Post by Guvmintcheeze on Oct 27, 2015 21:51:22 GMT
Matt Ryan denies inconsistent play caused by injuries
Vaughn McClure, ESPN Staff Writer
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan dismissed any speculation about health playing a part in his inconsistency through seven games, although his team still takes a 6-1 record into Sunday's NFC South matchup against 2-4 Tampa Bay.
During his weekly radio appearance on Atlanta's 680 The Fan, Ryan said nothing is wrong, physically.
"I am healthy,'' Ryan said Tuesday. "Feeling good. Body feels really good. You know, just haven't played as well as I would like the last couple weeks. I think offensively, we would all say the same. But we've been finding ways to get it done, and that's huge. We'll take the wins any way we can get them.''
Ryan has four interceptions and two lost fumbles in the past three games, with narrow victories over Washington (25-19 in overtime) and Tennessee (10-7), plus a loss at New Orleans (31-21). He posted passer ratings of 55.1 and 64.7 against the Redskins and Titans, completing just 3 of 9 attempts for 18 yards (1 touchdown, 1 interception) in the red zone during those two matchups. Ryan previously took ownership for being off-target in a season-opening win over Philadelphia.
When asked how he has critiqued himself, Ryan didn't make any excuses.
"We're always looking for ways to improve, and you have to have the mindset that winning is great and we want to win -- that's the objective -- [but] we've got to find ways to be better than we have been up until this point,'' Ryan said. "For me, I think one of things that I've got to do is just be more consistent with my footwork. When you throw with a great base, your ball tends to be the most accurate. Yeah, that's what I'll be working on all week.''
Ryan emphasized how his off-target throws have nothing to do with any type of arm soreness.
"For me, I feel good,'' he said. "My [football] is coming out fine. It's just I've got to be a little more accurate than I've been up until this point.
"From a physical standpoint, our offensive line has done a great job this year. My body feels great; haven't taken a ton of hits. And I think that's going to bode well for us long-term.''
Ryan currently stands fourth in the NFL with 2,002 passing yards through seven games. He has completed 172 of 267 passes with nine touchdowns and six interceptions while being sacked 14 times. His overall passer rating is 88.9, which is 17th among the Top 25 quarterbacks, right below Kansas City's Alex Smith (90.3).
Ryan has forced some throws to Julio Jones in double coverage and has been picked off twice in the end zone, thanks in large part to solid defensive plays. At the same time, he came up with clutch passes to Roddy White in the fourth quarter against the Redskins and to Leonard Hankerson in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants that showed why the Falcons have so much faith in him.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn remains confident in his quarterback.
"The way he attacks and the way we want to go after it, we're not going to back off,'' Quinn said of Ryan and the passing game. "We just want to make great decisions with the football. We have belief and trust in him, like you could imagine. We're anticipating those turnovers going away and, defensively, being able to get more.''
Tight end Jacob Tamme shook his head at any criticism of Ryan.
"Matt's cool,'' Tamme said. "Matt's not 'Matty Ice' for no reason. I don't know what people on the outside are saying. I don't think there's any issue. We can all be better on offense for sure. And the good thing about our offense is that we've got a lot of guys who are accountable.''
Ryan will next face a Buccaneers team that he posted a single-game franchise record 87.5 completion percentage (21-of-24) against last season in a 56-14 win. Ryan had a career-high 155.9 passer rating in the game.
Vaughn McClure, ESPN Staff Writer
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan dismissed any speculation about health playing a part in his inconsistency through seven games, although his team still takes a 6-1 record into Sunday's NFC South matchup against 2-4 Tampa Bay.
During his weekly radio appearance on Atlanta's 680 The Fan, Ryan said nothing is wrong, physically.
"I am healthy,'' Ryan said Tuesday. "Feeling good. Body feels really good. You know, just haven't played as well as I would like the last couple weeks. I think offensively, we would all say the same. But we've been finding ways to get it done, and that's huge. We'll take the wins any way we can get them.''
Ryan has four interceptions and two lost fumbles in the past three games, with narrow victories over Washington (25-19 in overtime) and Tennessee (10-7), plus a loss at New Orleans (31-21). He posted passer ratings of 55.1 and 64.7 against the Redskins and Titans, completing just 3 of 9 attempts for 18 yards (1 touchdown, 1 interception) in the red zone during those two matchups. Ryan previously took ownership for being off-target in a season-opening win over Philadelphia.
When asked how he has critiqued himself, Ryan didn't make any excuses.
"We're always looking for ways to improve, and you have to have the mindset that winning is great and we want to win -- that's the objective -- [but] we've got to find ways to be better than we have been up until this point,'' Ryan said. "For me, I think one of things that I've got to do is just be more consistent with my footwork. When you throw with a great base, your ball tends to be the most accurate. Yeah, that's what I'll be working on all week.''
Ryan emphasized how his off-target throws have nothing to do with any type of arm soreness.
"For me, I feel good,'' he said. "My [football] is coming out fine. It's just I've got to be a little more accurate than I've been up until this point.
"From a physical standpoint, our offensive line has done a great job this year. My body feels great; haven't taken a ton of hits. And I think that's going to bode well for us long-term.''
Ryan currently stands fourth in the NFL with 2,002 passing yards through seven games. He has completed 172 of 267 passes with nine touchdowns and six interceptions while being sacked 14 times. His overall passer rating is 88.9, which is 17th among the Top 25 quarterbacks, right below Kansas City's Alex Smith (90.3).
Ryan has forced some throws to Julio Jones in double coverage and has been picked off twice in the end zone, thanks in large part to solid defensive plays. At the same time, he came up with clutch passes to Roddy White in the fourth quarter against the Redskins and to Leonard Hankerson in the fourth quarter against the New York Giants that showed why the Falcons have so much faith in him.
Falcons coach Dan Quinn remains confident in his quarterback.
"The way he attacks and the way we want to go after it, we're not going to back off,'' Quinn said of Ryan and the passing game. "We just want to make great decisions with the football. We have belief and trust in him, like you could imagine. We're anticipating those turnovers going away and, defensively, being able to get more.''
Tight end Jacob Tamme shook his head at any criticism of Ryan.
"Matt's cool,'' Tamme said. "Matt's not 'Matty Ice' for no reason. I don't know what people on the outside are saying. I don't think there's any issue. We can all be better on offense for sure. And the good thing about our offense is that we've got a lot of guys who are accountable.''
Ryan will next face a Buccaneers team that he posted a single-game franchise record 87.5 completion percentage (21-of-24) against last season in a 56-14 win. Ryan had a career-high 155.9 passer rating in the game.