After a long day in the meeting rooms and tossing passes around the fields, Matt Ryan is able to retire to his condo and sleep well during training camp.
He has plans to watch the Olympics after practices this season, instead of dreaming about shot-gun snaps being fired to him in an assortment of directions.
With the signing of former Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, Ryan is resting well.
“Alex has done an awesome job through the first couple of days,” Ryan said. “He’s a veteran guy, and you can tell he’s played a lot of football. He’s comfortable out there.”
Last season, the Falcons went with Mike Person, a converted guard, who’d never played center. Understandably, his snapping was erratic.
Ryan met with the team after the season and asked them to address the issue. He ran into Mack at the Super Bowl and knew that he was going to opt out of his contract.
The Falcons pounced on Mack in free agency and signed him to a five-year, $45 million deal.
In addition to being a precision snapper, Mack has played in this offense before and is adept at reading defensive fronts.
“In terms of making the calls and getting everybody on the same page, he’s a veteran and he’s done a great job,” Ryan said. “I think we’re all fired up to have him here.”
About the only problem for Mack has been adjusting to the Georgia heat after playing seven seasons in Cleveland. Mack is battling through his personal global-warming session.
“It trains you to think under pressure,” Mack said. “It gets you in shape. When it’s cool and you’re rested, things will be easy. When you train under pressure, you hope that it pays dividends later in the year.”
Mack has been embraced by his new teammates.
“Having Alex here has definitely been a good thing for us,” left tackle Jake Matthews said. “We are following his lead at center. It’s something that we’re doing a good job of. He’s proven that he’s a baller. He’s going to lead that front five. I’m glad he’s on our side.”
Offensive line coach Chris Morgan has been pleased with the addition of Mack.
“You see the toughness,” Morgan said. “You see the experience. He’s still learning a couple things and how we do everything. He’s coming together with the new guys. Everybody is fitting together.”
Mack is doing his part to try to blend in with his new teammates.
“We’ve made some pretty good strides getting to know each other,” Mack said. “I’m the new guy. I’m making some pretty good strides getting to know the guys, getting a feel for the room.”
Mack and Ryan also are trying to make their connection solid.
“That comes with just reps, Mack said. “We have all of this training camp to get a lot of different plays in. It’s going pretty well.”
Ryan and Mack are neighbors in the locker room.
“When you have a veteran guy up in front of you, and they understand what is going on and they are comfortable doing it, it’s huge,” Ryan said. “For my first five years having a guy like Todd McClure, when I could just go out there and be on autopilot and he would get us right, that really helps. I think Alex is that kind of guy. He’s done a great job.”
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