FLOWERY BRANCH — With the Falcons needing a win to make the NFC playoffs, things are unsettled at the quarterback position after Taylor Heinicke had his left ankle injury aggravated Sunday late in the loss to the Bears.
Heinicke and Desmond Ridder are preparing to start when the Falcons (7-9) face the Saints (8-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday at Caesars Superdome.
“It’s progressing,” Heinicke said. “I feel pretty optimistic about it. I want to be able to just go through practice this week and see how it feels.”
Heinicke has started four games this season and has not finished two of the games. He sustained a concussion Nov. 12 and didn’t finish in the loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
“Obviously, any week – and certainly if somebody at the position is dealing with an injury – they will be ready to go,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Des was ready to go last week if he had to play snap two. That’s how you do it. Both guys have to prepare to play.”
Ridder has been benched twice this season.
He led the Falcons to a 24-15 win over the Saints on Nov. 26. The Falcons have not swept the Saints since 2016. In addition to a win over the Saints, the Falcons need the Panthers to beat the Buccaneers for the Falcons to claim the NFC South title.
The Falcons have not reached the playoffs since the 2017 season. It has been hard times for the franchise since.
Dan Quinn was fired five games into the 2020 season. Raheem Morris finished the season as the interim coach. Over that offseason, the Falcons hired Smith, who was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator.
Smith went 7-10 in his first two seasons as the team was rebuilding and going through a massive financial purge. This was supposed to be a season where the Falcons rebounded and got on the other side of .500.
Smith will have to build a game plan that Heinicke and Ridder can execute.
“Last week, as we went on, he was limited,” Smith said. “There were certain things he was limited doing that you kind of alter your game plan for anyway.
“So, that was the case last week. There were certain things that we didn’t ask Taylor to do.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Heinicke boosted the offense with a 24-yard touchdown run on his injured ankle.
“I started feeling it a little bit late in the third, which is funny because I scored that touchdown,” Heinicke said. “That’s what happens when you have big 300-pound men being paid millions of dollars to come hit you.
“You can feel them breathing down your neck and that makes your run a little faster. Specifically on that play, I didn’t feel it because the adrenaline was going. (I) could start to feel it later in the game.”
Smith hopes to make a decision by Friday, but could take things all the way up to kickoff Sunday.
“Yeah, I think especially when you get into Thursday – talking to him now and talking to the trainers – anticipate him being out there in a similar role (at practice) like he was last week,” Smith said. “Should have a good idea by Friday, for sure.”
Heinicke came on in relief of Ridder in the eight game of the season at Tennessee. He started the next to games against the Vikings and Cardinals, both losses.
After the bye week, Ridder took over and won against the Saints and Jets. After throwing an ill-advised pass that was intercepted and led to the 9-7 loss to the Panthers, Ridder was benched again.
Heinicke was reinstated as the starter and led the Falcons to a 29-10 win over the Colts. It was the offense’s best game of the season, as they scored on seven of 10 possessions.
However, the offense came out misfiring against the Bears and never got into a groove.
Smith is not frustrated by the unsettled nature of the most important position on the team.
“It’s like a lot of things in life,” Smith said. “What you can control and how you react to things and having plans, that’s part of your job. Obviously, at that position, that’s why you always have to make sure everybody’s ready to go because it’s real.”
Smith believes that Ridder or Heinicke, if healthy, will be ready to play.
“If guys aren’t ready to go and they haven’t prepared the way – that’s what I have appreciated about Des and Taylor in the other role,” Smith said. “Both of them have been ready to go every week, so has (No. 3 quarterback) Logan (Woodside). That’s what makes working with those guys – it’s been fun all year.”
