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It's so hard to be an Atlanta Falcons fan. In the half century the franchise has been in existence, the Falcons have just one Super Bowl appearance. They've never won the Lombardi, and to put it mildly, disappointment is never far away when this is your team of choice.
But we carry on, we chosen few. Why? Because there are bright spots, occasional glimpses of hope, if you will. A brand new, $1.4 billion dollar stadium. Arthur Blank's mustache. And conveniently under contract, teetering on greatness, our franchise quarterback: Matthew Thomas Ryan. Whether's he's elite, clutch, mostly good, or simply adequate, the Falcons could do far worse. It seems our good friends at Pro Football Focus concur, ranking Ryan 8th among NFL quarterbacks.
Another quarterback who seems to take an unnecessary amount of blame for his team's lack of postseason success, Ryan is a top-10 NFL QB. He has benefited from having weapons like Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez around him during his time in Atlanta, but Ryan consistently performs well. He handled pressure well again in 2014, too, with an accuracy percentage of 69.4 percent on plays during which he was under pressure.
You could quibble with this list, potentially bumping Ryan up a few spots. But overall, this is about right ... for now. If Ryan turns in the campaign we're all expecting him to have in 2015, this list could look radically different a year from now. Discuss!