Matt Ryan: Bigger, more mobile and with new wheels

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan earned his nickname last season.

He played with such poise as a rookie quarterback leading the Falcons to an 11-5 record and the playoffs that one could easily see how he got the nickname “Matty Ice.”

Now he’s back for his second season, and others around him have noticed signs of growth from last year.

For one thing, he’s always on time for the quarterback meetings. He doesn’t have to walk from the indoor-practice facility where the rookies have to stay, which is across the parking lot and some fields from where the meetings are held.

“Now he can dress in the varsity locker room,” quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave said. “That’s one big change from 12 months ago.”

Also, Ryan is rolling to practice on some nicer wheels.

“He does have a really nice car,” right tackle Tyson Clabo said. “It’s an Audi. It’s really nice. I’m jealous of him. He didn’t have that last year.”

Ryan began to prepare for this season shortly after the Falcons were eliminated from the playoffs by the Arizona Cardinals, who went on to play in the Super Bowl.

“You heard him talking to several people about ‘we are not finished yet. This is just a start. Next year this is not going to happen,’ ” fullback Ovie Mughelli said. “I think he’s really committed ... he understood what it meant to lose at such a pivotal point.”

Ryan took to the weight room, and players have noticed a stronger and more athletic quarterback.

“He scrambles better,” Mughelli said. “He doesn’t look like a baby giraffe anymore when he scrambles.”

Pro Bowl wide receiver Roddy White said: “He did a great job this offseason in the weight room. He can throw the ball farther. He can cut it loose. He’s got a little more zip on his ball and everything.”

Chris Redman, Ryan’s backup, spent a lot of time with him. He said Ryan is more comfortable and as a result, has “loosened up more.”

“We have a lot of fun,” Redman said. “On different plays like when Matt fell on his chin [in the exhibition game against Detroit on Aug. 15]. We were obviously concerned, but once we found out he was OK, we were laughing on the floor. We stay pretty loose in the meetings.”

Last season, Ryan had to ease into a huddle full of veteran players and ask them, ever so politely, to let him call a play or two.

“After what he did last year and what he was able to do more and more as the season progressed ... he’s more vocal this year,” wide receiver Brian Finneran said. “Little things like that. He’s more comfortable with the game and guys around him. He’s got a full year under his belt.”

Finneran said the growth he’s noticed in Ryan involves “intangible things.”

“He’s more comfortable in the offense. More comfortable calling plays. He knows what to expect and what he is going to see, so his reaction time will be a little bit better.”

Before last season, rookie quarterbacks historically were doomed for failure if they played early in their careers, but Ryan, and Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, went against the norm. Ryan perhaps is more confident because he can draw on his rookie season for experience.

“Of course, he’s got 17 real-life starts under his belt,” Musgrave said. “Seventeen starts that include lessons that he can apply going forward.”

One key to Ryan’s success is that he tries to learn from his mistakes, using his failures to get better.

“He’s a real learner,” Musgrave said. “He learns every day. He’s a good note-taker. When he does stub his toe or make a mistake, he really learns more from that than he does from his triumphs and touchdown passes.”

One thing hasn’t changed for Ryan, though.

“From the first day he was here, he was just himself,” Musgrave said. “That’s the foremost attribute that he has, and the guys definitely relate to him.”