There are times he’s sharp and does everything right. And then there are just careless mistakes and boneheaded decisions. He actually seemed to be getting better until last game. The first half once again the offense looked out of sync.

Now you can blame this on Ridder or on others. However there was a definite sense of spark when Heinicke started the second half. Guy just straight up looked like he knew what he was doing.

In any case I do think it’s strange to bench Ridder at that moment. He wasn’t playing well but he has shown he can flip a switch when needed. I think there was a sense of master vs apprentice scenario for Arthur Smith. He badly wanted to beat his old HC so he got a little desperate and put Heinicke in. Unfortunately we saw the offense clicking at a much greater rate when Heinicke came in. Can’t ignore how that felt.

The difference between a backup QB and a starter is not talent, its consistency. The only thing that’s been consistent is his turnovers and having moments he holds onto the ball too long getting sacked. Otherwise, he’s shown absolutely nothing week to week. We literally have no idea who we are going to get each week bc there has been small flashes. The difference between Allen and Ridder is Allen will go out and make a play sometimes. Ridder has no “playmaking” abilities and is a very structured QB. (Which is shaky right now with our current play calling situation).

I’m all for letting a guy get out there and develop, but against the titans he had 5 drives that were basically 3 and outs before he was benched/injured. The dude can’t even keep himself on the field long enough to get the experience he needs to develop. Right now, we have several young players on this offense who are trying to develop too. It really feels like Ridder is wasting this organization’s time by not showing any consistency or improvement week to week.

The reality is neither Ridder nor Heinicke is an ideal option and we’re all pretty sour about that.

He’d have the “IT” factor if “IT”=turnovers