FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley’s yards per catch are drastically down through three games this season.
The Falcons need to figure out a way to get Ridley loose when they face the Washington Football Team at 1 p.m. ET Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He’ll be the X-factor for this game.
“Each week, you go out, and the defense, regardless of who you are playing, it’s no different than this week, they’ll have a different defensive plan for a lot of our guys, Ridley being one of them,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said. “It’s our job as coaches, as the game moves on, to evolve and make sure that we give our guys the best chance to be successful.”
Ridley has caught 20 of 29 targets for 175 yards and a touchdown, an average of 8.8 yards per catch. Ridley averaged 15.3 yards per catch last season.
He averaged 12.8 yards per catch as a rookie and 13.7 yards per catch in 2019.
“Obviously, most defenses, if not all, are going to try to take away some of your better players,” Ragone said. “What I think that Calvin has done a tremendous job of since the day I got here and met with him when we started meetings, was his ability to stay locked in regardless of what just happened, good or bad through four quarters.”
The Falcons have won their past six games against Washington. In the most recent meeting, a 38-14 victory for the Falcons on Nov. 4, 2018, Ridley caught six passes for 71 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown pass. Julio Jones had seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown in the game.
Ridley didn’t immediately turn up field on a couple of his catches against the Giants. On one play, he could have picked up the first down.
“We talk to our guys about that, but I mean, again, a lot of times it looks like space,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “There’s a lot of things that go into that play. Ridley’s a really good wideout. He’s got a lot of craftiness to him, but that’s all of our guys, you know, if you get it – most coaches (say take a) drop step, get up field.
“There’s some things Rid does at the top of his route. I mean, he’s been very productive for us. I’m happy with Calvin.”
Ridley believes the offense is close to coming together.
“We are up and down,” Ridley said. “We’ll have a good play, and then we’ll have a bad play. We are really close. We just have to be more consistent and keep it going through the whole game instead of just on and off.”
