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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > October > 01
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Ryan focused on leading Falcons to wins
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If nothing else, Matt Ryan sounds mature, which is a good sign for the Falcons.
Actually, that’s a great sign.
After all, you don’t want your rookie starting quarterback to sound overwhelmed, especially when he’s the most visible guy on an NFL team dominated by youth and inexperience. You want your rookie starting quarterback to sound like Ryan.
Let’s start with this: Courtesy of at least six dropped passes by his receivers on Sunday in Charlotte, Ryan continued his four-game pattern of going from a nice performance to a shaky one and then to a nice one and then to a shaky one.
You know, just like your average rookie starting quarterback.
Even so, when it came to the Falcons’ error-filled loss of 24-9 to the Carolina Panthers, Ryan answered every question with confidence, direct eye contact and no sense of alibiing about his performance or those of his bumbling teammates.
You know, just like your average veteran starting quarterback.
“I think the biggest thing is when you get your chance in the red zone, you’ve got to execute and take advantage of it, because you’re not going to get down there every series,” said Ryan, referring to the Falcons’ inability to score a touchdown against the Panthers despite moving inside their 20-yard line twice. Not only that, the Falcons were 2-for-13 on third-down tries.
Added Ryan, “Without question. Without question I’ve got to get better in both of those situations. I think quarterback play is measured on third down and in the red zone, and I’ve got to do a better job in both of those situations.”
Yes, Ryan does. He also struggled in both of those situations during a 24-9 loss in Tampa, the only other decent team that the 2-2 Falcons have faced this season. In contrast, the Falcons clobbered Detroit and Kansas City, both among the meek.
All Ryan knows is that he wants to keep getting better. He plans to do so by forgetting that he was a splendid player at Boston College and remembering that he was chosen as the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft by the Falcons and given a $72 million contract for a reason: To get the job done sooner than later.
“Those college days are done,” Ryan said flatly. “The college memories are there, and they’ll be nice to think about in a couple of years, but right now, there is just a lot of focus on trying to win these NFL games.”
“Focus” is the operative word here, and it sounds like Ryan has it. • More coverage: Matt Ryan page
