Quinn says MVP talk rewards all Ryan’s effort

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan celebrates his touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper for a 21-0 lead over the 49ers during the first quarter in NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Credit: Curtis Compton

Credit: Curtis Compton

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan celebrates his touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper for a 21-0 lead over the 49ers during the first quarter in NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 18, 2016, in Atlanta. Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Regardless of if Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan is named MVP of the NFL at the end of the regular season or not, coach Dan Quinn respects how much effort his quarterback has put into this sesason.

When Quinn’s first season as Falcons head coach ended with an 8-8 record, Ryan led the way working for a better 2016.

“Matt (Ryan) was the one who set it off for our team in the offseason (with) his intent, his mindset to go and improve and find ways to get better in his game,” Quinn said.

Ryan who’s thrown for 4,336 yards and 32 touchdowns in his ninth season as quarterback for the Falcons leads the League among starting quarterbacks with 9.33 passing yards per attempt and a passer rating of 114.8.

Even though the Falcons have two regular season games to think about, Quinn thinks Ryan’s name being mentioned along with Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady, Raiders’ Derek Carr and the Cowboys’ rookie duo of quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott deserves recognition.

“I would say for sure, (Ryan’s name being mentioned is) rewarding because when you have first hand knowledge of how hard someone is going for it, you love that person to be recognized for that,” Quinn said.