Quote:Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan unleashed a dizzying array of offense in less than two quarters before he was removed from the 45-24 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Ryan completed 6 of 9 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns to help build a 42-0 lead.

“I thought we started off as a team very fast today; offense, defense and special teams did exactly what we needed to do early on and then finished it off in the second half,” Ryan said. “We took care of the business that we wanted to today.”

Ryan got the offense in rhythm before entering the playoffs.

“We had opportunities the week before; we just didn’t make those plays,” Ryan said. “Today, we came out , we made the plays and that’s what we need to do moving forward. I think everybody’s confidence is very high heading into next week.”

Ryan was elated that the Falcons were able to get their running game untracked.

“We’re at our best when we can run the football effectively and throw the ball effectively, so it was good for us today,” Ryan said. “I thought our offensive line did a great job opening up some holes and our backs ran really, really hard and really effectively all day.”

The Falcons were 3 of 5 on their red zone opportunities against the Buccaneers: They scored two touchdowns and a field goal.

The Atlanta offense has made 59 trips inside the opponents’ 20-yard line and scored points 51 times this season; they have 30 touchdowns for 273 points up close.

“That’s something that we wanted to improve on from the last couple of weeks and something we certainly have focused on, worked hard on in practice, and we finally kind of executed at the level we wanted to today on the field,” Ryan said. “So that bodes well for us heading into next week.”

The Falcons wanted to score touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.

“I think we just heightened awareness and focus,” Ryan said. “We’ve been very good at moving the ball, really the last half of the season, [and] we’ve moved the ball really effectively between the20s.

“Some weeks we’ve been good in the red zone, some weeks we haven’t. But I think the attention to detail when you get inside the 25, it’s heightened because the field shrinks and you have to be on top of your game, and I think everybody really has done a better job of that.”

In the final four games of the regular season, Ryan has completed 81 of 125 passes for 1,023 yards with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 116.9.

(01-01-2012 11:27 PM)RFlagg Wrote:  Only if the defense can get off the field on 3rd down. I know we pulled most of our starters, but we still gave up 259 yards passing to the Bucs today. Look at the other teams in the NFC, only San Francisco doesn't have a franchise QB. Romo may be shaky, but he still is looked upon well in a lot of circles.

(01-02-2012 04:18 AM)FullMetalFalcon23 Wrote:  Early on on the broadcast I was watching they said that Smith told them that the whilst he loves rotation, he said that the people he has evaluated as most able to put pressure on the QB will be getting the lion share of the work in the playoffs.

(01-02-2012 04:18 AM)FullMetalFalcon23 Wrote:  Early on on the broadcast I was watching they said that Smith told them that the whilst he loves rotation, he said that the people he has evaluated as most able to put pressure on the QB will be getting the lion share of the work in the playoffs.