NFL DRAFT OPTIMIST/PESSIMIST - MATT RYAN

by Zac, Throwing Into Traffic

OPTMIST/PESSIMIST will take a look at the NFL through both sides of the glass: The one that is pleasantly half full and the one that is bitterly empty. In preparation for the draft, we'll be looking at several NFL prospects and gauging them through these two perspectives. Today, Boston College QB Matt Ryan.

Matt Ryan, Quarterback Boston College 6’5”, 218 lbs, 31 TD, 19 INT, Threw for 4507 yards on 654 attempts (6.9 Y/A)


OPTIMIST:

Congratulations, Falcons fans; You’re about to draft the next Ben Roethlisberger. Matt Ryan is big, just mobile enough to get away from a tackle or two, and he has the downfield mentality to match his considerable physical gifts. Even more intriguing is that Ryan, much like Big Ben, has a knack for making strong throws on the run, which will help make up for some of the flaws that Atlanta line has shown.

But of more immediate importance than the tremendous physical talent Ryan has is the personality he injects into the Falcons locker room. Still reeling from Michael Vick’s dogfighting bonanza, Atlanta needs someone to rally around on both sides of the ball, and Ryan gives them that on offense. And don’t forget what Ryan does for the ground game. If he can give even a hint of legitimacy to the pass game, defenses will be forced to respect it, giving Jerious Norwood and Michael Turner (who will be vying for the honors of “scariest running tandem”) room to use their speed.

The fact of the matter is this: Atlanta desperately needs a quarterback, and there simply is no quarterback talent in this draft more built for the pro game than Matt Ryan. Bringing him in marks a turnaround for a franchise that was headed in the wrong direction even before Michael Vick disappeared into the ether. As much as I understand the cold feet that Atlanta would have about investing so much in a signal caller, Ryan is the closest thing to a sure bet that you’ll find under center in this draft, and it’s going to take a big, splashy pick like him at number three to turn the Falcons’ ship around..

PESSIMIST:

So let me get this straight; he’s got good size, he’s smart, he has just enough physicality to get away from tackles and make throws from which most quarterbacks would shy away, and made his bones in college in a conference that was baby soft? I guess what they say is true; the only thing better than having one Joey Harrington on your roster is having TWO. For al the talk about his physical gifts, the comparisons to Big Ben are only half true; in college, Matt Ryan consistently looked like BAD Ben Roesthlisberger. The only reason people aren’t seeing the distinction is because even bad Big Ben could be a winner in college, particularly against an ACC that looked like defenses had agreed to give the QB a “ten Mississippi” count before rushing the passer. In the NFL, however, defenses don’t rush three, and they don’t miss tackles like college players do.

They also don’t let a quarterback get away with bad throw after bad throw. Ryan’s TD to INT ratio was just north of 3/2, which puts him in Eli Manning territory: Good but not great, with the potential to be awful. Top 5 pick? When there’s a more physically gifted quarterback on the board, not to mention Glenn Dorsey? Note to Atlanta: Picking a new quarterback too early won’t bring those dogs back to life.

Basically, picking Ryan in the top five would be a team’s way of telling him, “hey, we really liked that game against Virginia Tech.” What nobody remembers is outside of one amazing throw, he was getting bailed out by his receivers all night. Whether that was due to his being on the run or due to the fact that he’s not quite as accurate as everyone would have you think, the result at the next level will still be the same: A quarterback who makes poor decisions and has just enough physical talent to make those poor decisions a reality. Maybe he and Joey Heisman can play duets.