DEL.ICIO.USRyan’s homecoming not so welcoming
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Philadelphia — It wasn’t warm and it wasn’t fuzzy as far as homecomings go for Matt Ryan on Sunday. Philadelphia Pro Bowl defensive end Trent Cole made sure of that.
Cole came unblocked to pound the Falcons rookie quarterback and Philadelphia native in the chest in the first quarter. He used the full extent of his 6-foot-3 270-pound frame to take Ryan on a Nestea plunge.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Matt Ryan’s family gathered outside the stadium to cheer him in his homecoming to Philadelphia.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan made it a point to meet Eagles signal caller Donovan McNabb, someone he looked up to growing up in the Philadelphia region, after the game.
Ryan’s back hit the turf first, then his helmet, which drew a penalty flag for unnecessary roughness and the steady boo of Eagles fans for the rest of the first quarter and on into the second.
Ryan rolled over to his front side and eventually got up. He went back down on all fours moments later, but only as long as it took the officials to mark off the first down.
“[Ryan] took a huge hit early in the game and was able to stick it out and play through a lot of pain,” said Falcons receiver Brian Finneran, who knows a thing or two about “brotherly love” having gone to Villanova in Philadelphia. “He played good. He was poised, sat in the pocket quite a bit. They brought a lot of pressure throughout the game. We were in it until the end there.”
Ryan finished with 277 yards on 23-of-44 passes against the team he grew up cheering for. He got his highlight play on a 55-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White to give the Falcons a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. And he connected with White for a second touchdown with four minutes left in the game to give the Falcons one last chance, down 20-14.
But with his helmet resting on top of his head and his hands on his hips, Ryan watched Brian Westbrook take advantage of a botched Atlanta punt play to score an ensuing 39-yard touchdown for a 27-14 win.
Ryan’s touchdowns balanced out two interceptions, including one in the end zone on second-and-goal from the 1-yard line. He was sacked twice, after being sacked only twice in his previous four games. He said afterward his back, which trainers had examined on the sideline, was fine.
As for the homecoming? “It was nice to see some family and friends last night, but after that it was all business,” he said.
With toughness and some results in that setting, he earned some respect from his teammates, coaches and, maybe deep down, some Eagles fans.
“Really, all in all, for a rookie in this environment, you’ve got to be encouraged,” Falcons head coach Mike Smith said.
About 70 or so of the Eagles fans were disguised as Ryan’s family members. His parents Mike and Bernie were careful not to wear a ton of Falcons gear.
Unlike the time the extended family crew wore “Got Ice” T-shirts for one of his Boston College games in honor of his “Matty Ice” nickname, or the time everybody surprised him in matching Ryan jerseys, his mother showed up with only nondescript “Falcons” in white lettering on a black cap. His dad wore a navy blue sweater.
“You’ve got to be smart,” his father Mike Ryan said.
There was one brave cousin — John Loughery, a sophomore quarterback at Penn Charter where Ryan played his high school football — who wore a red Ryan No. 2 Falcons jersey.
“I hope I don’t get tortured,” he said at the Ryan’s pre-game tailgate about 100 yards outside Lincoln Financial Field. “Fans here are pretty tough.”
Sitting on one of the tables overloaded with food was a box of soft pretzels that said: “Pretzel Boys. A Twisted experience.”
That could go for the whole day.
Some among the Ryan clan — like Beth Walker, an old classmate from grade school who dropped by the tailgate — wore an Eagles jersey and a Falcons cap she’d bought this week at the Exton Mall, near where Ryan grew up.
“I’m pulling for Matt to do well,” she said. “After that, I’m not sure.”
For his mother, it was pretty simple: “I hope Matt goes home in one piece.”
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