Festivus came early for Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. His airing of quarterback grievances made the rounds in this week’s GQ interview, where he name-checked Matt Ryan as “overrated” and a “complete bust” in 2017. Ramsey’s litany of signal-caller slander understandably made waves, and the natural reaction from many Falcons fans was: What does Matt Ryan think about all of this? Turns out, not much. Matt Ryan, a man who cannot be concerned with such things, responded in the way we’ve come to expect. If you anticipated fireworks, Ryan would not oblige. Conceding that he does not have a GQ subscription, Atlanta’s quarterback and 2016 NFL MVP had the following to say on The Dan Patrick Show: I’ve played for 11 years and so I’ve heard my fair share of trash-talking from a lot of different people. And if this stuff kept me up at night I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. So, I don’t pay too much mind to it. I’m about winning games and I’m about being the absolute best player that I can be. So, that’s kind of my thoughts on it. So for those expecting a Super Saiyan Matt Ryan reaction to Ramsey’s interview, you’re probably disappointed. He was measured, professional, and as cordially dismissive as a four-time Pro-Bowler who was called out in a major publication could be. The Falcons will meet the Jaguars in Jacksonville next Saturday, and as the third preseason game is the traditional dress rehearsal for the regular season, we should expect at least a half’s worth of both Matt Ryan and Jalen Ramsey. Will fireworks ensue? It’s the preseason, so hopefully (probably) not. But it does provide some additional intrigue, and as we inch our way toward the 2018 season, a little extra spice doesn’t hurt. Ryan’s full interview is available here, and if you’re a DIRECTV subscriber you can catch ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ Monday - Friday from 9:00 am - 12:00 p.m. ET on channel 239.<doc-sep>Jalen Ramsey clearly doesn’t think very much of Matt Ryan after the Jaguars cornerback called the Falcons quarterback overrated, something which figures to be bulletin board material for almost any other team in the NFL, but not necessarily for Atlanta. Dan Quinn doesn’t care what Jalen Ramsey has to say about anything, good or bad. “Number one, we don’t rely on anybody outside of our building to help get us ready,” Quinn said. “What we do is about us. Our attitude, our style and so the bulletin board material you can throw to somebody else. For us, it’s about our team and the way that we go. We don’t have to wait on anybody else to get us real pumped up to play well. We are already ready to rock.” In a diatribe that saw him say something about almost every quarterback in football today, Ramsey said that any success Ryan had depended only on the people around him, the people catching his passes and those calling his plays. “I think Matt Ryan’s overrated,” Ramsey told GQ Magazine. “You can’t tell me you win MVP two years ago, and then last year, you [are] a complete bust, and you still got Julio Jones? There’s no way that should ever happen. I don’t care. You know what that tells me? That tells me [former OC Kyle] Shanahan left, went to San Francisco, got Garoppolo, made Garoppolo this big thing. And now Garoppolo is a big name, and now [Matt Ryan] has this bad year? Alright, well, was it really you, or was it your coach? He was doing what was asked of him and it was making him look really, really good.” Ryan, the former No. 3 overall pick in 2008 has claimed a myriad of passing honors, taking Atlanta to an 11-5 record and a playoff berth in his rookie season. Since then, Ryan has won 95 of 158 regular season games and four of 10 postseason contests. In 2016, he won the league’s MVP award. The 32 year old owns a bevy of Falcons franchise records, including passing yards (41,796), touchdown passes (260), attempts (3,630), and completions (5,593), including a dozen other categories for passing with Atlanta since entering the NFL in 2008. Ryan saw slight declines in his passing production in 2017, along with the team’s offense in general, but he was still firmly among the elite at the position, ranking sixth in total yards (4,905), eighth in yards per attempt (7.74), eighth in completion percentage (64.7 pct), and ninth in yards per game (256). But since the 2015 season, Ryan leads all quarterbacks in the NFL in yards per attempt. Ryan’s numbers did take a hit last season under Steve Sarkisian’s leadership, as did the offense as a whole, but the Falcons also struggled during Kyle Shanahan’s first year calling plays before they led the league in scoring and played in the Super Bowl. Judging by the talent Atlanta boasts on offense, they have the ability to repeat that success again in 2018.<doc-sep>Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was a guest on Rich Eisen’s show yesterday and talked about a number of topics. Naturally, the subject of Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey’s recent comments came up, when he called Matt Ryan overrated. Here’s how Ryan responded to Ramsey’s interview with GQ. You know what? I’ve played for 11 years. And so, I’ve heard my fair share of trash-talking from a lot of different people and if this stuff kept me up at night, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. Ryan seems more interested when Eisen asked him about Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, who had a strong game against Atlanta last Friday night in the first preseason game of the year. I thought he did a good job. . . I thought he extended some plays really well. I thought he was accurate both inside and outside the pocket. And I thought he moved pretty smoothly inside the pocket. Ryan says he’s not sure how much he will play tonight against the Chiefs. You can watch the full interview with Eisen here.<doc-sep>
Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey didn’t hold back on plenty of quarterbacks in a recent interview with GQ. While Ramsey did admit that some NFL quarterbacks are indeed good at being quarterbacks, he had some especially pointed remarks for the 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan. Ramsey said of Ryan: I think Matt Ryan’s overrated. You can’t tell me you win MVP two years ago, and then last year, you a complete bust, and you still got Julio Jones? There’s no way that should ever happen. I don’t care. You know what that tells me? That tells me [Offensive Coordinator Kyle] Shanahan left, went to San Francisco, got Garoppolo, made Garoppolo this big thing. And now Garoppolo is a big name—and now [Matt Ryan] has this bad year? Alright, well, was it really you, or was it your coach? He was doing what was asked of him and it was making him look really, really good. Ryan did take a step back after his insane 2016 season, but he wasn’t necessarily bad — he’s also passed for over 4,000 yards in every season since 2011. His interception numbers were a reflection of dropped and deflected passes (one interception literally balanced on a player’s butt!). The Falcons quarterback did respond to Ramsey, and in an interview with the Dan Patrick Show, Ryan took the high road. Ryan said: “I’ve played for 11 years. And so, I’ve heard my fair share of trash talking from a lot of different people. If this stuff kept me up at night, I probably wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. So, I don’t pay too much mind to it. I’m about winning games, and I’m about being the absolute best player that I can be. So, that’s kind of my thoughts on it.” In all likelihood, Ryan will get an extended chance to offer some payback to Ramsey. The Falcons and Jaguars won’t meet in the regular season, but Atlanta’s third preseason game — often considered the dress rehearsal — will be in Jacksonville.