Post by Guvmintcheeze on Sept 17, 2015 15:47:14 GMT
Accountable Matt Ryan set to shake off season-opening mistakes
Give Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan credit. He holds himself accountable.
Ryan again made no excuses after uncharacteristic mistakes in Monday night's 26-24 season-opening win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Immediately after the game, Ryan admitted he could have made much better throws on two plays that resulted in interceptions. The first was picked off in the end zone thanks to an outstanding, one-handed play by Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso. The other resulted in an Eagles' touchdown, so that's a 14-point swing.
Ryan had at least four poor throws that weren't typical for him. He pointed to another outside of the interceptions: A 12-yard pass down the field on third-and-15 from his own 15 that was in the hands of Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell, who couldn't come up with it. Julio Jones was the intended target.
"That's one of those ones where we've got to be on the same page, and I've got to put the ball out a little farther in front," Ryan said Wednesday. "But that's kind of way it goes. There are going to be contested plays throughout a game. They are good players, too. But you try and be as sharp as you can."
As is his usual routine, Ryan was in the day after Monday night's game breaking down film and figuring out what he could have done better. He realized immediately how he needed to throw the ball a little higher to Roddy White in the end zone, which would have negated the 6-foot-3-inch Alonso's ability to go up and get it. But it's not like Ryan dissected the Eagles' film for 24 hours straight.
"You go through it -- and I don't know what time frame it is -- but obviously I think we all want to get better," Ryan said. "And in order to get better, you have to be critical of yourself. There's no doubt about it. You've got to be honest with yourself. You've got to come in and look at it and say, 'Was this really a good decision? Was this really good footwork?' You write those things down and you try and go out there and work on them. That's always kind of been my focus.
"You want to be critical, but you don't want to beat yourself up to the point where you're not confident, either. You've got to strike the right balance."
Ryan, who was pressured on just three of his 37 dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats & Info, finished Monday night's game completing 23 of 34 passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns to Jones and those two interceptions.
"You can't turn the football over at the quarterback position and expect to win consistently," Ryan said emphatically. "That first one, I've got to put it in a spot where [Alonso] can't make a play. And the second one, I've got to have better vision. Those are things that you have to clean up. You can't let those happen again. And that's why you get out here to practice and try to improve on those."
Ryan will now face a New York Giants team he is 1-3 against all time, including a 24-2 playoff defeat during the 2011 season. In last year's 30-20 loss at MetLife Stadium, Ryan threw one interception, was sacked once and was hit eight times. But this year's Giants will be without top pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul, who has one healthy finger remaining on his right hand following a fireworks accident.
"Obviously, Jason Pierre-Paul is a great player and a guy that we've gone against a number of times," Ryan said. "We certainly know how good he is, but they still have a lot of other good players on their defense. And they've got guys that can get after the passer. I thought they did a nice job on defense versus the Cowboys. They were opportunistic and created a bunch of turnovers, so we're going to have to be on it. We're going to have to be on our plan and make sure that we're as prepared as we can be because they still have a lot of talent on that defense."
Give Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan credit. He holds himself accountable.
Ryan again made no excuses after uncharacteristic mistakes in Monday night's 26-24 season-opening win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Immediately after the game, Ryan admitted he could have made much better throws on two plays that resulted in interceptions. The first was picked off in the end zone thanks to an outstanding, one-handed play by Eagles linebacker Kiko Alonso. The other resulted in an Eagles' touchdown, so that's a 14-point swing.
Ryan had at least four poor throws that weren't typical for him. He pointed to another outside of the interceptions: A 12-yard pass down the field on third-and-15 from his own 15 that was in the hands of Eagles cornerback Byron Maxwell, who couldn't come up with it. Julio Jones was the intended target.
"That's one of those ones where we've got to be on the same page, and I've got to put the ball out a little farther in front," Ryan said Wednesday. "But that's kind of way it goes. There are going to be contested plays throughout a game. They are good players, too. But you try and be as sharp as you can."
As is his usual routine, Ryan was in the day after Monday night's game breaking down film and figuring out what he could have done better. He realized immediately how he needed to throw the ball a little higher to Roddy White in the end zone, which would have negated the 6-foot-3-inch Alonso's ability to go up and get it. But it's not like Ryan dissected the Eagles' film for 24 hours straight.
"You go through it -- and I don't know what time frame it is -- but obviously I think we all want to get better," Ryan said. "And in order to get better, you have to be critical of yourself. There's no doubt about it. You've got to be honest with yourself. You've got to come in and look at it and say, 'Was this really a good decision? Was this really good footwork?' You write those things down and you try and go out there and work on them. That's always kind of been my focus.
"You want to be critical, but you don't want to beat yourself up to the point where you're not confident, either. You've got to strike the right balance."
Ryan, who was pressured on just three of his 37 dropbacks, according to ESPN Stats & Info, finished Monday night's game completing 23 of 34 passes for 298 yards with two touchdowns to Jones and those two interceptions.
"You can't turn the football over at the quarterback position and expect to win consistently," Ryan said emphatically. "That first one, I've got to put it in a spot where [Alonso] can't make a play. And the second one, I've got to have better vision. Those are things that you have to clean up. You can't let those happen again. And that's why you get out here to practice and try to improve on those."
Ryan will now face a New York Giants team he is 1-3 against all time, including a 24-2 playoff defeat during the 2011 season. In last year's 30-20 loss at MetLife Stadium, Ryan threw one interception, was sacked once and was hit eight times. But this year's Giants will be without top pass-rusher Jason Pierre-Paul, who has one healthy finger remaining on his right hand following a fireworks accident.
"Obviously, Jason Pierre-Paul is a great player and a guy that we've gone against a number of times," Ryan said. "We certainly know how good he is, but they still have a lot of other good players on their defense. And they've got guys that can get after the passer. I thought they did a nice job on defense versus the Cowboys. They were opportunistic and created a bunch of turnovers, so we're going to have to be on it. We're going to have to be on our plan and make sure that we're as prepared as we can be because they still have a lot of talent on that defense."