Matt Ryan looks good as Falcons starter

Matt Ryan, fresh off his 1-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter of the Falcons’ 17-3 preseason victory over Tennessee Friday, jubilantly jogged back to the sideline. He was met with pats on the back and high fives by a slew of players and coaches.

Then, as he reached for a cup of water, the three other quarterbacks circled him, smiling and glad-handing. Were this a political campaign, it could have been viewed as a conference of concession — with the runners-up realizing the hierarchy had been established.

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Curtis Compton /ccompton@ajc.com

Rookie quarterback Matt Ryan had the huddles attention in first start for the Falcons.

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Chris Redman stepped in for Ryan on the ensuing series. Joey Harrington and D.J. Shockley didn’t even play.

“I thought I did some good things. I thought I made some mistakes,” Ryan said in his increasingly stoic manner. “I thought there were some plays we made that were big and kept the ball moving. Good and bad, we’ll look at the tape and get better into next week and heading into the regular season.

Falcons coach Mike Smith said “clarity” needed to be established before naming his starting quarterback. The rain is gone. Most everyone can see clearly now.

Smith said he and his staff need to watch the tape just to make sure the eye test wasn’t a mirage.

“Matt progressed again,” Smith said. “We wanted to get Matt in as many different situations as we possibly could through this process. He threw the ball efficiently. Didn’t really get any long throws down the field. I thought he operated well against a very physical football team. There’s a learning curve. We’ll got back and watch the tape and see how our entire football team did but I thought Matt did a nice job for his first start.”

Ryan, in his first start, completed 15-of-21 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown, caught by Harry Douglas. His passer rating was 97.7. He also helped Atlanta get its first victory in three tries.

For the preseason, Ryan, who has played more than double than any other quarterback, completed 32-of-52 passes for two touchdowns with an interception.

Think these Falcons’ won’t take that?

Those are numbers that tell of a quarterback managing the game. That’s what Ryan’s done most of this preseason because that’s all Ryan’s been asked to do.

Just keep things in order and let the defense and special teams make stops and provide the best field position possible. It’s the formula for teams with less than ideal talent, a flotation vest until the Coast Guard comes.

That’s how the Falcons likely will play this season. They will have to.

The final home preseason game gave every indication of that, as starters played into the second half. Atlanta rushed for 185 yards and threw for 185. It held and held Titans to 215 total yards.

Rookie Chevis Jackson nabbed an interception and punt returner Adam Jennings had a breakout game.

Yet almost every positive moment was erased by penalties, something that Smith wants to eliminate but something he might have to deal with. Nastiness is being coached and nastiness it being displayed — just the wrong way at the wrong times.

Ryan was hardly perfect. Before his dump off to Douglas — a play keyed by Jerious Norwood’s 39-yard run — Ryan misfired high three times to receivers in the end zone.

“I need to make two better throws in the red zone in the first half and try and get the ball on Roddy [White] on the second one to get the ball in the end zone,” Ryan said. “There were some plays we made that were big and kept the ball moving.”

This might have been the last time Ryan plays until the regular season. Atlanta closes out the preseason Thursday at Baltimore. The fourth and final preseason game is usually nothing more than a last chance for players on the bubble to prove they are worthy of a roster spot.

Shockley and Harrington could see a lot of action.