The NFL has become a league where the quarterback has to throw just about everywhere on the field. Next year the Atlanta Falcons are to add more deep passes into their offense which means Matt Ryan will be heading to the gym and getting stronger.
"I've been working hard on that and getting with (director of athletic performance) Jeff Fish now that we're back to make sure that I'm ready to go," Ryan told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "(I'm) ready to be strong in December and January. I want to be able to play my best football at that time. That's one of the things I've tried to figure out and analyze myself; how do I get myself to be playing my very best, when your very best is needed. I'm still working on getting there."
Though Falcons head coach Mike Smith has established a run-first system in Atlanta, he will be leaning a bit and trusting in his new offensive coordinator, former Jaguars offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, knowledge of the vertical passing game. Back in 2007, Mike Smith and Dirk Koetter worked together back in Jacksonville when Smith was the defensive coordinator for the Jaguars.
The offense should work better in Atlanta than it did with Jacksonville with the receivers Ryan has to throw to: Roddy White, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzales, Harry Douglas, and even running back Michael Turner who caught 17 passes for 168 yards."It's weight training, getting in there and training with weights," Ryan said. "It's learning to condition myself in the way that we play football and in a way that is productive to how we are playing football."
Ryan has thrown for more than 3,000 yards in three of his four seasons in the NFL, including a franchise-record 4,177 yards with 29 touchdowns. In 2009 he fell short throwing for 2,916 yards, but because of a turf toe injury, he missed two games.
"It's making a bigger commitment to it and taking care of your body in a better way than I have in the past," Ryan said. "That is something that is important to me."
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