Smith reveals Ryan's rookie season wan't perfect
September, 23, 2009
Sep 23
6:42
PM ET
Posted by ESPN.com’s Pat Yasinskas
Now, the truth is coming out about Matt Ryan’s rookie season. It wasn’t quite as perfect as many of us thought.
In a conference call with the New England media Wednesday, Atlanta coach Mike Smith admitted Ryan wasn’t totally flawless last season. At the end of each season, Smith asks each of his players to do a self evaluation. Smith goes over that with each player and comes up with a plan for how to improve in the offseason. He did that with Ryan, who has been known to be his own worst critic.
“The two things we agreed upon in areas he wanted to improve were accuracy and decision making,’’ Smith said. “I think all great quarterbacks, like the quarterback (Tom Brady) on your team up there… that’s the two traits that separate them from the other quarterbacks in the league is the accuracy -- being able to put the ball into tight spaces -- and then of course their decision making. Because, more and more, defenses are getting more complex with their disguise packages. I think those are two things that Matt wanted to improve on. And through the first two games, I think he’s done a very good job. His completion percentage is up and we’ve been very pleased with the decisions that he’s made out there on the field.’’
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Pat Yasinskas
Yasinskas joined ESPN.com in January 2008 after covering the Carolina Panthers for The Charlotte Observer for nine seasons. He began his journalism career with The Tampa Tribune in 1990.