Matt Ryan was the third draft pick, first round 2008 draft class that landed him to the Atlanta Falcons. He attended Boston College from 2003 to 2007 and was named the starter in 2006. His college career compliments his professional career in two words, average enough. His career in Atlanta started off just how the games are going now, inconsistent. Every year starting from 2008, except for the 2010 and 2012 years, gave us a quarterback that could make the exceptional plays, but would follow those with a foul, stinky trail of turnovers. Playoffs would come around the 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012 years just to anger the so-called Atlanta natives with loss after loss.

Now, it does seem that I absolutely hate this player as an Atlanta fan, but he has brought a few good, winning seasons. Matt Ryan is a quarterback that isn’t impressive to watch, he doesn’t electrify the crowd. Matt Ryan lacks the one thing that can’t be measured by statistics and that is leadership, the ability to elevate the level of play of the players around him. During his tenure in Atlanta, he’s been surrounded by talent like Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner which has disguised his flaws. But with a new coaching staff, redefined offensive line and a defense that has a foundation, Matt Ryan can no longer run away who he is.

Who is Matt Ryan? Matt Ryan is a quarterback for a system that we no longer operate in Atlanta anymore. Some may argue that we need coordinators to put a system in place to play to his strengths, but that would only make us comfortable with what we already know. He’s not great. His talents haven’t developed since he’s been in Atlanta and at 30-years-old it’s starting to show.

Matt Ryan is who he is. As fans, we should realize that and mentally move on. Once upon a time, we tried to build our entire team around “Matty Ice.” Going forward that should not be the case. We should look at a more dynamic quarterback that can make big game winning plays. Yes, Ryan has been able to win games at the end of the fourth quarter and expose great defensive teams, but that time has ended. With our new head coach, Dan Quinn, we as a team should be able to put teams away early and maintain sustainability.

Quarterbacks such as Russell Wilson, Marcus Mariota and Cam Newton show the world their ability to win games with versatility. As a fan, it is only fair that the Atlanta Falcon’s business operations and players show us hope. We pay money, sit in traffic, and invite our friends only to be disappointed.

The years when the Falcons showed the world that they could win game after game should be obvious that the same game of football is being played. This should be a wake call for all Atlanta fans, and I don’t think I am asking for too much when it comes to our quarterback situation.