He always does some sort of a media thing right before
the start of the season. And that question comes up about playing
for another team. When you see all the transition that's
happening for older quarterbacks. Its more common
than uncommon at this point and he never
ever suggested anything other than a desire to stay with
the Falcons for the rest of his career. That's what makes this
one. So jarring,
Matt Ryan, leaving the Falcons was on, no one's bingo card,
you know, this offseason, right? And even as of a week
ago,
eight days ago, it really started to pop on Wednesday,
I think. And then we started to put together the possibility
that, yes, they could get DeShaun Watson. And then, as of
Thursday,
that's when it first dawned on me, and if they don't get him,
it may be Matt Ryan out of Atlanta, and that's all timidly
what they get. And, and yeah, now he
embarks on an opportunity to try to get back to a Super Bowl
and win one. And the question is, how much longer does he
have in him? He turns 37 in May. Here. He is from yesterday
talking about
how long he'll play football.
You know, I've said from the start
I'd like to play as long as I can.
I feel really good. My body feels really good.
I still feel like I can play at
as high a level as I ever have and
as long as that is,
you know, nobody has a crystal ball to know exactly how long
it's going to be. But
as long as long as I feel good and feel like I can play. Well,
I'm going to, I'm going to try and play. I've got twin four
year old boys at keep me, they keep me fresh.
Yeah. Yeah. No, I feel good. I feel really good.
You know, he's far closer to Tom, Brady than Patrick Mahomes
when it comes to the use of Mobility to extend plays and
Reliance upon the ability to run. He's got that cheat code,
that Jason light, the GM of the Bucks mentioned, the other day
regarding Tom, Brady where you know,
what the defense is, you know, what the coverage is, you know,
how to survey and make decisions about getting
the ball to the open man. Yeah,
just because he's closing in on 40 and and I don't want us to
think that, because Tom Brady is still going. Wrong. Yeah, at
44 going on 55, that just every quarterback. Now that wants to
play past the age of 40 is going to
be perfectly fine.
But but Matt Ryan's style fits
playing Beyond 40
more so than someone else's would
your boy? He's not Reliant totally on,
you know, his legs physical ability to get them out of, you
know, Harm's Way, he's gonna dice you up in the pocket.
That's where he's really good, but I will say,
if you If we sat there Mike and you came down, or I was with
you and we go ahead, let's throw it on a few Atlanta
Falcon games and break down, Matt Ryan a little bit. But
I think we would both be surprised and go.
Damn. He makes a few more plays moving around than I thought.
Not that they're like, hey, he turned the corner and ran for
a 13-yard gain or anything like that. But pressure in
the pocket, you know, press up on the line of scrimmage, like
he's gonna
go get four or five and then he hits, you know, a Calvin Ridley
crossing the field. 20 yards down the field. He's very good
with. That or just keep it a Play Alive by dodging people
within the pocket. His movement gets a little bit overlooked at
times and at 37. It is pretty high level stuff.
Now you're right too about let's be careful about
comparing the Tom Brady because the one thing he doesn't have
right in my opinion at least as Brady's arm,
you know Brady's arm his motion
the way he throws it. Like I've always said it's like Rogers or
Brett Favre or where they're going to be able to throw 100
mile-per-hour fastballs when they're 55 years. Sold. They
are
Matt. Ryan doesn't have that type of arm. That's he's one.
I will look at as we go forward to go
who is his arm going to lose a few miles per hour or something
like that? To look at that. He'll be a little different
that way but still damn damn good player makes a lot of good
plays and you can't just look like I said yesterday at
the stats of Matt Ryan
and take it away from that, the context does matter.
He's been down there carrying a team. Who the hell's been down
there to really help him out a whole
And and that's where, you know, you got to have a little
respect for them, is what he's done for that team and how
competitive he's made them when they haven't been that good.
We spent so much time talking about the failure of
the Packers to put enough around Aaron Rodgers to get back to
a Super Bowl. You could argue that the Falcons have failed to
put enough around Matt Ryan since 2008 to get there. And
they had that narrative
that was well earned that really did culminate in Super
Bowl. 50 one with the 2:32 collapse. They were a team that
was blowing leads under Mike Smith. They were blowing leads.
Yeah,
he got blown off the field by Aaron Rodgers & Company in
the divisional, round by 2010, when the Falcons with the top. See,
I think, the final scores like 48, 220. I may be wrong, but it
was something like sobbing. Like they,
they got their asses kid Dominate and that it was never
a game. You're not even close up 70. Nothing against
the 49ers and an NFC Championship game, right? Blue. That lead,
right? Yeah. So there was some of that no doubt, the next
year, right, at home
at home blue, that lead. And
so they've got some demons exercise in that. Ocean and
it's a shame that they didn't have more to show for 14 years,
with Matt Ryan.
Then what they have won Super Bowl
that they probably would have rather have not gone to given
the way that Super Bowl. Went before we pivot from Matt Ryan.
I do have to repeat something. I said last night on PFT p.m.
Just for your qualification and enjoyment since you surely
don't watch PFT p.m. To. Can we get a still
frame of Matt Ryan from yesterday?
It occurred to me
when watching last night, Pete has no idea where this is going
either. Unless he why you look, he looks that. He looks thin
wrapped one. Matt
Ryan is the father from every TV show and movie from the 50s
rolled into one.
He is Ozzie. He is Father Knows Best.
He is Ward Cleaver. He is
Abby Stewart. I you know, we got to wrap this up because
I got to get back to the building and Loan. It is amazing to me.
He does have some Jimmy Stewart and I'm not gonna lie,
the Jimmy Stewart. I like what you're going there. You're
right. He does
look like that, but
my dad used to take me
to Every single live-action Disney movie in the early 70s,
Kurt Russell was a Mainstay. Dean Jones
was in pretty much every single one of them. That's what
I thought. Yes. I thought Dean Jones in one of the many Disney
live-action movies from the 60s and 70s. That was Matt Ryan
yesterday. But anyway, I could I couldn't let that moment pass
completely without
sharing that with you. I like that one. Well, after that
phase ended I I I like I always love when we bring life
a little to do our conversations. It's fun. And then either way,
Dean Jones,
which, which guy was that? Can you tell me what movies are like,
I'm not sure if I can put the face with the name there. The one
want to Shaggy D.A., The Shaggy D.A.
Something Flubber,
just any just did, and I pulled up the the page with all of his
he was in a lot of Disney movies. All right, I'll look at many
just basically Matt Ryan with black hair.
Oh, yeah. I got it. I got it. Well, I know that guy is
the mean doctor from Beethoven with the dog, right? He was the mean
guy that wanted to get Beethoven the dog, that's how
I recognized them.
So that was later. Indeed. Later. He took a John's life,
took a heel turn later in his career. You got away from
the good guy in the Disney movies and what bad guy in order to
get a paycheck yet
movie about a giant German Shepherd. No, not German.
Shepherd st. Bernard. Yeah. Vern I write example.