Desmond Ridder is well aware what so many fans and analysts—and Dolphins cornerbacks—think of him, to the extent that they think of him at all. Doubt swirls around the quarterback position in Atlanta, and Ridder would have to be off the grid entirely not to hear it.
Cordarrelle Patterson hears it, too, and he can’t be alone among these Falcons. For all the buzz about the Falcons being an improved team and a squad to watch, the skeptics are in no small supply thanks to the past five years and the Ridder doubt in particular. What Patterson and Ridder share is a desire to set fire to those dismissive attitudes, with Patterson noting that there’s only one way to do it: Win and impress.