Ryan will start Falcons’ third preseason game

Flowery Branch — The quarterback of the future will be the quarterback of the present.

Matt Ryan, the first-round draft pick selected third overall out of Boston College, will start Friday’s preseason game against visiting Tennessee, coach Mike Smith said.

Enlarge this image

Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will start Friday’s game against the Titans.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

• Blog: Ready for future

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

“I talked to Coach Smith about that before and that’s exciting to go get out there right away,” Ryan said after Atlanta’s practice Monday afternoon. “We’re going to have a good week of preparation and hopefully play well Friday night.”

There has been no official decision about who Atlanta’s starting quarterback will be when it opens the season Sept. 7 against the visiting Detroit Lions, Smith said. The coaching staff is still waiting for “clarity” among the four candidates — Ryan, Chris Redman, Joey Harrington and D.J. Shockley — before announcing that starter.

That announcement might not come until after the preseason finale at Baltimore Aug. 28.

“We want to give everybody an opportunity to work with the first unit and that’s still the plan,” Smith said.

Smith’s decision to announce Ryan as the starter Monday was the first time this preseason he didn’t wait until after practice Thursday to announce his starter. Chris Redman started the preseason-opening loss at Jacksonville. Joey Harrington started last Saturday’s 16-9 loss against visiting Indianapolis.

The third exhibition is viewed, league-wide, as the most important regarding preparation for the regular season. It is when nearly every team plays its starters into the second half to establish cohesiveness and personnel rotations on both sides of the ball.

Teams spend the week game planning for their opponent, which typically isn’t the case the first two preseason games. The Falcons worked during practice Monday against looks that they expect the Titans to run Friday, and they will continue to do so through the week.

“The biggest thing is you have to stay composed and when things break down, guys move faster in the NFL than they did in college,” Ryan said of his expectations for his first start. “You have to make smart decisions toward the end of the play. The biggest thing is you have to stay relaxed and go out there and be composed.”

For Ryan, this will be his first test facing complex defensive looks at the outset. He’ll also get some exposure to halftime adjustments, which is why most teams play their starters into the third quarter.

Smith did not say which quarterback would relieve Ryan.

“We were fortunate to get [Ryan] into a situation this past week where he got a two-minute situation,” Smith said “Barring the interception at the end, he took them off the 5-yard line and went 11 plays. He was very effective moving the team. We had a throw we’d like to have back — he’d like to have back — but again, it’s a learning curve for Matt.

“We would like for Matt to get into those situations. We need to get him some red-zone work and hopefully we’ll be able to do that. The more we can expose our guys to, the better we’re going go be as a football team.”

Smith declared an open competition at quarterback at the outset of training camp. Ryan replaced Redman and Harrington, respectively, in both games. Shockley has finished every game. Shockley likely will start the preseason finale at Baltimore.

Ryan has played more snaps — and more meaningful snaps — than Redman or Harrington. He’s also been afforded the most passing opportunities, completing 17 of 31 attempts for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception that was returned 67 yards for a score by the Colts.

During the more than two quarters that he’s played, Ryan continued building trust among his teammates.

“I really was impressed with the way he handled the two-minute situation before the half last Saturday night,” right tackle Tyson Clabo said. “He did throw the interception but he moved well in the pocket. He avoided some pressure and he got rid of the ball. He’s got to make plays. That’s what really counts in this league, making plays and doing what everyone expects him to do.

“He obviously has the ability to do that, now he just has to go do it.”