The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Ryan now considered elite
Offseason work has paid dividends for quarterback.
HOUSTON — There was probably no one on the Falcons’ roster more distraught with the team’s 8-8 finish last season than the quarterback.
Matt Ryan had enjoyed a great deal of success early in his career and landed a $103 million contract after his fifth season, which ended in the NFC championship game.
But the next three nonwinning seasons started to take a toll on the first quarterback to lead the franchise to back-to-back winning seasons (2008 and 2009). Ryan, already a two-time Pro Bowler, took it upon himself to improve his play this season and did exactly that, guiding the Falcons to the Super Bowl for just the second time in the team’s 51-year history.
“It’s always good for me to see when a guy goes from one spot to another spot, and Matt did that,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “I kind of used the analogy ‘like a New Year’s resolution.’ Some people stick with it for a little while, but the thing I admire most about him is that he has not backed off. His drill work, his will to get better, it was constantly going as he was challenging himself.”
Ryan worked to cut down his interceptions, operate more efficiently on his rollouts, be more precise when throwing on the run and delivering his deep passes with more accuracy.
“His routine is better than it’s ever been,” Quinn said. “His process of getting ready to play is better than it’s ever been.”
Quinn was impressed that an already established quarterback thought he could elevate his game after his 30th birthday.
“For years, he’d been able to throw the ball really well, so I do think that’s changed a whole lot. But the process of getting ready and the technique work that he did, for sure, adding weapons helped, too,” Quinn said. “I think it was combination of that.”
Perhaps the most remarkable note is Ryan and Quinn never had a “come to Jesus” meeting to implement to the changes.
“That was directed by him,” Quinn said, “knowing Falcons quarterback that he wanted to go to a new spot with a new process, so he tried new things as well.”
Ryan had fabulous results. He led the Falcons to a 13-5 record and completed nearly 70 percent of his passes. The diversity of the offense led to his throwing touchdown passes to a record 13 different receivers.
He won the Most Valuable Player award from the Pro Football Writers of America. On Saturday he will likely get the Associated Press’ honor too.
Finally after nine seasons, folks are willing to consider him one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
“I’ve gotten to a point in my career to understand what works best for me,” Ryan said. “I feel really good about my game, and I’m confident in what I can do and the plays that I can make.”
Much was made about his receiving some text messages from New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who’s 2-0 in Super Bowl matchups with New England. Manning was not exactly sharing any secrets on how to take down the Patriots.
“None of it was about that,” Ryan said. “He was nice to send some congratulations text on playoff games. That was about it. I think it got turned into something different about the code to beat the Patriots.”
So what is the code to beat the Patriots?
“I don’t think it’s overly complicated,” Ryan said. “You have to play well. You have to take care of the football. You can’t give them anything. Then on the defensive side of the ball, we need to try and take it away.”
The Falcons are a threepoint underdog.
“I feel confident,” Ryan said. “We feel like we do things the right way, and that leads to the right results. That’s certainly been the case all year.”
Ryan has eased into his Super Bowl week.
“Obviously, this isn’t normal, right?” Ryan said. “This isn’t our day-to-day (routine), but when we get onto the practice field and in our meeting rooms, it feels really normal. So we’ll enjoy this part of it. It’s cool.
“You never know when you’re going to get these opportunities in your life to kind of come out here and have all these fans and media people here. So we’ll enjoy it, but we feel good with where we’re at.”
Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff also noticed the work that Ryan put in over the offseason.
“He wanted to make sure that he was focused on what he needed to continue to refine,” Dimitroff said. “He spent time with the players in Miami, took a number of our skill-position players, receivers, running backs, tight ends. He was very mindful of making sure that they were all together.”
Ryan also went to see throwing guru Tom House, a former Atlanta Braves pitcher, and Adam Dedeaux of the respected 3DQB training center in California to help with his deep passing.
“He spent time out West as well, continuing to educate himself and learn,” Dimitroff said. “Matt, I’ve always said, is an incremental leader. All his years that he’s been in Atlanta, he’s continued to get better and better and more mindful of his leadership.
“He didn’t come in Year One, pumping his chest, (saying) that he was the greatest. This is where he is right now, and he has the entire team — he’s got the offense, of course — but he also has the defense. In my mind, that’s a true mark of a leader. Matt Ryan is beyond admirable in that way.”
There is only one way Ryan would like to end this season of redemption: on the highest note.
“New England has a great defense, and watching them on film, their ability to keep people out of the end zone has been unbelievable all year,” Ryan said. “So we’ve certainly got our work cut out for us, but I think everybody’s looking forward to Sunday.” HOUSTON — In May 2010, the Falcons became so concerned about the “excessive” reliance on painkillers by players that the issue eventually reached the desk of owner Arthur Blank, a recent court filing said.
A string of emails containing the information was entered into a California court record last Thursday as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit filed by more than 1,800 former NFL players, who claim NFL teams fostered an atmosphere that led to the abuse of painkillers with little regard for their long-term health.
Some of the emails went from Falcons trainer Marty Lauzon to general manager Thomas Dimitroff to Blank, who then had president Rich McKay handle the matter.
One email concerned the review by an outside agency that found the team spent $81,000 on prescriptions for medications for players in 2009, nearly three times the league average, according to a Tuesday report by the Associated Press.
“That’s being litigated now. That’s not something we’re going discuss right now,” Dimitroff said on Monday night when asked about the emails. “When the time is right, we’ll readdress that.”
The team reiterated it would not comment on the matter on Tuesday.
In the wake of the episode, the Falcons switched team doctors, bringing in Dr. Spero Karas, an orthopedic surgeon at the Emory Sports Medicine Center in August 2011. Dr. Jeffrey Webb, also of Emory, was also hired as consulting physician.
Dr. Scott Gillogly was the team’s previous doctor. He also was the team doctor for the NHL Atlanta Thrashers.
The case is being heard in the Northern District of California by U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. The same allegations were originally filed in a 2014 class-action lawsuit that is currently before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.