Having taken over the Atlanta Falcons amidst a chaotic organization following the departure of their franchise quarterback Mike Vick to prison and head coach Bobby Petrino, Matt Ryan immediately led the team to a playoff appearance and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award. More importantly, Ryan instilled hope in the team’s fans as the Falcons became consistently competitive through the quarterback’s play for over a decade.
Ryan has set multiple Falcons’ records including for attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns, passer rating, and 300-yard games, and earned over 4,000 passing yards in ten of his fourteen seasons with the team. He has even set an NFL record for 64 consecutive games of at least 200 yards passing. Ryan’s accomplishments have placed him in serious consideration for a future induction into Canton, and he will undoubtedly have his jersey retired with the Falcons.
Since Ryan’s departure from Atlanta, however, the franchise has struggled to find a stable quarterback, often finding themselves in quarterback crisis. With players like Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, and Taylor Heinicke, the Falcons have experienced more lowlights than highlights in recent years.
The loss of Matt Ryan has served as a painful reminder for Falcons fans to appreciate what they have before it’s gone. Many fans took Ryan for granted, placed blame on him for losses, and held him to an unfair standard. Ryan even acknowledged this on Cam Newton’s podcast 4th & 1 when questioned if his contributions were adequately appreciated in Atlanta. His response, simply and sadly, was no.
Matt Ryan acknowledged his accomplishments during his career and pointed out the challenges of competing within a tough division with strong postseason contenders like the Saints and Panthers with Drew Brees and Cam Newton. Cam Newton expressed his appreciation for Ryan’s charitable work in Atlanta, which Ryan has put an enormous amount of effort into.
Despite Ryan’s contributions, Falcons fans may struggle to appreciate him entirely given the pain of the 2016 Super Bowl, the 2012 NFC Championship, and other disappointing losses they have endured. However, with Ryan’s departure, many are coming to grips with the reality of life without him and gaining a newfound gratitude for his past achievements. The likely result is that many fans wished they had appreciated him more during his time with the Falcons.
