Matt Ryan is becoming an outdated NFL quarterback

The Matt Ryan era of the Atlanta Falcons is officially dead.

The Falcons front office must notice, the type of quarterback that Matt Ryan is is the old way of the NFL. And until they move on, the Falcons won’t experience meaningful success.

One stat that kept coming up as the Falcons faced the New Orleans Saints is the sack total. Going into Sunday, the Saints had sacked Matt Ryan 17 times in the past two games. Cameron Jordan had 21 sacks against Ryan.

Why is it so easy?

He’s a sitting duck in the pocket that doesn’t threaten defenses in any way unless there’s a perfect pocket.

The evidence is there. No defense fears Matt Ryan scrambling and breaking down the defense. No defense fears Ryan on read options. He will always hand the ball off. And Ryan doesn’t have the best arm strength anymore. So unless he can hit his back foot and get rid of the ball in a clean pocket, it’s a wrap.

The Matt Ryan type of quarterbacking is the way of the past.

You gotta be athletic, have a strong arm, or be able to do multiple things well if you want to beat the modern-day NFL defenses. What of those things does Ryan still bring to the table? Look at the wave of up and coming stars. Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, heck even Baker Mayfield and Tua Tagovailoa.

You have to worry about them throwing the ball and even when a play breaks down, they can rely on their legs to get them out of a situation. Heck, even Aaron Rodgers is still mobile. Ryan gained a lot of respect for openly admitting players “don’t own their lockers.” Instead, they have to earn them week in and week out.

The Falcons don’t have the play calling to match the skill set of an aging Matt Ryan and they sure as hell don’t have the run game to support what he is unable to do. That became even starker as Taysom Hill, in his third start, sliced up the Falcons defense. Not because he’s a better quarterback, but because he’s a better athlete.

If the Falcons don’t make some major adjustments, Matt Ryan’s skill will soon be rendered obsolete.