Falcons QB Ridder gives himself a poor grade on NFL debut

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder graded his performance as if he were still in college.Fitting, perhaps, after his lack of profe sional experience showed in his NFL debut.A C-minus or a D, Ridder said after a on Sunday.It was really good in the execution of coming out of the huddle, getting the play called and getting to the line of scrimmage with plenty of time on the play clock, said Ridder, a third-round draft pick whom the in place of Marcus Mariota. Post snap, I felt like I obviously could have done better. Falcons coach Arthur  Zach Norvell Jr. Jersey Smith said Ridder was being too harsh after a game Atlanta felt it could have won despite trailing by 11 midway through the fourth quarter. Hes not scared of the moment, Smith said. Hes  Max Strus Jersey poised. I like what hes made up of. It says a lot about him. Ridder was an unimpre sive 13 of 26 for 97 yards, but his biggest completion of the day  a 12-yarder to tight end Drake London on fourth-and-5 from midfield with just more than two minutes left  looked like it would put the Falcons in range for a tying field goal. Instead, safety Justin Evans punched the ball out of Londons grasp, and cornerback Bradley Robey caught the fumble at the New Orleans 35. Weve got to do a better job of ball security, Smith said. They made a play and popped it out. We had a chance to go in there and po sibly win the game or at least tie it.The Saints then Ryan Arcidiacono Jersey  ran out all but the final 9 seconds, creating a three-way tie for last  or second place  in the underwhelming NFC South at 5-9 along with the Falcons and Carolina Panthers.Atlanta trailed 14-0 early and Ridder admitted he was too amped up at the start, forcing the ball deep instead of looking for open receivers on shorter routes. The execution was not where we wanted it to be, he said. On some of those deep balls, Ive got to give the guys a chance to go make a play. I tried to be too perfect and put it out in front of them when in reality all you have to do is give them a chance. Obviously you are going to have nerves and anxiety just getting out there for your first start in a crazy Noah Vonleh Jersey  environment, but this is what all of us dream of coming into the NFL. There were a lot of emotions, but I settled in after that first drive. Ridder completed five pa ses on a 49-yard drive for a field goal that cut the deficit to 14-3 early in the second quarter. The Falcons then relied on their running game in the second half, when rookie Tyler Allgeier rushed for 86 of his career-high 139 yards and Atlanta piled up a season-high 231 yards on the ground. Atlanta rushed on seven consecutive plays of a 75-yard touchdown drive to pull within 14-10 on its opening drive of the third quarter. After the Saints went back ahead 21-10, the Falcons capitalized on a good punt return and ran on all eight downs of a 32-yard drive to make the score 21-18. The game ended when Ridder ran out of bounds with no time left after Smith said Saints linebacker Demario Davis foiled a potential hook-and-lateral play that started from the Atlanta 33. The much bigger opportunity, though, had occurred on Londons fumble. Ridder immediately ran over to him to offer encouragement. If he thinks that one play right there is what made and broke the game, thats absolutely not true, Ridder said. He made a lot of great plays. Obviously that one  Garrett Temple Jersey didnt go the way we wanted it to, but I just told him dont hang your head on that. ___AP NFL: hub/nfl and AP_NFL   in this topic Click here Click here Click here