You wouldn't have known it by that play Aug. 15, when Calvin Ridley broke off an in-cut so sharply that Jets cornerback Arthur Maulet almost stumbled into another ZIP code, but the Falcons' second-year wide receiver is sort of trying to slow down so he can speed up more often.
So, he’s eating – or drinking — more fruits and vegetables to stay fast and fresh.
Ridley had a good first run as a pro, putting up numbers that set him a spot at the table of conversation about the greatest seasons in NFL history for rookie wide receivers. But he routinely got tired as games wore down.
He led all the league’s newcomers in receptions (64), receiving yardage (821) and touchdowns (10) while putting up numbers that trailed just a handful of rookies before him.
At that table, you’d have Randy Moss (1998 Vikings, 69 receptions, 1,313 yards, 17 touchdowns), Anquan Bolden (2003 Cardinals, 101, 1,377, 8), Cris Collinsworth (1981 Bengals, 67, 1,009, 8), John Jefferson (1978 Chargers, 56, 1,001, 13) and Bob Hayes (1965 Cowboys, 46, 1,003, 13 in a 14-game season).
Just imagine if he didn’t get tired or battle a sprained left ankle. As it was, he set the Falcons rookie touchdown record, surpassing former tight end Junior Miller’s nine in 1980.
Of his offseason, he said, “I didn’t lift that much. I really just ran a lot of routes because I was trying to get my legs back under me, my ankles. I did a Smoothie-type diet every day, all day. I tried to change the way I eat so my legs could be more fresh and feel better.
“The overall goal was to run ... and just get my stamina up, just so I could get more plays in the game. Like when I catch one, stay in and just build some type of energy.”
There’s some serious irony here because Ridley runs like the wind.
But he was quickly winded last season, when he played 664 of the Falcons’ offensive snaps, or 60.75 percent.
By comparison, the Falcons’ No. 1, 2 and 3 receivers – Julio Jones (818 snaps, 113 receptions), tight end Austin Hooper (809, 71) and Mohamed Sanu (830, 66) – played 77.17%, 76.32% an 78.3%, respectively.
Ridley’s left ankle was a problem last year as well. He played the final two-thirds of the season battling inflammation and pain. Once the season was over, he had surgery to remove “loose bodies” from the joint.
“My left ankle was messed up last year. I got it fixed after the season with a little surgery,” he said. “But this year, it’s been pretty good. Last year, it messed with me from the first Tampa game for the rest of the season.”
Falcons fans should be excited. After going without a catch in the Falcons' opener last season at Philadelphia — which caused an uproar because, after all, Ridley was a first-round draft choice out of Alabama — he went molten lava.
Over the next three games, he caught 15 passes for 264 yards and six touchdowns and nearly blew up the Saints by himself, but for a bizarre missed tackle of New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees and a season-ending Achilles injury suffered late in the game by Ricardo Allen.
Back then, Ridley worked almost exclusively at the “Z” position, which is one of the two widest spots for wide receivers. Now, he’s working all four spots which include both wides, the slot and the double slot when the Falcons go four wide.
“Now, I think he’s more comfortable to go to any position, able to move around to any one of our three wide receiver spots, the X, the Z and the F when we go inside. We also have a Y when we go (one running back, no tight end) personnel,” assistant head coach/wide receivers Raheem Morris said.
Ridley feels better, and so does Morris.
“He’s worked really hard this offseason. He’s worked really hard on his body,” the coach said. “He can move around to any of those spots. It’s kind of funny; when they do that cross training with Matt by themselves, and they’re able to line up and Matt says, ‘You’re the Y on this play,’ he’s got to know. That’s more credit to him than us.
“I wouldn’t say it was any fault of his last year (that Ridley was limited in position deployment); it was let’s put him in spots where he can play fast.”
Ridley was fast on that play on the Falcons' opening drive Thursday.
He missed the first two exhibition games while being slowed by a hamstring injury. On the Falcons’ third play from scrimmage at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, he motioned left to right behind the line of scrimmage and busted upfield at the snap. Then, he snapped off Maulet at about 10 yards, broke over the middle, hauled in Ryan’s pass, and turned it into a 27-yard gain.
“When he’s got one-on-one opportunities, he’s such a great route runner that he created great separation at the top of his route, and I just tried to put it in a place where he could make a play,” Ryan said. “He did a nice job with it, and made a nice run after the catch.”
Ridley is out to stay fast for longer.
He doesn’t like spinach. He doesn’t like kale. Ridley thinks that stuff is gross to eat. “That’s why I drink it,” he said.
So, run it all through a blender with other fruits and vegetables, and he’ll do it.
It’s the Ridley science.
“I’d get tired after a nice, big play, just so much energy to calm myself down and it really was (also) for soreness,” he said. “Really, it was just eating bad and being sore all over. Really just wanted to change the way I eat and put more healthy things in my body.
“I’m putting more vegetables in it, like spinach, kale, and all types of fruits, and repping it at least twice a day.”
