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Mayock: Matt Ryan Needs To Step It Up


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Atlanta Falcons

MAYOCK: Matt Ryan needs to step it up

5:00 am February 16, 2012, by D. Orlando Ledbetter

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock has been a big supporter of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

When asked about the top quarterbacks taken in the last four drafts and Andrew Luck, the projected top QB selection for 2012 draft, Mayock had some interesting things to say about Ryan, who’s posted at 43-19 regular-season record to go with an 0-3 playoff mark.

The comparison group includes Ryan (No. 3 overall in 2008), Matthew Stafford (No. 1 overall in 2009), Sam Bradford (No. 1 overall in 2010), Cam Newton (No. 1 overall in 2011) and Luck.

“Matt Ryan needs to take the next step,” Mayock said. “To do that, he needs some offensive line help. Matt Ryan is kind of at point now where he needs to make that next step and win some playoff games and become that next-level quarterback.”

Mayock believes that Stafford and Bradford have displayed NFL talent, but must remain healthy. Stafford, the former Georgia standout, guided the Detroit Lions to the playoffs for the first time since 1999 last season.

“Cam Newton had a year that was mind boggling to me,” Mayock said. “They will continue to build around him. The question is how well NFL defenses will adapt to what Carolina did a year ago and will Cam Newton continue to work as hard as he needs to, to stay ahead of that curve.”

Luck is the son of former NFL quarterback Oliver Luck, who played at West Virginia and is now their athletic director. (The elder Luck was a pretty good high school basketball player, too. Saw him lead Cleveland St. Ignatius to the city title over the John Adams Rebels back in the day at old Public Hall.)

“When you throw Andrew Luck into that grouping, I think he falls — from an intellect and the whole passion for the game of football — somewhere in that kind of Peyton Manning and Matt Ryan mold,” Mayock said. “That’s how much the kid loves it.

“As far as ability, I don’t think he’s quite in the Peyton Manning mold. But I think he’s close. I think he’s got a little more ability than a Matt Ryan when he came out. But, I don’t put him up there as a once in a lifetime guy. I’ve never said that about him. I think he’s in the same category with a Bradford. . . I’m not sitting here telling you that I think he’s going to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.”

What about Newton?

“I would probably take him over Cam, yes,” Mayock said.

Luck is not expected to throw passes next week at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. He’ll likely wait until his Pro Day.

“He’s going to win the battle in the board rooms,” Mayock said. “He’s going to sit up with the teams and draw what he knows about the game of football and he will process (the) information from those team and spit it back at them. All of those top teams are going to come away saying ‘wow, I want that guy.’”

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Big difference in saying "he needs to step it up" and "he needs to take the next step". Mayock loves Matt Ryan ever since he come out of BC...We all know Matt needs to take that next step but in my opinion he had a pretty good year last year. 4177 Passing Yards, 29 TD, 12 Picks... 92.2 QB rating... Not a bad season at all, it's just that we are at a point where just making the playoffs doesn't cut it anymore... We need postseason wins. It's not just on Matt Ryan, it's the whole team... Like Mayock said, Oline needs to step it up and protect in order for him to take the next step. Hopefully new coaching staff will help the team do just that.

Just my 2 cents....

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I love mayock and his assessments. The only thing I disagree with is the "once in a lifetime" statement on talent. It's almost impossible to see who those type of guys are regardless of their combine, college performance, pro day, or whatever. For example, Tom Brady is a once in a lifetime guy but he was picked in the sixth round. On the other hand you have Peyton Manning who was picked at the top of his class but it was largely debated if he was even better than Ryan Leaf. There's too many intangibles and too many things that can either happen or can go wrong.

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Atlanta Falcons

MAYOCK: Matt Ryan needs to step it up

5:00 am February 16, 2012, by D. Orlando Ledbetter

NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock has been a big supporter of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

When asked about the top quarterbacks taken in the last four drafts and Andrew Luck, the projected top QB selection for 2012 draft, Mayock had some interesting things to say about Ryan, who’s posted at 43-19 regular-season record to go with an 0-3 playoff mark.

The comparison group includes Ryan (No. 3 overall in 2008), Matthew Stafford (No. 1 overall in 2009), Sam Bradford (No. 1 overall in 2010), Cam Newton (No. 1 overall in 2011) and Luck.

“Matt Ryan needs to take the next step,” Mayock said. To do that, he needs some offensive line help.

Wow, really? No chit Sherlock, and to think you get paid for pointing out what most here have been saying for awhile, amazing analysis.

Edited by vabchbirdlover
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Offensive scheming and offensive linemen are both heavily instrumental in the success of ANY QB.

Clearly a terror defense is another great asset to QB's to inherit. Whether or not a QB is fortunate enough to have all these elements in place is surely luck of the draw when a QB is drafted to a particular team. Matt's accomplishments in his young career have been outstanding given our teams circumstances to date. Given more assets to further his growth is now our most pressing organizational challenge. If we can add the necessary elements, I have no doubt Ryan will reach the next level. Just look what he has done for our team in it's current state. The good news is that our schemes will become less restrictive with the infusion of new blood at the coordinator level. Lets hope that we add personnel to our line that will enable Ryan and the team to take it to the next level. If we do, I have no doubt about his continued development and the success of our organization in the playoffs...

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“Matt Ryan needs to take the next step,” Mayock said. “To do that, he needs some offensive line help. Matt Ryan is kind of at point now where he needs to make that next step and win some playoff games and become that next-level quarterback.”

That's different than saying "he needs to step it up", but I'm sure you knew that.

And by the way, why is Mayock comparing Ryan to Manning? wahhhhhh wahhhhhh wahhhhhh

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I love the "just needs an offensive line" faction on this MB. Last year it was "just needs another WR" and before that "just needs a new OC" or "just needs a TE". The talent assembled in Atlanta was comparable to what the Giants had, which was more than enough to get the job done. The difference was at QB.

Can we find a taker for Matt Ryan before we get to "just plain not good enough"?

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Offensive scheming and offensive linemen are both heavily instrumental in the success of ANY QB.

Clearly a terror defense is another great asset to QB's to inherit. Whether or not a QB is fortunate enough to have all these elements in place is surely luck of the draw when a QB is drafted to a particular team. Matt's accomplishments in his young career have been outstanding given our teams circumstances to date. Given more assets to further his growth is now our most pressing organizational challenge. If we can add the necessary elements, I have no doubt Ryan will reach the next level. Just look what he has done for our team in it's current state. The good news is that our schemes will become less restrictive with the infusion of new blood at the coordinator level. Lets hope that we add personnel to our line that will enable Ryan and the team to take it to the next level. If we do, I have no doubt about his continued development and the success of our organization in the playoffs...

I believe Matt will only get better too. Given enough time in the pocket even Curtis Painter would look good!

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Last year the falcons lost probably 30-40 offensive snaps because the Oline just imploded and another 30-40 snaps because Ryan was afraid the Oline was going to implode. That's 4-5 offensive snaps a game that we just wasted.

Falcons need to fix the first 30-40 snaps, Ryan needs to fix the second 30-40.

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Ryan led the 2008 Falcons to the Playoffs with Minimal talent. He was a gun-slinger back then. Lately he's turned into Joey Harrington. Mularkey has a lot to do with the conservative dink and dunk crap, as well as our crappy O-Line. I hope Koetter can fix all this.

Im sorry I must have missed the season where Joey Harrington put up anything close to the stats Matt Ryan has.

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Mayock would take Luck over Stafford, Cam, Ryan and Bradford combined. (CN, MR, SB, MS combined for 113 TDs and over 16k total yards this past season, which really tells the story of Ryan, Cam and Stafford, since Bradford only had 6 td and 2,100 yards in 2011)

It's common knowledge that Luck is the best NFL player to ever step foot on the football field....and will be a HOF player after just his rookie year.

Edited by pox 08
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Last year the falcons lost probably 30-40 offensive snaps because the Oline just imploded and another 30-40 snaps because Ryan was afraid the Oline was going to implode. That's 4-5 offensive snaps a game that we just wasted.

Falcons need to fix the first 30-40 snaps, Ryan needs to fix the second 30-40.

I really hadn't thought of it that way, but you may be right.

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