A Diamond in the Nest By Bobby G Copperhead

Diamonds have excellent optical and mechanical properties with notably unparalleled hardness
and durability characteristics making them the most popular gemstone. Expensive Ice.
Matty Ice is soon to get a new lucrative contract. Most guess within two weeks before camp.
Recently Matthew Stafford got 18 million and Joe Flacco is receiving 20 million. An argument can be had that Matty should top both. Stafford has a below five hundred won loss record and yes Flacco was QB of last years Super Bowl winner Ravens, but a win noted after a huge Denver secondary mistake, an inspired defense against a aging Brady and a no call in the end zone that really hurt the forty- niner’s chances of a parade. The spin is not about anything other than Matt Ryan.
I liked Steve Bartkowski as a early teen, and think Chris Chandler’s gutsy 1998 year just fantastic, and I even bought a Vick jersey when we won that playoff game in Green Bay, but a fan since they drafted Tommy Nobis I have to with no thought delay give Ryan the best quarterback nod this franchise has ever had and that his first five years is really only the start. Like a diamond he is optically a joy to view, slinging deep passes for touchdowns, finesse throws for first downs, screen passes with pinpoint targeting and audibles at the line like Peyton and no huddle execution like Brady. His mechanics and work ethic have grown each year and show no sign of peaking. His leadership on and off the field could equal all the Birds quarterbacks put together to date. Five solid successful years he has guided the offense and has positioned the Falcons to get to the Super Bowl. That is what you expect from a quarterback. Winning the championships are team achievements, not individual accomplishments. If all is measured by winning and trophies then Otto Graham could be argued the best QB that played the game. Let another ten seasons pass before any cloud hangs over Ryan’s metrics, which will no doubt consist of every Atlanta quarterback record and many league accomplishments as well. But the pay deserving of Matty Ice must also include one intangible . A fact we Falcon fans now just look at this face of the team as expected success but should never forget. On April 26 in 2008 the Falcons selected Ryan with the third pick in the draft. A new staff going with a kid from Boston College to do more than throw a football and win many games. Atlanta has had some bad seasons since I’ve followed them when Nobis was picked. At times laughable seasons and lopsided games. I rarely got to see them many years for lack of television coverage for they did not draw the needed attention. But nothing in the Birds franchise could ever compare to the dismal and disheartening explosion of 2007 and wonder what nightmare would we be witnessing if that pick, like so many are coming into the NFL, was a bust, or a adequate quarterback that had exploited weaknesses at this high level.
The team, the players and even the football loving state could not have handled a drawn out growth and learning curve while playing five hundred ball for a couple of seasons after 2007. Matt Ryan whitewashed the view of all gone bad and immediately resurrected this team, took them to consecutive titles and playoffs when all hope was seemingly lost and fingers were crossed we just had a competitive better team.
Other quarterbacks have a big paycheck, some trophies and titles and lead the home teams in a variety of ways but Atlanta has a Diamond who has shined since day one when no franchise needed it more and will get brighter as we’ve witnessed already in his short career to where we now are not satisfied with rolling over rivals, winning our division and going to the playoffs while getting national attention and a humble number two is a large part of the blame for that. I say pay and keep this diamond in the nest for as long as that number ten played on that other diamond across town. Successful gifted leaders don’t just appear out of the rough very often.