FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Mohamed Sanu hasn’t been around Matt Ryan long, but the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver has spent enough time with Ryan to appreciate his quarterback’s demeanor, regardless of the situation.
"Matt just goes about his day and does his job,’’ Sanu said. "He goes about his day and he has fun doing it. He’s always in a great mood. He’s always happy.’’
Ryan has reason to smile. His Falcons are 2-1 and boast the league’s top offense in terms of scoring (34.7 ppg) and total offense (448.0 yards per game) heading into Sunday’s NFC South showdown with Cam Newton and three-time defending division champ Carolina (1-2). He was named the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Month after completing 70.9 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns, one interception and a league-high 119.0 passer rating through the first three games.
But Ryan knows all the good feelings surrounding him and the team right now can change with one bad performance against the Panthers, a team he’s 6-2 against at home in his career. That’s why he maintains an even-keel approach each week.
Right before the regular season began, Ryan was the target of much criticism coming off last year's 8-8 implosion following a 5-0 start. His struggles in the preseason only made the naysayers more vocal. Skeptics wondered if he’d ever be a good fit in offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s scheme, with the out-of-the-pocket movement it requires. Then more doubts surfaced after a 31-24 season-opening home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Such pessimism quieted after Ryan shook off a red zone interception against the Oakland Raiders to complete 12 consecutive passes and guide his team to a 35-28 road win.
Through it all, Ryan drowned out the noise, as he often puts it. Falcons coach Dan Quinn appreciates Ryan’s approach to such criticism.
"What you can’t do is let somebody who’s outside either the white on the practice field or the meeting room dictate how you feel,’’ Quinn said. "You've got to know, 'Here’s what I’m doing. Here’s my training. Here’s what I’m doing right.’ I think he does a good job with that. He makes sure that he’s on point and makes sure he controls the things that he can control.’’
Ryan knows he has much more to accomplish than simply a monthly award three games into the season, particularly when one of those strong performances was against an abysmal New Orleans Saints defense. Earlier this week, Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre put Ryan on the spot by saying Ryan won’t get the burden off his back until he experiences postseason success. Ryan is 1-4 in the playoffs, including a loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the 2012 NFC Championship Game.
"Obviously, I have a ton of respect for Brett," Ryan said. "He was one of my idols growing up. And I think he would say the same thing: If I'm worrying about that now, it doesn't matter. I've always felt like you've got to concentrate on this week and not look too far down the road. For me, I'm not worrying about anything other than getting ready to play well, play the best I can this week. And we'll handle all the other stuff when that comes down the line."
Tight end Jacob Tamme insists he hasn’t heard any of the criticism directed toward Ryan because he doesn’t read such reports. Regardless, Tamme admires the way Ryan responds to any negativity.
"I think he handles criticism great,’’ Tamme said. "I’ve only been around him a short while, and he’s had great success so far this season. But just watching him from afar and knowing him, I think he handles it great.
"He handles it the way you want your quarterback to handle it. He works on his craft and he doesn’t pay attention to the noise. He controls what he can control and does what he can to put his team in position to win on Sundays. That’s the way you want your quarterback to be.’’