Matt Ryan had a breakout season in 2012. He led the Atlanta Falcons to one of their best records in franchise history. He brought the team to the NFC Championship game and he took a trip to the Pro Bowl. While he is in the midst of negotiating a new contract, Ryan is really focused on following up 2012 with an even better 2013 season.
While appearing at a William and Mary youth football camp, Ryan spoke with media about the upcoming season. Since stepping in to Atlanta following the debacle that was Michael Vick, he led the Falcons to five consecutive winning seasons and four playoff appearances. Before Ryan came into the franchise, Atlanta had never had back-to-back winning records.
"I think consistency's probably the hardest thing to maintain throughout you professional career. To me it all comes down to working hard. You have to remain focused on what's important...I think it's easy with all the distractions that come with playing in the NFL to lose sight of that," Ryan said.
Ryan may only be 1-4 in the playoffs, but winning the game last season took a huge weight off the quarterback's shoulders. The 13-3 regular season helped his confidence along with posting personal bests with 4,712 yards and 32 touchdown passes. Despite the success, Ryan said he and the team are not satisfied with the recent success and are not at the point that they want to be.
The Falcons went out and have made key acquisitions over the past few seasons to get the team where they are today. After jumping up in the draft to get wide receiver Julio Jones to signing Steven Jackson in the offseason, the core of the offense if built and Ryan is feasting off it.
"We've been together for a while now, the core of our football team. I'm excited about what's in front of us, what we're capable of doing, what we know we're capable of doing," Ryan said. "I think Steven will be big. He's obviously a great player, been one of the best running backs in the league for the last nine years. His style of play and his skill set fits in well with what we do."
Ryan is on his way to getting the next $100 million contract at some point in the offseason. The quarterback has said the negotiations are far from a distraction for him. He understands that contracts take time and he is confident something will get done to keep him with the Falcons for a long time.
