Falcons Go With Ryan

For the Atlanta Falcons, a team struggling to creep out of the Michael Vick shadow, naming a rookie as the starting quarterback may be a risky move, but it is also the right move.

Atlanta, coming off a 4-12 season and well over a year of the Vick saga, desperately needs a new face to the franchise and they have it in Matt Ryan, who was named the starting quarterback on Monday.

Traditionally when a team drafts a quarterback (first round, third overall) they let him sit out a year or at least the first part of the season to let them adjust to the NFL game. The Falcons instead are throwing Ryan right into the fire. On a team that likely isn't going to make any noise in terms of a playoff chase this season this move makes some sense. Why not let him learn on the job first hand? The Falcons, as a whole, are a relatively young team. By allowing Ryan to start out with them right away it will allow the offense to form a chemistry that they can build off of in future years.

The Falcons may not be a team that makes noise this year, but with a big strong franchise quarterback to build around I like their chances in the years to come. Mark my words, the falcons will be a team to contend with in 2010!