Matt Ryan is becoming an ‘elite’ QB, Smith says
Atlanta Falcons' Matt Ryan (2) throws a pass against the Carolina Panthers during the third quarter of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011. AP
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons coach Mike Smith believes that fourth-year quarterback Matt Ryan, who became the second quarterback in team history to pass for 4,000 yards in a season, has reached elite status among NFL quarterbacks.
“His maturation process continues to accelerate and he’s becoming, in my mind, one of the elite quarterbacks in this league,” Smith said.
Ryan needs 73 yards passing against Tampa Bay on Sunday to break the franchise’s record for most yards passing in a season.
Ryan, who has passed for 4,071 yards, is set to break the record of Jeff George, who passed for 4,143 yards in 1995.
“That’d be a great honor and an individual honor for Matt,” Smith said. “But again, all those individual honors take a bunch of other guys. There are guys that have got to catch the ball and guys that have got to block. But Matt’s had a very good season.”
Ryan passed for a career-high 373 yards in the 45-16 loss to New Orleans on Monday night. He also tied his career highs with 32 completions and 52 pass attempts.
Ryan already has surpassed George in one category. He has passed for more than 300 yards six times this season, breaking George’s old record of four 300-yard games in 1995.
However, the Falcons are just 2-4 this when Ryan throws for more than 300 yards. He has thrown for more than 300 in wins over Tennessee (316) and Carolina (320) and in losses to Chicago (329), Tampa Bay (330) and New Orleans twice (351 and 373).
Ryan, who went to the Pro Bowl after guiding the Falcons to the NFC South title last season, has completed 339 of 557 passes and is within striking distance of his records of 357 completions and 571 attempts that he set last season.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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124 comments Add your comment
SeenThisBFalcon
December 30th, 2011
3:44 pm
SAIN’TS WILL LOSE IN THE 1ST ROUND GO LIONS!!!!
Fanever
December 30th, 2011
3:48 pm
Player SEASON TEAM GP CMP ATT CMP% YDS AVG TD LNG INT FUM RAT
Matt Ryan 2008-2011 ATL 61 1226 2013 60.9 14132 7.02 93 90 46 15 88
Tom Brady 2001-2004 NE 63 1242 2015 61.75 13919 6.95 97 91 52 28 87.675
Peyton Manning 1998-2001 Ind 64 1357 2226 61 16418 7.385 111 86 81 12 85.175
Drew Brees 2002-2005 SD 58 1110 1782 62.125 12127 6.8025 79 79 53 18 84.6
Aaron Rodgers 2005-2008 GB 23 376 595 57.825 4367 5.6125 29 71 14 9 71.95
Fanever
December 30th, 2011
3:51 pm
Hey D-led. I tried to post the stats of Ryan for his first four years. Surprisingly, Matt Ryan has a better QB rating than Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers during their first four years as pros. You may want to do a story on this. So Ryan is in great company. he does need to improve, but he is on his way to becoming elite. Check the stats.
ATLien
December 30th, 2011
3:52 pm
Ryan might not be “elite” (yet) but he is more than capable of winning a Super Bowl. Too bad the defense, particularly the secondary, won’t let that happen
Die Hard Falcon
December 30th, 2011
4:16 pm
@Sean RE: Your post from 3 today
Ryan might not have more or as many times sacked as some of those QB’s, but sacks aren’t always the indicator of pass protection. He is one of the most hit/hurried QB’s in the league this year and that’s why he has to check down more; to avoid the sacks that are coming. Also, if the scheme were better, he’d have the “knack” for finding open receivers, b/c there would be more open receivers.
Defenses have figured out that if they can cover for 2 seconds the pressure will get to us, that’s not Matt’s fault that he doesn’t get the 4 and 5 second looks that Brees & Brady especially get. Plus, he is admittedly not as nimble as Rodgers or Brees.
hiramsaint
December 30th, 2011
4:26 pm
i’ll post something sarcastic as soon as i stop laughing so hard!
fansince74
December 30th, 2011
4:32 pm
Folks he’s only played in two playoff games and the loses weren’t his fault. Tom Bardy nor Drew Brees could have beaten the Packers last year with the horrible play of the Falcons defense. Think…
jim
December 30th, 2011
4:38 pm
Breaking a record set by Jeff George is not exactly “elite”. I think Ryan is really good and may be elite but I would go out of my way if I were the Falcons to not mention the two names in the same sentence. Some of us are old enough to remember Mr. Personality and his “friendly talks” on the sidelines with June Jones. Once a putz, always a putz.
Nique
December 30th, 2011
4:54 pm
& ppl talking about a supporting cast should be ashamed of themselves, yes ppl need to hold onto the ball more, but I’d take our skill position cast over every team in the NFL, with the exception of MAYBE 3 teams, Packers, Lions, & Saints, but honestly really only the Lions & Packers. Ryan is on the verge but not there ppl. Yes sacks isn’t the only stat, qb pressures is a very significant stat as well but it would be ignorant to believe that a qb who’s been sacked more hasn’t had comparable, if not more intense pressure on him throughout the year. I know it doesn’t look like it when we play these teams, but that’s because our pressure is lacking, not because there O-Lines are so great! & the comment about Rodgers being mobile, you’d have to add Brees to that list as well, its just mobile to keep plays going instead of mobility to scramble. Every time we play him we miss at least 3 sacks we should have had. Our Defense has gotten better but we still have to lead the NFL in whiffs on sack opportunities! It killed us against GB in the playoffs last year, killed us Monday against N.O. & will kill us again this year if we don’t straughten it out. Missed sacks, redzone inefficiency, costly penalties at key moments in drives, & dropped balls have been our problems all year long, coupled with poor O-line play, especially at the RG position, but as quit as its kept, our “pro bowl” RT that we paid all that $ to this offseason hasn’t lived up to his billing & we keep talking about overpaying ppl on D (the most common targets being D. Robinson & R. Edwards), how about we start holding the Offenses feet to the fire, after all they’re suppose to be the strength of our team. As bad as the D played Monday, they got us the ball back at the beginning of the 2cnd half on the Robinson int & we were only down 15 & what did the offense do…3 & out, that unacceptable. 16 points in a game is unacceptable!
Now don’t take this as me knocking Matt because i think this was actually one of his better crunch time games, between the 20’s that is, which is a problem in & of itself, but not solely his problem. But we knock the D so much, when we all know its the Offense that’s suppose to be carrying this team. & in BIG games they haven’t held their weight. 16 points against N.O. this last time, 23 against them the first time, 12 against Chi, 14 against GB, & 10 against Houston. That means in our 5 most difficult games this year, our offense has yet to put up more than 23 points… THAT IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE & IF NOT FIXED, will lead to another one & done, or maybe a wild card victory & being bounced in the 2cnd round. This is not bashing the team, the potential is there, they’ve just gotta find the heart, dedication, & consistency to tap into that potential!
SeenThis B4
December 30th, 2011
4:58 pm
So, if he’s “becoming” elite, how big of a contract renewal is he going to get?
Eli Manning
December 30th, 2011
5:14 pm
@joe i have two 1000 yard receivers (Nicks & Cruz)
Ben Roethlisberger
December 30th, 2011
5:19 pm
@joe so do I.(Brown & Wallace)
Drew Brees
December 30th, 2011
5:22 pm
@Joe If Colston gets two more yards I will have a 1000 yard receiver and tight end!
Tom brady
December 30th, 2011
5:25 pm
@Joe i also have a 1,000 yard receiver and tight end. (Welker & Gronkowski)
Nique
December 30th, 2011
5:30 pm
fansince74
Are you sure those losses weren’t Matt’s fault. The pick 6 he threw right before the half last year was a huge turning point in the game & he threw a 2cnd pick in that game. In the Arizona loss, he also threw 2 picks, & in both games, he is yet to throw for 200 yards. So to say that neither playoff loss is his fault might be a bit of a stretch!!! You can’t turn the ball over in the playoffs & he’s done so twice in each appearance.
Runnin with the Dawgs
December 30th, 2011
5:32 pm
There’s no telling how much they’ll have to pay MR when contract time rolls around. Heck, Redman got $5.6 million on a two year contract. OUCH!
RAY
December 30th, 2011
5:39 pm
There are at least 20 or so teams in the NFL that would love to have Matt Ryan
Runnin with the Dawgs
December 30th, 2011
5:58 pm
No matter who comes or goes we’re gonna keep MR. He’s the heart of the Falcons.
hiramsaint
December 30th, 2011
5:59 pm
sorry fans -nothing yet-still laughing way to hard!
Jared
December 30th, 2011
6:20 pm
There are at least 20 or so teams in the NFL that , would love to have Matt Ryan
———————————————————–
Here’s a list Teams that don’t need or wish they had Ryan: Colts, Chargers, Texans, Lions, Cowboys, Panthers, Giants, Eagles, Steelers, Saints, Bears, Patriots
Do we want to be a SB contender or satisfied with having a top 10- 15 QB?
The Shermanator
December 30th, 2011
6:21 pm
ELITE!!!???????????? REALLY???????
This proves that Mike Smith was either high as a kite (unlikely), or is terribly, terribly inept at recognizing true talent on a football field (sadly, this is most likely it). Matt Ryan cannot, i repeat CANNOT throw an accurate deep ball to save his life, I would like a stat nerd here to pull his deep ball completion percentage and if it is over 10 percent I will be shocked, heck if it is over 5 percent i would be pleasantly surprised. I will admit he is great at throwing 5 yard out patterns and 8 yard curls…is that what Mike Smith thinks an elite quarterback does??? really?? I mean I dont know how many times Ryan has stalled a drive by throwing a little 6 yard out pass when we need 9 yards for a first down, and we end up punting. Hence the nickname -Matt “dink and dunk” Ryan, because 90 percent of his throws are checkdowns. He has a noodle-arm and cant throw a deep pass with any type of accuracy, and he is 0-2 in the playoffs. That is ELITE??? I guess they must have changed the definition of elite or something. What makes this REALLY FUNNY, is this is right after a game when we saw what a TRULY ELITE qb looks like when Drew Brees led his team to 45 points, while Matt led his team (with many more offensive weapons) to 16 points. Aaron Rodgers another elite qb, led his team to 48 points against us in the playoffs, while Matt Ryan responded with 21 points. Case closed, he is not even close to elite…He is in the class of the Mark Sanchez’s and Kyle Orton’s of this league. GET REAL!!!!
Brick Head O Reilly
December 30th, 2011
6:34 pm
Ryan is a force to be reckoned with BUT………NO playoff victory = NO cred in NFL………..THAT’S ALL
Blake
December 30th, 2011
6:44 pm
Drew Brees Is an elite Quarterback ! Matt Ryan Isn’t even In His league and I’m a Falcons fan. The bull has got to stop fans. Atlanta Isn’t In the same zip code as the Saints…Please…enough of the dreaming,hoping,wishing. This team Isn’t going anywhere.They showed us that.They can’t win a big game and they wont In the playoffs. They want to play the Saints again In the playoffs…why…to get whipped all over the field again.To get humiliated again…Enough of the fantasy…This team Isn’t good enough and lays eggs In big games….They always do and they always will. Do they give us any reason to believe differently?
Blake
December 30th, 2011
6:48 pm
Hiramsaint and SeenthisB4….you guys we’re right all along and we are living In a fantasy world.The Falcons proved that…..
Blake
December 30th, 2011
6:55 pm
Elite Quarterbacks either don’t get flushed out of the pocket or when they do…they make plays…Ryan throws the ball away…just watch and see…mark It down….
Eric
December 30th, 2011
7:19 pm
Ryan is not elite. Just stop it. Stop blaming the line. Stop blaming the scheme. Stop blaiming Michael Turner. Ryan is not elite because he hasn’t proven it yet. Period.
Preston Thompson
December 30th, 2011
8:03 pm
All y’all know Mike said that for Matt’s benefit. He’s just trying to pump him up. Mike don’t really believe that, does he? There is a very big difference in a good quarterback and an elite one. Maybe Matt can get to that point but he’s not even that close. Matt’s not even on level with Eli yet.
Somebody’s in lala land or either smoking that funny ba’ke. I guess Malarky is a saint. Ya think?
True
December 30th, 2011
8:39 pm
If Smith describes Ryan as elite then obviously he needs to pack his things too!
ATL66
December 30th, 2011
8:54 pm
what did you expect him to say?
Melted Ice and Steve Martin are Jokes...Fact...
December 30th, 2011
9:22 pm
Failcants organization is truly the JOKE of the NFL…..reaching for straws to think Melted Ice is even close to Brees, Brady or Manning….so delusional…yet, so funny….1 and done in the playoffs…my Saints will own your sorry team again…fact…stay classy and happy new year…
Michael M.
December 30th, 2011
9:39 pm
Without having to write a book about this subject , you can go here and see the details and compare and decide for yourselves. Keep in mine this is 2010 year so here you are………………………………..
http://2010-nfl-quarterback.pikimal.com/drew-brees/vs/matt-ryan
you can also search other QB’ s and compare……………………your welcome !
CGD..
December 30th, 2011
11:25 pm
Becoming Elite? Meanwhile Coach Clean Shot has become Norv Turner Jr.. lmao!
CGD..
December 30th, 2011
11:29 pm
Scoring 2 FG’s in the last 3 quarters against one of the best teams in the NFL is becoming Elite….Really Coach Smith? Coy way of taking the pressure off your staff and self for ineptitude….Slick dude!!!!! lmao
CGD..
December 30th, 2011
11:31 pm
BTW Cam Newton is becoming ELITE too!! Look up his stats Coach. Look at all the rookie records he’s destroying………
wins-by-a-link
December 30th, 2011
11:37 pm
The QB is only as good as his offensive line and Ryan’s line has not performed this year, Poor pass blocking and run blocking, no where near as good as last year.
jonk
December 30th, 2011
11:37 pm
I justknow all the records you have, if you dont have super bowl ring …wellll.
stendek
December 31st, 2011
3:30 am
Mentioning Matthew Ryan and elite in the same sentence is insane! Did Michael Sick leave his crack cocaine stash to Mike Smith before they hauled his sorry a$$ off to jail! Man has our head coach lost it. Big time! MR has been the QB of record for wins over the Eagles (dregs), Seahawks (dregs), Panthers twice (double dregs), Lions (legit), Colts (dregs), Titans (dregs), Vikings (dregs) and Jaguars (dregs). An elite QB would prevail over all but one of these dregs on their worst days. MR struggled against almost every one of them. Teams MR led team lost to which will not be in the playoffs are the Bears and Buccaneers (division loss no less). Other losses were to the Saints twice, Packers and Texans. Does that sound anything CLOSE to elite to you? Chasing record of well known quitter Jeff George? Man the Falcons are worse off than even I realized! Elite? Spare me that propaganda lie!
Dwayne, the elite blogger
December 31st, 2011
6:14 am
No playoff wins…I can hear the NFL guys now….”Come on man”!!!!
HardyFalcon
December 31st, 2011
6:18 am
Mike Smith just proved he doesn’t need to be a head coach, Matt Ryan can’t win a play-off game, much less a big regular season game. Hate to say this but he CHOKES in the clutch. ALL TD draft picks have proven to be BUSTs, Ryan is the best of the lott.
EVERYONE though TD was the mastermind of drafts in New England, NOW we find out , he was the weakish link in the organization and they glady let him go. New England drafts behind us every year and look at the great players they end up picking and look what we are stuck with.
We couldn’t trade all those bust for 1 descent draft pick.
UNLESS WE GET A NEW COACHING STAFF AND TOTALLY REBUILD OUR DEFENSE, WE WILL BE LUCKY TO .500 NEXT YEAR.
HardyFalcon
December 31st, 2011
6:34 am
POOR MIKE SMITH THE WHEELS HAVE COME OFF THE WAGON AND HE CAN’T FIGURE OUT WHY HE CAN’T GO ANY WHERE. ALL MATT HAS PROVEN IS HE CANNOT WIN IN THE CLUTCH
Dwayne, the elite blogger
December 31st, 2011
7:12 am
Stendek….Kari rules!!! lol
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 31st, 2011
8:22 am
Read NIQUE’s comments above. They are on the money. I’ve said the same all year but Falcons fans won’t listen to a Saints fan….I get it. But it is true….Matt lacks, pocket presence, can’t make plays under pressure (throws it away), panics, ….he should be able to escape a pass rusher every now and then..but he doesn’t . Matt is elite alright….an ELITE BACK UP QB!
Dwayne
December 31st, 2011
10:12 am
some playoff wins by him over a 3 or 4 year span might get him there. he might even have to win the Super Bowl..
Saints R.E.A.M.
December 31st, 2011
11:39 am
No one likes the TRUTH….especially the Falcons. Its better to believe through smoke and mirrors that they have a real contender….and a real Franchise QB. Propping up Matt Ryan as the local “hero” ain’t gonna help. He is an Elite backup QB. Same as Matt Schaub…you’ll see in another 4 years or so when you are still waiting for a deep playoff run.
SirReal
December 31st, 2011
11:49 am
Elite? So sick of that word being attached to QBs.lol But for sake of argument? Exactly in WHAT way is he?lol
Brick Head O Reilly
December 31st, 2011
1:27 pm
Ryan must prove he is the FIELD MARSHALL of the Falcons. The way he is going, Tim Tebow will get a playoff victory before Ryan. Prove us wrong Von Ryan!!
stendek
December 31st, 2011
4:13 pm
Matthew Ryan is not an elite QB! Mike Smith is not an elite coach. The Falcons are at best a middle of the pack team! This edition of the team has a tenth of the heart of the 2010 bunch. Why? Only the players know. They ain’t talking!
WhoDat4Eva
December 31st, 2011
4:59 pm
Becoming elite?? Hahaha…..Howdy Dooty has not even won a playoff game and freaks out when he feels pressure……becoming elite? seriously? elite? hahahaha …… as if, hahahaha
Smith just blowing smoke up his ass, hahahaha …………becoming elite? what a joke, hahahaha
realitycheck
December 31st, 2011
5:20 pm
D Led obviously got a memo that said if you ever write anything negative about the Falcons you can immediately look for another job. His articles remind me of what you see in smaller college towns where they rarely ever knock the local team(s). D Led would gain credibility if he wrote about the good, bad, and ugly. He must have watched a different game than I did last Monday, because I saw a team lose by 29 pts and an offense produce only a single TD. All those yards between the 20’s don’t mean squat!
WhoDat4Eva
December 31st, 2011
5:32 pm
I love this forum, U Falcant fans make me laugh so hard Hahahaha
I wanna thank you….and so does my old lady Wilma. Please keep posting, hahahaha
elite? hahaha
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
One and done in the playoffs AGAIN
HAHAHAHAHA
ELITE? HAHAHAHA