Matty Ice.
That's the nickname Matt Ryan was given when he was quarterbacking the Boston College Eagles.
Matty Ice.
Because he was so cool. Especially when the heat was on.
Matty Ice.
That's what they call him now in Atlanta, where he started all 16 games for the Falcons last season and was voted the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press.
Atlanta had been 4-12 in 2007, finishing last in the NFC South. After drafting Ryan third overall in the first round last year and thrusting him immediately into the starting lineup, the Falcons made a dramatic turnaround, going 11-5 and earning a wild-card playoff spot.
"Matt's proven in a short time that he's a capable player," said Nick Caserio, the Patriots' director of player personnel. "He's tough, he's smart, he has a good arm. He makes good decisions with the ball. I think a lot of their success last year is attributable to what he did. He had a good rookie year, and it looks to me - based on the first two games - that he's been able to build on that."
It certainly does.
Last year, Ryan threw for 16 touchdowns and had only 11 interceptions while completing more than 61 percent of his passes. In just two games this year, he already has thrown five TD passes, with just one interception, as the Falcons have gotten off to a 2-0 start, beating defending AFC East champion Miami in the season opener, then knocking off defending AFC South champion Carolina. Ryan was 21-of-27, with three TDs, last Sunday against the Panthers.
"Certainly," Pats coach Bill Belichick said, "the Matt Ryan selection was a good one. He reads coverages well, gets the ball to all his receivers, has a lot of poise, and handles himself well in end-of-the-game situations."
Ryan's talents were immediately obvious to the Falcons.
"We knew that Matt had an outstanding skill set as we were doing our due diligence going through the draft process," said Mike Smith, who was a rookie himself last year as a head coach, after having been defensive coordinator in Jacksonville.
"Then, early on," Smith said, "there were a number of occasions where he would make a throw and you would go, 'Man!' I'd look over to (offensive coordinator) Mike Mularkey or (quarterbacks coach) Bill Musgrave on the practice field and say: 'Did he really just make that throw?' or 'What a great decision that was.' "
It was a great decision by Smith to make Ryan his QB from the get-go.
On the first pass of his first, regular-season NFL game, Ryan threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Jenkins.
"It was a fast start to last year," Ryan said Wednesday in a conference call with the New England media. "That was good for our team, no question about it. But, that said, there were ups and down for myself last year, and I think I learned from both. That will make me a better player this year."
After last year, Smith asked Ryan to do a self-evaluation.
"The two things we agreed upon in areas he wanted to improve," Smith said yesterday, "were accuracy and decision-making. I think the two traits that separate the great quarterbacks from the other quarterbacks in the league are accuracy -- being able to put the ball into tight spaces -- and their decision-making.
"Because more and more defenses are getting more complex with their disguise packages, I think those are the two things Matt wanted to improve on. And through the first two games, I think he's done a very good job."
Another area in which Ryan feels he's improved is his preparation.
"I have a better feel now for what it takes -- how to set up my schedule, what's important, what's not important -- and I feel like I do a better job during the week of getting ready to play on Sunday."
There's no doubt he'll be ready to play this Sunday.
"It'll be great to get back there (to New England,)" he said. "It's a part of the country that I love. It has a special spot in my heart from my days at BC, so I'll be excited to get back."
Ryan created excitement galore at BC, where he led the Eagles to three postseason bowl victories and was voted ACC Player of the Year in 2007, when he completed 388 passes and threw for 31 touchdowns, breaking the school record of 27 set by Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie in 1984.
And he can be expected to create some excitement Sunday. He did, after all, rank second in the NFL in yards per completion last season, averaging 12.98.
"Matt has earned the right to be a leader on our football team," Smith said, "because he is a guy who has made a lot of plays."
"He can get it down the field," Belichick said of Ryan, "and put it right on the money. He knows when to fire it, and when to put a touch on it. He's really impressive."
He's Matty Ice.
(Contact Jim Donaldson at jdonalds (at)projo.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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