Question about Matt Ryan

[direwolf]

Ryan isn't my first choice, but since there's a very real possibility that we'll take him with our first round pick, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about him (not that it matters in the slightest, of course. hehe).

I was reading the write-up on him in the Pro Football Weekly Draft Preview magazine and it said something that I hadn't heard before. The review said that, while his INT numbers from last year are worrisome, many of those INTs came off of tipped passes by sub-par receivers.

So, here's my question for the BC fans and for people who've actually watched him play (we don't get a lot of his games down here in Georgia): is that true? And, if so, how many are we talking here? If a third of his INTs came because his receivers would rather be playing volleyball, I'd feel a lot better about drafting him though he still wouldn't be my first choice.

Any help on this one? And please, try and be objective.

Direwolf

[Matthew Pritts]

The talent he had around him at BC was marginal, at best.

Therefore, he had to take matters into his own hands a lot and force the ball to make plays where if he had talent around him worth his salt he wouldn't have to do so.

Those INT's, most of them, are from him trying to make a play, not from bad decisions.

[E. T.]

We dont need him or any qb right now! we stay with what we have and most important, we need to fix our lines first

[.:st.anger:.]

I had the same concerns as the draft class was being assembled and I looked at his numbers and tried watching as much on You Tube to really see what he can do and what his decision-making is like.

Since the combine, I have seen many interviews and I can see why teams are high on the guy. He provides an air of confidence without arrogance. When he talks he's very focused so more than likely his interviews went well. He has the 'air' of Peyton Manning around him, a student of the game, a guy who will study hard to get better. While he may never play like Peyton Manning (I wouldn't ask him to try and live up to that type of performance), he seems a very serious individual whose focused on the game of football and how to be better at it.

[MidWest Falcon]

Something that sticks out to me about Ryan:

TD/Int ratio:

2004: 2 td , 3 int

2005: 8 td , 5 int

2006: 15 td , 10 int

2007: 31 td, 19 int

Overall: 56 td , 37 int

- Not a very "elite" career td/int ratio

Compare to Peyton Manning (just for fun )

1994: 11 td , 6 int

1995: 22 td , 4 int

1996: 20 td , 12 int

1997: 37 td , 11 int

Overall: 90 td , 33 int

[Matthew Pritts]

E. T. (3/4/2008)

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We dont need him or any qb right now! we stay with what we have and most important, we need to fix our lines first

Wrong, we need to take a QB this year and groom him b/c the '09 class is AWFUL, the '08 class is actually underrated IMO.

I don't get all thsi "don't take a QB this year" talk.

[direwolf]

And the fighting has begun already.

Grendel: I'm not making excuses, but when a receiver has the ball hit him right in the breadbasket and he pops it up to a defender (as we saw Jenkins do on several occasions), I just don't think you can blame the QB for that. Obviously all QBs have the same issue. The reason I brought it up was that it was specifically mentioned in the write-up I read of Ryan and I hadn't heard it before. All I wanted was an answer to the question of how many passes did he have tipped like that?

If he makes bad decisions as well, so be it. Like I've said a million times, he isn't my first choice. However, since I'm not one to freak out if we DO take him, I'm trying to learn as much about him as possible to get the most realistic picture of him. After all, we've got a very good quarterbacks coach on our staff and a player can be re-trained on how to see the field. By all accounts, he's a very hard worker and will put in the time in film study to improve his reads.

If we take him, we fans might as well make the best of it.

Direwolf

[Matthew Pritts]

MidWest Falcon (3/4/2008)

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Something that sticks out to me about Ryan:

TD/Int ratio:

2004: 2 td , 3 int

2005: 8 td , 5 int

2006: 15 td , 10 int

2007: 31 td, 19 int

Overall: 56 td , 37 int

- Not a very "elite" career td/int ratio

Compare to Peyton Manning (just for fun )

1994: 11 td , 6 int

1995: 22 td , 4 int

1996: 20 td , 12 int

1997: 37 td , 11 int

Overall: 90 td , 33 int

Touche'

[stumpjumper]

Direwolf, I only saw 2 BC games this past season. The first one and their game against VT. He looked awful when he was under pressure in the VT game, and the first game I gave him a pass since it was opening day and it looked like he just had jitters in the opening quarter.

[direwolf]

stumpjumper (3/4/2008)

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Direwolf, I only saw 2 BC games this past season. The first one and their game against VT. He looked awful when he was under pressure in the VT game, and the first game I gave him a pass since it was opening day and it looked like he just had jitters in the opening quarter.

It's those VT games that really bother me about him. People talk about how he "willed" his team to win in the end of the first game, but all he did was take the underneath routes that VT gave him by abandoning what had worked all game and playing soft football. Nothing magical there.

The second VT game, VT stayed on him all game and he was completely ineffective. Now, granted, Tom Brady looked pretty ineffective too against the Giants, but still... if he struggled that much against a college defense even after having film of what they liked to do, I worry about him at the next level.

Direwolf

[stumpjumper]

Thats what scares me on him as well...that he had some games where he struggled in one of college football's weak conferences, the ACC. Then for him to go up to the NFL level, which is just a whole 'nother animal, well, I worry for the poor guy.

edited for some poor grammar

[MidWest Falcon]

direwolf (3/4/2008)

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And the fighting has begun already.

Grendel: I'm not making excuses, but when a receiver has the ball hit him right in the breadbasket and he pops it up to a defender (as we saw Jenkins do on several occasions), I just don't think you can blame the QB for that. Obviously all QBs have the same issue. The reason I brought it up was that it was specifically mentioned in the write-up I read of Ryan and I hadn't heard it before. All I wanted was an answer to the question of how many passes did he have tipped like that?

If he makes bad decisions as well, so be it. Like I've said a million times, he isn't my first choice. However, since I'm not one to freak out if we DO take him, I'm trying to learn as much about him as possible to get the most realistic picture of him. After all, we've got a very good quarterbacks coach on our staff and a player can be re-trained on how to see the field. By all accounts, he's a very hard worker and will put in the time in film study to improve his reads.

If we take him, we fans might as well make the best of it.

Direwolf

I see where you are coming from when you say that it is not his fault when a pass is tipped and picked off. I just think when you look at the overall picture there is no way all of those passes were tipped

Does this mean Matt Ryan will not be a good NFL QB? No, but his numbers do not match some of the betters QB's in the League. He was also not surrounded by talent like Manning, etc.

[direwolf]

Not to mention that he's given credit for a comeback against VT only because he sucked for 56 minutes and HAD to come back.

Not always a fair assessment. John Elway was the "Comeback Kid" for his entire career.

Direwolf

[ugadawg]

I listen to an interview where he stated that Farve was his idiol and in some cases he tried to hard to carry his team and would have the gun slinger attitude and try to rifle a throw into coverage. He self admitted at times he tried to do to much. When he was competing agaist equal teams to the ones he was on he had time to throw and did better. He has the arm stregth to make all the throws and has the ideal size. Will this translate ????????? ask in about 3-4 years. Does it give him an advantage. yes.

[the_next_level]

From what I have gathered from watching video,and reading about Ryan,most of his interceptions were due to him trying to throw it deep down the field (like you said trying to make a play) I believe he has good accuracy,he just makes bad decisions on where to throw it.Every QB in this draft has something people will see and say "oh he sucks".There are issues with each of the top QBs in the draft,not just Ryan.To compare Ryan to Manning is unfair,any QB coming out of this draft would look like crap compared to him ,with the exception of Brennan and Johnson.If that were the case then Brennan & Johnson are both better at this point in their careers' as football players than Manning was in the same time....which is definitely not true.College numbers don't mean a thing when it comes to the NFL.Now I am not high on drafting Ryan third overall,I feel we should trade down and get more picks.with the signing of Turner,and the abundance of players at the OT/DT positions.I think Dimitroff's first pick will be Ryan.

[Cam or phe]

direwolf (3/4/2008)

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Ryan isn't my first choice, but since there's a very real possibility that we'll take him with our first round pick, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about him (not that it matters in the slightest, of course. hehe).

I was reading the write-up on him in the Pro Football Weekly Draft Preview magazine and it said something that I hadn't heard before. The review said that, while his INT numbers from last year are worrisome, many of those INTs came off of tipped passes by sub-par receivers.

So, here's my question for the BC fans and for people who've actually watched him play (we don't get a lot of his games down here in Georgia): is that true? And, if so, how many are we talking here? If a third of his INTs came because his receivers would rather be playing volleyball, I'd feel a lot better about drafting him though he still wouldn't be my first choice.

Any help on this one? And please, try and be objective.

Direwolf

Yea he threw 4,000+ yards but. . . well heres his stats of in cosistantcie

Matt "the BUST" Ryan

DATE OPP RESULT CMP/ ATT/ YDS/ CMP%/ LNG/ TD/ INT/ RAT/ ATT/ YDS/ AVG/ LNG/ TD/

9/1 Wake Forest W 38-28 /32/ 52/ 408/ 61.5/ 38/ 5/ 2 /151./48/ 4 -9/ -2.3 /6 0

9/8 North Carolina State W 37-17 /15 /34 /142 /44.1 /16 /1/ 1 /83.02 /1 /3/ 3.0 /3 0

9/15 @Georgia Tech W 24-10 /30 44 /435 /68.2 /46 /1 /0 /158.72 /3 /-9 /-3.0 /3 0

9/22 Army W 37-17 /35 /51 /356 /68.6 /22 /3 /2 /138.83 /5 /35 /7.0 /15 1

9/29 Massachusetts W 24-14 /24 /42 /204 /57.1 /30 /1 /0 /105.80 /3 /0 /0.0 /14 /0

10/6 Bowling Green W 55-24 /24 /32 /312 /75.0 /71 /4 /0 /198.15 /1 /8 /8.0 /8 /0

10/13 @Notre Dame W 27-14 /32 /49 /291 /65.3 /22 /2 /1 /124.58 /3 /10 /3.3 /7 0

10/25 @Virginia Tech W 14-10 /25 /52 /285 /48.1 /32 /2 /2 /99.12 /4 /-22 /-5.5 /11 0

11/3 Florida State L 27-17 /26 /53 /415 /49.1 /52 /2 /3 115.96 /9 /30 /3.3 /8 0

11/10 @Maryland L 42-35 /33 /56 /421 /58.9 /29 /3 /2 /132.62 7 /-23 /-3.3 /5 /0

11/17 @Clemson W 20-17 /31 /47 /315 /66.0 /43 /1 /1 /125.02 9 /-29 /-3.2/ 7 /0

11/24 Miami (FL) W 28-14 /26 /43 /369 /60.5 /49 /3 /2 /146.27 /4 /-3 /-0.8 /8 /0

12/1 Virginia Tech L 30-16 /33 /52 /305 /63.5 /31 /0 /2 /105.04 6 /35 /5.8 /19 /1

CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL AT ORLANDO FL @Michigan State W 24-21 / 22 /47 /249 /46.8 /68 /3 /1 /108.12 /9 /-24 /-2.7 /12 /0

[ignorant_icarus]

Not always a fair assessment. John Elway was the "Comeback Kid" for his entire career.

Direwolf

Haha so true

[Herr Doktor]

Everything I have seen on this kid makes me like him. He has a confidence and a definite intelligence. He can make plays. I have a buddy who is a huge BC fan, he thinks that Ryan will be a great one. His only knock on him was that he tends to force things if he does not see the open play. This can be attributed to youth and having average talent around him. I am not for us picking a QB so high in the draft, because I think there are 3 or 4 that are basically the same. If we pick Ryan, I will be behind him all the way. I think a better player for our system will be Henne out of Michigan. He's a big kid and will need to be able to take a few lumps as our line will be improved, but not great for at least another year.

I like your thread Dire. As usual you ask a good question and are looking for intelligent answers.

[MidWest Falcon]

the_next_level (3/4/2008)

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From what I have gathered from watching video,and reading about Ryan,most of his interceptions were due to him trying to throw it deep down the field (like you said trying to make a play) I believe he has good accuracy,he just makes bad decisions on where to throw it.Every QB in this draft has something people will see and say "oh he sucks".There are issues with each of the top QBs in the draft,not just Ryan.To compare Ryan to Manning is unfair,any QB coming out of this draft would look like crap compared to him ,with the exception of Brennan and Johnson.If that were the case than Brennan & Johnson are both better at this point in their careers' as football players than Manning was in the same time....which is definitely not true.College numbers don't mean a thing when it comes to the NFL.Now I am not high on drafting Ryan third overall,I feel we should trade down and get more picks.with the signing of Turner,and the abundance of players at the OT/DT positions.I think Dimitroff's first pick will be Ryan.

I was not comparing abilities at all. I think Ryan has the mechanics to make it in the NFL. I was comparing a glaring statistic, that is all. Obviously, Colt brennan should not even be in this discussion because he is not in a Pro Style offense (And against much weaker competition). I do not agree w/ your statement about college numbers not meaning a thing. They mean something

[the_next_level]

grendel (3/4/2008)

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the_next_level (3/4/2008)

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From what I have gathered from watching video,and reading about Ryan,most of his interceptions were due to him trying to throw it deep down the field (like you said trying to make a play) I believe he has good accuracy,he just makes bad decisions on where to throw it.Every QB in this draft has something people will see and say "oh he sucks".There are issues with each of the top QBs in the draft,not just Ryan.To compare Ryan to Manning is unfair,any QB coming out of this draft would look like crap compared to him ,with the exception of Brennan and Johnson.If that were the case than Brennan & Johnson are both better at this point in their careers' as football players than Manning was in the same time....which is definitely not true.College numbers don't mean a thing when it comes to the NFL.Now I am not high on drafting Ryan third overall,I feel we should trade down and get more picks.with the signing of Turner,and the abundance of players at the OT/DT positions.I think Dimitroff's first pick will be Ryan.

Why did he feel the need to "make a play" and force a pass in there against ARMY? This isn't a "have to make a play" thing, it's a pattern of bad decisions.

I wrote in my previous reply that he makes bad decisions,I never said he didn't.Bad decision making can be fixed with the help of a good coaches.Like a said they are college numbers,and what you do in college has no bearing on what happens once you hit the pros.

[tweak]

E. T. (3/4/2008)

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We dont need him or any qb right now! we stay with what we have and most important, we need to fix our lines first

We DO need a qb in this draft, just not in the 1st round. I'm a fan of Ryan and it would be nice if the Falcons could snag him in the 2nd or late 1st, but I don't see him slipping past the 14 pick in the 1st. The Falcons need to focus on a qb in the 2nd like Flacco or Henne and groom him for a year.

[stumpjumper]

Most of us Ryan bashers wouldn't object to taking Ryan in the 2nd round provided one of the other QB's that we prefer are not already taken. He's just not worth the #3 overall pick, or worth a 1 round pick period in our opinion.

[red2play]

Considering the level of talent he faced and the amount of Interceptions, I'd say he's MAYBE a 2nd rd talent.

There aren't any excuses for throwing interceptions. You ALWAYS put the ball in a place where only the reciever can catch the ball. IF he were that accurate, or had brains, he would not have thrown so many intercepts, especially against such weak teams such as Bowling Green, Army, Wake Forest and Massachusetts.

[the_next_level]

MidWest Falcon (3/4/2008)

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the_next_level (3/4/2008)

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From what I have gathered from watching video,and reading about Ryan,most of his interceptions were due to him trying to throw it deep down the field (like you said trying to make a play) I believe he has good accuracy,he just makes bad decisions on where to throw it.Every QB in this draft has something people will see and say "oh he sucks".There are issues with each of the top QBs in the draft,not just Ryan.To compare Ryan to Manning is unfair,any QB coming out of this draft would look like crap compared to him ,with the exception of Brennan and Johnson.If that were the case than Brennan & Johnson are both better at this point in their careers' as football players than Manning was in the same time....which is definitely not true.College numbers don't mean a thing when it comes to the NFL.Now I am not high on drafting Ryan third overall,I feel we should trade down and get more picks.with the signing of Turner,and the abundance of players at the OT/DT positions.I think Dimitroff's first pick will be Ryan.

I was not comparing abilities at all. I think Ryan has the mechanics to make it in the NFL. I was comparing a glaring statistic, that is all. Obviously, Colt brennan should not even be in this discussion because he is not in a Pro Style offense (And against much weaker competition). I do not agree w/ your statement about college numbers not meaning a thing. They mean something

When it comes to the overall evaluation as a potential draft pick,yes the numbers mean something.What i am talking about is when they are actually playing in the NFL.I've seen QB's that were highly touted coming out of college,put up all the numbers,and once they hit the NFL...they were a bust,and the opposite side of the spectrum is also true too.Its a gamble any which way you look at it.Personally I don't think Ryan is a bust.At the very worse hes a solid QB.I think he would be a good pick,just not at 3rd overall.

[stumpjumper]

grendel (3/4/2008)

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the_next_level (3/4/2008)

I wrote in my previous reply that he makes bad decisions,I never said he didn't.Bad decision making can be fixed with the help of a good coaches.Like a said they are college numbers,and what you do in college has no bearing on what happens once you hit the pros.

Bad decision making isn't easily coached. You can't coach stupid.

Lol, awesome quote there about coaching stupid.