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Why Is Matt Ryan So Overrated By Our Fans And 'pundits'?


Super Mario

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Yes, Matt Ryan may be the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, and that may lead to some 'homeristic' views, but that alone does not explain why Matt Ryan is so overrated by the fanbase. After all, Michael Jenkins and Joey Harrington were once Falcons but they were not as revered. If we examine this closer, there is one explanation as to why Ryan is overrated. That is, his first pass of his NFL career resulted in a touchdown. While the pass/play itself was not unusual as many QBs around the league can hit a WR on a seam route, it is because it occurred at that exact time, that fans seem to overrate Matt Ryan. A fan base needed hope after Michael Vick's departure, and the timing of that touchdown did much more for Ryan's reputation than if it had occurred later in that game. It is that play, and the miraculous comeback against the Bears in which Jenkins ran a typical out route, that prevent fans from objectively examining Ryan's career performance. Fans ought to know that most starters in the league, make one or two spectacular plays in their careers. But it is consistency that matters, and Ryan does not consistently make plays.

Try this out. Pretend those two plays never happened, and what would you think of Ryan? Then do the same for Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady. Take away their two best plays and what happens? You either think of many other spectacular plays or you just end up with an extremely consistent QB that produces week in and week out. Think about it, if Marshawn Lynch's run against the Saints happened on his first career carry, he'd probably still be on the Bills.

When we take away those two plays from Ryan, the only thing that he has left is his win to loss ratio. But wins, just like wins in baseball, are not the best tool to measure the ability of a player in a team sport. For example, in baseball, a pitcher can give up 5 runs, but if his offense is potent enough to score 6+ runs, then the pitcher gets the win. Same in football. The QB may throw for 100 yards and 0 touchdowns, but if his run game and defense dominates, he will still be given the win. After all, even Trent Dilfer was able to win a Superbowl.

As it is a team sport, naturally in losses, blame is attributed to the WR for not getting open or for the line for not blocking. This is used as an explanation for Ryan not throwing the ball further than 10 yards. But here's something to chew on. If it took me 8 seconds to run a 40, I could get 10 yards down the field in 2 seconds. I could get 12.5 yards down the field in 2.5 seconds. I presume Julio Jones, Roddy White, and Harry Douglas can each run 40 yards in less than 8 seconds. Yet, in the game, all we saw were check downs and passes that did not reach the first down marker.

It is well known that Ryan is not a playmaker, but a game manager. Like the pitchers who don't have the 'stuff', yet who can post ERAs in the low 3s, Ryan needs a top 3 defense and top 5 talent on offense to win the Superbowl.

Edited by Vick to Julio
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I like it "let's take away hist first pass and lets take aways his come back win against the bears and lets take away his come back win against the 49ers and lets take away his big game against the ravens and lets take away his drives to beat the bucs and lets take away his pro bowl and all of his wins, than u got just an average QB" man u got some logic!

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I like it "let's take away hist first pass and lets take aways his come back win against the bears and lets take away his come back win against the 49ers and lets take away his big game against the ravens and lets take away his drives to beat the bucs and lets take away his pro bowl and all of his wins, than u got just an average QB" man u got some logic!

It's called removing emotion so that you can be objective. Those two plays are the most emotionally loaded plays in Ryan's career.

Edited by Vick to Julio
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