Matt Ryan has operated in the shadow of Tom Brady before as the other quarterback in Massachusetts wearing No. 12 and making big plays.
Ryan wore that jersey number as a star at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, about 30 miles from Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium. He emerged as the top quarterback in the nation in 2007, the same year Brady guided the Patriots to a 16-0 regular season.
The two didn’t cross paths until a 2009 game in Foxborough, and that amounted to a hello and handshake. But they’ve become acquainted since through joint training camp practices at the Falcons’ facility in Flowery Branch, Ga., and other encounters, and Ryan calls Brady a “good friend.”
He’s no longer in the shadow of Brady, coming off a season in which he completed 69.9 percent of his passes for 4,944 yards with 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. The Falcons led the NFL with 540 points, tied for seventh all time.
Yes, Brady jerseys far outnumber Ryan’s No. 2 Falcons jerseys in Houston this weekend, but Ryan has the opportunity to upstage Brady in Super Bowl LI. It is a chance to once and for all bury questions about his ability to perform in the postseason.
Ryan, 31, owned a 1-4 playoff record before this run and had gone three consecutive years without a postseason appearance. While Brady is gunning for his fifth championship, which would break a tie among quarterbacks with Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, Ryan is seeking his first.
Ryan has reached out to the Giants’ Eli Manning, the only quarterback to topple Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Manning accomplished it twice, and let’s face it, there is no magical formula for an upset. We’ll see just how far Ryan has come in the culmination of a year’s worth of work that produced a stunning turnaround.
Ryan looked like he had peaked and was trending downward last season. The Falcons began the 2015 season 5-0, but then lost six in a row and eight of their final 11. He had ball-security statistics that would lump him in a category with Jay Cutler — 16 interceptions and five lost fumbles. The first year with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was rocky. In Year 7, Matty Ice was no longer so cool.
“We had a lot of success last year at times,” Shanahan said. “Then we had some times where we hit some hard adversity. It would have been harder to get here if we didn’t go through that last year together.
“You lose two games in a row in the NFL, and it’s Armageddon. We lost six. You really find out who people are during those times. To watch the pressure be on Matt, the pressure be on myself and to see how we handled it, it’s not all fun, it’s not all easy.”
The results have been telling. Maybe Ryan hasn’t reinvented himself in Year 8, but he has improved so much that Shanahan became a hot head coaching prospect. The 49ers are expected to hire him as soon as Monday.
Ryan spent time in the offseason in Los Angeles working with throwing coaches Tom House and Adam Dedeaux at 3DQB. Their most accomplished pupil? Brady. They tinkered with Ryan’s mechanical issues and how he trained, and he has been much more effective throwing deep this season.
Growth for Ryan and Shanahan in Year 2 together was natural, and the Falcons also upgraded their roster, improving the pieces around Ryan beyond wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Devonta Freeman. Ryan threw touchdown passes to 13 players.
In turn, it’s finally his team after he shared a guiding role with veterans such as Tony Gonzalez and Roddy White, both retired.
“Matt is an incremental leader,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “All his years that he’s been in Atlanta, he’s continued to get better and more mindful of his leadership. He didn’t come in Year 1 pumping his chest that he was the greatest.”
If Super Bowl championships ultimately define quarterbacks’ legacies, Super Bowl LI will be fascinating. Either Brady will stand alone with five titles, or his friend Ryan will have the ultimate ending to a redemptive season.
“I’m happy for him because everybody has different experiences and pasts,” Brady said. “In a lot of ways, I feel fortunate to be a late-round (sixth) pick. No one knew anything. I was just trying to work hard to earn a spot.
“When you’re the (third) pick, that’s a tough journey.”