DEL.ICIO.USRyan told to keep his feet on the ground
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Monday, December 22, 2008
Flowery Branch — Falcons coach Mike Smith had a little fireside chat with rookie quarterback Matt Ryan about keeping his feet on the ground.
Ryan went airborne trying to score a touchdown in the third quarter of Sunday’s playoff-clinching win over Minnesota. Ryan was upended and fumbled.
Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan begins to lose the ball as he leaps over Vikings Ben Leber (left) and Benny Sapp at the 1-yard line.
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Smith would not reveal if he instituted a “no flying through the air” rule for his $72.5 million quarterback.
“Matt and I talked about it,” Smith said Monday. “I know that [offensive coordinator] Mike [Mularkey] and Matt talked about it. I know that [quarterbacks coach] Bill [Musgrave] and Matt talked about it. But we’ll keep those [talks] private.”
Other than an occasional snap to running back Jerious Norwood, Ryan has taken every snap this season and thrown all of the passes.
The only other year a Falcons quarterback has taken nearly all of the snaps was in 1980. Steve Bartkowski’s backup, Mike Moroski, threw only three passes. Ryan has thrown all 413 passes for the Falcons this season.
Smith is not overly concerned that backup quarterback Chris Redman has not even seen any mop-up duty this season.
“If Chris has to come in a play, I know he’ll be ready,” Smith said.
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