There is a reason that Matt Ryan is one of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year. Nothing seems to rattle him. I understand that the Oakland Raiders are a struggling football team, but to play in the Black Hole and lead the offense to total domination over the silver and black speaks to where Ryan is in the eighth game of his NFL career. The offense was able to hold onto the football for 45 minutes. That’s right: the Falcons had the ball for 75 percent of the contest. That is unheard of for an NFL game. They were able to do this mainly because they racked up 252 yards on the ground. Ryan did a great job of managing the game, only turning the ball over once (he fumbled with less than 30 seconds left in the first half) and throwing for 220 yards and two touchdown passes which both went to Michael Jenkins. As an added bonus, former Falcon DeAngelo Hall was on the coverage for the first touchdown pass to Jenkins. I know Atlanta fans were loving every minute of it.
Not only was Ryan able to manage the game, he was able to spread the ball around, completing passes to eight different receivers with Roddy White grabbing five balls for 54 yards. He was also able to help the Falcons tally 30 first downs in the contest and converted nine of 17 third downs. Ryan did get sacked three times, but the offensive line was able to keep him upright for the most part, and this was the first win of the season in which offensive tackle Sam Baker did not play. Unfortunately, it looks as if he will not play the rest of the season with a hip injury, and that’s why the Falcons signed Wayne Gandy at the beginning of the week to add depth to the O-line. Once Gandy learns the offense, Ryan will have a solid veteran protecting him when he drops back to pass.
With the win on Sunday the Falcons improve to 5-3 and will be back at home against the New Orleans Saints, which have a record of 4-4. It will be a battle of not only division rivals but of quarterbacks, as Ryan the rising star will take on Drew Brees, who is having a MVP caliber season. Brees has thrown for over 2,500 yards with 15 touchdown passes and has a quarterback rating of 101.6, and all those stats are among the top five in the NFL. Ryan has thrown for nine touchdown passes and over 1,500 yards and is coming into the game with momentum after the way that he played against the Raiders. So, through eight games, Ryan has led this team to a 5-3 record. Now the second half begins, and what better way for Ryan to get the second half of his season off on the right foot with a win over Brees and the Saints? One thing is for sure, the Georgia Dome will be electric and should make for another Saints-Falcons classic.
Jones can be reached at bjones@scoreatl.com.
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