Yesterday Matt Ryan proved why the Falcons made him the No. 3 pick in last year’s NFL draft. He also proved why he’s a rookie.
For all of Matt’s greatness throughout the NFL regular season, the Cardinals exposed him for what he is: An NFL rookie. And that is OK; Matt Ryan had one of the great NFL quarterback rookie seasons on record. He took a team that was in danger of lurking in the basement of the NFL for years to come, to a potential perennial playoff team.
And he's only a rookie.
Matty Ice had a pretty good stat line. Out of 40 passing attempts, he completed 26 of them. He threw for a respectable 199 yards with two touchdowns and two picks. Not bad for a first year guy playing his first playoff game.
And he’s still a rookie.
While Matt’s statistics from yesterday's game won’t impress or repulse you, it should tell you that he needed a little bit more to beat a Cardinal team that was determined to expose him for what he is: A rookie. He threw a couple of costly picks and never seemed in rhythm for the entire game.
It also didn’t help that Michael Turner had a paltry 42 yards rushing and his offensive line chose to mail it in right before one of the biggest games in franchise history. The Cardinal’s defensive line was in Ryan’s face all day. They stuffed the run and didn’t let baby Andre Rison beat them deep (except for that wide open bomb he dropped).
And through all of this, Matt Ryan is only a rookie.
This Atlanta Falcon team has a ton of upside. A stellar running game, improved offensive line, great quarterback, decent defensive front, and pretty good special teams group. What’s not to like about these dirty birds?
If Roddy White keeps this pace up, he’ll be the greatest wide receiver in club history. As long as the O-line protects Matty Ice and opens holes for Michael Turner, they’ll compete for another NFC South title.
And I say again, he's only a rookie.
Can you imagine what Marino could have done with this running game? Remember what happened to Elway when Terrell Davis showed up? He won a couple of Super Bowls. The philosophy to win in the league is simple. Dominate on both sides of the line, have a good; consistent quarterback, and a running back who runs like a horse. The Falcons posses all the attributes. Ryan just needs to continue to mature and the Falcons need to shore up a couple of holes on defense.
I say all of this and Matt Ryan is only a rookie. How much upside can one team and one rookie have at one time? Only time will tell if we are right or wrong about the Falcons. But judging by the way this team came on this past season, we could talking about the Atlanta Falcons for a long time.
5 comments Last one added 6 months ago — Leave a Comment
Mark Jones 6 months ago
nice article, but one thing: he lost
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Joshua Hammonds 6 months ago
yea....And the great Peyton Manning went 0-4 in the playoffs before winning his first game in the post season. Oh.....one thing too. HE LOST TOO. The only difference is that Manning is a 3 time NFL MVP, Super Bowl MVP....those kind of QB aren't suppose to lose to 8-8 teams in the playoffs.
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Jason Henry 6 months ago
He did, but he also showed a lot of moxy. We'll see how it works out in a few years. Thanks for the comment.
-JH
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Bing Wang 6 months ago
If Marino had this running game he wouldn't have nearly the statistics he did ;]
Haha I believe in this first round atleast proved once again the age old saying, Defense wins Championships. The teams whose defense played like they were in the playoffs all won.
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Day Chau 6 months ago
Funny how defense wins championships and yet the cards and chargers won. I guess that means Tennessee and Pittsburgh are gonna screw up big next week :|
And yea I agree with you, he shows a lot of promise. Won't surprise to see the falcons winning the division next year.
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