FLOWERY BRANCH — One of the following statements must be true: 1) The annual Falcons offensive line Christmas party is an event not to be missed. 2) Quarterback Desmond Ridder is a person of admirable character.
Or, possibly, both.
Right guard Chris Lindstrom was the host for the party this year, held Monday night for linemen, quarterbacks, running backs and significant others. Among scant details obtained, Chinese food was served. The rest is a little fuzzy, possibly for guests, as well.
“We get together, and festive activities (ensue),” left tackle Jake Matthews disclosed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Ridder was among the revelers, and what makes that significant is what had happened earlier that day. That was when Ridder was told by coach Arthur Smith that his dream job as an NFL starting quarterback had been taken away. Smith has replaced Ridder – who only a few months ago was thought to be the team’s quarterback of the future – with backup Taylor Heinicke for the second time this season.
The unsurprising decision followed Ridder’s complicity in the Falcons’ 9-7 implosion at Carolina on Sunday, in which he threw an interception in the fourth quarter that was as costly as it was head-scratching.
Being benched once in a season doesn’t look good on the record. But two benchings in the span of seven games, that’s going to leave a stain. With that demotion, it’s quite possible that Ridder never will be a No. 1 quarterback again.
And yet, while it would have been entirely understandable for him to send his regrets to the offensive-line Christmas shindig, Ridder took part. So either the activities were festive to a degree beyond categorization or Ridder showed his colors in choosing to enjoy the company of his teammates on a day when most people would have elected to stay home.
(Or, again, both.)
Said Ridder, “Those are my boys that I’ve worked and (shed) blood, sweat and tears with for the past two years. So any day I’m going to be able to go and have the privilege to go hang out with them, go to their house, whatever it may be, I’m going to do it. I love all those guys like they’re my brothers.”
On Tuesday, the standard players off-day in the NFL, Ridder continued his season-long role of running a meeting for offensive players. He did so even though Heinicke is expected to be the starter for the final three games of the season as the Falcons cling to their threadbare hopes of making the playoffs.
In short, Ridder has been the same diligent employee despite losing the job he has chased for as long as he can remember, possibly for good.
“I don’t know how he’s feeling this week, but it sucks for him,” Lindstrom told the AJC on Wednesday. Still, Lindstrom continued, Ridder practiced hard that day, performing his limited snaps as best he could to try to improve the team. “It’s easy for him to pull away, and he didn’t. It just speaks to his character.”
Ridder does have a vested interest in handling his demotion with professionalism and, further, is compensated quite well to do so. In his second season in the NFL, Ridder would harm his future prospects by sulking. But he wouldn’t be the first to do so. He’s 24 and hasn’t experienced much in the way of failure on a football field. When Marcus Mariota left the team late last season after Smith elevated Ridder to give him a look, some interpreted the move exactly how it looked. (Mariota said later that he left the team to get knee surgery with Smith’s understanding.)
Further, Ridder’s response has gone beyond merely doing what’s expected of him. For example, his continuing to lead the offensive players meeting rather than handing it over to Heinicke.
In the meeting, No. 3 quarterback Logan Woodside said that Ridder was “still locked into all the game-plan stuff, still had a great spirit about him. Love that guy.”
Ridder also could have been excused from doing what he did Wednesday, which not only was to answer every question that media asked of him as they (we) probed the worst moment of his football career, but also to do so with humility and patience.
He owned his ill-advised interception against the Panthers, calling it “probably the dumbest play I’ve made in my career.”
It was a moment of commendable and uncommon transparency when blaming the awful weather conditions or relying on the catchall standby – “it was a miscommunication” – would have been easier and less painful (if inaccurate) options.
“That’s just who I am,” said Ridder of his decision to be a good teammate. “Like I told you guys this last time (when he was benched), there’s many different ways you can take this. There’s many different styles of personality that people can portray. But I’m a team player. Whatever’s going to help out the team, I want the best for.”
It’s the sort of character and commitment that Smith banked on when making Ridder the No. 1 quarterback last offseason.
“He stands in there, which not a lot of young players do,” Smith said.
This isn’t to say that Ridder shouldn’t have been benched. He has had shining moments but has lacked consistent production and can’t seem to avoid turning the ball over. But it is to say that there’s room to call for Ridder’s benching while still appreciating his effort and the honorable manner in which he has attempted to be the Falcons’ post-Matt Ryan answer.
It’s highly doubtful that Ridder ever will receive an opportunity to be a starting quarterback like the one he just lost. But perhaps circumstances will put him in that seat again. And maybe, with more experience and maturity, in a different situation, he’ll show the sort of form that Smith and general manager Terry Fontenot were counting on.
Said Smith, “Great things will happen for Des.”
If so, a certain group of offensive linemen who have seen their quarterback handle the worst week of his career with surpassing dignity probably would respond with appropriate festivity.
Said Lindstrom, “That’s why you love him, and that’s why you have appreciation for him.”
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