Have I been ignoring the obvious?

[etherdome]

I liked Matt Ryan as a college QB. He was one of those guys that "willed" his team to success. However, I never recognized any part of his game that said "NFL star." For weeks, I have been harping on the idea that Ryan is not an upgrade from Chris Redman. And all the while, nearly every draft "guru" talks about Matt Ryan like he is an obvious starting QB in the NFL.

I have a terrible track record picking QB's. I liked Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf and J P Losman. That should give you a picture of my ability to scout a QB.

So, here is the question: Is Matt Ryan capable of performing at a high level in the NFL? Dimitroff must be sure of the answer. If he passes on a future star QB, he will regret it for the rest of his career. If he sinks a high draft pick and a huge sum of money on a mediocre QB, he will set the franchise back for at least five years.....and he will be looking for a job elsewhere.

I am still not convinced that Ryan is worth the #3 pick in this draft. Am I wrong about this? Am I letting my love of the "big ugglies" get in the way of choosing the right QB for this team?

[1989Fan]

Didnt Manning throw his share of INTs @ TEN as well?

not saying......just saying...

[red2play]

In the NFL, you CANT throw intercepts. No matter how bad the team is around you, you can't make those mental mistakes. HE will be a bust in the NFL, no doubt. Rex Grossman has a better arm, acuracy, etc than he does and look at him when HE throws an interception. Matt Ryan will be 10x worse than Grossman.

I've seen his arm. He throws up floaters that will most definately be picked off in the NFL. Just wait and watch.

[1989Fan]

Manning threw like 23 INTs as a rookie in te NFL.

Roetherlisberger and Favre both toyed with the all time single season INT record in 06.

[featherz17]

I like Matt Ryan a lot and think he could be exactly what we need in Atlanta as a franchise QB. I also like both Long's, Ellis, and Dorsey. While if drafted, Ryan may not have the immediate impact like the other possible first picks would, he could have a much larger long term impact on this team. I'm having a hard time deciding exactly who I want to draft as well. I always tend to lean towards the players who could start right away and have that first year impact. Since we are in a rebuilding year, I'm trying to decide on who I want by looking at future seasons to come, not just 2008. There are a lot of "sexy" picks out there, but when it comes down to it, Ryan may just be what we need in Atlanta.

[Mugzy12]

how is he even thot of goin #1??? i mean it..last year we all thot of taking brohm in top 10 ad brohm and ryan to me have same arm strenght but brohm is way more accurate and a better discion maker...so thanks to mayisuckurcock hes blown this way out of proportion

[1989Fan]

grendel (2/26/2008)

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1989fan (2/26/2008)

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Didnt Manning throw his share of INTs @ TEN as well?

not saying......just saying...

His senior year he had a 3 to 1 TD / INT ratio. That's 2x Ryan's 1.5.

I didnt know. I just thought I read that he had like 6 more INTs than Mannin with 200+ more passing attempts.

[maxatlanta]

I watched the BC/VT game live and it was my first glimpse of Ryan. Afterwards I made a point of catching as many of BCs games as I could (which was usually just a couple quarters each week). Matt Ryan is not a game changer in the NFL. His ceiling is Drew Bledsoe. A good QB in his prime, but one who is not going to carry a team on his back. He is worth a mid first because he is a QB, but I'd rather make a smaller investment in someone else.

I think that because of his height, build, and the VaTech game, he reminds people of Tom Brady. But I just don't see the arm strength and he certainly didn't look like Tom during the first 3 quarters at VT or in the two following games which BC lost.

[g-dawg]

Matt Ryan is a "nice" prospect........Nice prospects don't go in the "top 5" or even the "top 10"......Because there are no superstar QBs this year, Matt Ryan's status has been elevated. Every year a QB goes in the top 10 - many years two go in top 10 - and most cannot live up to the hype.

Admit it, if Falcons had the #15-#20 pick overall, we would all be clamoring for the guy if the top dogs(Jake Long, Glen Dorsey, Darren McFadden) were unattainable. I know if we had our first pick in that range - I would be in favor of taking Matt Ryan - because he's a "nice prospect" at QB and that is the range that those QB's get selected.

Just like David Carr, Tim Couch and Alex Smith - these are other QB's that came out and got unrealistically elevated - except for Couch(who was taken ahead of McNabb/Culpepper) Alex Smith and David Carr were pushed up because of their positions and a teams need.

If you make a mistake on the QB in 2nd round or later, you can recover from it quickly and you will admit the mistake faster and rectify the situation. If we draft Matt Ryan at #3 overall and he's a bust - we will ride him for 3-4 years before Falcons will admit that he's a bust.

Just say "NO" to the "nice prospect" at #3:)

[g-dawg]

maxatlanta (2/26/2008)

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I watched the BC/VT game live and it was my first glimpse of Ryan. Afterwards I made a point of catching as many of BCs games as I could (which was usually just a couple quarters each week). Matt Ryan is not a game changer in the NFL. His ceiling is Drew Bledsoe. A good QB in his prime, but one who is not going to carry a team on his back. He is worth a mid first because he is a QB, but I'd rather make a smaller investment in someone else.

I think that because of his height, build, and the VaTech game, he reminds people of Tom Brady. But I just don't see the arm strength and he certainly didn't look like Tom during the first 3 quarters at VT or in the two following games which BC lost.

good post maxatlanta - agree very much with what you said - i said basically the same thing but stated slightly differently in my post under yours....

....hopefully Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith feel the same way...

[Mr. Offseason]

to be honest i think he can be a good NFL qb. he has great intangibles, prototype size and his mechanics are pretty sound. he is accurate when he makes the right read and as he is coached up in the NFL and as he watches more and more film (which Mayock said he 100% would) he should stop forcing so many of the really ugly throws and he should become a more efficient passer.

my biggest problem with him, and the reason i dont want us to draft him at all, is that he has a horrible deep ball. his arm strength is not adequate for this offense, and there are a few pieces of evidence for that. for instance, 10 of his first 14 interceptions occurred when he was trying to stretch the field deep, and that is of huge concern. and this is not something you can pin on his wide recievers. his deep passes become innacurrate and his mechanics are not the same. i cant tell from watching, but he might pull the ball too close to his ear (something ive seen brennan do when forced to throw long) and has to try too hard to throw the deep ball. it is innacurrate, is not strong and that causes a lot of interceptions.

if you cant throw the deep ball in this you are sunk, just look at joey harrington's season last year. matt ryan cant throw the deep ball, so ill take a pass on him in the draft.

[goosedaddy70]

By no means am I advocating that we draft Matt Ryan but this whole idea that you have to have a rocket arm coming out of college to be a success in the NFL is just crazy.

First of all, we are talking about 21 or 22 year olds here who just split time going to class and playing football. Ryans' body has plenty of room to put on muscle. Most guys that come into the league as QBs put on quite a bit of muscle in their first couple of years. (ie Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees)

Secondly, depending on what offense you are running, you can be a great success in the NFL without having a rocket for an arm.(Joe Montana, Tony Romo, Warren Moon, Troy Aikman and Steve Young)

This whole rocket arm thing is just so ridiculous. I know its the sexy thing to have but how many guys with rocket arms and nothing else have made it in the NFL? Did Ryan Leaf or Dan McGuire or David Klingler? Nope. They all had the rocket arm and were all busts.

Ryan does have the intangibles that you want in a QB and if we didn't need a whole bunch of things then I would probably love to draft him but we are in a total rebuilding phase right now.

But get off the guys jock about not having this strong arm. Its just stupid people who fancy themselves as draft experts that keep on with this trash.

[blizzard_falcon]

I hope for Ryan's sake that he falls into the middle of the first round. Let him get snatched up by Carolina or Baltimore where he'll have the chance to play for a decent team and not feel like he has to carry the whole team like he tried to do at Boston College. It might do wonders for his tendency to throw INTs. If he goes here or to Miami, he'll turn into another Harrington - he'll be expected to be a savior, try to do too much, and wind up being a bust. However, if he goes to a better team, maybe he'll have the chance to be a good QB in this league; kind of like what happened with Roethlisberger.