Matt Ryan Admits Oc Kyle Shanahan's System Was "too Much" For Him At Times This Season.

[Atlfanstckndenver]

Ryan admits OC Kyle Shanahan's system was "too much" for him at times this season.

"I think that's for everyone, when you're learning something new and it's different, at times there's too much, right?" Ryan said. Ryan went on to say he thought the team finally had some "good plans" the final 5-6 weeks of the season, specifically the last three. It's a curious admission from a veteran quarterback who probably shouldn't be overwhelmed by any system at this point in his career. Of course, it's also odd Shanahan insisted on something his quarterback evidently wasn't comfortable with. The sides need to get on the same page this offseason. The Falcons' offense, which needed to carry the team, wasn't close to good enough in 2015. Jan 5 - 1:58 PM

Source: ESPN.com

I think with a company man like Ryan this is basically his way of saying he and Shanahan weren't on the same

page this year. Just thought it was pretty interesting. I got this from Rotoworld but it said the source is espn.

Regardless of how we want to look at it, we're talking about one of the league's most intelligent qbs saying the offense was too much. Despite how much people want to oversimplify these things and just claim that Ryan sucks, I have believed all year that there's more to it than that. Shanahan and Ryan both deserve responsibility in my opinion.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Atlfanstckndenver

[kiwifalcon]

Mentioned in many threads previous Big Ben Eli Peyton all struggled in there first years learning the WCO.I expect Ryan to come back firing next season.

[JDaveG]

It's a curious admission from a veteran quarterback who probably shouldn't be overwhelmed by any system at this point in his career.

This, in turn, is a curious statement from a sportswriter who ought to know better.

What a dumb comment.

[DaMeatTroughsEgo]

A good coach would have adjusted sooner and we would be in the playoffs

[FalconinPA]

Mentioned in many threads previous Big Ben Eli Peyton all struggled in there first years learning the WCO.I expect Ryan to come back firing next season.

I would like to see him bounce back next year.

[DaMeatTroughsEgo]

**** shanahan

[Atlfanstckndenver]

This, in turn, is a curious statement from a sportswriter who ought to know better.

What a dumb comment.

Dave I think you are a good poster, and you've made clear that you believe that Shanahan has no blame here,(please correct me if I'm wrong) but i just can't believe after all these years that it's suddenly as simple as Ryan sucks in a vacuum. That just simply does not happen that way historically. When is the last time we've seen a qb suddenly go from one of the most accurate and efficient passers for nearly a decade to becoming one of the most turnover prone qbs over the course of one off season? Mind you in the midst of this happening, the one main variable that changes is the offensive coordinator. Edited January 5, 2016 by Atlfanstckndenver

[JDaveG]

Dave I think you are a good poster, and you've made clear that you believe that Shanahan has no blame here, but i just can't believe after all these years that it's suddenly as simple as Ryan sucks in a vacuum.

First, I haven't said Shanahan has no blame. Second, I wasn't saying Ryan sucks, and in fact I was defending Ryan from the odd claim that he "shouldn't be overwhelmed by any system." Ryan is fine. Shanahan is fine. That's my position -- this is a normal and expected growing pain that comes with completely changing the offensive philosophy.

Could Shanahan have done some stuff better? Sure. So could Ryan. But the real issue is getting the entire offense to get on the same page on every play. It wasn't just Ryan crapping the bed. It was seemingly someone different every play. Another year in the system will smooth a whole lot of that stuff out. My position all along is people need to be patient. It stinks because it's hard to watch your team lose winnable games, but it will improve (and it has improved).

[Francis York Morgan]

Would like to see a bounce back, but let's pick up Schaub in FA anyways. Just in case. No one can pretend Ryan is in any way being pushed and there's supposed to be competition all over the roster. Not to mention, Schaub has experience with Shanny (even if it was a while ago) and his offense. It seems like a great fit.

[ballfan]

The recurring problem was getting the ball to the open man late. Many of the picks came as a result. A second sooner and some become big plays. Fix the drops and crappy snaps and the offense becomes lethal.

[Lornoth]

Dave I think you are a good poster, and you've made clear that you believe that Shanahan has no blame here, but i just can't believe after all these years that it's suddenly as simple as Ryan sucks in a vacuum.

He doesn't suck, he's learning a new scheme. Every QB struggles when transitioning into a new scheme.

[TheFatboi]

Dave I think you are a good poster, and you've made clear that you believe that Shanahan has no blame here, but i just can't believe after all these years that it's suddenly as simple as Ryan sucks in a vacuum.

It isn't that Ryan sucks. It's as he said. The system or learning the system that is. Not saying he can't learn it but vets tend to struggle in the wco in their first season in it.

[Atlfanstckndenver]

First, I haven't said Shanahan has no blame. Second, I wasn't saying Ryan sucks, and in fact I was defending Ryan from the odd claim that he "shouldn't be overwhelmed by any system." Ryan is fine. Shanahan is fine. That's my position -- this is a normal and expected growing pain that comes with completely changing the offensive philosophy.

Could Shanahan have done some stuff better? Sure. So could Ryan. But the real issue is getting the entire offense to get on the same page on every play. It wasn't just Ryan crapping the bed. It was seemingly someone different every play. Another year in the system will smooth a whole lot of that stuff out. My position all along is people need to be patient. It stinks because it's hard to watch your team lose winnable games, but it will improve (and it has improved).

I sincerely apologize. Before seeing your response I edited my post to be a little less sure of my Assumption.

[JDaveG]

The recurring problem was getting the ball to the open man late. Many of the picks came as a result. A second sooner and some become big plays. Fix the drops and crappy snaps and the offense becomes lethal.

Exactly. He's been a hair late all season long and it's been killing us.

He's cleaned that up over the last 4 games or so, and it looks better, but it still rears its head enough to cost us games.

[JDaveG]

I sincerely apologize. Before seeing your response I edited my post to be a little less sure of my Assumption.

No worries -- I just wanted to be clear. Shanahan may or may not be a good OC. But I just don't think you can judge that off of this season, given all the personnel issues.

If he isn't good, we'll find that out when we see no improvement next year. I'd say after next season we'll have a really good idea where we are.

[Atlfanstckndenver]

First, I haven't said Shanahan has no blame. Second, I wasn't saying Ryan sucks, and in fact I was defending Ryan from the odd claim that he "shouldn't be overwhelmed by any system." Ryan is fine. Shanahan is fine. That's my position -- this is a normal and expected growing pain that comes with completely changing the offensive philosophy.

Could Shanahan have done some stuff better? Sure. So could Ryan. But the real issue is getting the entire offense to get on the same page on every play. It wasn't just Ryan crapping the bed. It was seemingly someone different every play. Another year in the system will smooth a whole lot of that stuff out. My position all along is people need to be patient. It stinks because it's hard to watch your team lose winnable games, but it will improve (and it has improved).

Overall I agree with what you're saying completely here. I took the comment a little differently. I figured it could imply that there's more to it than meets the eye when such a tenured qb like Ryan says the offense was "too much. "

[Francis York Morgan]

Exactly. He's been a hair late all season long and it's been killing us.

He's cleaned that up over the last 4 games or so, and it looks better, but it still rears its head enough to cost us games.

Yep. Even that last INT was because Ryan made the throw late. Once he's more comfortable he ought to be able to speed up his decision making.

If he can't next year, just being real with you guys, I'd rather replace Ryan than Shanny.

[TheFatboi]

The recurring problem was getting the ball to the open man late. Many of the picks came as a result. A second sooner and some become big plays. Fix the drops and crappy snaps and the offense becomes lethal.

Exactly. Which had a lot to do with his footwork. It's not hard to see that. Ryan has said this earlier in the season about his mechanics. We all saw a different Ryan the last 3 weeks. His footwork was a lot quicker and matter of fact. Good footwork in the wco also helps better decisions. Matt was letting the ball go late earlier in the year and it was all tied to his footwork. Not only that but learning the playbook. It was scaled back and was being added to as the season progressed. Ryan will be fine.

[TheFatboi]

Overall I agree with what you're saying completely here. I took the comment a little differently. I figured it could imply that there's more to it than meets the eye when such a tenured qb like Ryan says the offense was "too much. "

It's more to it but the more of it is the simple fact that veterans have a hard time learning this system if they weren't born into it.

[Atlfanstckndenver]

I also think one interesting part of the report is when he says the team finally had some good plans in the latter part of the season. Which clearly implies he thought there was some poor planning previous to that stretch.

[Jesus]

Yeah,

Matt had a bad year this year no doubt but his rating was still 89.0. Not great but Eli, Payton, Brady, Roethlisburger have all had lower rated seasons more than once.

Mentioned in many threads previous Big Ben Eli Peyton all struggled in there first years learning the WCO.I expect Ryan to come back firing next season.

[Brady]

Calling a new offense "too much" and "overwhelming" is not something a veteran QB should say. At least not out loud.

[Atlfanstckndenver]

It's more to it but the more of it is the simple fact that veterans have a hard time learning this system if they weren't born into it.

Which I simply cannot argue with. Especially when considering the previous examples involving some pretty good qbs.

[DMT11]

Problem is that is the communication and language, all the teams basically run the same plays, you hear and see that over and over, its how they are communicated, thats why Koetter made the reference to that when he came and obsorbed the stuff the we already knew as far as calling plays, **** falls apart when u have an OC calling plays with a new language and cadence compared to what the teams used to running and showing. More time def helps, the Pats are the only team that has figured out ways to run the different offenses based on there personell and what teams are showing consistently over the years and keep the terminiology the same, they basically modified this old erhard perkins whatever offensive communication system from the 70s.

[ballfan]

Exactly. He's been a hair late all season long and it's been killing us.

He's cleaned that up over the last 4 games or so, and it looks better, but it still rears its head enough to cost us games.

. Even the last game, a bit late on many passes. The pick was an example, but the TD to Free was almost too late. It happened all game, just not as clear to see. Next year could be much better, particularly if they can find a reliable set of hands.