TABLE OF CONTENTS Matty Ice Heats Up 9 Growing Pains 17 Signs of Hope 22 Surging Toward the Top 37 Super Bowl Sizzle to Fizzle 43 GRIDIRON GREATS The Cornerstone 11 The 1,000th Yard 14 Dirty Dancing 24 Double Trouble 31 R-E-S-P-E-C-T 34 Exceeding Expectations 40 Team Stats 47 Websites 47 Index 48
matt ryan MATTY ICE HEATS UP The Atlanta Falcons selected Matt Ryan with the third overall pick in the 2008 National Football League NFL Draft The Falcons hoped he would be their quarterback for many years to come Ryan lived up to expectations He led several fourth-quarter game-winning game-winning drives He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year He also earned the nickname Matty Ice He was calm cool and collected But one thing eluded him in his first four seasons a playoff win Many people thought that Matty Ice melted when his team’s Super Bowl hopes were on the line 9
