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As of Thursday, Feb. 12, this little blog has relocated to a new home on AJC.com. It’s the same newspaper, the same Web site and the same writer (feel free to groan) — there’s just a new URL.
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Home > Mark Bradley > Archives > 2008 > April > 17
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Falcons should draft Ryan, but likely won’t
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I believe the Falcons have a clever general manager who will do well in this draft and every draft.
I believe Thomas Dimitroff and his chosen coach have history on their side when they speak of building a foundation. I believe they will, for that reason, draft a lineman with their first pick in Round 1.
Me, I’d take Matt Ryan.
Because, for all the Round 1 quarterbacks who’ve been Grade A busts, the quarterback remains the most important position in football. Just because Ryan Leaf and Tim Couch and Akili Smith and Alex Smith and Cade McNown failed doesn’t necessarily mean Matt Ryan will. I think he’ll be really good. I maintain he’s the best pure passer I’ve ever seen as a collegian, and I covered my first college game in 1976.
If the Falcons wind up with Glenn Dorsey or either of the Longs, I won’t pitch a fit. I’ll understand what they’re trying to do, and ordinarily what they’re trying to do would warrant the (not-exactly-coveted) Bradley Seal of Approval. But if Ryan’s available at No. 3, and he surely will be, that would change the dynamics, at least in my mind. He seems the sort of quarterback - big, strong, smart, gifted - who could one day win a Super Bowl. And the three most recent Super Bowls were won by …
Ben Roethlisberger, taken with the 11th pick of Round 1 in 2004;
Peyton Manning, taken with the 1st pick of the 1998 draft;
Eli Manning, taken with the 1st pick of the 2004 draft.
And, since no discussion of the Falcons and their quarterbacks can exclude you-know-who, I’ll just note that Michael Vick, for all his sins, nonetheless took this franchise to the NFC championship game four years after he was drafted No. 1 overall.
As the 2008 draft approaches, I hear people saying, “You can’t draft a quarterback that high.” Sure you can. If he’s the right quarterback, it’s the soundest investment possible.
At issue is whether Matt Ryan would be the right quarterback. I think he is, but I’m not Thomas Dimitroff, who makes his living passing such judgments. I await his decision on this weighty matter with great interest.
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