Ryan has faith in his guys

Atlanta in top five for drops, but QB keeps coming back.

In Chicago, quarterback Jay Cutler is taking heat for his emotional outbursts at teammates after they make mistakes.

Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan takes a different approach.

Ryan remained stoic after wide receiver Julio Jones dropped two passes and tight end Tony Gonzalez dropped one during the Falcons’ 27-21 victory over Denver on Monday night. Ryan said if he says anything to teammates after those kind of plays, he tells them he’s coming back to them.

“Physical mistakes are going to happen,” he said. “That’s part of playing sports. That’s every sport. I’ve got a ton of confidence in our guys.

“After one of those things happens, I tell them, ‘Hey, you are going to make one later in the game,’ and [ Jones] did. He and Tony came back with some clutch plays later in the game and finished off what was a good game.”

Jones dropped a potential touchdown pass early, but helped seal the victory by turning a short crossing route into a first down on third-and-6 just before the two-minute warning. Gonzalez had a 1-yard touchdown among his seven catches for 70 yards.

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Jones has three drops and Gonzalez two through the first two games. The Falcons have six as a team, tied for fourth-most in the NFL.

“I don’t worry about it too much,” Ryan said. “We’ve got talented guys.” touchdowns (tied for second-most).

The Falcons didn’t play much base defense in its first two games because they had to use extra defensive backs to defend opponents that used extra receivers. But coach Mike Smith said the issues have more to do with fundamentals than fewer linebackers on the field.

“It’s really about gap integrity, and we’ve got to be a little bit better at fitting the run,” Smith said. “If you just get a guy a half man out of his gap, you are going to give up some yardage. We know when you are playing your nickel, you are not as strong against the run as you would be in the base. But we’ve got to be a little bit more efficient than we have been in the first two ballgames.” just behind fleeter quarterbacks Russell Wilson (48) and Matt Cassel (45). Ryan’s 4.9 yard average on nine carries is better than Wilson, Michael Vick and Cam Newton.

“It’s not a conscious change,” Ryan said. “Sometimes the way the plays present themselves, it just so happens it’s been a lot [of running] early on. I’m capable of getting it done when I need to but, certainly, I’m a passer first.”