Pirate Galaxy » "Where does the time go? Matt Ryan will be he

A great year which was undone by a porous defense.ading into his 12th season under center as the leader of the Atlanta Falcons in 2019 Stitched Julio Jones Jersey , and it feels like just yesterday that he was drafted with the third overall pick out of Boston College.Join us in dwelling on the past a bit, as we wait for Year 12 of the Matt Ryan era to commence. Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken a look back at each of Ryan’s 11 seasons individually — his best game, his worst game and what we learned from each season. You can find the 2008 article here, the 2009 article here, the 2010 article here, the 2011 article here, the 2012 article here, the 2013 article here, the 2014 article here, the 2015 article here Baby Julio Jones Jersey , the 2016 article here, and the 2017 article here.This is the last article in this series. 2018 season is on tap.His best game - Week 3 vs. New Orleans2018 was a bounce-back season for Matt Ryan, and it was statistically the best of his career other than that ridiculous 2016 MVP campaign. Ryan was on point in Atlanta’s crucial Week 3 matchup against the rival New Orleans Saints, and it’s a complete travesty that he was on the losing end.Ryan threw for 374 passing yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions in this game. He connected with Calvin Ridley for three touchdown passes, and had the Falcons looking like they were about to score every time he got the ball back. The 148.1 passer rating he earned was a season high as well, and just a few points off perfection.It’s a shame that the defense couldn’t stop New Orleans from scoring every single time they were on the field as well, in what was one of the most pathetic performances I’ve personally witnessed in a long time. Special shoutout to Robert Alford and Brian Poole for letting an ancient Drew Brees spin away from them and score the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Sensational stuff from those now former Falcons (no, I’m still not over it. How many Falcons defenders, from the past and the present Best Julio Jones Jersey , wish they could have had a free shot on Drew Brees like that?).Another travesty is the fact that Ryan didn’t even have a chance to touch the ball in the overtime period, since New Orleans got the ball first and scored a touchdown on their initial drive. The coin toss was always going to decide this game after it went into OT.His worst game - Week 1 vs. PhiladelphiaRemember when everyone panicked after Matt Ryan’s stinker against the defending champions on the season’s opening Thursday night in the rain? Don’t get me wrong, Ryan was not good in this game, but the national media’s instinct to eagerly bury him was ridiculous.This was the only game of the season in which Ryan failed to complete at least half of his passes, registering a 48.8% completion percentage. The 251 passing yards he recorded checked in as his third-fewest in 2018, and this was the only game in which he failed to throw a touchdown pass. Ryan’s 57.4 passer rating was a season low by nearly 30 points in comparison to his second-lowest passer rating in a game.Atlanta ultimately lost the game by failing to convert on a goal-to-go situation at the very end, the same way they had failed to do so in the Divisional Round of the playoffs in Philadelphia just a few months earlier. The Falcons not only lost the game, but they also lost Keanu Neal for the season and Deion Jones for 12 weeks.What we learnedWe learned that Matt Ryan is still an elite quarterback despite the lack of love he continues to get from the media, and from within parts of this very fanbase. He went for 4,924 passing yards, 35 touchdowns Adult Julio Jones Jersey , and seven interceptions and still didn’t even get selected to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.We also learned that it doesn’t matter how good your QB is if your defense is downright awful. Ryan had back-to-back games against the Saints and Bengals in Weeks 3 and 4 where he totaled a combined 793 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, no turnovers and lost both games despite putting up 37 and then 36 points on the board. This seven win season wasn’t Matt Ryan’s fault; it was the fault of a defense which did nothing but waste a year of his prime.Falcons vs. Saints: How (and can) Atlanta stop Alvin Kamara? Alvin Kamara is a great running back. I think we can acknowledge that and still loathe him for his association with the Saints, and so we shall. The question this week is how the Falcons plan to stop him, and whether that plan will be successful.The good news is that Kamara has scuffled a bit in back-to-back weeks on the ground, with 21 carries for just 75 yards, though he’s scored twice. The bad news is that he’s doing his usual fine work through the air, with 15 receptions for 165 yards already. Were this the same crew on defense as a year ago, I’d be pretty confident. The Falcons knocked Kamara out of the first meeting in 2017—I’m not endorsing that, just saying—which meant his numbers were quite low. The second time around, Kamara managed just 2.7 yards per carry and 32 yards on the ground Limited Calvin Ridley Jersey , though he did get seven receptions for 58 yards. That was when Deion Jones and Keanu Neal were roaming the field, however, and much has changed since then.How should the Falcons stop Kamara?They need to focus on him. Obviously Michael Thomas and the other Saints receiving options are plenty capable, but this secondary remains very good, and a year ago the team managed to not let Thomas kill them, even if he was quite good. Kamara needs to be priority #1, and whenever possible, he needs to have someone dedicated to keeping an eye on him.In an ideal world, that’d be Deion Jones, but Jones isn’t in this game. That means it’s probably going to fall to Duke Riley and whoever else Marquand Manuel and Dan Quinn feel can handle such an onerous task, and the Falcons would be wise to switch things up if they’re burned early. As good as Drew Brees is and as good as this New Orleans offense can be Calvin Ridley Falcons Jersey , Kamara is still the biggest single threat in this game. If they get away from paying extra attention to him, he’ll likely make them pay. Will the Falcons be able to stop Kamara? This is a much trickier question to answer. Based on last week’s performance, if Riley has coverage responsibilities for Kamara it’s going to get hairy. Riley was game but made the wrong decision too many times against the Panthers and wound up either out of plays or making miscues that turned into big plays. The Falcons are asking an awful lot of him at the moment, but they don’t really have an obvious alternative unless they’re ready to move on to Foye Oluokun already. Riley will still probably get first crack at Kamara, but chances are good he’s going to wind up surrendering some significant yardage unless he’s made a drastic leap in a single week. The Falcons could then try putting Damontae Kazee or Foye Oluokun on him, or they could really go for it and put him up against one of the team’s cornerbacks who are equipped to deal with him. That’ll likely only become an option if he’s killing the Falcons, though, which unfortunately does seem like a legitimate possibility.I think ultimately the Falcons will find a way to keep Kamara from being the primary reason they lose this game. I also think he’s going to have a strong effort overall, and this week might determine whether Duke Riley stays in Deion Jones’ job going forward or not.