Matt Ryan, The Incredible Unsackable Quarterback

by Dave Choate on Oct 21, 2009 10:01 AM EDT in Falcons News

Come one, come all, to see the incredible quarterback who cannot be sacked. Four times this season the daredevil has thrown himself at the mercy of his offensive line, and four times he has escaped harm. Miraculous! The one time this titan among men was bested, he was brought to the ground twice by the click, fin-slapping marine mammals in the first week of the NFL season. Truly a tremendous performance from a demigod!

In case you're denser than a neutron star, I am of course talking about our own Matt Ryan. We're blessed to have Ryan on the team for any number of reasons, but his propensity for avoiding sacks is climbing up those charts like a posthumous Michael Jackson album. I'm stunned on a daily basis that he's managed to be brought down only twice this season. For much of 2009, you had to give all the credit to the offensive line, who have protected him fiercely every step of the way. Those guys still deserve an enormous amount of credit, and I'm only too happy to give it to them. Quarterbacks simply don't survive without good lines in front of them.

But. For the first time since the Miami Dolphins game, Ryan was actually facing some heat from the Chicago Bears defense. They got in at him, sometimes incredibly close. What did Matt Ryan do in each of those situations, you ask? He either rolled out and threw the ball away to avoid the sack, connected on a pass to get out of the jam, took off entirely or just somehow magically avoided the pressure. You heard it here first, folks: Matt Ryan is a gizflammin' wizard.

It speaks highly of Ryan's escape ability and the way he manages not to be rattled by basically anything. The under-throws and over-throws are still a big deal, but he's making it work. Credit has to go to Mike Mularkey for not forcing Ryan to take seven step drops, which if you'll recall was a major failing of the Jim Mora Jr. era with Michael Vick. The less time a quarterback spends chugging slowly backwards, the more time he has to react to the rush coming at him. So kudos for that.

Really, it's a number of things that have led to this point, but I do know I'm pretty thrilled with the results. If the Falcons can keep Ryan on his feet all season long, that's an advantage we have over about three-quarters of the league. With a little luck and a lot of skill, we might see a zero in the sacks category again against the Cowboys.

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now if only

Turner can get past the line of scrimmage we’ll be set.

by nathan rothschild on Oct 21, 2009 10:11 AM EDT reply actions

I do have faith that Ryan will consistently improve

Much like our defense, at times we have to remember that Ryan is only in his second year. True, he plays very smart, but there are going to be times, like last year, where he and the offense kind of stall out. I think the Chicago Bears demonstrated that Ryan was somewhat human, rather than this surreal QB demigod who has managed to defy all logic by stepping in immediately. That’s why our win was so crucial when the offense wasn’t clicking. It showed we can win from both sides of the ball.

That being said, I think we’ll continue to see teams load the box and run blitz because a team has its best chance of beating us by stopping the run. Simply put, we may have to get used to the fact that 100+ yard Turner games will be difficult to come by. If Ryan can improve his accuracy even more and start really making teams pay for loading the box, then the rest of the league is flat out in trouble. The problem is that we really haven’t killed teams over the top like we did last year. Why take someone out of the box if all we can complete are short routes? I have faith it’ll come, but I’d prefer that to happen sooner rather than later.

Keeping Ryan upright is a key factor in speeding up our ability to kill teams deep. So we’re pretty close to an offensive explosion. I’m just ready for it to get here fully.

by LetsGoFalcons on Oct 21, 2009 10:30 AM EDT reply actions

This post title is tempting the Football Gods

They frown on such hubris. Can’t we change it to “Matt Ryan has not been sacked lately” or something like that?

Driving the "Fire Willie Martinez" bandwagon since 2006

by SG Standard on Oct 21, 2009 11:48 AM EDT reply actions

I like to hope

That the Football Gods in their infinite wisdom appreciate a tongue-in-cheek headline.

by Dave Choate on Oct 21, 2009 11:57 AM EDT up reply actions

How about "We will win out the season!"

:-D

You have opinions. We all do. Some of yours may have to do with the Falcons. Sign up today and share them.

by Adam Schultz on Oct 21, 2009 12:24 PM EDT up reply actions

"with an unsacked QB!"

know what you believe in and why you believe in it

by MentallyMIA on Oct 21, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions

hey falcon fans.....

would love an outside opinion. both sides are biased….

http://www.battleredblog.com/2009/10/21/1094523/wayne-vs-johnson

You are banned from Music City Miracles. (twice)
You are banned from Blogging The Boys.

by chrisd21 on Oct 21, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions

I'd reserve judgment until the end of their respective careers

But right now, Wayne’s got it by a slight margin. Johnson may be more physically gifted, but Wayne gets results.

by Dave Choate on Oct 21, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

That's not

What he wanted to hear, Dave…

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 21, 2009 5:08 PM EDT up reply actions

When have I ever told people what they want to hear?

Andre Johnson is the more talented receiver physically and it’s probably not even close. He’s also dealt with an inferior QB throwing him the ball. Still, Wayne is mind-bogglingly consistent and would be a great receiver on any team. I don’t really think this is an argument that needs to happen, because they’re both fantastic.

by Dave Choate on Oct 21, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah,

People care way too much about rankings. It will all work itself out in the end… but it seems like if it’s not in an ESPN Top 10 list, we can’t digest it anymore.

Me: “Do you have an elite WR?”
chrisd21: “Yes.”
Me: “Then stop worrying about it.”

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 22, 2009 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions

Matty Ice

Matt Ryan is the best thing that has happened to the Falcons in a long time. The O line is doing a great job at not letting him get sacked along with the great escap ability. What I love the most about Matt is that he does not force a lot of throws that most QB’s of his age would force. Just simply throwing the ball into the seats is sometimes one of the best plays a QB can make. I just wish he and the entire Falcons team would get a little bit of respect on espn and other shows. I think we will have to win the super bowl to get more than 30 seconds of air time. We beat the bear and espn shows the highlights then goes straight to talking about baseball. But maybe flying under the radar will be a good thing for us in the long run. Cant wait till next week when we play the boys. D line just needs to get after and rattle Romo and we should be able to have some turnovers and by capitolizing on them will get us a win on Sunday.

by bhochstetler6 on Oct 21, 2009 1:45 PM EDT reply actions

great job oline

need 2 stay focused tho. still a long season head of us and the way players r gettin injured we hav 2 be all business and continue 2 improve. I want a ring!! y not??? we can beat any team out there if we get firing at all cylinders. run game and d hav 2 impove. great job d thus far. hope 2 the football gods that the cbs step up and dnt go bak 2 lookin how they did n the preseaon without brian williams aka “Birdman”. dallas d with KB will b intese. we need 2 b 2. I h8 the cowboys!!!!!

by DEMBIRDZCUZ! on Oct 21, 2009 2:43 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

We can beat any time out there

And that’s critical to remember. The Saints are scary, but we’ve got a shot.

by Dave Choate on Oct 21, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions

We do have a chance against NO

Despite their good Defense, the Saints still give up points, as long as Ryan doesn’t make mistakes throwing in the Saints Secondary, we can score. The Saints other weakness is their kick and punt return coverage. Eric Weems should find the endzone several times.

by brotherbrown on Oct 23, 2009 11:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Pass protection is key

to Ryan’s continuing development. It speaks very well of the Falcons’ brain trust that they gave rookie Ryan an O-line that enabled him to succeed. You simply can’t throw a young QB out behind a crappy line, it doesn’t work! Ryan’s smart enough that he can develop into an elite QB quickly, too. Bet the “5-year rule” won’t apply to him.

by tom slick on Oct 21, 2009 3:12 PM EDT reply actions

Before Ryan arrived

They were considered a “crappy line” (at least in pass protection). The only real changes on the line 07-to-08 was Dahl at RG and 5 games of Sam Baker at LT. Yes, the O-Line’s been very good, but Matty’s had a lot to do with that turn-around, too.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 21, 2009 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions

I think you can chalk some up to maturation, as well

Tyson Clabo got better, Justin Blalock got better, etc.

by Dave Choate on Oct 21, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions

True

But I think avoiding sacks is a big (and very underrated) part of a QB’s job (whether that’s moving in the pocket, or getting rid of the ball quickly). For instance, Green Bay. Their O-Line is not good, but have you watched how long Aaron Rogers holds onto the ball sometimes? He’s certainly not helping them out. In Pittsburgh, it’s the same way – Big Ben will hold the ball forever trying to make a play, and makes the O-Line seem worse than they really are…

Here’s a P-F-R blog study that gives a surprising result on QB sack rates, etc.

"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein

by orang3b on Oct 22, 2009 9:52 AM EDT up reply actions

Good article, thanks

Persuasive evidence that the QB is more responsible for sacks than we might think. PFR has the resources to do some killer research, don’t they?

by tom slick on Oct 22, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions

Yes!

Pass protection is about redirecting the defenders away from where the QB is supposed to be for a defined period of time. If the QB isn’t where he’s supposed to be, or if he holds the ball too long, the line shouldn’t be held entirely responsible.

However, as Dave points out, this is a better line than we had in 2006.
—AOb

How many more days, Lord, must I walk through the wilderness?
GO FALCONS!!!

by AnOldBird on Oct 22, 2009 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions