Sustained success or sophomore slump in 2009 for Matt Ryan?

June 20, 10:28 AMAtlanta Falcons ExaminerDaniel Cox

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AP Photo/Dave Martin

Matt Ryan's not the type of guy to worry about much.

He's also kind of boring.

If you ask any talent evaluator in the NFL, they'll tell you outside of intelligence and mechanics those two characteristics are critical to a quarterback's success in a sport where so much emphasis is placed on one position.

In May, when speaking with Mike Mayock on the NFL Network, Ryan described the scene in the huddle before a play that catapulted Ryan into the discussion as one of the best young players in the NFL, in only his rookie season.

The play in question was in Week Six and it was the pass against the Chicago Bears that placed the Atlanta Falcons in field goal position with six seconds remaining. If it happened the way he says it did, Ryan was calculated and as no-frills as they come.

"The thing in the huddle was 'Hey, let's stay on time, let's take a shot. I'm going to put the ball high and away and try and make a play,'" Ryan said.

He makes it sound so simple. He made it look that way as well.

The simplistic way he approached that play and likely every situation in which he finds himself is what makes him successful.

It's also why he will avoid a sophomore slump in his second season in 2009.

In his mind everything is the same, though in the reality surrounding him it's not. But the circumstances that swirl around Ryan, such as those in Week Six of 2008, mean little to the 24-year-old.

As he said recently on Atlanta's AM 680 (The Fan), "I still feel like I'm just going to football practice the same way I have my entire life."

On the topic of the second-year slump, Ryan stayed with the 'just another year' theme.

"In terms of the sophomore slump, I haven't really worried too much about it. I didn't worry about not having success as a rookie and I don't see any reason to start worrying about why I might struggle as a second year player," he said. "I'm focused on the positives and just trying to play well."

The positives are aplenty and one of them is the history of players in similar situations as Ryan--young quarterbacks who experienced success as a full-time starter.

There's not a lot of history there, but when you look at quarterbacks that played well as rookies (Manning and Marino) or began starting full-time (and playing well) in their second seasons (Palmer and Brady), their second full-time seasons as starters carried the positives forward.

Take a look at completion percentage as an example:

No one's comparing Ryan to those guys just yet, but the history says Ryan is primed to continue to improve. At a minimum, he should be able to keep his completion percentage at or above his 61.1 '08 mark just as his predecessors did.

One of the areas Ryan has openly said he hopes to improve is his accuracy.

"That's something that I have to get better at because In the NFL there's going to be a lot of times where they're going to take away routes downfield and you've got to get to the (running) back," Ryan told Mayock. "If we can get to back and give him a chance to make some plays, especially with the talented guys that we have, I think we'll be better served next year."

The addition of tight end Tony Gonzalez and the versatile backfield weapon in the form of running back Jerious Norwood stand to be valuable pieces to Ryan's offense as teams will look to remove wide receiver Roddy White and running back Michael Turner from the game.

All of that considered it makes sense that the team focused heavily on passing during OTAs.

"Matt is making good decisions and being accurate with the football," Head Coach Mike Smith said of the offseason emphasis. "I don't think those two traits can be overlooked. That's what we've emphasized with Matt, make better decisions and to be more accurate throwing the football."

If you're looking for another reason why Ryan will avoid a downturn in 2009, it's that he doesn't care.

Rather, he cares about the right things.

His offseason has been quiet, going as far as to turn down appearances and endorsement opportunities.

"My number one concern is being productive on the football field," Ryan told 680.

And if you need another reason, consider his previous sophomore seasons.

In high school in 2001, Ryan won the starting job as quarterback of Philadelphia's William Penn Charter School. That season set him on a trajectory that Falcons fans hope (and probably believe) still hasn't reached its peak.

As a redshirt junior in 2005 at Boston College he played in 10 games, starting five. His most notable start was in the MPC Computers Bowl in which he completed 19-of-36 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles win over Boise State. His performance won him the game's MVP.

Ryan's assets make him uniquely capable of avoiding a slump in 2009. He's more CEO than hotshot quarterback.

And like every good CEO he's not comfortable with the status quo. He knows he must remain fastidious and continue to tinker and innovate if he expects to stay ahead of the competition.

"What we did last year wasn't good enough to get it done," Ryan said on the airwaves of Atlanta on Wednesday. "And you have to step it up and do something else--the little things. You just have to do the little things better and that's kind of been the approach we've had."

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