Everyone knew coming into the season who would be taking snaps from behind center for the 2008 season in Atlanta.
The Falcons took the best quarterback available in the draft, hoping to give the franchise a fresh young face to lead the team and eventually give the organization a shot at making the playoffs. But let's face it, no one saw this coming. There's exceeding expectations, and then there's what Matt Ryan has done in the first six games of his fledgling NFL career.
In case you missed it, the former Boston College star has led the Falcons to a 4-2 start and has them in a three-way tie for first place in the tough NFC South.
Not to mention he threw a touchdown pass on his first-ever pass from scrimmage, recorded a win at Lambeau Field and has thrown fewer interceptions than Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tony Romo. Most importantly, in just six games he has recorded just as many wins as the team amassed in 16 games last year.
Of course, all the success cannot be attributed to the rookie quarterback. Clearly the hirings of first-year head coach Mike Smith and general manager Thomas Dimitroff have made a positive impact, and the play of running back Michael Turner has been nothing short of tremendous. Owner Arthur Blank has made several good decisions since the fate of the Falcons took a downward turn last summer.
However, when Ryan was selected third overall in the 2008 NFL draft - a high pressure situation in itself - he was basically forced into the starting quarterback role from the get-go with expectations of giving the team a new face to stand behind. You're talking about being charged with the task of erasing lingering thoughts of Michael Vick, duck-and-run Patrino and the abomination that was the 2007 season from the minds of Falcons fans.
Two depressing years of nothing but tough luck were supposed to be wiped away by the play of this unproven kid. Being dumped into the situation alone would likely have made any other rookie quarterback fold under the weight of expectations.
Not Ryan. He came out swinging, connecting on a 62-yard rainbow for a touchdown to Michael Jenkins to start his professional career.
Last week, down 20-19 on their own 44-yard line with six seconds to go against the Bears, Ryan coolly delivered a 33-yard pass to Jenkins along the sideline with :01 left on the clock to set up a game-winning field goal kick from Jason Elam. It was just the third time since 1970 that a team came back to win a game despite having the lead taken from them in the last 15 seconds of the game. He does not seem rattled, no matter what is thrown at him.
Is this to say he's going to lead his team to a Super Bowl and make the Falcons a dominant force in the NFL? Absolutely not. His team lost both of its first two divisional games by a score of 9-24 and two of the four wins from the Falcons came against the abysmal Lions and the Chiefs. They don't exactly have the greatest résumé as of yet. But defeating the NFC North division leaders last week and the Packers at Lambeau were certainly steps in the right direction.
Realistically, with Oakland and St. Louis on the schedule, the Falcons stand a decent chance of making the playoffs this year if they can rack up a few divisional wins. But their success lies largely in the play of the rookie quarterback who has been nothing short of impressive thus far in the season. Atlanta needed a new face and a reason to cheer, and Ryan has done nothing less than fill both of those needs for his new team.
If you think Matt Ryan is a strong enough quarterback to carry the Atlanta Falcons all the way to the playoffs, let Andy know by e-mailing him at avansistine@wisc.edu.
