Post by Guvmintcheeze on Oct 29, 2014 15:43:25 GMT
Poor decision, INT still eating at Matt Ryan
Although the bye week should give the Atlanta Falcons a chance to regroup and forget about the first half of the season, one play is sure to linger in the mind of quarterback Matt Ryan.
His costly interception -- thrown directly to Lions cornerback Cassius Vaughn in the third quarter of Sunday's 22-21 loss in London -- is likely to go down as the worst pass of his career. Ryan took full responsibility for it, saying he cost his team the game.
During his weekly radio show on Atlanta's 680 The Fan, Ryan revisited the moment at least one more time.
"It's uncharacteristic; just a bad mistake that you'd love to have back,'' Ryan said. "In order to win football games, we can't make plays like that. I'm disappointed. But part of being a professional is being able to put it behind you and move forward. And that's what we're going to do.''
Ryan explained in more detail what he saw on the play.
"We had the play set up, a little slip screen with a double move going down the right-hand side and backside post by Roddy [White],'' Ryan said. "Got flushed. Went to my left-hand side and was looking deep and kind of saw Roddy take his angle but couldn't tell what was behind kind of on the other side of the field. Couldn't see it. And so, in all honesty, I was trying to ditch that ball away in a safe spot looking into that right side of the field and did not see [Vaughn]. And then when I let it go, he kind of popped behind the offensive line.
"Disappointing and frustrating, and a play that you can't make. You can't let it affect you. You've got to keep going.''
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was asked what he said to Ryan after such a poor play.
"Matt doesn't make a lot of bad plays,'' Koetter said. "When he does, he doesn't need me to tell him about it. He is way harder on himself than anybody else would ever be. You love that in a player.
"So at that point in the game, I was trying to just get Matt to forget about it and move on. It's hard not to dwell on a major mistake. Like I said, Matt is going to beat himself up. I was just trying to tell him 'Let it go and move on. We're going to need you to make some big plays as the game continues to unfold here to give us a chance to win.' And he did do that."
When the Falcons return to action after the bye, they'll play consecutive NFC South road games at Tampa Bay and Carolina. Away from Atlanta this season, Ryan has seven interceptions. Inside the Georgia Dome, he has one.
Although the bye week should give the Atlanta Falcons a chance to regroup and forget about the first half of the season, one play is sure to linger in the mind of quarterback Matt Ryan.
His costly interception -- thrown directly to Lions cornerback Cassius Vaughn in the third quarter of Sunday's 22-21 loss in London -- is likely to go down as the worst pass of his career. Ryan took full responsibility for it, saying he cost his team the game.
During his weekly radio show on Atlanta's 680 The Fan, Ryan revisited the moment at least one more time.
"It's uncharacteristic; just a bad mistake that you'd love to have back,'' Ryan said. "In order to win football games, we can't make plays like that. I'm disappointed. But part of being a professional is being able to put it behind you and move forward. And that's what we're going to do.''
Ryan explained in more detail what he saw on the play.
"We had the play set up, a little slip screen with a double move going down the right-hand side and backside post by Roddy [White],'' Ryan said. "Got flushed. Went to my left-hand side and was looking deep and kind of saw Roddy take his angle but couldn't tell what was behind kind of on the other side of the field. Couldn't see it. And so, in all honesty, I was trying to ditch that ball away in a safe spot looking into that right side of the field and did not see [Vaughn]. And then when I let it go, he kind of popped behind the offensive line.
"Disappointing and frustrating, and a play that you can't make. You can't let it affect you. You've got to keep going.''
Offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter was asked what he said to Ryan after such a poor play.
"Matt doesn't make a lot of bad plays,'' Koetter said. "When he does, he doesn't need me to tell him about it. He is way harder on himself than anybody else would ever be. You love that in a player.
"So at that point in the game, I was trying to just get Matt to forget about it and move on. It's hard not to dwell on a major mistake. Like I said, Matt is going to beat himself up. I was just trying to tell him 'Let it go and move on. We're going to need you to make some big plays as the game continues to unfold here to give us a chance to win.' And he did do that."
When the Falcons return to action after the bye, they'll play consecutive NFC South road games at Tampa Bay and Carolina. Away from Atlanta this season, Ryan has seven interceptions. Inside the Georgia Dome, he has one.
