Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, sporting an offseason goatee, took part in the fourth annual Matt Ryan Celebrity-AM Classic at TPC Sugarloaf on Monday.
Some of the celebrities participating in the tournament, a fundraiser for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, included Falcons part-owner Warrick Dunn, former tight end Alge Crumpler, kicker Matt Bryant, center Joe Hawley, defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux and former Braves star Chipper Jones.
While making the turn at No. 10, Ryan stopped to chat about fundraising, football, toughness and the draft.
Q. What makes it so special to come and do this community work?
A. I think it's a no-brainer when you have an organization like CHOA, to be able to help out, give back and help raise money. I try and do that because it's a great organization. It's a place that my wife (Sarah) and I like to visit.
Q. How has the offseason been going for you?
A. It's been a good offseason so far. I'm excited that next Monday, we'll be back in the facility. We'll have everybody back there and we'll start moving on to the 2014 season. I'm excited about it. Guys have been in there already. I've been really impressed that our offensive line guys have been in there all winter, working out really hard and trying to improve. I think that everybody is looking forward to just making it official and getting back to work.
Q. How’s the course playing for you?
A. Sugarloaf is awesome. It's beautiful out here. They are ready for the Greater Gwinnett Championship this weekend. I think the Champion (Tour) players are going to have a lot of fun because the course is in great shape.
Q. What do you think will be some of the keys for the Falcons when you all do get back together next week as a group?
A. The work in the weight room that we are going to put in (is key). I think that always pays dividends this time of the year. You have to put the time in. You have to be consistent during the offseason in order to make gains and also in order to stay healthy during the year.
It will be important to start re-evaluating what we did in 2013, meet with our coaches and look at some of the changes that we want to make in 2014. We’ll do that and we’ll get to work next week. We’ll try to improve in the classroom and then also try to improve in the weight room. Hopefully, those two things will make us a better football team.
Q. How did you try to download with the time off that you had?
A. It's important to get away from football a little bit. My wife and I have done some traveling. We got away from Atlanta and away from football completely, which has been a good thing. Everybody on our team has kind of a sour taste in their mouth after the way things unfolded last year.
For me, I took a little bit of time immediately following the season, but wanted to get back to work as fast as I could and start trying to make improvements. So, I took about three or four weeks off and then got back after it. At this time of the year, I feel really good.
Q. What did you make of all the talk by owner Arthur Blank about Saints safety Kenny Vaccaro’s questionable hit against you and the team’s toughness?
A. I certainly understand that Mr. Blank is as passionate about our organization as anybody. From my perspective, I love the fact that he has my back. I appreciate that, I really do.
Then I also understand that you have to play within your limits on the field, too. You’ve got to play to the whistle. (Head coach Mike Smith says) all the time that there is a line and that you want to play on that line. You don’t want to cross the line. I get where he’s coming from 100 percent and when you’re on the field, you’ve got a job to do.
Q. How closely do you watch the draft preparation?
A: You see it. You can't help but see it. There is so much coverage. If you are watching any of the sports or if you just flip on SportsCenter, you're going to see some kind of draft coverage.
I don’t buy into all of the projections probably as much as everybody else because you don’t know what is going to happen. Certainly, with free agency, we addressed some of the areas that we felt we needed to address. Here in a couple of weeks, we’ll find out who we are going to pick up in the draft. I follow it a little bit, but not a ton.
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