Matt Ryan is arguably the greatest player in Falcons history. Some could argue for Julio Jones, Claude Humphrey, Deion Sanders, and more, but a lot of people believe #2 is the GOAT in Atlanta.
The Boston College product took over a dumpster fire of an organization that had just watched its former franchise quarterback in Mike Vick go to prison while also watching its former head coach in Bobby Petrino leave the team in the middle of the season with nothing more than a note.
Ryan immediately took the Falcons to playoffs, won Offensive Rookie of the Year, and most of all, gave the city hope. For the next decade-plus, the Falcons were consistently competitive thanks to the team’s quarterback play.
He is the Falcons’ all-time leading passer in attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, passer rating, and 300-yard games. Matt Ryan threw for over 4,000 yards in 10 of his 14 seasons in Atlanta, as well as an NFL record 64 straight games with at least 200 yards passing. He’ll be in the discussion for Canton and will eventually have his jersey retired with the Falcons.
However, since his departure from Atlanta, the franchise has suffered what so many others have for decades — quarterback purgatory. The Falcons went through Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Taylor Heinicke, who had more lowlights than highlights during their time with Atlanta.
It’s a stark reminder to remember to be grateful because you never know what you have until you lose it. That’s exactly the case with Matt Ryan among Falcons fans. A lot of fans took him for granted, blamed him for painful losses, and held him to an unfair standard.
He noticed too. On Cam Newton‘s podcast 4th & 1, Ryan was asked if he was appreciated in Atlanta for all of his work. Ryan’s short answer — no.
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Ryan would go on to say that he’s proud of what he did across his career and point out that the division was so incredibly difficult with the Saints and Panthers constantly in the postseason conversation with Cam Newton and Drew Brees.
Newton followed it up with his appreciation for Ryan’s philanthropic work in the city of Atlanta, and he’s absolutely correct. Ryan has gone above and beyond around Atlanta, but Falcons fans may not be able to see past the hurt of the 2016 Super Bowl, the 2012 NFC Championship, or any other heartbreaking loss they’ve suffered.
I think during his career, many Falcons fans took him for granted. Now that everyone knows what life is like without him, many are more grateful than ever for Matt Ryan.
The longer the Falcons go without a franchise quarterback, or even find one that is worst than Ryan, the more fans will grow to appreciate him
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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