We’ve seen Matt Ryan as the cool, calm-for-a-rookie quarterback of the Falcons. We know about the $72 million contract he signed and the buttoned-down reputation the Falcons are counting on to rebuild this team’s image. But what do we really know about Ryan? The 23-year-old Philadelphia-area native sat down with staff writer Carroll Rogers to help change that, giving us a little insight into his home life, his golf handicap, his childhood and his favorite new TV show.

Q. You grew up an Eagles and a Phillies fan?

A. Yep. I’m ready for the Phillies [in the baseball playoffs]. … I grew up a fan of those two teams and really all of Philadelphia sports.

Q. So it’s going to Phillies over the Red Sox for you?

A. Oh definitely Phillies. I didn’t pick up the Red Sox nation when I was up there [at Boston College].

Q. I heard that you’d met Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia working out in Arizona.

A. I met them when I was out there. Still a Phillies fan.

Q. So what have you learned about the South since being down here?

A. There’s a lot more fried food down here than there is up north. And the falls are a little warmer. For me it still kind of feels like summer.

Q. Do you try to stay away from the fried food or are you tempted?

A. No, I splurge every so often. I try and stick with the healthy diet, but it’s too good to stay away from too long.

Q. What do you splurge on?

A. Popeye’s. Popeye’s are big down here and Popeye’s are one of the things that are big when we travel. I have to get into some of the three-piece spicy chicken.

Q. Do you have a favorite restaurant in Atlanta?

A. I’d probably say probably Bones, or Stoney River is good, too, which is a little closer to where I live.

Q. So meat and potatoes?

A. Yeah, I’m a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I’m just a little Irish boy. Meat and potatoes every meal.

Q. How do you like living in Gwinnett? Do you have your house to yourself? Or have a buddy bunking up with you?

A. No, I’m solo. My family is down pretty much every home game. They come down and I get to spend some time with them. But other than that, it’s me.

Q. You’ve been taking care of the house?

A. Yeah, cleaning. When it’s yours, it’s a little different. When you’re in college, and it’s a dorm room or whatever, you kind of let it go. But when it’s actually yours, you want to take good care of it.

Q. You been cooking?

A. Not so much. My girlfriend is actually down here, so she can cook a little better than I can.

Q. She graduated from Boston College, too, right?

A. Yes. I met her at school. We were friends before we started dating. [She played basketball at BC.] We saw each other in the athletic buildings and stuff, so that’s how I got to know her.

Q. When did you start playing golf? Is that something you picked up as a kid?

A. Yeah, I’ve got two brothers and my dad always had his dream foursome to take the boys out. So he taught all of us to play. That really is how we got hooked on it. It’s a fun time to go out. So I’ve been playing since I was young.

Q. Real young?

A. Yeah. We had a big backyard when we were little. My dad always had sawed-off golf clubs and we’d have them with little taped grips and get out there and hit in the backyard.

Q. Who’s the best of the brothers?

A. Actually, my older brother has been playing the best as of late. And that’s not easy for me to say, I’ll be honest.

Q. What’s your handicap?

A. Since I’ve been down here, it’s gotten higher. The courses are a little tougher down here. But I probably play — during the offseason — like a 13, a 12 or a 13.

Q. So what do you like to watch on TV? Do you have a favorite show you’re hooked on?

A. I actually like — there’s a new show out I’ve been watching it on Tuesday nights. It’s on Fox. “Fringe.” It’s pretty good. I feel like a dork saying it. It caught my eye the first couple times, so I’ve been watching that on Tuesday nights.

Q. So, you and your two brothers were all quarterbacks?

A. Yeah. My older brother was a quarterback in high school, and my younger brother is a quarterback at the high school that I went to.

Q. You went to visit Harvard with your younger brother John, right?

A. Yeah, he was up at Harvard a while back. But actually I think he’s going to end up at Brown. So he’s excited about that.

Q. Does that mean your younger brother is the smartest?

A. Without a doubt. He’s much smarter than I am. My sister is pretty smart. She’s the oldest. Somewhere the smart genes got lost on myself and my other brother.

Q. What does she do, your sister?

A. She’s a physical therapist. She works with disabled children in two different school districts right outside Philadelphia.

Q. So who got to be quarterback in backyard ball?

A. We did all kinds of stupid stuff back there. One of our big games was no quarterback. We’d just play like punt returns where one guy would stand at one end of the yard and the other guy would be at the other end of the yard and you just throw the ball up as high as you can in the air and he has to try and catch it like a punt, and you have to try and run down and tackle him.

Q. Did it ever get bloody?

A. Actually yeah. One time for Christmas I got Raiders pants and a Bo Jackson jersey and some shoulder pads and stuff like that. And my brother got Mark Rypien stuff from the Washington Redskins. We put on our things and went out back and it was really one of the only good tackles I ever had in my life. But I hit my brother. My parents had an irrigation thing in the backyard right before a bed of plants. He hit his shoulder into it — the hit didn’t really do it, the fall popped his shoulder out. And so he separated his shoulder in the backyard. That was really the only time I ever caused an injury with a hit.

Q. Were you a Raiders fans?

A. Yeah, when I was real young I was a big Bo Jackson fan. I had the “Bo knows” T-shirts.

Q. When you signed with the Falcons, were there things that you wanted to buy for your family or for yourself that were meaningful?

A. There are certainly things you’d like to be able to do for your family. And that’s a nice thing. That’s [something I keep] private. As far as purchases, the big thing … I always had the crappy bed during college. I wanted to get a good mattress.

Q. They were too short?

A. Yeah, so I got a California king, which is nice and long. That was the one splurge. I got a good bed.

Q. Of all the celebrities you got to meet through the draft, who was especially cool?

A. I got to meet Joe Montana. That was pretty cool. Right before the Super Bowl. He’s a legend. Joe Cool. He was very nice and wished me best of luck.

Q. What’s the best thing about being quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons?

A. Your teammates, getting to play with them. There is so much hard work that goes into it. Just being able to go out there on Sundays and have all of that hard work pay off. And to have the type of team we have. We have a good core group of guys, good chemistry, good camaraderie.

Q. Do you have a best friend on the team, somebody you’ve hung out with a little bit more than others?

A. Not so far. Obviously I spend a lot of time with the quarterbacks, so you get tight with those guys. I’ve gotten to know D.J. [Shockley] and Chris [Redman] really well. But really, at this point, it’s still so new. It’s like your first semester of college. It takes some time to settle in. I’m still getting acquainted with everybody.