Redman to lead playoff march with Ryan out

By D. Orlando Ledbetter

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FLOWERY BRANCH – With their playoff hopes teetering in the balance, the Falcons will have to march onward without their starting quarterback.

Matt Ryan, who guided the Falcons to a wildcard playoff berth last season as a rookie,  will not play against Philadelphia on Sunday at the Georgia Dome. A time for his return is uncertain.

Ryan left last Sunday's game against Tampa Bay after one series with a turf toe injury. Unable to return, Ryan was replaced by Chris Redman, who tossed a game-winning touchdown pass with 23 seconds left to lift the team to a 20-17 victory.

Falcons coach Mike Smith offered few specifics on the injury Monday, saying,  "During the week he's going to work with our medical staff  diligently to get back as quick as he can."

Depending on the severity of Ryan's injury, he could miss several more games. He received a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test on his right foot on Monday and went to see a foot specialist in Charlotte. He was back in Atlanta by the afternoon.

"We will have an update next week," Smith said.

Redman, who completed 23 of 41 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns against Tampa Bay, will make his first start in over 23 months against the Eagles.

"Starting on Wednesday, he'll take the majority of the snaps in practice," Smith said. "I can assure you that myself and everybody in the locker room has got all the confidence in the world in Chris Redman."

The Falcons plan to face the Eagles with only two active quarterbacks and will not make a quarterback roster move. D.J. Shockley had been on the practice squad but was released on Oct. 21.

"We'll go into the game like a number of teams do, with two quarterbacks," Smith said. "There are about seven or eight teams in this league that do not have a third quarterback on their rosters."

That means that rookie John Parker Wilson, an undrafted free agent from Alabama who hasn't played a down in the NFL, will be one snap away for directing the offense.

Smith was similarly vagu about running back Michael Turner, who was re-injured against Tampa Bay just 14 days after initially suffering a mild high right ankle sprain against Carolina.

"Michael Turner's status ... it's not clear at this time," Smith said. "Michael will continue to work and we'll see where he is on Wednesday. He has not been ruled out of the ball game."

Last season, the Falcons largely dodged the injury bug. Only one starter, left tackle Sam Baker, missed starts. This season, the team has been hammered.

Thus far, Turner, Baker, backup running back Jerious Norwood, fullback Ovie Mughelli, cornerback Brian Williams, long snapper Michael Schneck and backup wide receiver Harry Douglas have all missed games.

"Injuries are a part of this game," Smith said. "Each and every week, guys throughout the league get injured."

Before the Tampa game, Redman hadn't thrown a pass over the Falcons' last 27 regular season games. He made four starts in 2007, but the Falcons were already out of the playoff hunt with Michael Vick in federal prison and Joey Harrington deposed by the time Redman took over.

His last live action in an NFL game of importance came during the 2002 season, when he went 3-3 as a starter for Baltimore. This will be Redman's 11th career start.

"I think it will help Chris this week simply because he had 50 snaps in that [Tampa Bay] ball game," Smith said.

Redman said he's prepared to takeover.

"You just have to be ready," Redman said via telephone. "That's just part of being a backup. When you don't have that many practice snaps, you just have to take mental reps. It's definitely different than getting out there and doing it yourself."

Ryan was hurt while being sacked by Tampa Bay's Stylez White and Tim Crowder. Smith said Ryan had no pre-exisiting toe condition entering the game.

"It was a situation where Matt was able to leave the field and come off the field, which I think bodes well for his recovery," Smith said.