Matt Ryan Fantasy News

Friday, April 13, 2012, 7:22pm

Matt Ryan said he spent his offseason trying to add some bulk.

“Heading into each offseason, I try and take two or three areas to really improve on,’’ Ryan said. "This year, it was getting a little bit stronger in the weight rooms. So I’ve been working out pretty hard this offseason to try and put on a little bit of weight to get a little bit stronger and I think that’ll help me out on the field. Also, I think we need to be more effective with some of our throws down the field and that’s something that I’ve certainly worked on early this offseason. And I think a combination of those two things will help our success.’’

Jaguars hire Mike Mularkey as head coach
Wednesday, January 11, 2012, 6:38pm

Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan has hired Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey as his new head coach, the team announced.

Mularkey, who went 14-18 as coach of the Buffalo Bills from 2004-05, is Khan's first major hiring as new owner.

The 50-year-old has spent the last four seasons with the Falcons, overseeing the development of quarterback Matt Ryan since the Falcons drafted Ryan third overall in 2008, FOX Sports reported.

Mularkey actually interviewed for the position Tuesday, according to the report, after Atlanta was eliminated from the playoffs by the New York Giants on Sunday in a 24-2 loss in the wild-card round.

His first priorities will be assembling a staff and meeting with quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who just finished his rookie season.

Coaching carousel: 10 names to keep an eye on
Saturday, December 31, 2011, 6:05pm

While many are now finished with their holiday shopping, some NFL owners are just about to get started. Beginning as soon as Sunday night, some NFL owners will be shopping for a new head coach to become the leader and the face of their franchise. Here are 10 names, in alphabetical order, that are likely to be on many of the shopping lists:

Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen: Players consider him to be calm and charismatic, and it helps that he has learned from Saints head coach Sean Payton and Broncos head coach John Fox.

Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable: The Raiders have had a habit of watching some of their former head coaches, like Mike Shanahan and Jon Gruden, find success elsewhere, and Cable could do the same.

Panthers offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski: Carolina knows how in demand Chudzinski will be and will make it as tough as possible for him to the leave the Panthers.

Packers assistant head coach Winston Moss: An intense former player and current coach who has learned from some of the finest in the Raiders and Packers organizations.

Falcons offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey: After helping mold Matt Ryan into the quarterback he is, Mularkey's name has been whispered for a while now in Jacksonville.

Jets offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer: New York might be struggling, but its red-zone offense is not, and Schottenheimer has the right pedigree and résumé to become a successful head coach.

Montreal Alouettes head coach Marc Trestman: A sleeper, off-the-chart candidate who might be able to build a champion just as he has done in the Canadian Football League.

Chargers assistant head coach Steve Wilks: His work in San Diego quietly has begun to get recognition around the league.

Vikings defensive backs coach Joe Woods: Considered to have a similar makeup to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who also once served as an assistant coach with the Vikings.

Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer: His players revere him and his defenses perform for him, and now the time should be here for him.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011, 5:14pm

Matt Ryan says on ProFootballTalk Live he's been walking without boot since Sunday. Could have practiced this week.

Thursday, September 29, 2011, 5:00pm

Michael Turner said Wednesday the best way to make sure he returns to the 100-yard form he showed the first two weeks is for Atlanta to have a better start on Sunday at Seattle.

Turner had only nine yards rushing in the first half of last week's 16-13 loss to the Buccaneers. The Falcons trailed 13-3 at halftime and leaned more heavily on quarterback Matt Ryan and the passing game in the second half.

Turner had only four carries for 11 yards in the second half to finish with 20 yards rushing. It was his low total since Dec. 20, 2009 against the New York Jets, when he was limited by an injury and had one carry for seven yards.

"It just turns out that way sometimes in a game," Turner said. "Playing from behind, the fastest way to come back is by throwing the football. Hopefully this week we get ahead and don't have to be one-dimensional."

Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 4:41pm

Falcons OC Mike Mularkey did say he was surprised about the number of check-down passes that Matt Ryan threw.

“There were a number of times where we tried to get the ball deep, but that’s Tampa-2,” Mularkey said. “That’s the scheme of things and that’s probably the most check downs that I can remember that I’ve ever been involved with.”

Mularkey thought running back Michael Turner, who caught three passes for 40 yards did a job when he was the check-down receiver.

Atlanta QB Matt Ryan throws 42 passes in a half
Sunday, August 28, 2011, 11:20am

Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown continued his electrifying preseason, catching four passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the Steelers’ 34-16 victory over Atlanta.

Brown scored on passes of 77 and 44 yards from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and set up another touchdown with a lengthy kickoff return as Pittsburgh’s starters looked sharp for the second straight week.

Roethlisberger finished 11 of 16 for 214 yards and the two touchdowns in one half.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan squeezed an entire game’s worth of action into two quarters, completing 22 of 42 passes for 210 yards with a touchdown and an interception against a banged-up Pittsburgh secondary missing starting cornerbacks Bryant McFadden and Ike Taylor.

Unimpressive night for Jacksonville QBs Garrard and Gabbert
Saturday, August 20, 2011, 11:52am

Quarterback David Garrard did little to solidify his starting spot and rookie Blaine Gabbert was equally unimpressive Friday night for the Jacksonville Jaguars as Jacksonville narrowly the Atlanta Falcons 15-13.

Garrard completed 7 of 12 passes for 99 yards, with an interception in three series. Gabbert, the 10th pick in the April draft, completed 11 of 23 passes for 96 yards in seven series. Gabbert was plagued by several drops, including three on one second-half series that forced the Jaguars to settle for a 54-yard field goal.

Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan’s receiving corps had similar issues, but Harry Douglas turned a short crossing route into a 76-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Ryan finished 7 of 15 for 116 yards.

Ryan, who led the Falcons to a field goal on the team’s opening drive, played the entire first half as Atlanta built a 10-3 lead. Michael Turner ran seven times for 14 yards, and Roddy White had a 13-yard reception. Douglas caught two passes for 87 yards.

Julio Jones has done a "great job" of picking up the offense
Friday, August 19, 2011, 3:06pm

By all accounts, Falcons WR Julio Jones is having a great camp.

"Adding Julio will make it a lot easier on us," Roddy White said. "You can't double everybody. In two games, the Saints doubled me and Tony and the other guy had to make plays, and couldn't make them. I think this year we have a guy who can make them. Not only make them, but make them explosive plays. Instead of getting 10 yards, he can get 30- or 40-yard gains."

Jones came to Atlanta during the lockout to spend time with Matt Ryan even though Jones didn't have a contract and was putting himself at risk of injury. The two developed a rapport you can see on the field. They also get together now before practice and throw some routes.

"He was going to be my quarterback, the guy throwing me the ball, and I just wanted to get the timing down," Jones said. "The time me and him had together to get on our timing was going to be short. The sooner I got together with him, the better."

"He's so explosive, so big, fast and strong," White said. "And he's done a great job picking up the offense. He does a lot of things naturally. You don't have to teach guys like that to play football. You just let them go out there and do their thing. They get acclimated real fast and they go."

Atlanta Falcons to throw the ball more
Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 3:07pm

It sounds like the Atlanta Falcons are going to move to a more pass-oriented attack in 2011.

"The play-calling is going to be aggressive," Roddy White said. "We're going to try and get the ball down the field and get some explosive plays. We're going to try to look for a lot of mismatches. Wherever those mismatches are, that's where we're going. A lot of times, it's going to be Harry [Douglas] and he's going to have to dominate games. That's going to help all of us."

The Falcons' mission this offseason was to get more explosive, hence the decision to trade several draft picks to move up 21 spots in the draft to select Julio Jones sixth overall.

"One thing the Packers did was they spread us out and found the mismatches," Harry Douglas said. "Some nights we're going to have to do that."

Added White: "We've got those caliber players. We're so explosive. So many of us can run and make people miss. We've got to get the ball in our hands, just like they do, on shorter routes and turn them into 30-yard gains. That's going to be a big key to our success this year -- getting the dump routes, breaking those tackles and getting the ball up field."

Miami QB Chad Henne Already Struggling
Saturday, August 13, 2011, 12:30pm

Wide receiver Phillip Livas scored on a 75-yard punt return in the third quarter to help Miami overcome a difficult start by quarterback Chad Henne in the Miami's 28-23 victory over Atlanta.

Atlanta rookie receiver Julio Jones , quarterback Matt Ryan and running back Michael Turnercontributed on first-quarter scoring drives that gave the Falcons a 17-0 lead.

Henne threw interceptions on two of Miami’s first three possessions before connecting with Brian Hartline for a 44-yard touchdown pass that made it 17-7 early in the second quarter. Henne, who completed 4 of 8 passes for 77 yards, did his best work against Atlanta’s defensive reserves.

But the same could be said, too, of Ryan, who completed just one of his first passes against Miami’s defensive starters. The difference, however, was that the Atlanta QB threw one TD pass and didn’t have an interception. Ryan finished 6 of 10 for 90 yards.

Thursday, August 11, 2011, 5:55pm

The reports from teammates and coaches have been glowing so far about a guy the Falcons traded up to No. 6 overall to get. Julio Jones looks the part in practice when he’s running deep and there’s never been much doubt about his physical ability.

Teammates and coaches said they’ve been extremely pleased with how Jones has picked up the playbook. Quarterback Matt Ryan raved about how Jones has been so quick to pick up what he needs to do when the defense blitzes and the offense needs to adjust.

Although Jones might be ready for a huge role, don’t count on the Falcons opening up their entire playbook in the preseason. Jones already has shown signs in practice that he might be special. The Falcons might be wise to wait until the regular season to show the rest of the league just how special he is.