Feb 5, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) passes the ball against the New York Giants during Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

Recently, ESPN’s NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas has been posting a list of the top 25 players in the NFC South. Many of the previous players haven’t been very surprising (Roddy White was No. 19, Julio Jones was No. 11, and I know I’m forgetting a couple other players for the time being). I was really counting down until Yasinskas posted Ryan. Surely, I thought, Ryan will be in the top-10, and even then probably in the top-5. I was right about the first of those.

I was a little surprised, but given the national opinion of Ryan around the league, this ranking didn’t really come as a blindside hit. Ryan is a fine quarterback true, but he is not yet elite. Yasinskas did have some positive things to say about Ryan’s game that should give all Falcons fans faith as well as hope for the future:

The knock on Ryan is he has yet to win in the postseason. You can’t argue that because it’s fact. But I do think Ryan’s postseason drought will end, probably this year. He’s a talented quarterback that works hard, has all the intangibles and has a great supporting cast at the skill positions. The Falcons have made some moves that should help their offensive line and that should allow Ryan more time to find receivers open downfield. Plus, the addition of new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter could mark a huge turning point in Ryan’s career. Ryan fared well under previous coordinator Mike Mularkey, but I’m not so sure the coordinator always put the quarterback in the best situations possible. I also don’t think Mularkey consistently let Ryan do the things he does best. Koetter has a reputation for being more creative and flexible than Mularkey and that’s exactly what Ryan needs. He’s on the cusp of being an elite quarterback. He just needs to be allowed to take the gloves off — and run the no-huddle offense the majority of the time.

That’s more than a mouthful from him, but I felt that it was worth quoting. Ryan certainly has the potential to do a whole lot more within the offense if A) the coordinator allows him more control and B) the offense is opened up a little more even when Ryan isn’t in a no-huddle situation. Mike Mularkey seemed to call plays that were absolutely mind-numbingly boring, but worst of all were extremely predictable. I could have told you a bootleg was coming on 1st down a often the last couple years. Other teams knew it was coming, and played against it. First, it isn’t Ryan’s strong suit (see this article here) and it generally just was a waste of a down. Granted, our offensive line play couldn’t really protect Ryan when he was in the pocket, but it didn’t help trying to get him mobile. As Yasinskas said in the previous paragraph in his article:

He did all that while being sacked a career-high 26 times and that number could have been significantly higher if Ryan hadn’t sidestepped some hits and thrown the ball away.

I’ve said it before, Ryan is the reason we didn’t lead the league in sacks surrendered, or at least be a league leader. If we protect him properly, there is no reason he can’t be a Philip Rivers type talent, a guy with decent arm strength but little to no mobility, who sees the rush well, avoids it when his line doesn’t pick it up, and is able to make things happen. We absolutely have to bring better talent to the o-line soon, or in the 2013 draft. But again, I digress.

There is a perfect player for Ryan to watch to see exactly how a pocket passer should mold his game after. That person is Tom Brady. Brady is so good and has been for such a long time, that I tend to forget exactly how he plays the position. And truth be told, he IS an absolute statue in the pocket. Ron Jaworski noted in his quarterback countdown that Ryan really needs to work on passing from a muddied or cluttered pocket. Once he does that, he will be vastly improved. He ranked Ryan No. 11, and he ranked Brady No. 3. One of the main things Jaws had to say about his was that despite his severe lack of mobility and his essentially being a statue in the pocket, he is so outstanding at recognizing blitzes, feeling the rush, standing tall in the pocket, and understanding the strengths/weaknesses on his offensive line that he makes up for it, and can stand in the pocket for long periods of time. I can’t argue that, I’ve witnessed it countless times. He keeps the play alive–not outside the pocket– but inside the pocket, and then shreds the defense to pieces. Ryan has to get better in a messy pocket, and the Falcons need to do their due diligence in protecting Ryan, or he will never realize his full potential.

UPDATE: Jaws recently announced the Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks on his list. They were Aaron Rodgers at 1, and Drew Brees at 2. Interestingly, the only knock that Jaws could pin on Brees was his arm strength, something that critics of Ryan have also used to detract from his game. The thing that Brees does is use pinpoint accuracy, which more than makes up for lack of arm strength. If Ryan can come close to the accuracy of Brees, he can be nearly as productive as Brees. Offseason training to increase the arm strength is absolutely crucial for Ryan, but accuracy with that arm is equally vital.

December 26, 2011; New Orleans, LA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) signals a play change during drills before their game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE

According to ESPN analyst and former NFL quarterback Ron Jaworski, Matt Ryan is the 11th best quarterback talent in the NFL. I can’t really argue too much with his placement on the list, and I certainly can’t argue with what Jaws had to say about Ryan when breaking down his game film.

Number 11 on my quarterback big board is Matt Ryan. You know what I really appreciate about Ryan? He has improved in each of his four years as the Falcons starter. How about this, folks? He’s won 69 percent of his NFL starts. That’s pretty good!

No kidding, Jaws. Routinely this is one of the most highly touted aspects of Ryan’s game: he wins. He may not be a spectacular athletic or arm talent, but he is very good, and is capable of doing good things with his talent. It is true that he has gotten better every season as a quarterback, and to be completely honest, I believe he still has a good bit of room to grow yet.

Ryan is a timing and rhythm passer. He hits his back foot, and the ball comes out. First down was the explosive play down for Ryan. He had 24 completions of 20 yards or more. …I also like Ryan’s natural feel for anticipating throws.

Watching many of the routes and route combinations that Mike Mularkey drew up over the past couple seasons, it is obvious the connection that Ryan has with his receivers, and that he is outstanding at anticipating the route and making a throw before the receiver makes the cut. Just look at when Roddy White makes a catch on a curl route or an out route; the ball is out of his hand while White’s back is still turned to Ryan. The ball is right on the receiver, not allowing the defensive back to make a play on the ball. Up until this season, Ryan has not had outstanding arm strength, and his detractors have pointed this out. He has had to work hard on his anticipation and familiarity with the offense to make plays, and not simply on his arm. As has been reported all off-season long, his arm strength will be improved. This will enable him to make plays not only with his familiarity with the play, but also with his physical tools.

In 2011, Ryan was given more responsibility at the line of scrimmage. The ability to control the game before the snap is an increasingly-important attribute in today’s NFL.

The no-huddle offense is something that the Falcons allowed Ryan to do a lot more in 2011, and he thrived when he was allowed to have control over the offense. Perhaps it was simply the poor play-calling by Mike Mularkey, but when Ryan was given control of the offense, the Falcons scored. I would only expect increased control given to Ryan in 2012. It is something he is both ready for, and capable of controlling. In today’s NFL, being able to run the offense without depending on the offensive coordinator is truly a great attribute to have.

One final thing is separating Ryan from the Top-10 on his list:

Ryan is right on the edge of being a top-10 NFL quarterback. I love the way he’s engaged in every single game. But there’s still one element of Ryan’s game that needs work. He must become more consistent in what I call a ‘muddy pocket’, with bodies flying around him. Right now, he needs that comfortable cradle, that functional space. If he improves in that area, he’ll crack my top 10.

This is something that Greg Cosell mentioned in his NFL Films blog a few weeks ago. He pointed out that Ryan possesses all the needed traits, talents, and attributes to be an elite quarterback– including more than sufficient arm strength. The problem is that Ryan has truly struggled when he has lots of pressure in the pocket. While he didn’t get sacked a massive amount in 2011, he was hit alot, and at times it was obvious to Falcons fans that he wasn’t comfortable in the pocket, and was bailing out early. He was feeling phantom pressure when he really needed to just stand tall in the pocket and continue to look down the field. The two areas that Ryan needs some improvement (arm strength and maintaining presence in the pocket) are things he is certainly working on. We already know that his arm strength is something that he has improved, and will continue to improve.