FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is his own toughest critic.
But it was rather telling that after surviving a physical game against Detroit and having his ankle accidentally stepped on by offensive tackle Will Svitek, Ryan’s self-critique was not glowing.
“I’d like to be playing better,” said Ryan, who went to the Pro Bowl last season after guiding the Falcons to a 13-3 mark and the NFC South title.
The Falcons (4-3) are preparing to face the Indianapolis Colts (0-8) at 1 p.m. Sunday in Indianapolis.
When you put them under a microscope, Ryan’s passing numbers through seven games are a little off from last season’s totals.
He has thrown eight interceptions after throwing nine all last season. Ryan has been sacked 13 times after being sacked only 18 times last season. He has completed 61.1 percent of his passes after completing 62.5 percent last season.
The Falcons drafted wide receiver Julio Jones to help create more plays that gain 20 yards or more. But Ryan’s key passing-yardage statistics have increased only slightly.
Ryan’s yards gained per pass attempt have increased from 6.5 to 6.7 yards. His yards gained per pass completion are up from 10.4 to 10.9.
He had better numbers in his rookie season in 2008, when his yards per pass attempt was 7.5 yards and his yards per completion was 13 yards.
All-Pro wide receiver Roddy White did not sugarcoat what he thinks about how the passing attack has performed thus far.
“We’ve been erratic all year,” said White, who led the NFL with 113 catches last season. “It’s just been up and down. When we do play well, we play well. When we don’t play well, we play ugly. It looks bad.”
Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey was not surprised with Ryan’s self-assessment or White’s call for an end to the erratic and ugly play.
“He’s never going to think it’s good enough,” Mularkey said of Ryan. “That’s what makes him as special as he is. He puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform better. No matter if he’s doing something good, he doesn’t think it’s good enough. He always wants to pick up his game. ”
Jones, who has 25 catches for 358 yards, has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury. Harry Douglas caught six passes for 119 yards in his two starts.
“It will be good to have him back, obviously, both in the run and pass,” Mularkey said. “What he’s done for us in the run game has been good. Again, stretching the field is another good part of the puzzle that we missed.”
Ryan doesn’t believe that sliding Jones back into the lineup will be an issue. “It’s a good thing to have him back,” Ryan said. “We’re more comfortable with what he can do and what we’re doing right now.”
Against the Lions, Ryan missed two plays after Svitek stepped on him. In slow-motion, the high-definition replay appeared gruesome. Ryan went back in the game and promptly tossed a 49-yard strike to Douglas.
“Quarterbacks get a lot of notoriety, and people’s eyes are always on you, so they kind of see those things a little bit more so than some other positions,” Ryan said. “But that’s par for the course in our locker room. We’ve got a lot of guys who, week in and week out, grind through a lot of different things and show up on the field. I’m just trying to do like everyone else.”
While Ryan’s overall passing numbers may be a little off, he likes that the Falcons are a half-game out of first place. New Orleans is in first place at 5-3.
“We’re right in the mix of the NFC South,” Ryan said. “Certainly, we haven’t played our best football and you have the opportunity, when you look at things over the bye week, we’ve done some things really well and we’ve done some things really poorly. ... The biggest thing for us is being more consistent because we’re capable of doing some very good things.”
