t matter who it is, whether it’s the quarterback position, safety position, center position, it’s the next-man-up mentality. When your number is called, you’ve got to be ready to go, and you’ve got to go out there and execute the same game plan that everyone else has been working on all week that you might not have got the same amount of reps at.”
On whether it has changed his appreciation or approach to the role at all: “I mean, it makes you appreciate everything, obviously, just being grateful to have the opportunity to come out here and play the game we love. Obviously, everyone who’s on that field, everyone who’s dressed wants to be out there playing. Obviously, in our position as a quarterback position, it’s only going to be one person. So, yeah, it obviously feels great to get back out there, and like we said, to go get a win as a team.”
On his decisions of when to scramble and how he felt about those decisions: “I think I did a good job of just going through my progressions, and then like we saw on film from numerous teams before, they kind of struggled with quarterbacks play extending, quarterbacks getting out of the pocket. So once I saw the first couple reads weren’t there, I found a window and made it get out. Because they run a lot of match coverage, whether it’s one high or two high. Underneath, they’re all matched, eyes are off the quarterback, so at that point it’s take it and run.
On whether he could see Bijan on the touchdown pass because of the rush: “I didn’t really feel the rusher. I knew he was coming and whoever was coming was coming hot. And I just saw the back of Demario’s jersey and Bijan running with him. And like I told Bijan, at that point, that was just backyard ball, threw it off the back of my foot, gave him a ball he could go get, trusted him. Like I said, we repped it before, and that was the play we ran earlier in the game that I actually scrambled on, kind of ran into Kyle down there in the red zone, and we went back to it, got a different look, and we executed it.”
On the early game fourth-and-two and what was supposed to happen: “I mean we were supposed to get a first down.”
On whether he made the wrong decision by keeping the ball: “No. We ended up kind of filtering it through wrong up front. We had two ended up coming off outside, so if you’re handing it off, Tyler is getting smacked. I pulled it. I got a guy sitting on me waiting outside. So we go back, I could probably re-ID it better, work things out, and we’ll get it blocked up.”
On whether he feels like the team had been sluggish in the last two games: “I wouldn’t say sluggish. But sometimes, like we said, it’s week nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Things can start to get in a routine and become repetitive and go day after day, week after week, and sometimes guys can get lost in that. Obviously, especially rookies obviously, me being a rookie last year, and you know, it’s a long season. And obviously those rookies aren’t used to it, but just everyone in general, it’s a long season. So just everyone having the energy and passion to come up here every single day, go to work and get better. That’s something we’ve got to keep up and keep that energy going.”
