Is it time to rehash the Matt Ryan Hall of Fame debate?

The debate surrounding Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is always enticing. Is Ryan the reason the Falcons are so moribund? Some say yes and point to his contract extension back in 2017 as their reasoning as to why the team hasn’t had the money for high-impact players.

Those individuals do have a point, yet in the last two seasons, Ryan’s contract hurt the team primarily due to the pandemic contracting the salary cap to where his hit is so astronomical, cutting or trading him before it expires is simply the worst remaining decision the team has.

Conversely, while the team has been in “salary cap hell” because of this, Ryan’s play has diminished due to age, yet he’s still a middle-of-the-pack quarterback who still has some talent left in him.

However, another debate on social media continuously drives fans crazy regarding “Matty Ice”, and with the Los Angeles Rams winning the Super Bowl recently, it’s even more prevalent:

Is Matt Ryan a Hall of Famer when he retires?

This has been an ongoing debate since both quarterbacks entered the league, and now that Stafford’s earned his championship in his first year out of Detroit (who’s arguably just as, if not more, moribund than Atlanta), the debate has become just as fresh as a Georgia peach.

If Matthew Stafford with a ring is suddenly Canton bound, then Matt Ryan will be enshrined as well

On the show “First Things First” on FOX Sports, the subject came up about Stafford’s Hall of Fame candidacy, and host Nick Wright (who’s sometimes wrong) did what they call a “blind reveal” regarding Stafford’s career numbers. He did this in response to co-host Chris Broussard talking about Stafford’s numbers now vindicating a gold jacket because of the championship.

And who was the “blind reveal” to go up against the champs?

Matt. Ryan.

Folks, we can debate this subject until the cows come home, and even after they’re home. In this day and age, the quarterback position is so coveted and so protected that their stats are naturally going to outweigh guys like Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, and so on.

You’ll notice, in the above category, a certain Tom Brady was omitted. That’s because nobody will EVER touch him; not now, not ever. He’s been out of the atmosphere in a low Earth orbit while everyone’s in the stratosphere.

Back to Ryan, though. The numbers are there to solidify a Hall of Fame career. In fact, the Hall of Fame, for any sport really, is to “Honor the Heroes of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values and Celebrate Excellence Together.”

Essentially, the question remains: can you really tell the story of the NFL without Ryan?

It’s hard not to, because if we want to glorify Brady’s furious 28-3 comeback on our team, who was the quarterback of that team? Oh right, it was “Flat Ryan”, who singlehandedly cost our team that game (according to some NFL fans, it’s not the defense, not Shanahan, not Quinn, just Ryan). Keep in mind here: of every quarterback in Super Bowl history with at least a 124.0 passer rating (a very flawed stat, by the way), Ryan’s in that game was 144.1, the fourth-highest in league history but the only one in a loss (did we mention it was all his fault yet?)

What about the 2008 AP Rookie of the Year? Couldn’t be told now if Ryan wasn’t drafted third overall.

Or how about that 2016 season? Does anyone want to discredit that MVP season? No, surely one doesn’t since Ryan set multiple single-season records in NFL HISTORY. Furthermore, he was a first-team All-Pro, something Stafford doesn’t have.

Look, folks, we’ll have this debate for years to come, and even when Ryan gets in, the debate will be switched to “I can’t believe Canton put Ryan in the Hall; he choked”.

And we’ll all have to live with the greatest quarterback in franchise history representing our team there for generations to come.