Ridder me this
So, we meant to discuss this Monday. And Tuesday.
Now it’s Wednesday, and here we are.
No, it’s not “Yellowstone.” (To be forthright, we have not watched the mothership episode of this week. We watched “1923” and was impressed, especially with Helen Mirren. We can discuss that if you wish.)
No, it’s not the North California earthquake either.
Heck, it’s not even your Bowling for Bowls of Bowl Game Success (Bowler Optional) scores. (We’ll post those Thursday — hopefully. And a “Yellowstone” chat, too.)
Desmond Ridder got the QB1 job for the Falcons over the weekend. He was less than good.
In most ways that should have been expected considering a) first NFL start, b) road game vs. Atlanta’s biggest rival, c) his best offensive teammate was a rookie RB from BYU with the same name as an African country.
So my first complaint is, even with the Falcons in a faux playoff chase is that Ridder needed the keys before now.
I’m not sure four games is enough, but four games is what we have.
What we as Falcons fans — and hopefully the Falcons brass too — have had plenty of is Marcus Mariota. By most measures, Mariota is a swell fella, but then he ups and walks away when one of this biggest assets — leadership — is needed when the change happens. There was talk of Mariota’s significant other having a tot, which is fine and understandable. But if he’s gone for the rest of the year, well, then we all know is time in the A-T-L is Mariover.
And please stop with the Falcons and the playoffs, because while I firmly believe almost anything could happen in the postseason, the best move for the Falcons is a bottoming out. A 5-12 mark easily could wiggle its way into a top 5 pick and maybe top 3.
As for Ridder, well he’s mobile and has a big arm. His nerves were clear as he missed his first four throws (some of that could have been a better script from Arthur Smith, too) and he was erratic, both with his reads and mid-range throws.
Again, not great. But his ceiling is clearly high, and make no mistake he delivered a dart on that fourth-down throw that became a Drake London fumble.
That said, regardless of the outcome of the next month, here’s hoping the powers that be in the ATL realize that other than Bryce Young and maybe CJ Stroud, there’s not a surefire QB worth a top-12 pick when the defense has holes at every position not being played by Grady Jarrett and A.J. Terrell.
And we’re Falcons fans, so we could wait one more year of getting whipped for (Caleb) Williams.
Signing day
Let’s share some early morning thoughts on a still-kind-of-strange Dec. 21 Signing Day, shall we? I think we shall.
— Alabama and Georgia are just on a different recruiting plane than everyone else. Here’s more from Paschall on that very fact, and who knows more about both of those programs than Paschall, folks?
— UT appears to be on track for a top-10 recruiting class. Vader, need help with an odds question here: What would the odds have been on UT finishing with a top-10 product on the field and a top-10 class in the recruiting rankings in August? Is 50-to-1 too high, because remember the Vegas win total on the Vols was 7?
— Surprised UTC did not go after another QB beyond the former UCLA walk-on. The Mocs have stacked talent at a lot of places and it looks like Rusty Wright and Co. have again added some transfers and prep players that were picking from Group of Five and even some Power Five offers. That’s excellent. But is there any area on the UTC roster that needs a bigger upgrade at behind center?
— The portal has changed everything about signing day in all honesty. We have discussed its merits and its shortcomings at length. Here’s another angle that is less heralded: New coaches better wade deep into the portal (Coach Freeze and Coach Prime come to mind). That said, coaches who wander into the portal better realize that the clock is ticking, and two seasons is the new three seasons. Remember when we bemoaned that three seasons was too quick on the trigger? Now, with the aid of the portal and the promise of better days and more PT, if you are not turning the corner by the middle to the end of year two, that seat will start cooking.
— I think the NC State QB going to Kentucky will be a big deal for the Wildcats. Every bit as big a deal as Spencer Rattler going to South Carolina. (And it looks like Rattler will return, so there’s that.)
— Nico Whosehishelmet, the five-star QB from California has signed with the Vols. I saw online that he’s the No. 8 overall prospect in the country, which makes him UT’s fourth-highest-ranked high school signee in modern recruiting rankings. The top three were Bryce Brown, Eric Berry and Khalil McKenzie. The fifth highest? DaRick Rogers, if memory serves. So yeah, not exactly a slam dunk. (Especially if they paid $8 million for Nico’s services.)
— I think the biggest get of the day is Grayson McCall, the transfer QB from Coastal Carolina.
Thoughts?
World Cup reaction
The shots from Argentina from the celebration are awesome in their awesomeness.
Amazing, in fact.
It also is a time to reflect a bit on the path forward for soccer in America.
Here’s the message from the Fox Sports poobah about Sunday’s World Cup Final: “This World Cup proved conclusively, if there was any lingering doubt, that international soccer is firmly part of mainstream American sports culture. Over 25 million viewers for the final on a total-program basis across English and Spanish, and a peak audience of over 35 million.”
While I hope he apologized to the Stanford undergrads who follow him and were insulted by his use of “American sports culture” is this accurate?
Yes, Sunday was amazing theater. Great in fact. An all-time sports moment.
But it was at the World Cup. How many of us even know which regular team Messi or Mbappe play for in non-World Cup leagues and years?
Granted, I may not be the target audience. And yes, as Friday’s mailbag will show, I could be a little more gentle in my soccer takes. (Potentially.)
But, without the patriotic tie, is Sunday’s amazing final a springboard for soccer to the common sports fan in the states that are united in North America? Or would it be more the Mary Lou Retton or Whatshername Strug kind of gymnastics comp?
I think the memories of Sunday’s magic will be tangible and have an impact four years from now when the World Cup circles back. But I do not believe this will generate a noticeable boost for MLS ratings, Euro ratings, Premier ratings or whatever other leagues are out there.
Thoughts?
This and that
— RIP Franco Harris, who was truly an old-school great one. I need to hear from show regular SteelerFan on where Franco ranks on the Rushmore of Steelers, but what an iconic image ol’ “32” in black and gold running on that dreadful Three Rivers Stadium turf in the mid-to-late 1970s. Hard to picture a more complete and better team over a half decade than the Steelers from about 1974-79, and Harris was a big part of that. It also comes two days before the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, which is on the Rushmore of NFL plays (in my view) and potentially on the Rushmore of all-time sports plays.
— Here’s Dansby Swanson’s message to Braves County on social media. I think the decision to leave the penultimate sentence starting “It’s hard to even put into words how appreciative I am to the city of Atlanta” and removing “but it’s even more difficult to say how stoked I am at $177 million gua-RAN-bleepin’-teed” was a good call. Thoughts?
— More college football because a) Paschall is Paschall and b) you still know the rules.
— Wow, a tough luck bagel-for-3 last night on the Plays of the Day. So it goes. Here’s where you can sign up for the afternoon gambling email from some round-faced fella over at the Chattanooga fishwrapper.
Today’s questions
Which way Wednesday starts this way:
Which way would you describe Dansby’s good-bye: Genuine, canned, predictable. And yes, it can be another if you so choose.
Which sports day have you lost the most interest in? It’s clearly signing day for me, but that’s because I used to follow recruiting a wee bit too much, even if I tried to convince folks it was for work.
Which made-for-TV Christmas theme is your favorite — shows that do the Christmas Carol thing, the Gift of the Magi theme or other?
Which is Sunday’s World Cup: The springboard for soccer for Joe SixPack sports fan or an Olympics-level four-year highmark?
As for the Rushmore, yeah we could tell you things that happened on this day.
Like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” debuted on this day 85 years ago. Now, of course in our time of enlightenment, we know how offensive that movie is in terms of calling Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, et al., dwarfs and of course how the prince kissed Snow White without asking.
The first basketball game ever took place in the Y at Springfield on this day in 1891. Spy, did you see Abe Simpson there? You know they live in Springfield?
Jane Fonda is 85 today. Man, she was ahead of her protesting time, no?
But our Rushmore today — and if you want to play along with the Franco Harris-related Rushmores above, have at it — is what four fictional pop culture characters would make the Christmas Rushmore?
Go.