The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Twins at home, Ryan ready for work
Falcons quarterback eager to help clean up ‘inconsistent’ offense.
A day after announcing the birth of twin boys, here’s what Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan had to say Monday before his pro-am golf tournament to help raise money for the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta:
RYAN ON THE TWINS: “It certainly has been a busy couple of months. We are really excited to have the two sons at home. They are getting big, strong and healthy. Sarah is doing great. She was amazing throughout everything. It’s been a wild ride for us.” RYAN ON BEING SCARED:
“Yeah, anytime that you’re having a child, it’s scary and it’s exciting. It’s all of those things. At the same time, obviously with twins, you’re always at a high risk for difficulties or complications. Any- body who’s spent time at the hospital on bed rest, knows the emotions that go with it. We are just so lucky and fortunate to have two really beautiful boys. Guys that were fighters. They did a good job in there.”
ON PHILLY GAME, AFTER MISSING PRACTICE TO BE WITH HIS WIFE: “At that time, I felt like it was a no-brainer. Football is extremely important, but
there is nothing more important than your family. I left that day and things got kind of stabilized in the hospital. Sarah spent six weeks in the hospital after that. But everything ended up in a very good spot, which we are thankful for. The rest of the week I got in really good preparation. I felt like I was well prepared to go up
and play in Philadelphia. I played well up there, but obviously we fell a little bit short.”
ON CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS: “I think it’s been good. Obviously, it’s not something
that I get heavily involved in. I feel like my job is to get myself prepared to go out and be successful on the field. I kind of let the business side be handled by the people who are competent at that. Everything is good. I think the discussions have been very positive. I think those will work out.”
ON THE TIMETABLE: “It will handle itself. I don’t know if it will be today or tomorrow. Or in a couple of weeks. But I really think we are moving in the right direction. I’m excited to be here and that’s the biggest thing.”
ON THE KIRK COUSINS AND OTHER QB DEALS: “I don’t worry about that stuff too much. I feel like when we go out, you take care of your business on the field. You play the way that you’re capable of, everything else tends to fall in place.”
ON GETTING JULIO JONES BACK FOR OFFSEASON WORK: “It’s huge when you get any player to be able to participate fully. That’s critical. But you never know, the offseason and seasons are different every year. I think he came through the year, but I don’t want to speak for him, but he came through the year fairly healthy. We’ll see where he’s at. I haven’t been able to work with him up till this point. But I will start next Monday. I’m excited about getting back to work not only with him, but with all of our guys.”
ON THE OFFENSE: “I think last year, we were inconsistent on the offensive side on the ball throughout the year. I thought there were some really good things, but I thought there were things that we could be better at. So, the exciting part is that we’ve got an opportunity to get started next Monday to clean those things up and become a better football team than we were last year and be the best offense that this group of guys can possibly be.”
ON NEW QUARTERBACK COACH GREG KNAPP: “We’ve been able to really work together up until this point. I’m excited for that for next Monday. But I’ve gotten the rundown. Matt Schaub knows him really well. I’ve got the nitty-gritty on Knapp. I’m really looking forward to working with him. Obviously, some Falcons fans will be familiar with him from his time spent here before. I think he adds a lot to our coaching staff. I think personally I think he can help me a lot to be the best player that I can be.”
ON TIGHT END AUSTIN HOOPER: “Austin has been great. He’s been here in town the entire offseason, which was pretty nice for me. It’s a year where I’ve been town for the entire offseason. I appreciate that. He’s looked great. He’s worked extremely hard. I think in terms of motivation, in terms of discipline and in terms of understanding what it takes to be a professional, I really think he’s at a really good spot in his career. I think he’s two years in. I think he understands what it takes. He has aspirations to be a great player in this league and he’s putting the work in and that’s certainly showed up in the workouts that we’ve put in.”
ON JULIO JONES WORKING WITH TERRELL OWENS: “T.O. is one of the best workers of all time. He learned from Jerry Rice and kind of modeled his stuff after that. I think the more you surround yourself with guys with a work ethic like that it’s a good thing. Julio has a great work ethic, too. He’s one of the best conditioned and best working athletes that I’ve ever been around.”
ON WHAT THE RAMS AND EAGLES DID IN FREE AGENCY WHILE FALCONS FOCUSED ON THEIR ROSTER: “I think we’ve got a pretty good team. I agree with (general manager) Thomas (Dimitroff ). I think keeping the guys that we have is critical. There is familiarity with the system on both sides of the ball, which I think is huge. It’s a group that has proven that we can win in a couple of different ways. I think it is good. I think it’s good that we are keeping guys. The additions that we’ve made have been good for us and we’ll make some more additions through the draft.”
ON RECEIVERS JUSTIN HARDY, REGGIE DAVIS AND MARVIN HALL TRYING TO REPLACE TAYLOR GABRIEL: “They are young for sure and they are talented. That’s the thing you see with them. Justin, for us, has been a guy that has been consistent. He’s been a good player for us. Really good on special teams. Very good three- or four-wide receiver for us to come in and make plays. He’s reliable, a guy that you can count on. I think Reggie and Marvin are two guys that have a great opportunity in front of them. It’s there for them to go take it. That’s what you want as a young player. You want that opportunity. I’ve been in contact with both of those guys already. I think they are in the right space and they are excited about the opportunity that they both have.”