The Mystique of Matt Ryan

"With the third pick of the 2008 NFL Draft the Atlanta Falcons select Matt Ryan, quarterback, Boston College."

What?! That's all I remember thinking when the Falcons took Matt Ryan. I wanted them to take someone who could help them immediately, such as Glenn Dorsey. I thought anyone would be better than Matt Ryan. I mean Matt Ryan DID throw 19 picks in his final college season.

However, Matt Ryan has done nothing but prove me wrong.

Through the first four games I was not completely sold. He played well versus Detroit and Kansas City, but both of these games were at Home, and KC and DET aren't exactly good defenses. His QB rating in the two games was 137 and 120.6 and he had two touchdown passes and 0 interceptions, but let's get real, in each of these games he threw a combined 31 times, an average of 15.5 passes per game.

The reason the Falcons won these home games was not because of Matt Ryan's play, but because of what Michael Turner did. Let's see how Matt Ryan played on the road...

On the road against the division-rival Panthers and Buccaneers, the Falcons failed to score a TD and lost both games 24-9. Ryan had a QB rating of 29.6 and 60.8 in the losses. He threw two interceptions versus Tampa, one of which was not his fault, the other was inexcusable and returned for a touchdown. 

So through the first four games Matt Ryan had beaten two poor teams at home and lost to two good teams on the road, unimpressive thus far, but doing exactly what anyone would expect of a rookie. So what would weeks five and six bring?

Week five at Green Bay got me on the Ryan wagon. The last time the Falcons visited Lambeau Michael Vick won his first playoff game. This time Matt Ryan won his first road game. He managed the game oh so well.

The Falcons jumped to a 17-7 halftime lead after 2 touchdowns by Ryan. Even when Green Bay came back and tied the game at 17-17 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Ryan stayed poised and led the Falcons to a touchdown and a field goal, which gave Atlanta a 27-17 lead and ultimately put the game away.

And then there was week six...

The Bears—Matt Ryan's first challenge at home. Before this game Ryan had not thrown for over 200 passing yards. He torched the Bears for just over 300, the last 26 of it to Michael Jenkins with eight seconds left to set up a 47-yard game-winning field goal.

After Jason Elam missed a 33-yard field goal that would have put the game away and the Bears marched all the way down field to take a 20-19 lead and leave Ryan 11 seconds to get into field goal range, one would expect the game to be over.

No way can any QB, let alone a rookie, put the Falcons in a position to win with only eight seconds and a 20-yard pickup needed to do so. Ryan found a way, however, as he overcame Elam’s first miss and threw a perfect ball to Michael Jenkins who fell out of bounds with 1 second left and a chance for a 47-yard field goal.

The Falcons go into their bye week at 4-2, instead of 3-3. And the Mystique of Matt continues to grow.

Their are still improvements needed from the young quarterback, but hey, he IS a rookie, and the way he has played so far has given Falcons fans hope for the future.

The Falcons have a legitimate shot at the playoffs this year; although I do not see this happening considering how tough the NFC South is this year.

He's got me saying Michael who? And one thing is for sure, Matt Ryan will not be convicted of any dog fighting incidents.

Before we get too carried away though, let's see how he plays the next two weeks following the bye when the Falcons visit Philadelphia and Oakland.

And remember Matt Ryan for president!