If Matt Ryan isn’t Peyton Manning but Eli, is that enough?
Everybody's happy when Matty Ice throws a TD pass. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Regarding this Falcons’ season, only one question remains, and it will be answered next week in Tampa. Regarding the Falcons as a team, a question has arisen, a question we didn’t figure we’d be asking. But here it is:
What if the franchise quarterback isn’t quite a franchise quarterback?
We stipulate by saying that, if on the day Matt Ryan was drafted we’d have known the Falcons would be 19-10 (and 13-1 at home) with him as a starting quarterback, we’d have swooned on the spot. And we spent all last season swooning. But the greatest rookie quarterback in league history — and that’s what he was — hasn’t been the greatest sophomore quarterback in NFL annals.
Sunday was another installment in Ryan’s good-but-not-great season. He completed barely half his passes and had to hit on his final five to manage that. He threw three touchdown passes against no interceptions, but he was sacked three times and fumbled twice. He finished with 250 yards and his team won 31-3, but after two quarters Ryan was only 10-for-23 and his team’s lead was 10-0 against a Buffalo roster so defoliated it wouldn’t have troubled Alabama.
Yes, there were extenuating circumstances. Michael Turner didn’t play. Tony Gonzalez left midway through. Ryan did buy his team a working lead on the Falcons’ first snap, throwing long to Roddy White down the right side. And Ryan himself is still hurting from turf toe — he limped during the game and sported a soft boot afterward.
And maybe that’s the story of Matt Ryan’s 2009 season: It was extenuating. Almost nothing went wrong last season; a lot did this time. Guys got hurt. The schedule got tougher. And still he has gotten this team to the cusp of those forever-sought consecutive winning seasons. He hasn’t been anything approaching a failure. That said …
Matty Ice hasn’t been as precise in Year 2. His completion percentage has dipped from 61.1 to 57.6. He has thrown one more interception in 13 games than he did in 16 last year. His yards-per-pass index — probably a better indicator than the confusing quarterback rating — has gone from 7.9 last season to 6.5.
Asked about Ryan’s non-rookie season, White said: “I think it’s been pretty good. He’s done a lot of good things. He’s thrown 20 touchdown passes, and that’s good. Him getting hurt really hurt. But he’s a competitor.”
Notice, though, there was no gushing in that response. When anyone associated with the Falcons was asked about Ryan in 2008, gushing ensued. In many ways that was to be expected; there was no way Ryan could have surprised his audience after his bravura rookie campaign. Still, there hasn’t been a Ryan game in 2009 that made you want to shout, “Hallelujah!” (The second half against the Giants did. But not the whole game.)
Asked to characterize Year 2, Ryan said: “The biggest thing — and this is something Coach [Mike] Smith preaches — is that it’s there’s a lot to learn from week to week. I said going into last season that if I could end it as a better quarterback than I started, it will be a successful year. That hasn’t changed in Year 2. There have been some ups and downs, but I’m standing here as a better quarterback than when I started the season.”
Understand: Nobody associated with the Falcons is even close to deciding Matt Ryan isn’t the real deal. Indeed, if this is as bad as it gets with Ryan as QB, then this franchise is in not just for two winning seasons in succession but five or 10. But the convenient point of comparison for Ryan raters entering 2009 was Peyton Manning. What if he turns out to be Eli Manning instead? Would that be enough?
And I say, “Heck, yeah.” At last check, Eli Manning has won just as many Super Bowls as his older sibling. If Matt Ryan wins just one Super Bowl for the franchise that hasn’t yet posted consecutive winning seasons, he’ll be worth every penny of that $72 million.
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435 comments Add your comment
Oh, come on!
December 28th, 2009
10:09 am
The guy’s hurt and you’re crapping on him? Give me a break, Bradley.
Brock
December 28th, 2009
10:12 am
my apologies for getting in the stripes discussion late but how can you miss the one when his girlfriend leaves at the first of the movie…”you can’t leave now, all the plants will die.” Great movie!
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
10:18 am
Sorry, your issues are valid. I think the biggest thing I have seen in him is his ability make the throws when the game in on the line. In two years, he has made some really clutch throws.
However, look at the the young QBs, Flacco, Sanchez, Stafford, they are all inconsistent.
The fact is, he has taken a 4-12 team that was completely destroyed and is 20-12 in his first two years. He also has a chance to go end the curse, that will put him down as the most consistent falcon QB in the history of the franchise. That alone sould give you hope.
thebighairybeast
December 28th, 2009
10:33 am
Lets see . . . second year in the league, battling some injuries, one of the hardest schedules in the league, a defense that has been rebuilding all season, he hasnt done all that bad.
Franchise quaterbacks grow over time. They dont just appear in year two. All you have to do is go back and look at the first couple seasons of P. Manning, Aikman, even Elway.
Ryan is good. And in a few more years we will be calling him great.
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
10:48 am
Supes
December 27th, 2009
6:29 pm
Got to agree with your comment Supes, comparing QB’s you also have to look at the team that has been built around them, Ryan….better O line last year, better results last year. I read the comparisons to the Hall of Famers and have no doubt they would have similar numbers given equal levels of team talent. Just for grins here is the box score for Pennington vs Ryan in game 1 this year:
CP/AT YDS TD INT
Pennington 21/29 176 1 1
Ryan 22/36 229 2 0
I was listening to Wes Durham and Jeff Van Note after the game and you would have thought we had already beaten TB to end the streak of non winning back to back seasons. Note, I did not say, break the curse, there is no curse, just nearly 40 years of poor ownership. I am seriously concerned that with us coming off an easy victory and TB coming off an inspiring victory that we could be in for a tough trip to Tampa.
WW
December 28th, 2009
10:48 am
Mark, I hope you don’t buy into election officials’ promises. We do not have a QB problem. You should expect him to improve over the next five years or so, unless he gets broken or too banged up. This is the norm. Your QB needs to be a top 10 QB to win the Superbowl, but he does not have to be a top five QB. You should know this.
Outkast
December 28th, 2009
10:52 am
Great post Tmoney! This guy is in his second season, before he is done he will be a great QB! With atleast 2 super bowl rings!
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
10:52 am
suwaneedawg
December 28th, 2009
8:11 am
Surely you meant to say a good offensive line comes in handy every now and then.
FalconOne
December 28th, 2009
10:53 am
CR, I believe that “Big Ben” and Marino had MUCH better teams than what was handed to Matt Rayn, wouldn’t you agree. The defense of the Ravens may have something to do with the 11-5 record of Flacco as well.
Outkast
December 28th, 2009
10:53 am
WW your top ten QB to win a superbowl sounds about right. Can anyone say Trent Dilfer????
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
10:58 am
I am still amused by that “gushing” comment Mark. I’m more familiar with that word associated with orgasms and Obama supporters than quarterbacks.
Gush on Ryan supporters……………!!
SPAM EATER
December 28th, 2009
11:06 am
There is not a thing wrong with SPAM, it’s kind of like a young quarterback, you have to build around it properly. Serve hot.
ERIC Amous
December 28th, 2009
11:07 am
At least the Aints lost. Two game lossing streak going into the playoffs. TYPICAL!! I hope they get Minnesota in the first second round because the Aints can’t stop the run. They will get executed on national tv.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:10 am
Ok, so Ryan had the 4th best rookie year in the history of the NFL. I will accept that.
Big Dog
December 28th, 2009
11:11 am
Ryan is not a follower. He’s a leader setting his own standards.
He doesn’t need to be like anybody else.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:12 am
The Aints are the Aints, one of the few franchises that are sorrier than the Falcons. They peaked too early. One and done….New England will win the Superbowl.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:13 am
I am glad the Bucs beat New Orleans, hopefully they will celebrate all week, and roll over this weekend.
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
11:27 am
Mr Charlie said it exactly right, N’awlins has peaked just a wee bit early. I think it will be Minnesota vs San Diego for the Lombardi Trophy.
Jerry
December 28th, 2009
11:28 am
Ryan hasn’t had a good season. It’s been average at best. You don’t have a good season when you expected to make the playoffs and you don’t.
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
11:34 am
Jerry, you mean YOU expected to make the playoffs. Anyone with any football acumen knew the Falcons did not have the “D” this year.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:35 am
Jerry,
I believe Ryan would agree with you, however, the key phrase was “expected to make the playoffs”. He set those expectations, and considering the mess he inherited, that is a heck of an accomplishment…..If Payton does not win the superbowl, I am sure he will consider his season average too.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:36 am
I called the New Orleans collapse when they almost lost to the Skins.
Gamer
December 28th, 2009
11:38 am
Yesterday, Ryan passes posessed some zippity…Still he need to work on arm strenght during off-season!!!
Because if that’s all the zip that he can muster on his passes than I’m afraid to say it, but next season he’s DOOMED!!!
If he can become consistent with putting heat on his passes when necessary than he will be among the best ranked quarterbacks in NFL’s history!!!
GO FALCONS,,,BACK TO BACK WINNING SEASON!!!!!
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
11:42 am
Gamer, I have seen Ryan put some passes on a string. At least he understands a “touch pass”, which is something some other Falcons quarterbacks have never understood………
Falcon Fans? Where?
December 28th, 2009
11:51 am
There were so many empty red seats in the stands yesterday. LMAO
ThunderboltPatterson
December 28th, 2009
11:55 am
The NFL over the last 10 years has had more parity than Ive ever seen. The two unbeaten, undefeated teams took their losses recently (Saints lost to Cowboys) and (Colts lost to Jets sunday) which shows that on any given sunday, anybody could beat anybody. That is only in the nfl. In other leagues its not the case. The Falcons have Tampa on the schedule next week and tampa just got finished clobbering the Saints. So much for Tampa being an easy game for the Falcons. The Falcons will have to play their best game of the season to break the horrid 43-year old curse of back to back failures. Go Falcons.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:56 am
Ryan was the #3 pick, before he was drafted, the Falcons worked him out extensively. I am sure if he did not display at least average arm strength, they would never have drafted him.
TB
December 28th, 2009
11:56 am
“What if Ryan isn’t Peyton Manning?” Hey, it is only year 2. Ryan did great for his second year. As I recall, Peyton had a string of average years for the Colts when he first came in, prompting Jim Mora’s famous “PLAYOFFS?? YOU KIDDING ME, PLAYOFFS?? I JUST HOPE TO WIN ANOTHER GAME” That wasn’t Peyton’s rookie year. Then, Mora was fired, Dungy was hired, and Peyton went on the be legendary. This is only year 2, give Ryan time. Drew Brees was run out of San Diego after a few years too, remember. I think he is doing pretty well.
Mr Charlie
December 28th, 2009
11:56 am
Falcons Fans, yea, the Dome reminded me of the end of 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Chris
December 28th, 2009
11:57 am
Eli has a super bowl ring right?
i’m cool with that…
Navigator
December 28th, 2009
11:58 am
Here we go again, with the QB the reason the record is 8-7. Excuse me the difference between last year and this year is the defense or the lack of. The reason Ryan is not throwing interceptions now is because the coordinator/HC told him to throw the ball away. That will kill the statistics, but win games.
What!!
December 28th, 2009
12:21 pm
Something I saw from Flacco sunday was he can not lead his team in the clutch to victory. If we had him as a Falcon we would have lost the games to the jets. Face it Matt haters he’s better than Flacco.
Birdbrain
December 28th, 2009
12:22 pm
I’ve been a Falcon fan since I was old enough to focus my eyes on a TV. It hasn’t always been easy. Give Matty a break. A tougher schedule this year and a whole seasons worth of film on him for other teams to study make year 2 alot tougher. He’s done well. He’s the best QB we’ve had since Bartkowski. I think the future looks bright. He’s not Peyton. He’s Matt Ryan. He’s gonna do great things.
Ricky
December 28th, 2009
12:22 pm
Ryan’s pretty smart, I doubt anyone had to tell him to throw the ball away. Sometimes seemed like he was doing it too much.
ryan2atl
December 28th, 2009
12:37 pm
Now everybody’s a professional judge of QB talent. Take a look at the stats of M. Stafford and M. Sanchez, the current “annointed ones”. Maybe J. Russell, B. Quinn and M.Cassell too—weren’t they all going to be the next great QB? Why no patience with Ryan. If the team wins next week, he and the team will have accomplished something NEVER DONE BEFORE IN 44 YEARS. Would you have taken that on draft day? With this team’s history, yeah I think you would. Good things are coming, enjoy the ride.
Long Haul
December 28th, 2009
1:24 pm
I think Ryan is a good QB. What bothers me is that there are alot of balls thrown away when he has had receivers wide open. The TV announcers always say how smart he is to throw it away, when a really great QB would see those open receivers.
Falcon Fan
December 28th, 2009
1:40 pm
Matt Ryan has a better cumulative qb rating through his first two years than both Peyton Manning and Joe Montana. He is also on track to throw fewer interceptions than Peyton Manning in his second year. Stop comparing him to the current Peyton Manning and do a little more research. I don’t have a problem with what you are saying fundamentally, which is that Matt’s second year has not been as good as his first, but when people throw out the words “panic button”, which I believe you have, that is a little extreme for a very solid NFL quarterback…..WHO IS ONLY IN HIS SECOND YEAR!!! The position is extremely hard, takes a ton of work and experience, and I think you have forgotten that.
Kane337
December 28th, 2009
1:59 pm
I don’t think Ryan is an Eli. Eli makes a lot of decisions that leave you scratching your head. Maybe more of a Rich Gannon or Trent Green. Both were smart guys with not the strongest of arms. Rich got the Raiders to a Super Bowl and Trent had one of the most prolific offenses at his time in KC with Dick Vermeil and Tony Gonzales. They just never had a defense worth a flip.
Barry
December 28th, 2009
2:38 pm
Hey Y’all:
“JUST WIN, BABY!! ” “JUST WIN!!!” That is exactly what are Falcons are doing. They are “just winning, baby”‘. We all know that “INJURIES” have limited our Falcons from making the playoffs. The games that our Falcons have won they have earned. The same will be Sunday when they play Tampa. They will play with”ONE HEARTBEAT!!” and earn that victory. They are winners and they will have a winning season. They will play the way they have played the entire season which is FAST, NASTY, RESILIENT, INNOVATIVE, AGGRESSIVE, POWER HITTING, CRUNCH TIME, FOOTBALL. Our FALCONS wil be “BRINGING THE WOOD” to Tampa Bay and “WE WILL BE TAKING THEM TO THE SHED.” That’s right!!! We are going to kick that butt in “ONE HEARTBEAT!!” I can hear the heart “THUMPING” now!!” It is getting louder: THUMP!! THUMP!!! IT IS JUST TOO LOUD: THUMP!! THUMP!!!! THUMP!!!!!!!………………Now, lets “BEAT” on that Tampa Bay head in “ONE HEARTBEAT!!”. TOGETHER. IN SYNC. AS A TEAM. AS A COMMUNITY. Tampa, YOU ARE GOING DOWN IN “ONE HEARTBEAT!!!!”
GO FALCONS!!! LET’S KICK THAT TAMPA BUTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! “JUST WIN, BABY!!’ JUST WIN IN
“ONE HEARTBEAT!!!!!!!
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a SECRET from a FALCON FAN. TELL EVERYBODY!!!!!!
…………………………”ONE HEARTBEAT, BABY!!!”…………….
NFL Fan
December 28th, 2009
2:56 pm
Once again the AJC writers prove what idiots they are! From politics to sports, none seem to know what they are talking about.
Here’s the deal Bradley, Ryan is in year 2…that’s right year 2!!! Compare stats to the great QB’s of all time, and I think you will find similar situations. What a complete mess of an article!
grego
December 28th, 2009
2:56 pm
You’re right…he’s no Payton or Eli or Brady or Brees or Marino or Elway or Rivers…he’s better!
Compare him to anyone in their first 2 seasons as a pro (not a starter) most except Payton, didn’t even take a snap in the first year or two….if I had to compare him to anyone it would be Montana…always a threat at the end of the game…Go Falcons!
DeloreanTimeMachine
December 28th, 2009
3:24 pm
Why do people put Eli down? He plays in NY, has a SB MVP Trophy somewhere in his house, and is probably the most criticized QB I have seen in all my years watching football. He also has a 90+ passer rating this year. No he’s not his brother but he is a terrific quarterback too. If Matty Ice is Eli, I will gladly take that. QB’s like Peyton come around once every twenty years if that.
YueleBrenner
December 28th, 2009
4:37 pm
Ryan is a GREAT qb. We won yesterday without any problems. We had a great running game with Norwood and Snelling and the wide receivers who caught balls that were thrown to them. If Ryan has a bad game its usually because the receiver drops balls that are thrown to them and other players STINK up the joint. If the team collectively plays well the Falcons usually end up with a “W”. Next week against Tampa the Falcons need to play exactly the same way they did yesterday. 9-7 still wont ease the pain of a team that SHOULD have made the playoffs. If Elam had made the kicks that he missed the Falcons would have finished AT LEAST 11-5 and made the playoffs. YOU CAN’T BLAME THE FALCONS MISSING THE PLAYOFFS ON MATTY “ICE” RYAN. The only culpret I know for the Falcons failing to make the playoffs is Jason Elam. Elam no longer is here so maybe next season we will get into the playoffs.
da roosta
December 28th, 2009
4:52 pm
Mark,
Are you Matt “Choke” Ryan? The two or one of you is always trying to stir things up. Be thankful! At least we are competing every week. As a season ticket holder for over 30 years, I still remember when the ball would be on one side of the field, my sister and I would run from one side of the stadium to the other to watch the game because no one was there to see it. Atlanta wasn’t recognized by anyone. At least now, we have hope and have raised the level of expectation for years to come. You can thank the drafting of Matt Ryan for being a big part of that. Like it or not, his level of play as a rookie put the Falcons as a possible contender for years to come. This year, the TEAM has had setbacks. GIVE IT TIME! See you on your next blog “Choke”.
Rocky Mountian Falcon
December 28th, 2009
5:03 pm
You say Ryan has not had the year he had last season, well neither did Turner!. It takes both of them healthy and working with each other and a healthy O-Line to equal success. This is a team sport, and when one part of the offense does not work, then the rest will have trouble keeping up their responsibilities.
The Defense has had a very bad season as well, with injuries that has hurt a very young defense. You cant blame just Ryan, or Turner or the defense that matter, You win as a team or you lose as a team.
Everyone on the team needs to get better or get replaced.
Rocky Mountian Falcon
December 28th, 2009
5:21 pm
After reading my last post, let me add so no one confuses me with Mattie “Choke” or any other MV77 idoits.
What I was trying to say is, This is a team sport and everyone on the team is to share in the success or failures of the season.
I expect the Falcons to win next weekend and end the back to back winning seasons jinx.
Next year I expect 10 or 11 wins and a play off run. Year 4, I think we will be Superbowl contenders.
Brian
December 28th, 2009
7:53 pm
“the greatest rookie quarterback in league history — and that’s what he was”. I’m not someone who typically posts anything but that has to be the DUMBEST statement I’ve ever read on this website. MB…you just lost ALOT of credibility! Dan Marino? Greg Cook? Even Big Ben went 14-1 and went to the AFC Championship game his rookie year…and I’m a Browns fan!
wes
December 28th, 2009
8:17 pm
you know why were not in the playoffs! jason elam he screwed up at least 3 or 4 games for us. we dont really deserve to be in the playoffs we probably lose the first game but the experience would be nice. maybe next yr everybody can stay healthy.
GTinAlpharetta
December 28th, 2009
8:57 pm
I have this comment regarding FalconFan5114’s comments at the beginning of this blog referring to Matt Ryan as the best QB that Atlanta has ever had – I agree Matt is good, but he has a ways to go before I agree that he is better than Steve Bartkowski – Us old timers remember Bart and what a great talent he was.
The Dogfighter Returns
December 28th, 2009
9:01 pm
“the greatest rookie quarterback in league history — and that’s what he was”. I’m not someone who typically posts anything but that has to be the DUMBEST statement I’ve ever read on this website. MB…you just lost ALOT of credibility! Dan Marino? Greg Cook? Even Big Ben went 14-1 and went to the AFC Championship game his rookie year…and I’m a Browns fan!
——
this is ga, we believe anything uttered by a ” journalist” especially a “sports journalist.”