Matt Ryan Named Starting QB for Falcons
August 24, 2008 by David Kindervater
Filed under Atlanta Falcons
National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast
Atlanta Falcons rookie Matt Ryan was named the team’s season-opening starting quarterback by head coach Mike Smith today. Matt will also start the Falcons preseason finale against Baltimore this Thursday:
“We have evaluated Matt through OTAs, mini-camp, training camp and over the course of three preseason games. After reviewing Matt’s progress, we feel like he has won the starting job.”
The decision makes sense. In this particular situation, Matt will do better in a “baptism-by-fire” than he will watching and learning from the sidelines. In three preseason contests, Matt has completed 32 of 52 passes for 277 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for an 80.4 passer rating. I could say not bad for a rookie, but he’s clearly the better option over Chris Redman or Joey Harrington. The Atlanta Falcons aren’t going to the playoffs and Matt will take his lumps this season. But in the long run, this assignment will only help the development of Matt’s career and the development of this team.
Source: AtlantaFalcons.com, Photo: Newscom
But we did go to da playoffs