Third-and-18: Comparing the Two Standout Rookie Quarterbacks

In the 2008 NFL Draft, two stars made their splash. With the third overall pick in the NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan. He was considered the best quarterback in the draft. As a senior, he threw for 4,507 yards and 29 TD's. With the 18th overall pick, the Baltimore Ravens selected Joe Flacco out of Delaware. Flacco was called better by some, but was rather unknown. He threw for 4,263 yards and 23 TD's as a senior for the Blue Hens.

 

Let's start with Flacco. In training camp, Flacco was rusty, in the preseason, he never had a very good performance and was 1-2 as a starter. He even lost to the St. Louis Rams. He entered camp as the #3 quarterback. He entered the regular season as the starter. How? Both starter Kyle Boller (injury) and Troy Smith (sickness) were benched, thrusting Flacco into the starting role. In his first game, he threw for 129 yards, didn't fumble or get intercepted and even ran for a 38-yard touchdown.

 

He struggled the next game against the Browns, but led Baltimore to a 28-10 win and he started 2-0. His next game would be his first road start - at Heinz Field - on Monday Night! Talk about pressure. The pressure didn't appear to get to him. He threw for 192 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions, but lost 23-20. After two straight losses, Flacco was faced with his first test. He would have to rally his team and rebound from a 2-3 start. That he did. Four games later, the Ravens were 6-3. During that stretch, the rookie was 61-for-99 with 805 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. He took another tough loss against the Giants, a 30-10 whupping. He'd have to do it again - rebound.

 

He did. He led Baltimore to three blowout wins: 36-7, 34-3 and 24-10 over the Eagles, Bengals and Redskins, respectively. At this time, the Baltimore Ravens were 9-4 and were two wins away from a playoff spot. But Flacco and the Ravens suffered a big blow. They lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers at home in heartbreaking fashion, 13-9. The Ravens, who were leading or tied all game long, lost on a touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes with less then a minute remaining. But Flacco rebounded - AGAIN! He won a big game over the Cowboys, 33-24 in the Cowboys last game at Texas Stadium. In the clincher, Flacco carved the Jaguars secondary for 297 yards in a 27-7 victory. Flacco finished the regular season with 2,971 yards and 14 TD's.

 

But everybody knew - even Flacco - that the playoffs would be a different story. Flacco would be facing Miami in the first round. Flacco wasn't very impressive. He was 9-for-23 with 132 yards. But he was better then people give him credit for. He didn't get sacked, didn't fumble, didn't throw an interception and ran for a five-yard touchdown. When it was over, the Ravens were advancing to play the Tennessee Titans after thrashing the Dolphins, 27-9. But Tennessee wouldn't be easy. This is a defense that includes Albert Haynesworth, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin. Not an easy task.

 

But Flacco didn't hesitate. He threw for 161 yards, a touchdown and didn't fumble and didn't throw an interception. He led a drive with minutes left to give the Ravens a 13-10 victory, vice versa from the Ravens Week five 13-10 loss to the Titans. Flacco now has a chance to carry the Ravens to a Super Bowl. He has earned respect from fellow coaches and players, especially Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

 

 "He's no longer a rookie. He's obviously gained the respect of a very veteran-laden football team, particularly defensively. They ride with him as the guys say. I knew that when we were up on them in the first game with those guys, he took them down the field and forced overtime. I saw enough at that point to realize we're going to have our hands full with this guy for a very long time. He's done nothing to disprove that."

 

That brings us to Matt Ryan. Ryan, of course, has a lot more hype. Bigger school, bigger bucks. Before throwing a regular season pass, Matt Ryan signed a 6 year/$72M deal, much larger then Flacco's 5 year/$30M deal. But he didn't disappoint on his first NFL pass, a touchdown strike of over 60 yards to Falcons wide receiver Michael Jenkins. His first game, he led the Falcons to a 34-21 win over Detroit. In the game, he was 9-of-13 with 161 yards and a touchdown. He was bad the next, just as Flacco was in his second game. Ryan was just 13-of-33 against a good Tampa Bay defense. But Ryan rebounded. He was 12-of-18 with 192 yards and a touchdown against Kansas City in a 38-14 victory. After four games, he was 2-2, just like Flacco.

 

 Ryan won two more before a bye and was 4-2 at Week 7. Ryan got better and better by the week, and it was evident to National Football League fans. He lost 27-14 to his hometown Philadelphia Eagles after a bye and the next week, he and his Falcons came out rolling, shutting Oakland down, 24-0. Ryan was 17-for-22 with 220 yards and two touchdowns. He was just as good the next week against the Saints, going 16-for-23 with 248 yards and two touchdown passes. Unbelievably so, the Falcons were 6-3 under a rookie quarterback and head coach, doubling their win total from '07. A tough pill to swallow was injected into Ryan and Atlanta the next week, taking a tough loss to Denver.

 

But the Falcons kept winning. They crushed Carolina, who finished 12-4, also beat San Diego, Tampa Bay, Minnesota and St. Louis. The Falcons finished 11-5 and were one of the biggest surprises in the National Football League. Ryan actually finished with ten touchdowns and just six interceptions on the road, good for a quarterback, but phenomenal for a 23-year old rookie. Ryan seemed to be flawless at making good reads. He had precise decision-making. It was that decision making that earned him Offensive Rookie of the Year.

 

 “I thought I made pretty good decisions throughout the course of the year, but you can never be perfect,” Ryan said. “And you have to strive to get as close as you can to that. You have to study where you go with the football, your eyes, your footwork, all different things because other people are out there doing that. ” 

 

 I thought he was perfect. He led the Falcons (3-13 in '07) to 11-5 in 2008. He threw for 3,440 yards and 16 TD's. The playoffs, for any rookie quarterback, would be a different story. Ryan struggled, to say the least. He lost in the first round to the Arizona Cardinals, 30-24. He threw two touchdowns and you have to give the guy credit for keeping Atlanta in the game, but he lost and that's what matters in the end. Some suggest he hit a rookie wall. I respectfully disagree. Ryan did a good job of rallying and rebounding from an interception on his first postseason pass. This won't be the last time you see Ryan in the playoffs.

 

Wow, what years they had.