The AJC's Jeff Schultz wrote about watching film with Matt Ryan, and it's extraordinary

Matt Ryan struggled last season. He threw for just 21 touchdowns, and tossed 16 interceptions and also fumbled the ball 12 times. He looked downright uncomfortable in Kyle Shanahan's scheme, and his discomfort was evident even early in the season as the team jumped out to a 6-1 start.

One thing you should know about Ryan is that nobody is more acutely aware of his mistakes than he is. Jeff Schultz of the AJC sat down with him to watch film of Ryan's performance last year, and the article is a must-read.

Shanahan's scheme is such a departure from what the Falcons have run in the past, and Ryan's discomfort last year certainly can be attributed to that. Per Schultz:

Ryan's biggest problem in 2015: setting his feet in play-action. In the past, his eyes were down the field. In Shanahan's scheme, his back is to the defense for five steps, requiring him to quickly pivot, set and throw, requiring far more trust and less hesitation.

The element of trust is very important, also. This is why Ryan and Julio Jones spoke so extensively about communication during OTAs. They have to trust Shanahan and the scheme, which is something that should be a little easier in year two, but Ryan also has to trust his receivers and his own ability to the point that any hesitation is eliminated.

Ryan breaks down several of his most glaring mistakes with Schultz, and he's able to explain precisely what went wrong on each play. Whether it's mechanics or timing or just plain old bad decisions, Ryan can identify it. That's the first step to correcting the issues.

It's common for quarterbacks to shoulder the bulk of the blame when an offense struggles, and Ryan certainly deserves criticism for his play last season.

But with another full offseason in Shanahan's offense, adjusting to the differences in language and the changes Ryan has to make to his mechanics, we should see improvement.

And there were times last season where the offense looked quite effective. Ryan told Schultz that the offense mostly functioned fine. It was just a handful of plays that killed them.

During the 5-0 start, Ryan said he was just fortunate to get away with mistakes. He also believes the offense was fine for maybe 55 plays a game. "Where we have to get better are the catastrophic 10."