HOUSTON • Since getting drafted No. 3 overall in 2008 — just behind Rams defensive end Chris Long — Matt Ryan has garnered a fair amount of respect.
For openers, he had that cool nickname — Matty Ice — which dated back to his high school days at William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia.
He’d put up pretty good numbers every season for Atlanta. About every other year, he’d make the Pro Bowl, and about every other year he’d guide the Falcons into the playoffs. But the big stage always seemed to elude him. For whatever reason, Ryan couldn’t take that last step in his development — from “pretty good” to great.