Matt Ryan a quick study with no-huddle

Flowery Branch — Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey clearly trusts quarterback Matt Ryan.

After working on the no-huddle offense in mini-camp, Mularkey used it for the first time in the regular season in Sunday’s game against Carolina.

Ryan, starting just his fourth game in the NFL, was sent to the line of scrimmage with 10 to 11 plays. He had to read the defense and pick the right play.

Veterans have trouble reading NFL defenses, let alone rookies. In the Jim Mora-Greg Knapp offense, Michael Vick had limited authority to call a play at the line of scrimmage.

In the no-huddle, the Falcons had their best sustained drive of the game, but they abandoned it and never went back to it.

On the second possession, Ryan mixed five running plays with four passes to move the Falcons from their 20 to Carolina’s 13. The promising drive stalled after tight end Justin Peelle was called for a false start on a second-and-three play, and the Falcons had to settle for a 33-yard Jason Elam field goal.

“For the first time trying to execute it, I felt we were very efficient,” Mularkey said. “There are some things we can clean up, things we can always get better.

The Falcons appeared headed for a touchdown before the penalty.

“We kind of stalled there,” Mularkey said. “The penalty hurt us down in the red zone that we couldn’t overcome in the no-huddle. We just didn’t finish the drive like we started it, so that was disappointing.”

One reason the Falcons drafted Ryan was his football acumen. He has worked diligently, learning the playbook and studying film since he was drafted — and he’s comfortable running the no-huddle attack.

“We did a lot of that in college as well,” Ryan said. “It’s something I enjoy doing. It was a spark for our team. It got us going offensively a little bit.”

Ryan completed four of five passes in the drive, including a 22-yard reception by wide receiver Roddy White.

“We come up with an open mind,” Ryan said. “We’ve got a defined number of things we’d do in that situation. We take a look at what they are going to do and then try to get us in a play, whether it’ll be a run or pass, and the best situation for that down and distance.”

Ryan knows the coaches have put a lot on him with the no-huddle attack.

“There’s a certain amount of responsibility that falls on your shoulders when you’re in the no-huddle,” Ryan said. “You get a chance to look at what the defense is doing and call the appropriate play.”

Smith said that it was a scripted series that kept the Falcons from going back to the no-huddle except for two plays.

“We tried to in a couple of different situations, to get back into that mode,” Ryan said. “But for different reasons, kind of like field position and game situations, took us away from that a little bit.”

One reason the Falcons went to the no-huddle was to pick up the tempo against Carolina’s huge defensive front.

“It’s just to change it up and put the defense on their heels,” wide receiver Michael Jenkins said. “You can tell that they were tired up front.”

Mularkey said the coaching staff will decide each game whether to use the no-huddle attack.

But the players are clamoring for more of the attack.

“You can’t really do it every drive,” Jenkins said. “We were able to move the ball effectively, so I’m pretty sure it will be sprinkled in from time to time throughout the season.”

White thinks the Falcons will expand their no-huddle operation, too.

“Especially when we go against teams with really big defensive linemen,” White said. “They put some bulk up there to stop the run. You go in the no-huddle and you get guys kind of tired, and you’re able to run the ball a lot easier.”