Quizzing Matt Ryan On His Career Tds, Ints, Sacks (Any Espn Insiders Have Access To The Mike Sando Interview With Matt )Ryan?

[paulitik]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/insider/story/_/id/12992291/quizzing-atlanta-falcons-qb-matt-ryan-career-stats-nfl

That would be much appreciated.

Statistics tell only one aspect of the story in sports, and especially in the NFL, where the data revolution remains in its early stages. Some players dial into the numbers. Others pay little mind to them.

In basketball, our NBA writers have bridged the gap between stats and the human element through a series of "Data Dialogues" with various players. The idea has potential in the NFL, so when I headed to Pro Bowl practices in Arizona earlier this offseason, I used the opportunity to get a better feel for what players knew about their own careers and how their perceptions lined up with the data.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was up first. What routes have some of his favorite targets run most effectively? Which defensive backs have collected a disproportionate number of his interceptions? Who has sacked him the most? These were some of the questions Ryan tried his best to answer.

[Roy Munson]

Sorry the formatting sucks. I'm new posting here and haven't figured things out quite yet.

Statistics tell only one aspect of the story in sports, and especially in the NFL, where the data revolution remains in its early stages. Some players dial into the numbers. Others pay little mind to them.

In basketball, our NBA writers have bridged the gap between stats and the human element through a series of "Data Dialogues" with various players. The idea has potential in the NFL, so when I headed to Pro Bowl practices in Arizona earlier this offseason, I used the opportunity to get a better feel for what players knew about their own careers and how their perceptions lined up with the data.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was up first. What routes have some of his favorite targets run most effectively? Which defensive backs have collected a disproportionate number of his interceptions? Who has sacked him the most? These were some of the questions Ryan tried his best to answer.

MS: You've thrown 10 or more touchdown passes to four guys. Can you name them?

Ryan: Four guys? Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White ...

MS: Check, check and check.

Ryan: The fourth, I would guess, might be Mike Jenkins. My first professional pass was to Mike, a skinny post against Detroit that was probably my most memorable one -- my first touchdown pass in the NFL.

MS: Jenkins had five, including that 62-yarder in your very first regular-season game. The guy I'm referencing would be ... the legendary Jason Snelling.

Ryan: Snelling! He was a choice-route runner out of the backfield for us. He had the opportunity to release outside our tackle and break in or out. He was really good at it.

MS: Four other guys have caught between five and eight scoring passes from you. Jenkins is one of them.

Ryan: OK, Harry Douglas and Jacquizz Rodgers are on that list.

MS: Yes, you are on point with your reads here. One more guy is on the list. He had six and was not a wide receiver or a running back.

Ryan: (long pause) I'm going to say Levine Toilolo.

MS: He had four. Justin Peelle was the guy you were looking for.

Ryan: Man, you are going way back in my career.

MS: Back to the top four -- White (54), Gonzalez (37), Jones (28) and Snelling (10). They've combined to catch 129 of your 190 career touchdown passes, counting playoffs. You alluded to Snelling as your choice-route guy out of the backfield. What were the others' money routes?

Ryan: With Roddy, it changed at different stages of his career. I would say the money route for him early in his career was a hitch route on the outside where he was physical and let the guy go by and would catch it on the back shoulder. Now, his is probably a little more of a crossing-type route.

MS: This is where we can check perceptions against the numbers, with an assist from Steve Palazzolo at Pro Football Focus. Again, it looks like you're on point.

Last season, PFF had White making three of his seven scoring receptions on crossing routes. He had no more than one TD on any other route type. White's caught 10 passes for 79 yards on crossing routes overall -- not a huge number, but it was up from one reception for 14 yards on crossing routes in 2013. Purely from a yardage standpoint, White was most prolific last season on post patterns, turning 12 receptions into 252 yards. Of course, quite a bit changed for everyone with Tony Gonzalez out of the picture. Can you name his money routes?

Ryan: You can't pick just one route with Tony, but the post in the back of the end zone comes to mind. So does the flag route.

MS: The PFF data from 2013 shows you with a 157.9 passer rating when targeting Gonzalez on post routes, well above the 98.0 league average for quarterbacks throwing posts that season. Gonzalez caught 10 of those for 185 yards and two TDs. But you're right about the variety. Gonzalez's 83 receptions that season included 23 on hitches, 22 on out routes and 14 on quick outs, plus those 10 post patterns. What about Julio Jones?

Ryan: Julio is a go route. His bread and butter is just running right by people.

MS: A nice option to have. Those routes aren't run as frequently as some others or else guys would tire out, but the PFF data for the past two seasons show Jones with four of his eight TD catches on go routes. He caught six go routes for 237 yards and three scores last season alone.

But let's not dwell on the positive. Four guys have sacked you at least four times, counting playoffs, and one of them has way more than anyone else.

Ryan: Charles Johnson?

MS: Yep, he has 5.5 percent of all the sacks collected at your expense -- 11 of 199, counting playoffs.

Ryan: Eleven!

MS: More than twice as many as anyone else. He has 11 of his 62.5 career sacks against you. That is 17.6 percent. This season, you won't see him til Week 14, at least.

Ryan: We have seen him for seven years now, two times a year. He has had plenty of opportunities and certainly has taken advantage of them. He is a really, really good player.

MS: Johnson rushes off your front side, so of course those sacks are all on the quarterback, right?

Ryan: No doubt about it. I will take it. Greg Hardy has to be next on that list.

MS: He is, with six sacks of you. Then it's Will Smith and Cullen Jenkins.

Ryan: I am trying to force these out of my memory.

MS: There's plenty of good. We've got you trailing only Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Tom Brady in Total QBR since you entered the league in 2008. You're at 67.7, counting playoffs, which is above the 65.0 level that usually serves as a general cutoff for Pro Bowl-caliber play.

Now that I've buttered you up a little bit, can you name the six guys to collect at least three picks off you?

Ryan: All right, Ronde Barber has to be one of them. Early on in my career, Ronde gave me nightmares, man, in the slot playing that nickel in Tampa. He was a great pattern-reader on the outside. That was the guy early on that I had to work against, and he was good -- really good.

MS: Barber, Tramon Williams, Richard Marshall, Asante Samuel andAqib Talib have three apiece, but the only guy with four is someone I never would have guessed. A safety ... from Arizona ... Rashad Johnson.

Ryan: Get out of here. That one game against them, I threw five picks.

MS: What's fascinating to me is that you've played only four of your 115 career games against Arizona, but the Cardinals have collected 10 of your 91 interceptions. What gives?

Ryan: I threw nine picks in two years against them. Their whole team should have four or five picks on me. Does anyone else from Arizona have four?

MS: No, and the thing is, you lit up their defense this past season. Were you gunning for them? Was there a revenge factor at work?

Ryan: Nah, it was the law of averages, man. It's going to shake out over time.

MS: A good stat man couldn't have said it better.

[Yep]

Toilolo?

Edited June 4, 2015 by bout dat action

[paulitik]

Sorry the formatting sucks. I'm new posting here and haven't figured things out quite yet.

Thanks, man! I really appreciate it!

If you have a "reader view" in your browser, that makes it easier to copy sometimes.

[Lornoth]

Funny, as soon as they said 10 TD's I thought of Snelling with that Shovel pass.

[JDaveG]

Dude, he really was on point. He's a student of the game for sure. And he has really good recall, which bodes well for not repeating past mistakes.

[Lornoth]

Also interesting to note that apparently Charles Johnson's 11 sacks are over twice as much as Hardy's 6.

[Dem Birds]

Yeah I knew Snelling immediately. If Douglas' lack of touchdowns hasn't been such a hot bed of criticism around here and Facebook I'm sure that's who I would have thought of though. I miss Snelling so much though. One of the best pure football players we've had in the last ten years. Such an underrated talent

[AtlantaFalconPokerPro]

I do love that side of sports. Stats are important in the nfl, when broken down and used effectively. Think that's why I love poker, everything is stats/probability at least if you're a winning player.

[takeitdown]

Also interesting to note that apparently Charles Johnson's 11 sacks are over twice as much as Hardy's 6.

Carry the 1.

Where's the missing 3 dollars?

[likeriver]

I like that Ryan is the next below Brady, Rodgers, Brees, and Manning on the QBR. I think that QBR is an under appreciated statistic because most people don't like how esoteric its calculations are.

[YoungHeezy]

Also interesting to note that apparently Charles Johnson's 11 sacks are over twice as much as Hardy's 6.

Man, that 2012 game against Clabo in the Dome was a disaster.

[MasterBateser]

Sorry the formatting sucks. I'm new posting here and haven't figured things out quite yet.

Thanks for posting it, and welcome to the boards!

[FalconFanSince1970]

Yeah I knew Snelling immediately. If Douglas' lack of touchdowns hasn't been such a hot bed of criticism around here and Facebook I'm sure that's who I would have thought of though. I miss Snelling so much though. One of the best pure football players we've had in the last ten years. Such an underrated talent

Well yall boys already know I loved me some Snelling. Jack of all trades. Run the ball, catch the ball, block for the quarterback, block for the running back, make plays on special teams. Al that for peanuts. With epilepsy. Like Eric Weems and Antone Smith. I miss him. Give me ten Snellings and I'll whoop yo as. Smittyball at its finest.

[falcon82111]

i really miss snelley. i hated it when he retired. He was a solid player.

[Ironhead1956]

Good read, thanks!

[AtlantaFanatic]

I think Matt Ryan has that perfect amount of laid-back when he's in front of the camera with a ton of fire on the sidelines which you need to be a good leader of all those egos.

[IronHead34]

Man, Ovi and Snelling did well. Those guys were awesome.

[Mega Flare]

Could have sworn thread title said quizzing on her TDs.

[DoYouSeeWhatHappensLarry]

Very very cool idea.

Matt's awesome.

[Tuggle'2]

That was pretty cool. Need more of this type of stuff.

[Roy Munson]

I guess what stood out to me is how relaxed, yet very respectful of all the talent that he's played with/against. I don't drink but I imagine that Matt would be a very chill guy to have a few beers with and watch a game. I'm glad that he's at the helm.

[kiwifalcon]

Well yall boys already know I loved me some Snelling. Jack of all trades. Run the ball, catch the ball, block for the quarterback, block for the running back, make plays on special teams. Al that for peanuts. With epilepsy. Like Eric Weems and Antone Smith. I miss him. Give me ten Snellings and I'll whoop yo as. Smittyball at its finest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiP7GNVLoOs

Didn't understand why they didn't use Snelling full time at F/Backinstad of going with a Dimarco and alikes.Consumate team player I liked the guy alot.

[Tuggle'2]

Didn't understand why they didn't use Snelling full time at F/Backinstad of going with a Dimarco and alikes.Consumate team player I liked the guy alot.

I mean while Turner was here and trucking folks I totally understand why Snelling took a backseat. Once Turner fell off the cliff and was gone I don't know. I always thought he was a powerful weapon especially down in the redzone. Never understood the dislike he garnered from some folks here.

[B_Lo_Touchdowns]

We lost our run game when Snelling retired.