In his first four games of the 2009 season, Atlanta Falcons second-year quarterback Matt Ryan had a QB rating of 98.0, 122.2, 82.3 and 110.0. He was off to a fantastic start and people started to assume that he would have Tom Brady-like numbers every game.
But in his last three outings, Ryan has QB ratings of 68.4, 66.1 and 46.6 and now all of a sudden he’s drawing comparisons to Rex Grossman. (Okay, so Ryan has never been compared to Grossman, but you get my feeble attempt at exaggerating my point.)
After his three-interception game last Monday night against the Saints, I’ve read at least two articles from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about how Ryan doesn’t look like the same player he was as a rookie. The overall tone of the articles was that the Falcons should be worried, because “Matty Ice” hasn’t played well in three games.
But people need to take their hand off the ejection button, because Ryan is fine – he’s just going through typical growing pains. He had one of the best (if not the best) rookie season of any quarterback to ever play in the NFL, while leading what many believed was a 3-13 team to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth. Entering his second season, the expectations were sky high and now that he’s not playing well, some want to question whether or not last season was a fluke.
I’ll admit that following his performance in New Orleans on Monday night that he hasn’t looked like the same player he was last year or at the beginning of this year. He seems to be rushing his throws more and making bad decisions. His cool, calm pocket presence has turned into a rushed dance where he doesn’t always work through all of his progressions and set his feet to throw. He also seems to be locking in on Tony Gonzalez or Roddy White and therefore throwing a high number of interceptions. (He’s thrown eight in his last four games.)
With how exceptionally well he played as a rookie last year, it’s easy to forget that Matt Ryan only has 24 career starts under his belt.
Ryan did some great things in the Falcons’ 35-27 loss to the Saints on Monday night, most notably throwing a 68-yard rainbow to Roddy White to cut New Orleans’ lead to 28-21 early in the third quarter. He also found White and Tony Gonzalez on some key third downs to keep the chains moving and leave the Saints’ dynamic offense on the sidelines for most of the second half.
But he also made some mistakes that second year quarterbacks are unfortunately prone to making. Things like zeroing in on Gonzalez or forcing a pass into a well covered White late in the first half that led to a huge defensive touchdown for the Saints. He also looked rushed in the pocket at times and took a couple of unnecessary sacks because he didn’t go through all of his progressions. For a young man who has built the reputation of having ice water in his veins, “Matty Ice” looked uneasy several times when the Falcons needed a big play in the passing game.
Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and the rest of the Falcons’ potent offense may get more attention, but Atlanta can thank its defense for the team starting the season 4-1.
The Falcons beat the Bears 21-14 on Sunday night, as Atlanta’s defense forced three turnovers and stopped Chicago on a 4th-and-6 attempt from the 10-yard line with only 34 seconds remaining. The Falcons also held Matt Forte to only 23 yards on 15 carries.
But while Atlanta’s defense deserves credit for its effort on Sunday night, this game was more about Chicago squandering opportunities. Jay Cutler threw an interception to kill a potential scoring drive in the first quarter and then Forte cost the Bears another opportunity with a fumble at Atlanta’s 1-yard line in the third. The Bears moved the ball at will at times, but often shot themselves in the foot with turnovers or costly penalties.
For two teams that are supposed to contender for a playoff spot in the NFC, this wasn’t a very cleanly played game on either side. The Falcons turned the ball over twice and would have added another had Ryan not pounced on a Turner fumble in the second quarter. Neither team was very impressive and while Atlanta won, I can’t say the Falcons are definitively better than the Bears are after this performance.
Giants (5-0) at Saints (4-0), 1:00PM ET
Hopefully readers will give me credit for attempt to predict the toughest games this week. No? All right then…This is by far the hardest game to predict on the Week 6 schedule, so let’s look at some of the facts. The Saints should be well rested coming off a bye and are playing at home. They have the edge then right? They should, but don’t forget that the Giants essentially had a bye themselves since they played Oakland last week and New York always travels well. Drew Brees hasn’t seen a pass rush as good as the Giants’ all season and I think New York will disrupt his rhythm. And while Darren Sharper and the New Orleans defense is playing out of their minds right now, Eli Manning won’t make the same mistakes rookie Mark Sanchez did two weeks ago when the Saints earned a victory against the Jets. I like Brandon Jacobs to get back on track and for the G-Men to pull off a huge win at the Superdome. Odds: Saints –3. Prediction: Giants 27, Saints 24.
Ravens (3-2) at Vikings (5-0), 1:00PM ET
So, are the Ravens just in a slump or were they overrated to begin with? Give yourself a gold star if you answered, “A little of both.” Baltimore lost several defensive starters and their coordinator Rex Ryan in the offseason – they were due to have a setback at some point. While I think the Ravens are a solid football team, I don’t like this matchup for them. They’re reeling after two straight losses and play an unfamiliar foe in a hostile environment. I also don’t like the matchup between the Ravens’ receivers and the Vikings’ corners and wonder how Joe Flacco will do once Ray Rice and the running game is shut down by Minnesota’s Williams Wall. As long as Brett Favre doesn’t get turnover-happy for the first time this year, I like the Vikings to remain undefeated. Odds: Vikings –3. Prediction: Vikings 21, Ravens 17.
With the Falcons comfortably ahead 35-10 and driving in the third quarter of their game on Sunday against the 49ers, San Francisco cornerback Dre’ Bly intercepted Matt Ryan for what looked like a momentum-turning play.
But then Dre’ channeled his inner Deion Sanders and decided to show off in the middle of the return. What ensued was sheer embarrassment for Bly:
Couple questions for ya, Dre’:
1. Did you not think that Roddy White could catch you from behind given that you only had about a three-yard head start?
2. What compelled you to start dancing at that point with the end zone still 60 yards away?
3. Did you not know what the score was – what the hell were you celebrating about?
Up until their 45-10 loss to the Falcons in Week 5, Shaun Hill and the 49ers felt pretty good about how they started their 2009 season. Hill wasn’t setting the stat book on fire, but he kept the chains moving by making smart decisions and taking care of the football.
But on Sunday, Atlanta jumped out to a sizable first half lead and forced Hill to beat them through the air. What proceeded was a nasty performance highlighted by off-the-mark throws and inconsistency. He didn’t get much help from the running game, but he never got into a rhythm passing and his limitations as a quarterback were on full display. He struggled mightily with the intermediate and deep passes today.
That said, the Niners won’t be making a switch any time soon. It’s not like Mike Singletary didn’t know that Hill wasn’t Peyton Manning in preseason and Hill still beat out Alex Smith for the starting job. The bottom line is that San Fran will struggle this season when it can’t run the ball and the defense doesn’t step up.
Speaking of the Niners’ defense, Matt Ryan and Roddy White absolutely took them to school today. Ryan threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns on 22 of 32 passing, while White had his best outing of the year with eight receptions for 210 yards and two touchdowns. White, who had gotten off to a slow start this season, found holes in San Francisco’s defense and as he often is, Ryan was accurate with his throws.
Putting aside their lackluster effort Sunday in New England, the Atlanta Falcons have more than enough offensive talent to reach the Super Bowl. They have a rising superstar at quarterback in Matt Ryan, a solid back in Michael Turner and two excellent receiving weapons in tight end Tony Gonzalez and wideout Roddy White.
But the Falcons aren’t going anywhere unless Mike Smith fixes the issues on the defensive side of the ball.
Atlanta’s game plan in its loss to New England on Sunday was befuddling. They often only rushed four down linemen and allowed Tom Brady to stand back in the pocket for seconds, minutes and even hours (maybe not hours, but it sure seemed like it) on end. What should frustrate the Falcons is that Brady wasn’t very good, especially in the first half. He routinely overthrew his receivers and often failed to hit them in stride despite having loads of time to get the ball out of his hand.
I want to meet the person for the Falcons that watched the tape of the Jets’ win over the Patriots last week and decided not to attack Brady with multiple defensive fronts. I get that Atlanta didn’t want to be burned deep by Moss and was getting beat by New England’s screen passes in the first half, but why the Falcons didn’t get more aggressive in the second half is beyond me.
The general consensus surrounding the New England Patriots these days is that the sky is falling.
Tom Brady doesn’t look the same.
Bill Belichick can’t win without his coveted videotapes.
The entire defense is a mess.
It’s true – the Patriots are in trouble. Brady didn’t look comfortable last week as the Jets’ defense used multiple looks to confuse him at the line. He generally looked confused and befuddled as Rex Ryan sent extra defenders from all angles and for Brady to look confused and befuddled is a telltale sign that things aren’t right in New England’s world.
But doubting Brady and Belichick when their backs are against a wall is about as smart as taking anything Skip Bayless says to heart. It’s just not wise to write off the Pats, especially coming off a loss.
Matt Ryan might as well change his birthday from May 17 to April 23, because that’s the day Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff traded a 2010 second round pick to Kansas City in exchange for future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.
After hauling in five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in Atlanta’s 19-7 win over Miami in Week 1, Gonzo followed up that performance with a seven-catch, 71-yard effort in the Falcons’ 28-20 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. He also caught his second touchdown pass of the year after Ryan found him on a 24-yard completion late in the first quarter to give Atlanta a 7-3 lead.
It’s still early, but Gonzalez is turning out to be one of he best offseason acquisitions of the year. He’s such a mismatch on safeties and linebackers that it’s almost unfair that the Falcons can use him in the red zone. And when he’s not catching passes, he frees up Roddy White (6 receptions, 53 yards, 1 TD) and other receivers to make plays in the passing game.
A couple days ago, the Falcons’ receiving corps was essentially on life support.
How bad were things? No. 1 wideout Roddy White was in the midst of a contract holdout that wasn’t going well, promising slot receiver Harry Douglas torn his ACL in practice and will miss the entire season, and the team had to scrap near the bottom of the free agent barrel by signing veterans Robert Ferguson and Marty Booker.
But over the weekend, things went from ugly to hopeful again as White ended his holdout by signing a six-year, $50 million contract extension with $18 million in guarantees. The deal was less than Larry Fitzgerald’s four-year, $40 million deal, but more guaranteed money than Greg Jennings’ three-year, $26.35 million (with incentives) extension.
Last week it was reported that White was seeking a deal similar to Fitzgerald, which would have been ridiculous if the report were true. White has been excellent the past two seasons, emerging as Atlanta’s best receiver and top playmaker. But he didn’t deserve Fitzgerald-type money, not with his lackluster first two seasons in the pros, where he didn’t even combine for 1,000 receiving yards and amassed just three touchdowns.
When you compare the two player’s numbers from a year ago, White (88 rec., 1,382 yards, 7 TDs) and Jennings (80 rec., 1,292 yards, 9 TDs) had comparable numbers. Given White’s solid 2007 season (83 rec., 1,202 yards, 6 TDs), it makes sense that he was given more guaranteed money than Jennings, but in no way should he make what Fitz does.
The Falcons did a nice job not panicking during White’s holdout, and not feeling the need to overpay when Douglas went down for the season. GM Thomas Dimitroff played it cool and got a deal worked out before White’s holdout became too much of a distraction. Plus, Dimitroff proved that the Falcons will take care of veterans like White when they play out their contracts.
