Will 2010 be Matt Ryan’s Breakout Season?
Matt Ryan’s NFL career started off in the best way possible. His first professional pass turned out to be a 62 yard touchdown strike.
From then on, Ryan’s rookie season took off as he led the Atlanta Falcons to its first playoff berth in four seasons behind the phenomenal season by running back Michael Turner, and Ryan’s sensational rookie season. Ryan threw for 3,440 yards, scored 16 touchdowns and had an 87.7 passer rating earning him the 2008 Rookie of the Year award.
Last season, Ryan didn’t have a bad season, but he did sort of take a step back. He threw 14 interceptions and his passer rating dropped to 80.9. The Atlanta Falcons took a step back as well as they went from an 11-5 playoff season in 2008 to a 9-7 record last year, missing out on a wild card berth.
Now the Falcons are expected to bounce back this year. Turner will be healthy again, their receivers are more experienced, and the defence is improving, so all the pieces are in place for Atlanta to once again reach the playoffs. However, their chances of playing football into January will depend on how Matt Ryan performs.
So much has changed in Atlanta since former franchise quarterback (QB) Michael Vick was sentenced to two years in jail three years ago. In that time, the Falcons released Vick, fired coaches and pretty much rebuilt their team overnight.
The Falcons acquired Michael Turner following the 2007 season, and they drafted Matt Ryan third overall in the 2008 NFL Draft to become their new franchise quarterback.
Ryan has already shown a lot of promise and many expect him to be the next great in football. He has a great head coach in Mike Smith and some good weapons in Atlanta, including Turner and wide receiver (WR) Roddy White. The team also has linebacker (LB) John Abraham anchoring the defence, which sets the franchise up for future success.
Make no mistake about it, it is Ryan that has to be the leader in this quarterback driven league. It’s been a while since a decent quarterback led his team to a Super Bowl. All you have to do is look at the Super Bowl winning QBs in the last few years: Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Eli Manning. In all those title runs, those quarterbacks had to be the front runners of their team at some point, and four of the five are Super Bowl MVPs.
Ryan’s experience will help him heading into this season and the Falcons will also have a slightly easier schedule than last season after finishing third in their division in 2009.
Not just Ryan, but the whole team has now gained experience, and most of them have been to the playoffs. They could be one of those dark horse teams that seem to emerge every year.
The New Orleans Saints are the favourites to win the NFC South and they should be, after all they are the defending Super Bowl Champions. However, it is always tough for champions to repeat, so the door may be open for the Falcons to surprise a few teams and make it back to the playoffs.
Head coach Smith sees enormous potential for the coming season but stresses that his squad must play as a unit: "One of the big things we're going to have to improve on is becoming a more consistent football team," he says. "Not necessarily from week to week but play to play."
With Matt Ryan emerging as the leader of this football team, the Falcons have the potential to be the next powerhouse in the National Football League.
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