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Matt Ryan has been missing Julio Jones, but it hasn’t slowed him down after his MVP season. The offseason narratives have surrounded two things about this team. First, can they bounce back after their Super Bowl incident. And two, can Ryan maintain his stunning 2016 performance.
Early signs have me completely unshook.
In two series during the preseason, Matt Ryan has gone 6-of-8 for 88 yards and one touchdown, and a 123.6 passer rating. #Falcons
— Curtis Jackson III (@falconsfiddy) August 20, 2017
It is a very small sample size, but definitely something giving us optimism into this season. In fact, Atlanta’s starters on both sides of the ball have been surprisingly dominant.
That’s right, it is time for a little bit of cautious optimism around here. Some had suggested that Ryan, despite typically being near the top of the league in statistics nearly every single year of his career, was a product of Kyle Shanahan’s system that previously gave us one good year of RGIII. Yes, it sounds dumb, but I have to admit that I have wondered if Steve Sarkisian can keep up the insane efficiency of last season.
Next, would the team itself look as broken and lost as most of the fanbase? The Falcons look like they haven’t missed a beat, and early indications are the roster is improved. They don’t look ready to pack it in like after a bad loss like the Carolina Panthers. And Ryan isn’t showing any signs of regression.