If he has proven nothing else during the lull before the Super Bowl, Matt Ryan has a killer contact list in his phone.
All the recent quarterbacking giants of roman numeral football must be in there, given those he has been in touch with in advance of his first Super Bowl.
Yes, that includes an actual Giant, Eli Manning, who knows a little something about beating the New England Patriots in this game of games (twice). And his big brother Peyton. Even Sunday’s co-headliner Tom Brady. Ryan said he has been in contact one way or another with them all since he macerated Green Bay in the NFC Championship.
Some to congratulate (Brady). Some to seek wise counsel (the Mannings). He was a little short on specifics, as he often is.
Sunday at NRG Stadium, with a nation watching, Ryan takes that next great leap toward being one of those epic kind of quarterbacks.
He most likely will enter the Super Bowl arena with the initials MVP appended to his name — having claimed that award in absentia the night before. He will be at the controls of an offense that ravaged the league for the 11th-most points ever. He will measure himself against the most proficient quarterback of his time, the Patriots’ Brady. One who came up humbly — a lowly sixth-round draft pick — but the one who now is the standard that Ryan strains to reach.
Upon moments like Sunday are the special quarterbacks made.
Although that may not be the precise driving force behind Ryan come game time. Observed another Matt in the Falcons quarterbacks meeting room — veteran back-up Schaub — “Obviously, that’s how you’re judged, January through February football. But when you’re in the thick of it, that’s not something you think about. You focus on the moment and that’s all you can control.”
Prior to this season Ryan had done none of the postseason work necessary to join the top one percenters at quarterback. He was 1-4 in the postseason. He was the master of the red-zone interception (four last season). In the four prior seasons he was good for an average of an interception a game.
But at the age of 31, in his ninth NFL campaign, Ryan gave true greatness a whirl. Well into the back nine of his professional life, he put up all new career bests across the board. Most passing yards (4,944). Most passing touchdowns (38). Fewest interceptions (7).
And his first foray to the Super Bowl.
“He’s made a huge step. And it’s tough to make a huge step when you’ve had the kind of career that he has,” Kyle Shanahan, the Falcons’ offensive coordinator said.
“Matt has put the work in. He started working on this year in January last year. It showed the first time I saw him in OTAs (offseason training). He attacked this year as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone attack a year. It’s really cool when you see someone put that much in and you get the results.”
NFL Films microphones picked up the first hints of what was to come when late in the disappointing close of the 2015 season Ryan was overheard telling Shanahan, “I can’t wait till I know the offense inside and out, bro, because we are going to kill people with it.”
Determined to do anything and everything to give that prediction teeth, Ryan pushed himself beyond the velvet boundaries of an established quarterback making $20 million a year. He, indeed, attacked.
He made a House call, working with in the offseason with throwing guru Tom House. A result: He never has been more accurate with the long throw.
The guy has continually worked to improve upon the legs that his maker gave him. The payoff for such work: A 14-yard touchdown run against Green Bay in the NFC Championship that was as energizing as it was unexpected.
Said Shanahan with a smile, “It pumped everyone up. We always mess with him about it. Usually the longest-time clips during the year is when he’s running because it takes him so long to cover that ground. He’s moving fast, he’s just not covering ground.”
It was Ryan who largely bankrolled a three-day players-only camp in Florida before the team’s more official offseason program. The offshoot: A brotherhood was born. “(Coach Dan Quinn) has pushed us all to get to know guys better and on a deeper level, become a better teammate than before,” Ryan said. That has been a dominant theme to a singular season.
Ryan’s low point in a highlight-laden season came on Dec. 4 when his two-point conversion pass was picked off by Eric Berry and returned for the two points that were the difference in a loss to Kansas City.
Great quarterbacks don’t wallow in their worst moments. Ryan has yet to throw another interception since that day. “Matt is a guy who when he does struggle, he gets better the next week, the next practice,” Shanahan said.
You just assume that every quarterback in the NFL works hard in game prep, that each grasps the responsibility that goes with the position and drowns himself in the game all week long.
But maybe not. Listen to the response receiver Mohamed Sanu gave when asked what surprised him most in his first year with Ryan: “The way he prepares during the week. The way he practices. The way he approaches each week. That’s very surprising. You don’t see a lot of quarterbacks taking that approach.”
But the best must.
When Ryan glances across the field Sunday he will see the template for what he hopes the next several years can be. Can you picture a Matt Ryan at 39 like Brady, still playing at a Super Bowl caliber level?
“I hope so,” Ryan said when asked just that. “He has kind of set the bar for longevity, aging well and playing at a really high level for a really long time. I know that he’s incredibly dedicated as far as taking care of himself both mentally and physically.
“He’s at it all year round, he’s shown how to take care of yourself and approach this in the right way so you can play for a long time and play at a high level for a long time.”
These kind of words thrill an owner’s soul.
“God willing we keep Matt Ryan healthy for another eight years we’re going to be in a good position with everything else we have on the roster,” Arthur Blank said.
More immediate is Sunday’s task. Otherwise known as Matt Ryan’s application for the QB VIP lounge.
Show up in a big way in this one and you become the guy other quarterbacks reach out to when it is time to borrow a cup of knowledge or inhale a little second-hand greatness.
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