I have to begin by saying that I have been an Atlanta Falcons fan for a very long time. I can remember just about every draft pick we have had and remember the days of Cain, Andrews, Bartkowski, Mathis, Riggs, and a whole bunch more players that were outstanding. Mike Smith has come to Atlanta and setup a system and a process to win which is what we have lacked for a few years. As a long time fan, I am very happy to see us go back to a more traditional style offense and very happy to see Matt Ryan leading that for us.
At the beginning of the season, Atlanta was coming from the previous season considered to be one of the worst in the league and had a 4-12 record the year prior. It didn’t take the experts long after the 34-21 opener to see that Smith’s new system was going to yield results. He had several advantages – Michael Turner had fresh legs, the offensive line was working as a team, and Matt Ryan played in a pro-like system at Boston College. The preseason showed mixed results but Matt Ryan lit up the defense on his very first throw – a 62 yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins.
Ryan was also very successful at gaining the support of veteran players. Several referenced some of the greats like Farve, Manning, et al throughout the season as he showed his potential week after week.
After being selected 3rd in the 2008 draft, Ryan has become the 3rd quarterback in three years to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. Ben Roethlisberger (2004) and Vince Young (2006) had won prior to Ryan with no other quarterback having won that award prior to Big Ben.
In his years prior to being with Atlanta, he earned the nickname “Matty Ice”. John Abraham has come up with a new nickname for him – “ROY”. Ryan said he was flattered to even be mentioned with the other candidates.
Dana
