Countdown to camp: A look at the quarterbacks
061912 FLOWERY BRANCH: Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan completes a pass during the first day of mini-camp in Flowery Branch on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM
Birdland – With the opening of the Falcons‘ training camp today, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will take a look at some key positions every day. Today: the quarterbacks.
The 10-day “Countdown to Camp” series started out with the defensive line and was followed by the linebackers, cornerbacks, safeties, offensive line, special-teams units, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs.
The players reported for training camp Wednesday and are set to take the field at 10:40 a.m. this morning.
THE REALLY BIG QUESTION: Can Matt Ryan flourish in the offense installed by new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter?
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Ryan has a impeccable 43-19 record as a starter, but is 0-3 in the playoffs.
After four seasons, Peyton Manning had a mediocre 32-32 record and also lost his first three playoff games. He did not get his playoff-breakthrough until his sixth season when the Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 41-10 after the 2003 season.
There is a great deal of pressure Ryan and the Falcons to maintain their status as a playoff team and then do some damage in the playoffs. Ryan is not hiding from the pressure.
“I’m very excited about this upcoming year,” Ryan told Channel 2 Action News recently. “I think we’ve had a great offseason. We’ve got some new coaches that are exciting. We have some new guys that we drafted. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Like Ryan, Falcons coach Mike Smith is just fine with the Super Bowl-or-bust mentality.
“I think the head coach and the quarterback position are the most scrutinized positions in an organization,” Smith said. “Ultimately we are both going to be judged on success in the postseason.”
Ryan and new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter are working closely together to make sure the offense will continue to soar. Like Manning, Ryan is set to get more opportunities to call plays at the line of scrimmage in the team’s vaunted no-huddle attack.
Ryan flourished under the system that former coordinator Mike Mularkey installed right from his rookie season.
An offseason to more fully integrate wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Jacquizz Rodgers into the attack will give Ryan more weapons at his disposal.
Ryan’s critics point to his low yards-gained-per-pass attempt numbers. After he finished fourth in the NFL as a rookie with 7.9 yards gained per pass attempt, his numbers dipped to 6.4 (21st), 6.5 (26th) and bounced back some last season 7.4 (14th).
Quarterbacks John Parker Wilson, Matt Ryan and Chris Redman. (Curtis Compton/CCompton@ajc.com)
After his rookie season, Ryan was tied with Carolina’s Jake Delhomme and trailed only San Diego’s Philip Rivers (8.8), New Orleans’ Drew Brees (8.0) and Houston’s Matt Schaub (8.0).
Last season, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers led the league with 9.2 yards gained per pass attempt.
His numbers should increase in Koetter’s attack, which features more vertical passing routes.
Ryan, who’s set to make a base salary of $11.5 million this season and $10 million next season, is nearing the end of a six-year, $72 million deal.
FIVE GOALS FOR THE QUARTERBACKS IN 2012
1. Spread the ball around more.
2. Throw more accurate on vertical routes.
3. Provide more explosive plays.
4. Improve the yards-gained-per-attempt ratio.
5. Be more effective in the redzone.
Here’s a look at the quarterbacks:
Matt Ryan: Ryan passed for a franchise-record 4,177 yards last season and became the second Falcons quarterback to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a season. Jeff George passed for 4,143 yards in 1995. Ryan also had a franchise-best six games of 300 yards or more passing last season, but the team was 2-4 in those games. Over his career, the Falcons are 4-6 when he passes for more than 300 yards.
Chris Redman: He appeared in five games completing 18 of 28 pass attempts for 188 yards in 2011. In nine NFL seasons, Redman has appeared in 31 games and completed 286 of 500 pass attempts for 3,179 yards with 21 touchdowns.
John Parker Wilson: He’s been with the team for two full seasons and will get a chance to show how much he’s developed during the exhibition season.
Dominique Davis: The strong-armed passer from East Carolina and Boston College, could push Wilson for the No. 3 spot and be in line to eventually replace Redman as the No. 2.
Training camp Dates, Practice Times (public availability)
Thursday, July 26 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Friday, July 27 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Saturday, July 28 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05p.m. (open to the public)
Sunday, July 29 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Monday, July 30 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Tuesday, July 31 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Wednesday, August 1 Players’ Day Off
Thursday, August 2 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Friday, August 3 Practice 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
KIA Motors “Friday Night Lights” at Peachtree Ridge High School
6:45 – 9:10 p.m. (open to the public)
Saturday, August 4 Players’ Day Off
Sunday, August 5 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (open to the public)
Monday, August 6 Walkthrough 11:10 – 11:55 a.m. (closed to the public)
Combined Practice w/ Tennessee Titans
Coahulla Creek High School – Dalton, GA — 4:30 – 7:15 p.m. (open to the public)
Tuesday, August 7 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Wednesday, August 8 Pregame Walkthrough – No Media Availability
Thursday, August 9 Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens, Georgia Dome, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, August 10 Players’ Day Off
Saturday, August 11 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Sunday, August 12 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (open to the public)
Monday, August 13 Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (closed to the public)
Tuesday, August 14 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 5:50 p.m. (closed to the public)
Wednesday, August 15 Pregame Walkthrough – No Media Availability
Thursday, August 16 Falcons vs. Cincinnati Bengals, Georgia Dome, 8 p.m. – FOX (National Broadcast)
Friday, August 17 Players’ Day Off
Saturday, August 18 Walkthrough 10:40 – 11:25 a.m. (closed to the public)
Practice 3:30 – 6:05 p.m. (closed to the public)
Sunday, August 19 Walkthrough 10:15 – 11:45 a.m. (closed to the public)
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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78 comments Add your comment
JSS
July 26th, 2012
11:20 am
“Mat(t) Ryan = ELITE, Coach on the field.”
Yep, like his on the sidelines, they’re 0-3 in the playoffs!
JSS
July 26th, 2012
11:25 am
I hate the dress rehearsal game will be against the Bengals… Back seven defense is not their strength…
Dave
July 26th, 2012
11:25 am
Esquire – what’s your problem? Whopper Dog made a GREAT POINT.
Guess you’re like a Falcon’s receiver – it went over your head.
Jake
July 26th, 2012
11:34 am
My god, how the haters hate. Why do you even bother? “Shoo fly” comes to mind. If you’re a Falcons fan who hates the Falcons that bad, please find another team. If you are a fan of some other team, I’m flattered with your obsession and fear that you feel the need to spend this much time hating on our quarterback.
Jake
July 26th, 2012
11:36 am
Further, Ryan is a good QB. He is one of the better QB’s in the league and certainly one of the best in the history of the Falcons. I’m glad we have him and have been building this offense around him and look forward to seeing the tactical changes coming this year.
mark
July 26th, 2012
11:37 am
JSS- Mark Sanchez has playoff wins so I guess you would want him over Matt Ryan right now?
Seen-Drew Breese will need to score 60 points a game with that def, glad the Falcons could provide you with your best defender!
To the rest of you folks who hate on Matt, the kid is in his 5th year has a better winning percentage than Payton at this point and the same number of playoff wins(0). This kid is tough and has won more games with is arm than Mike Vick ever did with his feet and I loved Mike Vick. He took over rookie year after a 3-13 year and went 11-5. At the end of his career he might turn out to be an average QB nothing more but anybody that knows anything about the game would understand that is not known now. The rest of you who hate on Ryan or either ignorant or just want to get a reaction on a message board. As a Falcon fan I can say that I have never been able to have this much confidence going into a season that we will be poised to go 11-5 or 12-4 and that has a lot to do with the Ryan. The kid works his butt off DLed can testify to that and I think he will be better this year as his TD numbers have gone up every year. So for those haters go back to your mother’s basement and strap on your Xbox live gear and take another bong hit.
Esquire
July 26th, 2012
12:00 pm
Dave
July 26th, 2012
11:25 am
Falcon’s receiver – it went over your head.
______________________________________________________
Hey Dave, an overthrow wouldn’t be on the receiver would it………you’re talking insane too.
Believe it or not sometimes the QB has to throw the ball to a spot which can’t be defended.
Chub Rock
July 26th, 2012
12:27 pm
Lol. I get that all in this blog are football fans…some a little more fanatical than others. When some make comments about football and player comparisons it really shows just how little you actually know about the game. That’s part of what makes this blog interesting to me at least…people giving comments and even getting upset about a game they love but know so little about.
Chub Rock
July 26th, 2012
12:33 pm
Lol @ Prof Proofreader. You might need a little more fiber in your diet sir. It’s a sports blog not a term paper. D gives us enough to keep us going and we appreciate him for that. Lighten up, summer is almost over.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
12:45 pm
Esquire — I want to see what D.D. can do. He has to get more accurate on this passes. He was wild at time during the offseason.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
12:49 pm
Whopper Dawg – Yeah!!!! They moved the ball better in the no-huddle last season. I think the routes weren’t YAC friendly. His throws are fine. No slants and very few crossing routes. Those are routes you can get a lot of YAC on.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
12:52 pm
rollo lawson — He didn’t him time on the Houston throws. He needed another split second of protection. Not sure which New Orleans throws you’re talking about. Douglas has not been explosive. Has one of the routes to yards ratios in the league.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
12:53 pm
PMC – Yes, plural. There are 4 quarterbacks.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
12:55 pm
Falcony — He did workout and try to get stronger this offseason.
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
12:56 pm
BIG CHUCK — You make a valid point. They only beat two winning teams last season (Det & Tenn)
Cleveland Ave. Turk
July 26th, 2012
12:59 pm
Shot out to jesse tuggle. Bring back ole 56 for his final stand. Matt is the best quarterback we have EVER had in atlanta. If not who????. Bart, chandler?..
Cleveland Ave. Turk
July 26th, 2012
1:02 pm
I like Matt Ryan. To all the true falcon fans. Stop dissn the quarterback. Support him. Hes been great. He will get us to the big game. Be patient. We tryn to build a dynasty.
Cleveland Ave. Turk
July 26th, 2012
1:10 pm
Blank is used to success. Its only a matter of time before he builds this team like he built a wildly successfull bussiness. Its only a matter of time.
Big Daddy
July 26th, 2012
1:14 pm
Matt will do well if he works on getting his short passess and screens down and if we can get Burner off to a good start. He has underthrown too many deep passes where the receiver gets behind the corner and has to slow up to catch the ball. He rarely seems to go beyond looking at his #2 receiver. Granted, the O-line has not given him the solid protection he needs and the plays have not been designed to create the confusion to the defense to get receivers open but maybe our new OC has some tricks up his sleeve.
Big Daddy
July 26th, 2012
1:23 pm
@Cleveland Ave. Turk, Bartkowski should be a Hall Of Fame quarterback. If he had the offensive line to protect him he would have been the type of QB that people compared today’s quarterbacks in conversations. He got so beat up his first few years that he became a sitting duck after the ball was snap. If you think Sam Baker was bad, you should have seen the type of protection Nick Bebout gave Bart. After a game with the Cowboys where Ed “Too Tall” Jones lived in our backfield, Norm Van Brocklin quiped to a reporter about what went wrong, “Maybe you should talk to Nick Bebout, he might have caught Ed Jones number as he ran by”.
Trade 4 Tim Teabow
July 26th, 2012
1:25 pm
Flacons had there chance.
Rick
July 26th, 2012
1:41 pm
I have talked some about happy feet with Matt but that comes from protection. Those empty yards come from Mularkey only running those button hooks he loved so much. Not apologing for the IceMAn, he knows what he needs to do and I expect him to do it this year or the critics will get louder. Go get it down shut these yappers up Ice and make it happen. No excuses! He will take care of it this year. I think it may have done him some good to get hit alot last year. This year it will make him get the ball out quicker and have a little more composure in the pocket. You the ICEMAN for a reason lets ahow them who you are Matt! Rise up!
goodgod
July 26th, 2012
2:15 pm
The iceman will melt as always once the first quarter starts on sept 5th.
JSS
July 26th, 2012
2:36 pm
“Iceman?” There are “only” two “Icemen”: Jerry Butler and George Gervin! Nw, there are two wannabes: Vanilla Ice & that other one, what’s his name?
rollo lawson
July 26th, 2012
3:09 pm
To Dled. The New Orleans play happened in overtime. On first down, Ryan overthrows the receiver streaking down the middle of the field who had beaten the safety and corner. That play would have won the game. Who was that receiver? Harry Douglas. 8 catches 133 yards that game. Sounds pretty explosive to me!!
Rick
July 26th, 2012
3:32 pm
Not making comparisons but we sure heard the same talk about Peyton his first 6 years until he won his first playoff game……….looks like that turned out pretty good for this guy. Just saying……..
D. Orlando Ledbetter
July 26th, 2012
11:21 pm
rollo lawson -– Thanks. I’ll go back and check the play-by-play. I do think he needs to get more balls, but that’s going to be tough as the 4th option.
Bobby Drizzle
July 27th, 2012
12:27 am
Scott, Gonzalez is a veteran and still one of the greatest tight-ends to play the game, I think the exact opposite, honestly Matty needs to open his eyes and see Tony more than he does now especially in those crucial third and fourth down plays…
And Falcons 73… you’re nuts, Mike Smith is an amazing coach… Drew Brees brought the Chargers to the playoffs, coming back during a LOSING season, where he was replaced with a healthy Philip Rivers who lost the game for them… think you need to check your facts lol I will continue to support Mike Smith cuz he’s been getting us into the playoffs, our team just needs to take that next big step and win a playoff game… last year wasn’t a coaching problem, and certainly wasn’t a defensive problem, we were simply out-played in every aspect of the game, and our offense just couldn’t get together and get down the field