Oct 7, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) on the sidelines during the second half against the Washington Redskins at FedEX Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-US PRESSWIRE

Each week for my post game analysis, I will give one offensive and defensive Falcon player a little “sugar” for his “sweet” playing on the field. I will also give one player on the Falcons a little ”salt” for his salty, lackluster play for the week. Please feel free to leave comments and provide your own “Sugar and Salt” for the week. You can also tweet me at @ianborders7 or all of us at @bloggingdirty to provide input for your picks each week.

Sugar (offense)- Matt Ryan- This has been a long time coming. Let’s be honest….Matty Ice has carried the Falcons thus far in this young season. He is as high as any other player for NFL MVP a quarter through the season, and you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who means more to his team. Ryan threw for 300 plus yards for the second week in a row, and conducted the offense (especially late) methodically down the field using eight different targets throughout the game. Ryan did have his lowest passer rating of the year in this game (89.0), but that was due to one incredible defensive end play by Kerrigan on a swing pass early in the second quarter, and then a lost fumble also in the second quarter. That said, Ryan is still averaging a 106.1 passer rating on the year, and has dominated the play late in games. If he keeps it up, watch out for the MVP chants echoing in the Georgia Dome…

Sugar (defense)- Sean Weatherspoon- I remember when this guy was coming out of college, I didn’t know what to expect. Dude seemed like a physical specimen and a hard hitter, but I just wasn’t sold. Often times those traits don’t transfer over to the NFL. In ‘Spoons” case, they definitely did. Weatherspoon has picked up right where he left off last season, even with the absense of Curtis Lofton (wonder how that is working out for him…). ’Spoon’ is making play after play, flying to the ball and hitting hard when he arrives at the scene. He finished the game in D.C. with 8 tackles, one of which being a sack on RGIII, and another of which being the blow that knocked RGIII out of the game. I’m not saying that blow was the game winner, but when a quarterback gets hit hard, it makes him think about holding onto the ball that extra half second (And lets be serious, Kirk Cousins is no RGIII as his 2 picks showed). The hit was very legal, and very hard. Stay hungry ‘Spoon’.

Salt- Jacquizz Rodgers- Much like last week, I’m really digging here…but I think a number of Falcons fans were expecting a large role to be played by Jacquizz Rodgers this year. His numbers have not been great by any means thus far. In five games, his longest run is for 9 yards, and he is averaging about 2.7 yards a rush. On a positive, he is averaging 8 yards per reception, but his long is only 15 yards, and through 5 games he has only 1 TD. Heaven forbid, if something were to happen to the ”burner”, I think we have no other choice but to go to Snelling (which is not that bad of a choice). At times I almost think Snelling should be getting the carries that Rodgers is getting. I think we got so excited watching Darren Sproils light up the NFL and we thought we had a similar scat back. Sproils is an extremely rare individual, and I think we have our rare back already on the team; Michael Turner.

October 7, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) is tackled by Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux (95) and Falcons outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon (56) in the third quarter at FedEx Field. Griffin was injured on the play and left the field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

August 24, 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) is pressured by Miami Dolphins linebacker Cameron Wake (91) in the second quarter at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

As we saw this weekend against that worthless Miami team (those were not Ace Ventura’s Dolphins), Matt Ryan’s bulk and mass is more than just extending throws….its extending plays.

 It was well documented that in the off-season, Matty Ice was hitting the iron, trying to beef up to do the impossible….Out throw Julio Jones…. But there were a number of times during the Falcons’ third pre-season game when Ryan stepped back in the pocket to look for the deep pass, and it just wasn’t there. What to do next? What happens then?

Falcons fans know that the deep threat will not work everytime due to the fact that teams will be game planning against just that. The check down is just fine….This is how Peyton Manning has made a living the past decade or so… But Ryan eased some of  the tension, looking more like the other Manning (Eli not Archie), the double Super Bowl champion Manning that extends plays, and finds ways to make big plays out of broken nothingness.

Much like Eli and Big Ben Roethisberger, Ryan has developed a sturdy foundation to not only heave the ball down field, but to be able to take a hit and deflect off of it to keep the play alive. In Ryan’s first few seasons, he was like a feather, falling to the floor with but a gust of pressure. Now, he is the rock that the team is built around literally and figuratively.

Does this mean we want linebackers tee-ing off on Ryan’s number 2 jersey every snap?…Absolutely not!…But it does mean that even when things break down, the opportunity of a big play is still there. We as Falcons’ fans have not had that since (dare I say it…) Mike Vick. Ryan’s extra mass will allow the countless skill player weapons to find open space, and the extra beef will help the off balance throws get to where they need to be at a swift pace.

There are two things that Roethisberger and (Eli) Manning have in common, and we as Falcons’ fans would love to see Ryan become a part of the group. Both can extend plays with their pure strength and ability to creep away from trouble (as mentioned earlier), but the more important commonality…..Each quarterback already has two Super Bowl victories.