My Matt Ryan Observation

[NOVAFalconFan]

Since he was a rookie, Matt has been good on throws where he hits the top of his drop and releases, and to a lesser degree when he rolls out. This year, for whatever reason, he is standing in the pocket and reading. He's not very good at it, and the pocket isn't always great, either. I have realized that I usually have a bad feeling whenever he is standing and holding the ball, expecting the pick or the sack. He just doesn't seem comfortable doing it.

[4dabirds]

Since he was a rookie, Matt has been good on throws where he hits the top of his drop and releases, and to a lesser degree when he rolls out. This year, for whatever reason, he is standing in the pocket and reading. He's not very good at it, and the pocket isn't always great, either. I have realized that I usually have a bad feeling whenever he is standing and holding the ball, expecting the pick or the sack. He just doesn't seem comfortable doing it.

I'm not sure what you are seeing. Ryan is far more dynamic a passer when he rolls out, as he has great timing and foot work. You saying he is not good at making his reads is wrong. Ryan knows the plays, and he obviously processes the information quickly. The problem is that the Falcons game plan is to push the ball down the field, meaning that receiver's have to get open down the field and that crucial 3 seconds of protection is needed for this, and that (the protection) is not always there. The OL did not do so great in pass protection against the Saints, as I saw both Stone and Shraeder at times not blocking through the whistle, and the entire unit couldn't stop a 3 man rush at times. The last 2 games the Skins and Saints rushed 3 or 4 guys and sent everybody back into coverage on many plays, forcing Ryan to hold on to the ball longer, which led to sacks. The Falcons countered with running the ball, but not so much with underneath routes. Teams have figured out that the Falcons are going to throw down field to Julio all they can, so they cover JJ over the top and underneath, plus he is not moving at full speed right now. Ryan did a good job with getting Roddy more involved, and he actually spread the ball around to many receivers, 8 to be exact. He threw for 295 yards and 2 td's against the Saints, and the Falcons rushed for a lot of yards as well. Turnovers killed the Falcons against the Saints and that is all there really is to it. Ryan has thrown some pics, but that may have to do with the aggressive nature of the offensive direction or new scheme. Who knows? However, I doubt that it has anything with him making bad reads, and more to do with just how little time of protection he really has. Ryan certainly is not perfect, but he does many things well, and he stands tall in the pocket to a fault at some times, but he doesn't get shaken, and there is usually a breakdown somewhere else that leads to his mistakes.

I'm not going to knock the Falcons offense, because they do try many different things to keep teams off balance and to hide the shortcomings of an OL that is not really that great at pass protection. The Falcons have to be successful with 1st and second down plays, so that they are not in 3rd and long passing situations, and for the most part they have been.

[JDaveG]

Since he was a rookie, Matt has been good on throws where he hits the top of his drop and releases, and to a lesser degree when he rolls out. This year, for whatever reason, he is standing in the pocket and reading. He's not very good at it, and the pocket isn't always great, either. I have realized that I usually have a bad feeling whenever he is standing and holding the ball, expecting the pick or the sack. He just doesn't seem comfortable doing it.

It's not that different than what he did under Koetter, the biggest difference being the rollouts. Both are timing based offenses. The difference I see is he isn't yet comfortable getting to the 3rd or 4th level of his reads. I'm not sure why, but I assume it will come along. He's a student of the game, and he'll get it sorted out.

If anything, he looks better under the "new" looks with 21 personnel and more garden variety WCO schemes than under the "old" looks with a spread and empty backfield or single back stuff. Which is why I find it odd we're using that so much more lately. I'm sure there's a reason why, but it seems we found something that worked and decided not to do it anymore, which was a hallmark of the old staff. Hopefully we'll get back to running the ball and PA from more traditional looks, because that was working early in the season.

[4dabirds]

It's not that different than what he did under Koetter, the biggest difference being the rollouts. Both are timing based offenses. The difference I see is he isn't yet comfortable getting to the 3rd or 4th level of his reads. I'm not sure why, but I assume it will come along. He's a student of the game, and he'll get it sorted out.

If anything, he looks better under the "new" looks with 21 personnel and more garden variety WCO schemes than under the "old" looks with a spread and empty backfield or single back stuff. Which is why I find it odd we're using that so much more lately. I'm sure there's a reason why, but it seems we found something that worked and decided not to do it anymore, which was a hallmark of the old staff. Hopefully we'll get back to running the ball and PA from more traditional looks, because that was working early in the season.

The OL gave up 5 sacks against the Saints, and some of those happened with only 3 guys rushing. Meanwhile, the Falcons D hasn't sacked any teams QB 5 times in years. Getting sacks and preventing teams from getting sacks are a huge problem for the Falcons.

Edited October 20, 2015 by 4dabirds

[Atlchamp99]

You guys are so sleep Matt Ryan has been in the league since 2008 and he still developing??? I'm so sick of the Matt Ryan lovers on this message board. I am sick and tired of having to worry about an interception every time Matt throws the ball he throws some of the worst passes I've ever seen from a quarterback in the NFL his footwork is terrible and the slightest pressure makes him flop around like a fish out of the water it's terrible and I'm honestly sick of it. this franchise needs a quarterback who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver balls that don't take forever to get to the receiver

[ROMERO]

Ryan is doing fine. Haters

[Ghosts of Glanville]

My observation: he's going to throw for 50,000 yards in his career and leads the league in 4th quarter comebacks since entering the league.

This team has its problems, but he isn't one of them

[PittsCreek]

You guys are so sleep Matt Ryan has been in the league since 2008 and he still developing??? I'm so sick of the Matt Ryan lovers on this message board. I am sick and tired of having to worry about an interception every time Matt throws the ball he throws some of the worst passes I've ever seen from a quarterback in the NFL his footwork is terrible and the slightest pressure makes him flop around like a fish out of the water it's terrible and I'm honestly sick of it. this franchise needs a quarterback who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver balls that don't take forever to get to the receiver

It happens to everyone, yesterday especially:

Manning

Flacco

Newton

Palmer

McCown

Tannehill

Cousins

It happens more often than not. I also don't understand the hate for Ryan right now, Colemans fumble and stones stone hit wasn't his fault. The fumble he had was a freak thing.

He had almost 300 yards and two tds, it's not on him that the team can't stop a TE when there aren't any other options on the field.

He's the first QB we've had since I've been a fan (2002) that I'm NOT worried about throwing a stupid pick in crunch time or making bad decisions EVERY game.

People need to settle down and realize one loss doesn't end the season when we're sitting at 5-1. Yes it sucks that the Aints of all teams beat us but let's remember where we were last year. We aren't even supposed to be playoff bound this year in a re-build. Just enjoy the early success ffs

[paulitik]

I really wish people would just sit down and watch a QB from another team (not playing us) play a game.

I really believe that people make assessments on Matt, because the only other QB play they see is off highlight reels, or Redzone Channel.

Every QB in the NFL has bad drives, and get effected by pressure. Matt just seems to be held more accountable for them than any QB I've ever seen by this fanbase.

I talk to Falcons fans at work all the time, bringing up Mike Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson, and it's selective memory. They conveniently forget all the horrible throws, the INTs, unnecessary sacks they take, yet can remember every incomplete pass Matt Ryan makes.

It's freaking crazy.

Matt needs to get more consistent in the first 3 quarters, and play like he does in the 4th.

I think he needs to get more of a killer instinct earlier in games, and he needs to up his passing TDs, and cut the INTs down a little. He seems to have 1-2 boneheaded throws a game, although he didn't really in the Saints game.

I think a lot of the issues is on the OC's he's had reluctance to totally hand the offense over to him, and let him run the no-huddle/hurry up style he thrives in. It will definitely help put defenses on their heels, so we won't see so many 3-4 man fronts destroying our OL.

[4dabirds]

You guys are so sleep Matt Ryan has been in the league since 2008 and he still developing??? I'm so sick of the Matt Ryan lovers on this message board. I am sick and tired of having to worry about an interception every time Matt throws the ball he throws some of the worst passes I've ever seen from a quarterback in the NFL his footwork is terrible and the slightest pressure makes him flop around like a fish out of the water it's terrible and I'm honestly sick of it. this franchise needs a quarterback who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver balls that don't take forever to get to the receiver

Are you sure you're actually watching the Falcons play? You don't have to come to these boards to see praise for Matt Ryan, just look what actual experts have to say about him. If he stinks so much then how come he is the best QB in regards to his statistics that the Falcons organization has ever had? Ryan stands in the pocket, makes throws gets hit and continues to keep going.

"The worst passes"? Did you see Vick play yesterday, or have you seen the way Cutler throws?

Edited October 20, 2015 by 4dabirds

[Mr. Lubba Lubba©]

I really wish people would just sit down and watch a QB from another team (not playing us) play a game.

I really believe that people make assessments on Matt, because the only other QB play they see is off highlight reels, or Redzone Channel.

Every QB in the NFL has bad drives, and get effected by pressure. Matt just seems to be held more accountable for them than any QB I've ever seen by this fanbase.

I talk to Falcons fans at work all the time, bringing up Mike Vick, Cam Newton, and Russell Wilson, and it's selective memory. They conveniently forget all the horrible throws, the INTs, unnecessary sacks they take, yet can remember every incomplete pass Matt Ryan makes.

It's freaking crazy.

Matt needs to get more consistent in the first 3 quarters, and play like he does in the 4th.

I think he needs to get more of a killer instinct earlier in games, and he needs to up his passing TDs, and cut the INTs down a little. He seems to have 1-2 boneheaded throws a game, although he didn't really in the Saints game.

I think a lot of the issues is on the OC's he's had reluctance to totally hand the offense over to him, and let him run the no-huddle/hurry up style he thrives in. It will definitely help put defenses on their heels, so we won't see so many 3-4 man fronts destroying our OL.

God yes

Not only this, but so many other QBs have actual pockets on top of time. Ryan gets a little bit of time every now and then, but that pocket is as big as an elevator. I'm watching other QBs like Brady and Rodgers not only get time but they get real live pockets as big as bedrooms which plays almost as big a role as actual time. It actually reminded me what a real pocket should be like.

Being as it is though, either Ryan or Shanny have to come up with some better short routes for getting the ball out quicker. Take the Saints for example since they're notorious for it. Brees hardly ever takes a sack because there is ALWAYS an outlet short route ready for a dump off. Everytime Ryan gets sacked I'm pissed because there's never any help within dump-off range like there should be.

[insight]

Matt is at his best when he has a running game and can diagnose the defense pre-snap. His problem is improvising under pressure. He struggles to come off his pre-snap read which is when he throws the ball into triple coverage.

We can win with Matt if we establish the run and allow him to pick apart teams using play action. We need to stop trying to turn him into Drew Bress or Tom Brady.

Edited October 19, 2015 by insight

[Mr. Lubba Lubba©]

Matt is at his best when he has a running game and can diagnose the defense pre-snap. His problem is improvising under pressure. He struggles to come off his pre-snap read which is when he throws the ball into triple coverage.

We can win with Matt if we establish the run and allow him to pick apart teams using play action. We need to stop trying to turn him into Drew Bress or Tom Brady.

The playaction of Ryan this season has been great and he's awesome at it. It really does take a lot of technique and skill to turn your back to your receivers, rushers, and coverage, and then turn around and find open players. I'd argue that it takes a decent skill for understanding pre-snap reads to pull off good PAs.

[Mid-Nite-Toker]

Matt is at his best when he has a running game and can diagnose the defense pre-snap. His problem is improvising under pressure. He struggles to come off his pre-snap read which is when he throws the ball into triple coverage.

We can win with Matt if we establish the run and allow him to pick apart teams using play action. We need to stop trying to turn him into Drew Bress or Tom Brady.

Or Aaron Rodgers...Ryan doesn't compare to the 2 and the 1 that I mentioned, between the ears pocket awareness.

Its easy to stereotype Ryan(cerebral pocket passer), but its not reality.

He is a rthymn QB in reality...drop back or roll out and throw.

Ryan is not the thinker we envision.

[blackredfellow]

I love Matt Ryan. He's the best QB we've had, and one of the best in the league. Even so, I can see something is off this year. He is getting happy feet and panicking way too early. Maybe its because he got beat up so bad the last two seasons, and this year the line is regressing and he's having flashbacks. Ryan is a tough SOB, but he really looks shellshocked at times. I can even see it on his face after plays/series. Before this season, Ryan always had an air of nothing rattling him. This year, the last two games especially, Ryan has an Eli Manning look on his face like he has no idea what's going on. I'm not at all worried yet, because I think he's extremely smart and resilient, but it does seem like he's a different QB this year.

[Theyhateme : )]

The playaction of Ryan this season has been great and he's awesome at it. It really does take a lot of technique and skill to turn your back to your receivers, rushers, and coverage, and then turn around and find open players. I'd argue that it takes a decent skill for understanding pre-snap reads to pull off good PAs.

He had play-action all day against the Saints, but we were insistent on hitting WR, instead of incorporating a TE/RB into this play. With that game plan that the Falcons had last week on offense, anyone on this board could have stopped them.

[Mid-Nite-Toker]

Ryan is good enough to get us a SB...but he can play better.

[Theyhateme : )]

Ryan is good enough to get us a SB...but he can play better.

Thank you! LOLOL...

[Geneaut]

You guys are so sleep Matt Ryan has been in the league since 2008 and he still developing??? I'm so sick of the Matt Ryan lovers on this message board. I am sick and tired of having to worry about an interception every time Matt throws the ball he throws some of the worst passes I've ever seen from a quarterback in the NFL his footwork is terrible and the slightest pressure makes him flop around like a fish out of the water it's terrible and I'm honestly sick of it. this franchise needs a quarterback who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver balls that don't take forever to get to the receiver

Matt has thrown 4 INTs this season out of 229 attempts. 1.7%.

Please don't act like he's thrown a dozen.I don't care how many the other guys have dropped either. There's a reason those guys don't play WR.

[Dirtybird56]

I love Matt Ryan. He's the best QB we've had, and one of the best in the league. Even so, I can see something is off this year. He is getting happy feet and panicking way too early. Maybe its because he got beat up so bad the last two seasons, and this year the line is regressing and he's having flashbacks. Ryan is a tough SOB, but he really looks shellshocked at times. I can even see it on his face after plays/series. Before this season, Ryan always had an air of nothing rattling him. This year, the last two games especially, Ryan has an Eli Manning look on his face like he has no idea what's going on. I'm not at all worried yet, because I think he's extremely smart and resilient, but it does seem like he's a different QB this year.

Good post. Exactly how I feel

[TSprings]

I'm not sure what you are seeing. Ryan is far more dynamic a passer when he rolls out, as he has great timing and foot work. You saying he is not good at making his reads is wrong. Ryan knows the plays, and he obviously processes the information quickly. The problem is that the Falcons game plan is to push the ball down the field, meaning that receiver's have to get open down the field and that crucial 3 seconds of protection is needed for this, and that (the protection) is not always there. The OL did not do so great in pass protection against the Saints, as I saw both Stone and Shraeder at times not blocking through the whistle, and the entire unit couldn't stop a 3 man rush at times. The last 2 games the Skins and Saints rushed 3 or 4 guys and sent everybody back into coverage on many plays, forcing Ryan to hold on to the ball longer, which led to sacks. The Falcons countered with running the ball, but not so much with underneath routes. Teams have figured out that the Falcons are going to throw down field to Julio all they can, so they cover JJ over the top and underneath, plus he is not moving at full speed right now. Ryan did a good job with getting Roddy more involved, and he actually spread the ball around to many receivers, 8 to be exact. He threw for 295 yards and 2 td's against the Saints, and the Falcons rushed for a lot of yards as well. Turnovers killed the Falcons against the Saints and that is all there really is to it. Ryan has thrown some pics, but that may have to do with the aggressive nature of the offensive direction or new scheme. Who knows? However, I doubt that it has anything with him making bad reads, and more to do with just how little time of protection he really has. Ryan certainly is not perfect, but he does many things well, and he stands tall in the pocket to a fault at some times, but he doesn't get shaken, and there is usually a breakdown somewhere else that leads to his mistakes.

I'm not going to knock the Falcons offense, because they do try many different things to keep teams off balance and to hide the shortcomings of an OL that is not really that great at pass protection. The Falcons have to be successful with 1st and second down plays, so that they are not in 3rd and long passing situations, and for the most part they have been.

Maybe best analysis I have have seen on here

[Monteg1026]

If we came back and won this game. Would you still *****

[paulitik]

You guys are so sleep Matt Ryan has been in the league since 2008 and he still developing??? I'm so sick of the Matt Ryan lovers on this message board. I am sick and tired of having to worry about an interception every time Matt throws the ball he throws some of the worst passes I've ever seen from a quarterback in the NFL his footwork is terrible and the slightest pressure makes him flop around like a fish out of the water it's terrible and I'm honestly sick of it. this franchise needs a quarterback who can stand tall in the pocket and deliver balls that don't take forever to get to the receiver

Wow. This is dumb.

[WPGFALCONSFAN]

I like matt ryan, but some of you guys need to calm down. He hasn't been himself to start the season, plain and simple! He would be the first person to admit that! Dosent mean he is garbage, and i know there are other factors, but people act like he is above criticism? Why? Because he is a top 10 qb so we cant even discuss it if he is playing below his potential? Is he our biggest problem? Of course not! I think those who have concerns have them because they know we need him to be at his best if we wanna go far. No question he will win games during the regular season, but the book is still out on what he can do in the playoffs, like it or not.

That being said I still believe we can win it all with matt, just wanna see him continue to make strides and get it done in the post season.

Rise up!

[Theyhateme : )]

I like matt ryan, but some of you guys need to calm down. He hasn't been himself to start the season, plain and simple! He would be the first person to admit that! Dosent mean he is garbage, and i know there are other factors, but people act like he is above criticism? Why? Because he is a top 10 qb so we cant even discuss it if he is playing below his potential? Is he our biggest problem? Of course not! I think those who have concerns have them because they know we need him to be at his best if we wanna go far. No question he will win games during the regular season, but the book is still out on what he can do in the playoffs, like it or not.

That being said I still believe we can win it all with matt, just wanna see him continue to make strides and get it done in the post season.

Rise up!

This makes too much sense.....