Matt Ryan has great respect for Von Miller, Broncos defense

Matt Ryan certainly isn't oblivious to the fact that the Denver Broncos, led by linebacker Von Miller, possess arguably the league's top defense, particularly in terms of pressuring the quarterback and defending the pass.

Miller and crew are first in the league with 17 sacks and yield a league-low 169.5 passing yards. The Broncos have sacked opposing quarterbacks on 10 percent of their dropbacks, which is on pace to be the highest sack percentage for any defense in the last 10 seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. And they have pressured quarterbacks on 38 percent of dropbacks, on pace to be the highest pressure percentage in the last eight seasons.

Again, much of that has to do with the ability of the Super Bowl MVP, Miller.

“He's a great player; there's no getting around that,” Ryan said of Miller. “You certainly have to account for where he's at. But that's what we work on all week, to try and [build a] game plan so that we can fit the things that we do well to go against what they do well and their personnel.”

One would think the simplest way for Ryan to attack is by getting the ball to NFC Offensive Player of the Week Julio Jones, coming off a franchise record-setting 300 receiving yards against Carolina. It won't be that easy, even against a Broncos team that likes to play man-to-man coverage. The Broncos are able to play such a style because the defensive backs typically don't cover long because of the pressure up front.

When the Broncos played Cincinnati and A.J. Green in Week 3, Aqib Talib matched up one-on-one against Green outside to start the game and Chris Harris lined up on Green in the slot. Bradley Roby also went up against Green outside and had safety help over the top. One of the best plays Green had was a quick screen from Andy Dalton in the red zone in which he stutter-stepped, sent Talib to the ground and picked up 11 yards, setting up a touchdown. Green finished with eight catches (11 targets) for 77 yards and wasn't able to make plays deep down the field because of the pressure on Dalton and tight coverage from the defensive backs.

Expect Jones to draw the same type of attention, leaving it on the 10 other receivers who have caught passes to make plays and be sure-handed, and leaving it on Ryan to get the ball out quickly. Ryan enters the game with a 72.1-percent completion percentage to go with a league high 1,473 passing yards and passer rating of 126.3. He's thrown 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.

“I think it's a very good secondary, across the board,” Ryan said of the Broncos. ”I think their corners do a great job. They play a lot of man coverage. They trust their guys to be aggressive. I think they're instinctual. That's the one that I think when you see how many turnovers they've created (five interceptions, including a pick-six by Talib). ... So we're going to have to be really crisp, really sharp in our routes, very accurate when we throw it and make good decisions.

“But we've got some really good players, too. We've got some guys on the outside that are capable of doing those kinds of things.”

There's no doubt Jones will try to dominate no matter the defensive coverage, but it's not like he'll constantly scream for the ball.

“In all honestly, there's probably not a more unselfish superstar in the league than Julio,” Ryan said. “He cares about winning. He'll do whatever it takes to win. He does so many little things to help other guys. He's an awesome teammate.

“It's not trying to force-feed it to Julio. When the time is right and the situation and play call are right, we're absolutely going to be aggressive as we possibly can to get him the ball. And when it's not, we trust our other guys to make plays as well.”

As always, establishing the running game with Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman -- provided Coleman is able to play his typical load while carrying the sickle-cell trait in the Denver altitude -- will be key in establishing what the Falcons want to do offensively, particularly in the play-action game. The Broncos, who yield 113.8 rushing yards per game, have respect for the Falcons' run game, with Miller calling Freeman “legendary” during a conference call.

The Falcons offense might have to have a legendary performance to beat the 4-0 Broncos in Denver.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan one of the 10 most accurate passers in the NFL

If you ask most Falcons fans, they’ll tell you that Matt Ryan is a smart QB who is prone to the occasional “what the hell” throw, but is generally a pretty good player. While his decision making sometimes leaves us scratching our heads - especially in 2015 - his accuracy as a passer has never really been in question.

It would seem that the fine folks at Football Outsiders agree. Note: this is an ESPN Insider’s article which requires a subscription to read.

Per their list of QBs in 2015, Ryan ranked 8th in their accuracy metrics. It’s good to know that even in one of his worst seasons, Ryan still managed to be one of the more accurate passers in the league. These statistics take into consideration drops, throw-aways, spikes and the like.

Once you get past that group of the top five or so quarterbacks in the NFL since 2008 -- all likely locks for the Hall of Fame -- you usually end up with Ryan's name ranking at the top of a lot of these advanced stats. 2015 was only his fifth-highest C%+ yet, but his receivers dropped the most passes (33) of any team last year. That helps him get here in what was otherwise considered a down year as the Falcons ranked fourth in yards per drive, but only 16th in points per drive. Fans want to see more touchdowns, and missing out on the playoffs the last three years is why Ryan is often forgotten among the game's best right now.

The most eye-catching number is the dropped passes, which most fans would agree was a persistent issue for the team last year. It doesn’t excuse some of Ryan’s poor decisions throughout the season, but it’s good to know that if he’s able to clean those up, he’s still a very accurate QB.

Your thoughts on this ranking?

Atlanta Falcons: Five things Matt Ryan needs to do in 2016

Matt Ryan is the Atlanta Falcons’ franchise quarterback heading into 2016, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to hold that spot forever. Ryan has had his ups and downs in the past couple of seasons, but heading in 2016, Ryan has a lot of great things going for him.

The Falcons have done a great job in the offseason of building around Ryan and giving him. Not only does Ryan have a better offensive line and better core of receivers around him, but he also has more confidence with his offensive playbook.

Ryan struggled in first-year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s offense last season. There is no denying that, but he’s feeling as confident as ever heading into year two.

Here are five things Ryan needs to do in 2016 to lead this Falcons’ team into the playoffs.

Ryan was as confident as ever in the Falcons’ run to the 2013 NFC championship game but that fire hasn’t been there in the past three seasons. The Falcons are a much better team than they have been in these past three seasons and hopefully Ryan’s confidence will be right back up there like it needs to be. Ryan is the leader of this team and he needs to have more confidence in himself and in his team if they want to make it back into the postseason.

Ryan didn’t do a very good job of spreading the ball around in 2015. Sure, its pretty easy to get carried away when you have the best wide receiver in the NFL on your team, but in order to have a successful offense, Ryan needs to get his other receivers involved more.

Julio Jones was thrown to 204 times. The next best target was running back Devonta Freeman who was thrown to 97 times. The second leading receiver was Jacob Tamme with 82 targets and the fourth receiver came in at just 70 targets.

We need to see less targets for Jones and more for his supporting cast. Jones cannot keep up a heavy workload year after year and Ryan needs to understand that.

Ryan has never been a deep ball quarterback and that has never made sense to me. With Jones on the team, why not take more shots down the field to him? We saw what can happen when he does do it. Ryan connected with Jones for the best play of the year against the Carolina Panthers.

Ryan may not have any other receivers that are capable of making the deep pass other than Jones and maybe Mohamed Sanu, but that shouldn’t stop them from taking shots more often. Both Jones and Sanu are big, tall receivers and will out leap pretty much any corner or safety in the NFL.

Ryan was a beast at running the no-huddle offense under Dirk Koetter’s offense but didn’t do it very much last season under Shanahan. That needs to change in 2016 no matter what. I know that Shanahan doesn’t run a lot of no-huddle in his schemes, but that’s Ryan’s bread-and-butter.

Shanahan needs to let Ryan have more freedom in the play-calling and allow him to run more of a fast paced style of offense. If we get to see Ryan do that in 2016, he’s in for a big season.

Ryan was atrocious in the red zone last season. Anything and everything that is bad happened once the Falcons’ reached the red zone in 2015 and that ultimately shot down any chance they had of making it to the playoffs.

Ryan is too good not to succeed in the red zone. He had never had a major problem before and we cannot have him break down like that again. The players around him are much better than last season so Ryan will have no excuses.

UConn Holds On For 7-6 Win Over Georgia Tech In NCAA Opener

The UConn baseball team jumped to a seven-run lead in the second inning and then held on to beat Georgia Tech 7-6 Friday in the Huskies’ opening NCAA Tournament game in Gainesville, Fla.

Freshman Tim Cate, the AAC rookie pitcher of the year from Manchester, proved worthy of getting the call to start the opener. He retired the first nine and shut out the No. 2-seeded Yellow Jackets until Matt Gonzalez’s two-out double in the sixth.

“The defense was playing well behind me too, so it made it a lot easier for me to just go out and do what I did,” Cate said.

Cate (5-1) went six innings and allowed two runs on three hits. He came out to start the seventh but a leadoff single to Tristin English resulted in a quick hook by coach Jim Penders, who called on Randy Polonia. Tech scored its second run – charged to Cate – when English advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly.

Jeff Jacobs: UConn Baseball's Bobby Melley Finds Redemption In AAC Title Game

“I thought Tim Cate did an unbelievable job,” Penders said. “It’s unbelievable to some folks but not unbelievable to him, and that’s the whole key. He’s got a lot of confidence in himself for an 18-year-old. We believed in him today. His fastball location was excellent, and his breaking ball was very good. I told him earlier that I don’t want to take him out of that game. That’s where a lot of maturity comes in. He’s going to learn to get stronger and better and do the work in between starts to stay in that game next year so that I don’t have to take him out. I felt like a couple balls were up. He was sensational. The offense in the second inning really showed up. I thought our hitters did an excellent job — three guys in a row with two-out RBI. I would’ve liked to have seen some more of that during the rest of the game. It would’ve made it a little bit easier. We have a ton of respect for Georgia Tech and especially their offense. They’re one of the best offensive clubs we’ve faced. We expected them to make a run. I hope our players didn’t, but I knew they probably had a run in them where we needed to make sure we created some separation, and we had just enough separation. I’m proud to see Pat Ruotolo out there and finishing it up.”

UConn Opens NCAA Play Today Vs. Georgia Tech; Manchester Tim Cate Gets Start

The UConn bullpen struggled to bring the win home for the third-seeded Huskies as three relievers allowed four runs over the final three innings. Closer Pat Ruotolo got the final six outs for his 12th save.

The UConn offense got every run it needed in sending 11 men to plate in the second inning, knocking out starter Zac Ryan. Tyler Gnesda and Willy Yahn each had two-run singles and Bobby Melley, Joe DeRoche-Duffin and Aaron Hill added run-scoring doubles to back Cate’s strong start.

But the UConn offense took the rest of the game off as Georgia Tech relievers Ben Parr, Jake Lee and Matthew Gorst kept the Yellow Jackets in the game. Lee retired 12 straight at one point.

Tech got two back in the eighth and two in the ninth and had the tying run on base before Ruotolo got Kel Johnson to end the game.

UConn (38-23) faces the winner of the game between top-seeded host Florida and No. 4 Bethune-Cookman Saturday at 6 p.m. Tech (36-24) faces the loser. The win guarantees that the Huskies advance at least until Sunday.The UConn baseball team jumped to a seven-run lead in the second inning and then held on to beat Georgia Tech 7-6 Friday in the Huskies’ opening NCAA Tournament game in Gainesville, Fla.

Freshman Tim Cate, the AAC rookie pitcher of the year from Manchester, proved worthy of getting the call to start the opener. He retired the first nine and shut out the No. 2-seeded Yellow Jackets until Matt Gonzalez’s two-out double in the sixth.

“The defense was playing well behind me too, so it made it a lot easier for me to just go out and do what I did,” Cate said.

Cate (5-1) went six innings and allowed two runs on three hits. He came out to start the seventh but a leadoff single to Tristin English resulted in a quick hook by coach Jim Penders, who called on Randy Polonia. Tech scored its second run – charged to Cate – when English advanced to third and scored on a sacrifice fly.

“I thought Tim Cate did an unbelievable job,” Penders said. “It’s unbelievable to some folks but not unbelievable to him, and that’s the whole key. He’s got a lot of confidence in himself for an 18-year-old. We believed in him today. His fastball location was excellent, and his breaking ball was very good. I told him earlier that I don’t want to take him out of that game. That’s where a lot of maturity comes in. He’s going to learn to get stronger and better and do the work in between starts to stay in that game next year so that I don’t have to take him out. I felt like a couple balls were up. He was sensational. The offense in the second inning really showed up. I thought our hitters did an excellent job — three guys in a row with two-out RBI. I would’ve liked to have seen some more of that during the rest of the game. It would’ve made it a little bit easier. We have a ton of respect for Georgia Tech and especially their offense. They’re one of the best offensive clubs we’ve faced. We expected them to make a run. I hope our players didn’t, but I knew they probably had a run in them where we needed to make sure we created some separation, and we had just enough separation. I’m proud to see Pat Ruotolo out there and finishing it up.”

The UConn bullpen struggled to bring the win home for the third-seeded Huskies as three relievers allowed four runs over the final three innings. Closer Pat Ruotolo got the final six outs for his 12th save.

The UConn offense got every run it needed in sending 11 men to plate in the second inning, knocking out starter Zac Ryan. Tyler Gnesda and Willy Yahn each had two-run singles and Bobby Melley, Joe DeRoche-Duffin and Aaron Hill added run-scoring doubles to back Cate’s strong start.

But the UConn offense took the rest of the game off as Georgia Tech relievers Ben Parr, Jake Lee and Matthew Gorst kept the Yellow Jackets in the game. Lee retired 12 straight at one point.

Tech got two back in the eighth and two in the ninth and had the tying run on base before Ruotolo got Kel Johnson to end the game.

UConn (38-23) faces the winner of the game between top-seeded host Florida and No. 4 Bethune-Cookman Saturday at 6 p.m. Tech (36-24) faces the loser. The win guarantees that the Huskies advance at least until Sunday.

Matt Ryan Celebrity-Am Classic continues fundraising for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

DULUTH — It’s not always as simple as Matt Ryan making a phone call. Sometimes it is, though.

The Atlanta Falcons starting quarterback reaches out to friends and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta makes a similar effort, between the two of them building a fun and profitable Matt Ryan Celebrity-Am Classic each year. The sixth annual golf tournament was played Monday at TPC at Sugarloaf, kick-starting a week that culminates with the Champions Tour’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic from Friday to Sunday.

Ryan’s event pairs memorable Atlanta sports stars like Chipper Jones, Phil Niekro and Steve Bartkowski with amateur foursomes to raise money for CHOA’s AFLAC Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

“A lot of people (in the tournament) are regulars and have been playing with us a number of years and a lot are former teammates,” Ryan said shortly after rolling in a birdie putt on the par-3, eighth hole of the tournament course layout. “A lot of guys ask me if they can get involved. It’s a pretty good mix of all of that. And if they get a call from Children’s Healthcare, everybody’s fairly flexible with their schedules and want to help out.”

Ryan gives the fundraiser name value, though it’s easy to build a field when CHOA is involved. The Atlanta-based organization, one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country, attracts more than 870,000 patient visits per year at its three hospitals and 27 neighborhood facilities.

The 2015 version of Ryan’s tourney raised more than $90,000 for CHOA’s cancer center.

“Any time you can support Matt and CHOA, it’s a win,” said former Falcons wide receiver and current sports broadcaster Brian Finneran, sporting a hat from his alma mater and NCAA men’s basketball champion Villanova. “It’s a great day, a fun tournament. And it’s my home course, so it’s fun to get out here and be a part of it.”

Former Falcons linebacker Dewey McClain, now a member of the Georgia House of Representatives, didn’t need much coercing from the tournament’s namesake, either.

“It’s for a great cause, Children’s is a great cause, and Matt Ryan is a Falcon and we support our family,” the Lilburn resident said. “If Matt says, ‘Dewey, we need your help,’ that’s all it takes. That’s one thing we try to do it help each other.”

Ryan and his wife Sarah have been involved with CHOA since the early days of his NFL career, not long after the Falcons made him the third pick of the 2008 NFL Draft out of Boston College. He also hosts “Dinner for two with #2,” a fall fundraiser for CHOA that features an informal question-and-answer session led by Falcons broadcaster Wes Durham along with Ryan and another guest — Bartkowski was the other guest of honor in 2015.

Ryan’s annual events raise between $250,000 and $300,000 for CHOA.

“The first time I came down here, the first time we had an appearance with the Falcons, we did a community service thing and I got to go to Scottish Rite,” Ryan said. “For me, it was a life-changing experience. To go in that day, see how well run it was, how impactful they were with the kids, I said after, my wife and I, ‘How can we help out?’ (The golf tournament) was one of the things Shelton Stevens (executive director of CHOA’s sports network) had encouraged me to do for a long time.

“We finally got it going and it’s worked out well. … It’s gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit better every year and we raise a little bit more money. Obviously it’s something I look forward to. To able to raise money for CHOA and to be able to help them in some small way is rewarding for me and I think it’s really rewarding for the people who get to come out and have a fun day.”

If you're souring on Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, consider the alternatives

Last night I wrote about Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan. I raved about his shockingly low failed completion percentage. To be fair, with all the bad decisions he made in 2015, it was easy to take Ryan for granted. But you can't, you just can't, because there aren't lots of quality alternatives.

Consider the upcoming draft and the quarterback prospects it will feature.

So acute is the chronic shortage of capable passers in the pass-happy NFL heading into this week's scouting combine in Indianapolis that analysts say at least three and possibly four quarterbacks could be taken in the first round in April. This despite the fact not one member of the current passer crop — not even the top-rated Carson Wentz of North Dakota State — is considered a sure-fire prospect capable of starting from Day 1.

The vast majority of Falcons fans understand the point I'm making here. Sure, Ryan had a lackluster 2015. And sure, he has some serious work to do. That said, a guy with Ryan's talent doesn't come along every day. I'm not comparing him to Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, because he's not that good. I'm just pointing out the sheer lunacy of blindly calling for his replacement.

If all goes according to plan, the Falcons can reasonably expect to get another 4-6 years of quality football from Matty Ice. Does he frustrate me? Sure. Do I throw things at the TV when he throws an ill-timed interception? You betcha. But am I looking forward to the day the Falcons start their search for his replacement? Absolutely not.

Your thoughts?

Arthur Blank: Matt Ryan can 'absolutely' take Falcons to Super Bowl

Quarterback Matt Ryan still has Falcons owner Arthur Blank in his corner.

With Ryan coming off his worst NFL season, Blank still believes he will be the quarterback to take the Falcons to the Super Bowl.

"Absolutely," Blank said, via ESPN.com. "No question about it. But it doesn't take one player to get there. It takes a lot of players around him and having a lot of talent around him. It's going to take a lot of players to do that; offensively, defensively, and special teams. And it's going to take coaches and the coaching staff that will help support that."

The Falcons were 8-8 in 2015, and Ryan wrapped up his eighth season with 16 interceptions and 21 touchdowns.

Blank said he made sure to talk to Ryan at the end of the year to go over what went wrong and right throughout the season.

"Every season, I usually will have a dinner or a couple hours alone with the quarterback, always with the knowledge of the coach. And I spent some time with Matt. I think it went well. As Matt would say, 'Last year was probably the most difficult for me. I didn't have the kind of consistency, performance that I would like. Our offense didn't. We were sixth in the league in moving the ball [passing]. We were, unfortunately, 21st in scoring, and that's not the right kind of ratio that you want,'" Blank said.

Ryan has much to prove for Blank's hopes to become reality. He is 1-4 in playoff games and hasn't taken the Falcons to the postseason for the past three years.

"Obviously, we have a great faith in Matt Ryan," Blank said. "He's only 30 years old. He'll be our quarterback for many years to come. As Rich Gannon said to me the other morning — and Gannon was a very competitive player in the league for many, many years and a high-level quarterback — he said, 'You've got a quarterback that about 20 other teams would love to have.' And I think I would agree with him on that."