As wide receiver Lance Moore and defensive end Dwight Freeney suited up for their first Falcons practice Sunday morning, the results of a transaction-filled 2016 offseason were on full display.
First-year Falcons scattered everywhere. Center Alex Mack was anchoring the revamped offensive line. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu was breaking off combo routes with Julio Jones. Within the organized chaos of position battles, hockey-style line changes and head coach Dan Quinn’s fast and physical training camp circuit, it becomes more clear how dependent this year’s success will be on first-year Falcons.
But just as important as the new pieces will be, quarterback Matt Ryan remains the franchise’s pillar for a ninth straight season. And maybe never more so.
The demand for consistency is at an all-time high for Ryan, who seeks to bounce back from a subpar 2015 season. With each new weapon added to the offense, patience is running down on Ryan’s developmental clock. And to assure this is understood, Falcons owner Arthur Blank clarified it in a candid assessment last week.
“Matt worked really hard this offseason on his own technique,” Blank said. “He had a good year last year in many ways — over 65 percent completions, over 4,000 yards. But the amount of turnovers (16 interceptions, 12 fumbles) that he had were not acceptable to him, most importantly, or the club or our fans or anybody.
“Some of that is due to the new scheme, communication. Some of that is we had receivers not always in the right spots. So there’s a variety of things. … Some of it was bad judgment on his part and he would be the first to tell you that and has told you that.”
Ryan continues to take an aggressive approach, saying, “I think you always want to start fast. Anytime you are playing a game, you want to compete and you want to win. So that’s important. But offensively you want to start fast and set the tempo for what we want to be as an offense and hopefully execute very well.”
Unlike 2015, Ryan now has by his side a veteran backup in Matt Schaub, who is fluent in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s playbook. The former Pro Bowler can serve as another set of eyes on the sideline to help Ryan’s game-management.
Schaub posted his best seasons under Shanahan in Houston and excelled in attacking the middle of the field, an area where Ryan uncharacteristically struggled during his first year with the zone-blocking scheme.
Ryan threw a combined 38 touchdowns and 14 interceptions on pass plays directed down the middle of the field his first seven seasons. In 2015, he completed 62 of 103 pass attempts for 787 yards down the middle with no touchdowns. Eight of his 16 interceptions came in the middle.
Sunday’s team drills saw Ryan hitting targets left and right, but some newcomers were producing some big plays over the middle that were missing last season. Ryan found rookie tight end Austin Hooper on a red zone touchdown pass and minutes later hit Moore on a crossing route on a third-and-10 call.
Quinn’s expectations are for every player on the field to be a game manager. And what about Ryan?
“That part of his game has been on point for a long time,” Quinn said, “and we’re aiming to be really good at the end of the half and the end of the game.’’
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