Why is his nickname matty ice

This is evident by all the praise given to him throughout the league by his colleagues. Off the field, Ryan is involved in many charitable donations. This is a sign of him showing his support to call for an end to police brutality and systemic racism.

This is in light of the recent events in which he has made a commitment to listening and learning with respect to social injustice. This is a reflection of the kind of person he really is as a human being and not as a football player. He continues to make his teammates, coaches, and Atlanta Falcons fans proud, deservedly so. Poles remembers Ryan "was coughing up weird stuff" for days afterward in their dorm room. They still talk about that hit when they get together, and Ryan always says, "A hit like that is not enough to bring me down.

He earned the respect of his teammates, but when Porter returned from injury, Ryan went back to the bench. Three games after the Clemson victory, it was Ryan to the rescue again. Trailing Wake Forest with remaining, Ryan led an improbable comeback victory , going 7-for-9 for yards and two touchdowns on the final two drives. Ryan thought he had done enough to win the starting job, but O'Brien went with Porter the following week against Virginia Tech, and then against North Carolina.

Ryan was seething. After being called on again to relieve a struggling Porter against the Tar Heels, Ryan lost his cool on the sideline -- essentially announcing to the coaching staff enough was enough. Matty Ice would not be going anywhere. I remember everyone being like, 'It's over. This kid is going to take this team over, and we're going to do some special things in the ACC.

Ryan was named the starter the following week. The Eagles won their final three games to end the season. Matty Ice was only just getting started. The nation would soon clue into the player simply known as "Ice" in the locker room during his rise in -- when he played half the season with a broken bone in his foot -- and then into his magnificent season, when Matty Ice announced himself beyond Chestnut Hill.

Boston College began the season , moving all the way to No. Though Ryan had become more well-known, the Eagles had played only one ranked team to that point in the season. Skepticism remained, but a huge opportunity awaited: a nationally televised game against No. When I walk out and it's raining sideways, I get sick to my stomach. We floundered and screwed around the first half.

Bud Foster is a great defensive coordinator. Bud was giving me fits, the weather was giving me fits. Virginia Tech led into the third quarter. Then it stopped raining.

Ryan started getting into a better rhythm. His receivers stopped dropping the slick footballs. Ryan threw a yard touchdown pass to Rich Gunnell with left to pull the Eagles to within three points, It was raining and I didn't have my visor on. I blinked for a second, and the ball hit me in the face, so I should have had had two touchdowns. This one I caught. Boston College recovered the onside kick, and Ryan led the Eagles down the field. With 27 seconds remaining, he threw a yard touchdown pass to Gunnell.

But it was called back because of holding. I didn't even blink. Sure enough, Ryan threw a yard touchdown pass to Andre Callender with 11 seconds left to give Boston College the win. He is viewed as the savior of the Atlanta Falcons in the wake of ugly departures from superstar Michael Vick and disgraced coach Bobby Petrino.

Detractors point to his playoff record and putrid performances in the big games. How can he be Matty Ice if all he does is melt when the pressure goes up?

Pundits and peers are not sure what to make of Ryan. So after four seasons, what kind of quarterback reputation does Matt Ryan really deserve? Let's examine. After losing their star quarterback to a dog-fighting conviction and their new head coach to cowardice, the Falcons were a mess in and held the No.

They brought in the defensive-minded Mike Smith from Jacksonville to be a first-time head coach, and they immediately joined him at the hip with a franchise quarterback in Boston College's Matt Ryan; the first quarterback taken in the draft. It was an immediate success, with Ryan throwing a yard touchdown pass on his first NFL attempt.

Ryan would throw for 3, yards and 16 touchdowns on his way to leading the Falcons to an record, the playoffs, and winning the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Though was a step back, the Falcons went under Ryan and for the first time in franchise history, Atlanta finally had back-to-back winning seasons.

They claimed the top seed in the NFC at in None of these feats were ever achieved in Atlanta since the team's inception in Atlanta starts fast under Ryan, and they can finish effectively too. It has all the markings of a very good team, just without the postseason success to match. Ryan has led the way in raising the expectations for Atlanta, and that is a huge step in bringing a franchise to prominence. They would have slid into obscurity after had they instead drafted Glenn Dorsey or Vernon Gholston instead of Ryan.

Matt Ryan's record of Only Joe Flacco and Dan Marino have won as many games as a starter in their first four seasons. But a criticism of Ryan is that his record is too slanted towards home success in the Georgia Dome where Ryan is But most quarterbacks play better at home.

Still, there is a valid criticism that Ryan must perform better on the road for Atlanta to reach more of their goals in his career. Among "active" quarterbacks some really are inactive contemporaries with at least pass attempts on the road , Ryan's And while the home record is very nice, the Falcons have dropped their last two home games to Drew Brees and New Orleans, which is a big no-no if winning the NFC South is their goal every year.

They also suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Green Bay Packers in their only home playoff game, , in Last season, after a great start, the Falcons were shut out the rest of the way as Green Bay went on a run to finish the game.

Carrying a nickname from high school to college, and then finally the NFL is a tough task, yet that's what Ryan has accomplished with "Matty Ice," which is about staying calm and cool under pressure.

It's a must for a quarterback to keep his composure under the various pressure situations that present themselves in a game each week. I have yet to research a good red zone metric for quarterbacks, but we can look at Ryan's career performance in the other two areas. The money stat for third down is how often you convert for a first down. The goal is not to throw for 15 yards on a 3rd-and play. It is about extending the drive.