FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – In the middle of a playoff race, rookie quarterback T.J. Yates was thrown into the lineup and helped the Houston Texans reach the playoffs.
Yates, now the Falcons’ wide receivers coach, will share the story about his first NFL start with Falcons rookie quarterback Desmond Ridder, who’s set to take on the Saints (4-9) in essentially a playoff-elimination game at 1 p.m. Sunday at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Ridder was named the starter over the bye week by Falcons coach Arthur Smith. He has not played a down this season, and former starter Marcus Mariota has left the team to get knee surgery. He was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
“He brought me in, sat me down and told me that we were making the change,” Ridder said of Smith. “(He was) saying that I’m prepared for this. This is what they have been preparing me for. They didn’t want to baby me and give me all of the little tips and tricks. It’s just been exciting to have this whole process come around and obviously be in this situation.”
Ridder was not aware of Yates’ situation.
The Texans’ Matt Schaub was injured, and then in a game against the Jaguars on Nov. 27, 2011, Matt Leinart was injured. Yates went in to finish the game.
The following week he made his first NFL start against the Falcons and guided the Texans to a 17-10 win, which pushed their record to 9-3. He won the next game before losing three in a row as the Texans finished 10-6 and went to the playoffs.
Yates led the Texans to a win over the Bengals before losing in the divisional round to the Ravens.
“He’s in a situation that I was in before (during) my rookie year,” Yates said. “Kind of around the same time. I think was like Week 10 or something, but it was the same type of situation.”
Yates, who played at Pope High and North Carolina, sees some parallels to Ridder.
“What I did in my rookie year, what my coaches helped me out with which I see a lot in him is he’s prepared to play,” Yates said. “He’s prepared every single week to be the starter. So, it’s not like you’re throwing some guy in there who’s fresh and brand new. Like we’ve made sure (Smith), (offensive coordinator Dave Ragone) Rags, and (quarterback coach) Charles (London), they’ve all made sure that he’s prepared as possible every single week.”
Ridder has been one play from playing each game, but has no NFL regular-season game experience.
“He’s been ready for the challenge all year long,” Yates said. “So, we’re all excited for him. We’re ready to go see him play.”
Ridder did well at the team’s walk-though Wednesday and during the open media portion of practice.
“He’s got a demeanor to him,” Yates said. “He’s very confident. He’s a natural leader. Some guys, you see kind of stepping into a role, they’re kind of scared. (Falcons old-timers brought up the name of former quarterback Tony Graziani, 1997-99.) Kind of looking around, kind of timid, that’s not him.”
Ridder believes he’s ready to start.
“Every day I just try to go out there and better myself and better the team,” Ridder said.
He’s been running the scout team for most of the season, but has been getting tested like he was the starter.
“That means going about the game plan, an eight-year vet, 12-year vet or whatever it may be goes about it,” Ridder said. “Not put it on (a) wrist band. Making me memorize every single play-call. Going through the ins and outs, all the checks ... like I’ve been in the league for eight years. I’ve been in the league for six months. It’s been exciting to be able to learn and be able to grow.”
Yates believes that Ridder is ready to take over the team, even though it wasn’t because of injury, as in his instance.
“You know, he’s going to go in there with a full head of steam,” Yates said. “He’s going to operate our offense. He’s going to be a leader for the most part because that’s what it takes for this offense to work. That leadership and that confidence that he walks into the huddle with. We’re all excited for him.”
The Falcons have the fourth-ranked rushing attack in the league and the 31st passing attack. Ridder’s goal will be to improve the passing attack.
“We just got to be more efficient in everything that we do,” Yates said. “Obviously, we’ve run the ball really well, all year long. But to be a high-scoring offense that we want to be, we’ve got to do both.”
He noted that the receivers need to help Ridder, and the blocking must hold up on longer plays down the field.
“It’s not just one person, not one guy, not one position like that,” Yates said. “We’ve all got to do better to get that passing game going. … Once we do that. ... I think this offense will take off.”
Rookie wide receiver Drake London plans to support Ridder. He and a group of other players started working with the new No. 1 quarterback over the bye week.
“We got the news that (Ridder) was going to be up, so we got some extra work,” London said. “I wasn’t there on a couple of days, but I was there on the earlier days, but (nearly) all of the receivers were out there with him.”
London, who has caught 47 passes for 533 yards and four touchdowns, is fine with the move.
“At the end of the day, it’s all business,” the receiver said. “It’s above my pay grade to make those decisions. Whatever happens, whoever is throwing the ball, I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”
Charles London, like Smith, said the coaching staff noticed an uptick in Ridder’s preparation over the past month.
“You do see the command,” London said. “You see him getting more comfortable. You see a little bit each day. He’s progressed to the point where coach Smith decided to make the change.”
The Falcons drafted Ridder in the third round of the draft and elected to develop him in practice running the opposition’s scout team. He also spent time working on the Falcons’ offense after most practices.
“We felt pretty strongly about Desmond through the whole draft process,” London said. “Then once he got here, he cemented what we thought about him. We continue to see growth.”
The Falcons believe Ridder is ready to start, even with the team one game out of first place in the NFC South.
“If we didn’t trust him, we wouldn’t put him out there,” London said. “We have to do what’s best for the team moving forward. Coach Smith made the decision. We trusted (Ridder) all along. We just want to continue to let him develop. We’re at the point where he’s ready to go.”
Ridder has the support of the locker room.
“We love both Marcus and Des, but that’s something (the decision) that it’s not our job,” guard Chris LIndstrom said. “Our job is to support and be the best we can for Des. He’s done a great job leading us today. It’s going to be exciting going forward.”
Logan Woodside, who signed Saturday, will back up Ridder. He has been in the league for four years and has played in 11 games.
“I’ve experienced some stuff in my time in the league so far, and I feel like I can be beneficial to Desmond,” Woodside said. “Help him see things and work through some things, for sure.”
Woodside plans to help Ridder.
“Just trying to, like, go through the game plan together,” Woodside said. “Tell him what I’m seeing, whether that’s on some drops or footwork stuff. Just kind of be there for him and support him.”
Ridder has been preparing to be a starter along.
“My dream job is to be a starting quarterback in the NFL,” Ridder said. “I don’t know what everyone’s dream job is, but I’m sure if they got the call to go do it, they’d be pretty excited.”
He didn’t throw a party after receiving the news. He went back to work.
“I went home and didn’t really tell anyone,” Ridder said. “I told my wife, and she was excited for me. I kind of kept it at that. For me, I just had to go back to work the next day.”
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