Tom Brady’s arrival to the NFC South this offseason had fans giddy about the prospect of watching Brady and the Bucs face off twice this season against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
The Hall of Fame-bound quarterbacks have established themselves as two of the greatest quarterback to play the game, so you can be sure that when they play against each other the ratings will be big.
But there’s another quarterback in the NFC South who seems to be getting lost amid all the Brady-Brees frenzy, and that’s Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. Ryan, the 2016 NFL MVP, had this to say during a recent interview on the Pardon My Take podcast when he was asked if he was the best quarterback in the division: “I think currently, yeah, I’ll go with myself.”
You can chalk up his response to just a quarterback showing confidence in himself, but as Bucky Brooks points out, Ryan’s numbers seem to back up his case.
Here’s part of Brooks’ reasoning:
“Before you light up my Twitter mentions with Tom Brady memes and Drew Brees GIFs, I’m well aware that the Bucs and Saints’ QB1s have had distinguished careers as gold-jacket players, but we’re not talking about a lifetime achievement award. The crown should be awarded to the quarterback with the best skills at the position right now, and it’s clear that Matty Ice is that guy.
“The four-time Pro Bowl quarterback throws with outstanding touch, timing and anticipation, while also displaying pinpoint accuracy. He routinely threads the ball through the needle on tightly contested throws, while also displaying the range to utilize every area of the field. Although Ryan’s arm wouldn’t grade out as an A+ in a bullpen session, he has more than enough arm strength to make every throw in the book as a 35-year-old quarterback still in his prime.
“From a numbers standpoint, Ryan is coming off a year in which he posted 11 300-yard games, which is tied for the third-most such games in a single season in NFL history. He surpassed the 4,000-yard mark for the ninth straight season, which is the second-longest streak in NFL history (Drew Brees holds the record with 12) and the longest active streak. Given that his 2019 campaign was considered an off year by his standards, the Falcons’ QB1 is positioned for a bounce-back season that should see him reclaim his spot as a top-five quarterback.”
Ryan is one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL today, and having a guy like Julio Jones to throw to will certainly help his numbers. The Falcons could very well be a sneaky good team this season. Arthur Blank felt confident enough in how this squad ended the season to bring back head coach Dan Quinn. Ryan will play like he’s got something to prove in 2020, and you know that loss to Brady and the Patriots in Super Bowl LI still haunts the Falcons to this day. I’m sure they’ll relish the chance to get two games against Brady.
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