With a win in Atlanta this Sunday, the Buccaneers can take over first place in the NFC South. The division would essentially be up for grabs, but the Falcons can seize control with their third straight victory.
They’ll have a perfect 4-0 record against division opponents and a two-game lead over the Buccaneers and Saints with a 7-6 record, compared to 5-8 records if both clubs lose this weekend.
If the Falcons win the division, they will end a postseason drought that began in 2017. Furthermore, it would be the first playoff game held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium since its inception.
Of course, it will be a beautiful day in Atlanta. Falcons fans have waited a long time for another competent football team. However, I believe the club would be better off missing the playoffs; a playoff berth could be detrimental.
No, it isn’t about draft picks because that is an absurd argument. Establishing a winning culture is far more valuable than a draft position. My reasoning revolves around the quarterback position and the club’s potential complacency with Desmond Ridder.
If the club makes the playoffs with Ridder at quarterback, I fear the regime will be duped into not bringing in legitimate competition for him in 2024.
To this point, the Falcons have made very little investment in the signal-caller position. A third-round pick and a couple of meager two-year contracts for backup quarterbacks are nowhere near enough to get the most important position in sports right.
That’s not to say it won’t work for some; it just hasn’t worked for Ridder in Atlanta. He has shown flashes, but to call his play inconsistent would be an understatement. Ridder puts the ball in danger far too often for the benefit he does provide.
Worse, his development has been, at best, stagnant. Another way to describe it is marginal, and that simply isn’t good enough. It’s the most important position in football, and it can mean the difference between a championship-caliber roster and one that consistently falls short.
Either you have the talent and scheme to elevate the quarterback to a championship level — as Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers have — or you have a quarterback good enough to overcome schematic or other personnel differences.
The Falcons have championship-caliber talent, but the scheme falls short due to Arthur Smith’s simplistic passing concepts. To win a Super Bowl, Desmond Ridder would need everything around him to be flawless; the margin for error is razor thin.
Making the playoffs could instill undue confidence in Desmond Ridder in Arthur Smith, Terry Fontenot, and Arthur Blank. That is not a good thing.
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