Matt Ryan not ready to call himself elite quarterback

Matt Ryan isn’t ready to go out on a limb and call himself an elite quarterback.

It’s probably a smart move. He’s experienced some terrific regular seasons but the Falcons have not delivered in the playoffs and ultimately quarterbacks are judged by how they perform in the postseason.

“It doesn’t matter,” Ryan said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It doesn’t matter what I think or what anyone else thinks. It matters how we win. That’s where my focus is. Other than that, I don’t really worry about it too much. I don’t think about it. I don’t worry about it.”

The Falcons quarterback is entering his fifth season and has a new coordinator in Dirk Koetter. The hope is the offense will be more explosive this season. Ryan completed his first 11 passes Thursday night in a preseason loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Through two games he is 27 of 34 for 329 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

If those numbers are any indication – and it is impossible to put too much stock in what happens in preseason – he is off to a fine start. How the Falcons perform in January – or if they perform – will determine what kind of progress Ryan has made.

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Brad Biggs covers the Bears for the Chicago Tribune