5:25 p.m. – As I arrive to my seat in the press box, Ryan jogs onto the field along with D.J. Shockley and a few other teammates to stretch, warm up, and even talk to some of the Titans players on the other end of the field. “Matty Ice” looks cool, calm and collected, but it is two hours until kickoff, so that could change within an hour when he heads back onto the field.
6:35 p.m. – Ryan is back on the field in his full gear with the rest of the skill players. I get word that two Titans defensive standouts (Keith Bulluck and Albert Haynesworth) will not dress tonight. That will make it easier for Ryan to make plays … I hope.
7:00 p.m. – The entire team goes through a scrimmage as the first-team offense squares off with the first-team defense. Ryan looks sharp, completing all the passes that he throws. If he can do this during the game, it should be smooth sailing and he should have about a 158.3 quarterback rating. … Again, I can only hope.
7:25 p.m. – The offensive starters are introduced and Ryan gets the loudest cheer. This is good to see, and it looks as if the fans are ready to move on and support No. 2.
AND SO IT BEGINS …
7:45 p.m. – Ryan takes the field for the first time tonight. He is able to move the ball, going 4-for-6 for 31 yards on the drive, but two penalties by the Falcons offensive line stalls it. That is something that the offensive line can’t do if they want to help a young quarterback succeed.
8:07 p.m. – The second quarter begins with the Falcons offense getting the ball back via a Chevis Jackson interception. Ryan completes 1-of-2 passes, but with the sound running of Michael Turner, the Falcons get in field-goal range and Jason Elam kicks a 39-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3.
8:23 p.m. – Ryan looks sharp, completing all four of his passes. But an offensive pass interference call on Roddy White and a false-start penalty kills the momentum that Ryan was building. The good thing about this is that it’s the preseason and the Falcons have two more weeks to improve their discipline.
8:35 p.m. – This is a short series for Ryan, as he is sacked by Jevon Kearse on the opening play, which led to a three-and-out. Ryan, meet “The Freak.”
8:46 p.m. – Ryan has a great opportunity to lead the offense to its first touchdown of the game with a 38-yard punt return by Adam Jennings. That doesn’t happen, as he misses both Laurent Robinson and White in the end zone, and Elam misses the 33-yard field goal. Same problems as last week – penalties and red-zone inefficiency. The Birds have to get these things corrected before September 7.
9:04 p.m. – FINALLY! After numerous penalties and incomplete passes, the Falcons are able to take the lead after Ryan throws a one-yard touchdown pass to Harry Douglas. But I have to give props to Jerious Norwood, who ran the ball effectively during this series. That ends the night for Ryan, who had a solid outing in his first professional start. His final numbers are 15-for-21 with 102 yards and one touchdown. He also had a quarterback rating of 97.7. Not the 158.3 that I was looking for … but I’ll take it.
10: 46 p.m. – The game is over and the Falcons have won their first preseason game, 17-3. After the game, Ryan said he was happy with the way he played.
“I thought I did some good things, and I thought I made some mistakes,” he said. “I thought that there were some plays that we made that were big and kept the ball moving.”
After this performance, I think Ryan needs to start on opening week against Detroit. I also think that if the Falcons can limit their mistakes and are more efficient in the red zone, they can have a pretty solid season. We’ll see.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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