Falcons camp report: Franchise counting on Ryan to come up aces

Editor's note: Clark Judge, Pete Prisco and Mike Freeman are traveling to every NFL training camp and filing daily reports and analysis.

Falcons: Five things to know | Prisco

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The frustration on the face of Atlanta Falcons rookie quarterback Matt Ryan, coupled with the words of anger flowing from his mouth, showed his new teammates back in June just how competitive he could be when things weren't going well.

"It was driving him crazy that things weren't happening the way he wanted," Falcons receiver Roddy White said.

Ryan struggled in the same areas that most young quarterbacks usually do: Timing, decision-making, pressure and dealing with tougher, more-experienced opponents.

Lucky for him the playing surface was only a card table.

Ryan, the third player picked in the April draft and a one burdened with being the key piece in trying to turn around the moribund Falcons franchise, gathered to play cards with his teammates and watch the NBA Finals this summer. It was a sign of the bond he has already formed with them, but for some reason that night, Ryan just couldn't win a hand. It drove him nuts, and it gave his teammates a chance to see his passion to win come flowing to the surface.

"He's really competitive and he really wanted to win so he kept playing all night until he finally won a hand," White said. "He couldn't win. It really bothered him, but it showed how much he wants to win."

Ryan, who played his college football at Boston College, laughed when I relayed the story to him this week during a break from training camp, and then blamed his troubles on everything but his ability to play cards.

"It wasn't my fault," he said. "Whoever was dealing is to blame. I wasn't getting the cards. It was the bad luck of the draw."

Some might say his NFL standing is a bad draw. It has put Ryan in a position of dealing with the pressure of trying to help rebuild a Falcons franchise reeling from the Mike Vick fiasco followed by having Bob Petrino bolt as coach in the middle of the 2007 season.

How much can one franchise take? Your star quarterback, the face of the franchise, is sent to jail for dog fighting and your head coach leaves for a college job in the middle of the afternoon without even addressing his players. And the fan base is eroding faster than John Edwards' popularity.

Now all Ryan has to do is go in and fix it.

How about those cards? Unsuited seven-deuce in a Texas Hold'em game is prettier than that hand.

"I don't think you can worry about that too much," Ryan said. "I'm just one guy. I'm just trying to pull my weight. That's as simple as it is. If every guy pulls his weight, we'll get it turned around. Playing this position, you take a lot of the limelight that goes with it. I'm not naïve to that. I understand that it goes with it."

The organization is raving about him. Ryan isn't starting now, but it's only a matter of time. In his first NFL action against the Jacksonville Jaguars last Saturday, he came off the bench in the first quarter in relief of Chris Redman and completed nine of 15 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. The impressive thing was he did a lot of it against a blitzing Jaguars defense.

Ryan stood in the pocket and made the throws he had to make. On his touchdown throw, a 25-yard strike to White, he recognized a blown coverage, went to it, and fired a bullet to White for the score. On that play, and for most of the game, he had that look of a veteran NFL quarterback, including the confident way about him that all the good passers have.

'Everybody on the team is trying to get on the field and start,' Matt Ryan says. 'I'm no different.' (US Presswire)

"I wanted to see how he reacted in game situations and he threw the ball well," White said. "He got out there with the ones and competed against the Jacksonville ones. He went in there and did a good job. He didn't get rattled. He's a much more mature guy on the field than a lot of rookies I've seen."

Falcons coach Mike Smith can hardly hide his enthusiasm for his quarterback. Smith, in his first year, raved about how Ryan does veteran-like things. During a practice Monday, Ryan saw that that play-clock was winding down and quickly got to the line, lined people up the right way and got the ball snapped.

"He was so poised," Smith said.

Redman has to know he's just keeping the spot warm. The Falcons are in complete rebuilding mode, so why not start Ryan now? Patience is a key after the fall of the franchise, so playing Ryan makes sense.

Let him grow as the team grows. Let him try and heal the wounds created by Vick and Petrino.

Some might say rushing him behind a bad line could be damaging. But Ryan seems to have the temperament that he won't let bad times or bad games bother him for long. Peyton Manning played as a rookie for a bad team, winning three games. We know where he is today.

"For me as a competitor, I want to be on the field," Ryan said. "Everybody on the team is trying to get on the field and start on opening day. I'm no different. At the same time, I know there is no right or wrong way for a quarterback to come into the league. You've seen people have success waiting or being thrown in and playing. So it's not an exact science. If it were, everybody would follow suit. For me, I want to be out there."

It won't be long. If he's not starting on opening day, it will be a shock. Smith is non-committal on the subject, but the signs point to Ryan being the starter.

For Falcons fans, who came to love Vick's run-around, improvisational ways, it will be a big change. Ryan is a pocket passer, although he did throw a few passes on the move against the Jaguars.

Vick was both tantalizing and tormenting for the Falcons and their fans. He made amazing plays with his legs, but struggled as a passer. Ryan is much more conventional, both on and off the field. He is, for lack of a better term, the anti-Vick.

Don't count on Ryan spending his days at the pit bull fights. I even asked him at the NFL scouting combine if he owned any. He said no.

Score one for the rookie.

Ryan's No. 2 jersey is bound to become a hot seller in Atlanta, if not nationally like Vick's. But it will take time. Winning back the fans will be tough. They're hurt and stung by the Vick saga.

"I have to go out and perform well and be an upstanding citizen," Ryan said.

The team is raving about the way he's taking it on himself to get to know his teammates, including those on defense. It's a smart move for a rookie who will almost certainly be starting.

"I just think it's something everybody needs to do, not just the quarterback," Ryan said. "These are the guys you're going to be scrapping and clawing to win games with. That's the way I've always been, regardless of the team. If it was my high school basketball or a baseball team, I want to know everybody."

White said it's working.

"He's one of the guys," White said. "Everybody has welcomed him in. You have to welcome in guys like him who love to compete."

That competitive drive they saw that night playing cards just might be the key to turning the Falcons around. The bets are on the table. Ryan just might be this franchise's Royal Flush.