Last week, the Atlanta Falcons gave QB Matt Ryan, a 6 year 72 million dollar contract.  This has led to much uproar on behalf of pundits, fans, and analysts.   Young Mr. Ryan is a fine enough prospect out of Boston College.   He shows a decent enough arm, some scrambling ability, and the capability to make plays when the blitzers are in his face.  Perhaps, most importantly, Ryan has impressed Falcons coaches with his ability to grasp pro-style offensive schemes in their time with him.   But, that 72 million dollar number seems like a big one when you consider that Tom Brady signed a 6 year 60 million dollar deal in May 2005.   It seems like a crazy idea to give a rookie who has never thrown an NFL pass that kind of contract, but is it really so crazy?
      In order to have success in this league, it is my opinion that your quarterback needs to be performing at a high level with regards to getting his team in the end zone.  It seems so utterly simple, but let's look at the stats of the playoff quarterbacks in the NFL in 2008.

Vince Young  = 62.3% CMP, 9 TD's/17 INTs.

David Garrard = 64.0% CMP, 18 TD's/3 INTs.

Ben Roethlisberger = 65.3% CMP, 32 TDs/11 INTs.

Philip Rivers =  60.2% CMP, 21 TDs/15 INTs.

Peyton Manning =  65.4% CMP, 31 TDs/14 INTs.

Tom Brady = 68.9% CMP, 50 TDs/8 INTs.

Eli Manning = 56.1% CMP, 23 TDs/20 INTs.

Jeff Garcia = 63.9% CMP, 13 TDs/4 INTs.

Todd Collins = 63.8% CMP, 5 TDs/0 INTs

Matt Hasselbeck = 62.6% CMP, 28 TDs/12 INTs

Brett Favre = 66.5% CMP, 28 TDs/13 INTs

Tony Romo = 64.4% CMP, 36 TDs/19 INTs

     Let's examine these stats.  All of the quarterbacks except Eli Manning had at least a 60% CMP rating.  Every quarterback except Manning and Vince Young had at least 6 more passing touchdowns than interceptions.   Right now, you're probably questioning how the Giants and Manning won the Super Bowl.   Let's take a look at Manning's playoff stats in the 4 playoff games.   In the playoffs, Manning improved tremendously to post a 60.5 CMP% with 6 TD passes and only 1 INT.   He improved his yards per completion from 6.3 in the regular season to 7.2 in the playoffs.  Without this improvement, it is highly unlikely that Manning and the Giants even make it out of the divisional round at Dallas.

    Now, I don't know if Matt Ryan is going to be a playoff level quarterback like the Mannings, Brady, Roethlisberger or Romo.  I don't know if he'll be the equivalent of first round busts like Rick Mirer and Ryan Leaf.  But, I do know that to succeed in this league, a team needs a quarterback to play at a very high level.  With the rules on pass defense the way they are now (no contact after five yards by a DB), it's just become very easy to spread teams out and light up the scoreboard.   I'm not saying that a good running game isn't important.  I'm not saying it's not important for teams to have good lines on both sides of the ball.   What I am saying is this:  at some point in a football game, 80,000 people will be going crazy.  Nearly 300 lb guys will be trying to maim the quarterback within 3 seconds, and he'll have to make a good read on a complex defense and also an accurate throw.  The Falcons are giving Matt Ryan the opportunity to make millions to see if he can be that guy.  If he is, maybe they can surround him with talented players along the offense.  If he is, maybe they can improve their defense just enough.   If he is, maybe they will be ready to be a playoff team in a few years.  If he isn't, there is no way the Falcons will ever be a contender in the NFL.   That's why it's so important to have a good quarterback.   After all, it's 72 million dollars of importance.

Pete Tee can be contacted at NYGPete7777@aol.com