Matty Ice or Matty Light?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It's time for people to realize that Matt Ryan is not a superstar quarterback. He never has been.

With the Falcons' 28-19 loss at the hands of the Panthers, Atlanta dropped to 5-4 after going 11-5 and making the playoffs a year ago. Matt Ryan was credited with turning the program around, even though he ranked 16th in the league in touchdowns behind Chad Pennington, Tyler Thigpen and Kyle Orton, 13th in yards behind big names like David Garrard and 17th in completion percentage while the passing offense was a mediocre 14th in the league. But I suppose when Joey Harrington, Chris Redman and Byron Leftwich were your quarterbacks the year before, Matt Ryan would look like a savior.

This season, Ryan has taken a step back from mediocrity. Ryan is completing less than 60 percent of his passes (59.8 percent, good for 20th in the league), for 2,008 yards (good for 17th), Ryan is tied for 10th in touchdown passes, but has already thrown more interceptions in nine games this year than he did in 16 games last season. Ryan has thrown at least one interception in his last six games, has thrown multiple interceptions in four of those games. In those multi-INT games, he's thrown as many or more INT's than TD's.

Ryan has not done anything to deserve superstar status in the NFL and really did little to deserve as much credit as he did in college. In his college career, Ryan had 56 touchdowns, but 37 interceptions. In his senior season, he did throw 31 touchdowns, good for 10th in the nation and tops all-time for a BC quarterback (but come on, Doug Flutie was No. 1 before him. Not saying a lot), but he tossed 17 interceptions, which was the second most by a college quarterback that year. His passer rating was 61st in the nation. The fact that he never should have been considered for the Heisman never became more clear than when he choked in back-to-back weeks against Florida State and Maryland, then was further confirmed in the ACC championship against a team he had already beaten, throwing two picks, one that killed a potential scoring drive and the other a pick-six, and no touchdowns.

Now he's taken his mediocre show to the professional ranks.

It's time for the media to get off Matt Ryan's junk until he actually does something to deserve it.

If you don't trust Bill Belichick now, then go cheer for another team

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, well, well.

It looks like all the know-it-alls are coming out of the woodwork today to blast Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who decided to go for the win last night on fourth-and-2 from the Pats' own 28-yard-line late in the fourth quarter.

Sorry, he's not conservative, so the Pats went for it and they got burned (well, say what you want, but Kevin Faulk bobbled the catch but appeared to still have enough for the first down before the refs spotted the ball where he fell and landed which was obviously a very poor spot).

But now all the haters are coming out and blasting Belichick for going for it, including some Fan Fanatic Sports staff.

I can see fans getting upset for now beating the Colts -- remember they had a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter and you should never blow that big of a lead -- but to only focus on one play is downright wrong.

The Pats went for the win, is that a bad thing?

As far as I'm concerned, they had the play they wanted and went for it. Actually, the DID get the first and you can debate that all you want.

The conservative crew inside Patriots Nation wanted to see a punt. They think a tired and worn down defense would have stopped the Colts and Peyton Manning? No way. As much as you want to hang your hat on that, you know deep down it wasn't going to happen. They couldn't stop the Colts from scoring the go-ahead TD when the Pats turned the ball over, so why do you think they would have done it from say 50-70 yards out with about 2 minutes left?

What really burns me is that if the Pats did make the first down to seal the win, everyone would have loved the call to seal the win. They would have cited how gusty Belichick was for going for it and that the Pats' defense wouldn't have stopped them if they punted the ball back, but it's real easy to second-guess a coach when the result has already happened.

I loved the call, personally. They went for the win and there's nothing wrong with that. I'd rather that than being conservative and punting the ball away because I know the Colts would have easily marched down the field and scored.

Look at it this way: Belichick showed confidence in his offense to pick up the first down and his defense to stop the Colts if the offense didn't make the first down. Unfortunately neither group executed with the game on the line. And when you don't execute in the NFL, you don't win.

Don't pin this loss on Belichick, there's plenty of blame to go around.

But the Pats win and lose as a team. You'll never read me blasting Uncle Bill for being aggressive and trying to win.

There's no doubt I still Trust in Bill. If you don't, then trade in your Patriots gear for another team. We don't want you cheering for Pats. Find a conservative-coached team and start rooting for them. How about Cleveland? You can question everything Eric Mangini does!

In Bill We Trust? Not Anymore

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Last night marked a water shed event for me as a Patriots and Bill Belichick fan. Belichick's decision to go for it on 4th and 2 on their own 28 yard line was the WORST coaching decision I have ever seen. There isn't an argument you can make to convince me they should have gone for it. Punt the ball. That's what you need to do. Punt the ball! I don't care if the defense was gassed last night. I would feel much better giving Peyton Manning the ball with 65+ yards to go for a touchdown than 30. Belichick also should have instructed his defense to let Joseph Addai score when they got down to the 1 yard line. If they did, the Pats would have had another thirty seconds on the clock to get into position for a field goal.

Ever since the Pats won their first Super Bowl I've been a devoted follower in the philosophy of "In Bill We Trust". I accepted when he released Lawyer Milloy just prior to the first game of the season. I accepted trading Deion Branch to the Seahawks and going with the likes of Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel in 2006. No more. They should have resigned Asante Samuel prior to last year and not allow their defense to be so terrible in 2008. They should do the right thing and pay Vince Wilfork now so he won't cost more when he hits free agency.

BB is not infallible, and it's time that Patriots fans realize it. I listen to sports talk radio on the ride into work every morning. It disgusts me how ridiculous some of the excuses Pats fans are using to justify Belichick's decision. Kevin Faulk didn't have the yardage for the first down. He bobbled the ball and was pushed back. Wake up people. Bill Belichick made a critical mistake with the game on the line. He didn't make that decision to go for the win. He made that decision not to lose the game. Of course, that wasn't the only mistake that lead to the loss last night. I'll let someone else break down the rest of the game.