Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is getting ready for a big year by, well, getting a little bigger.
“Every year, I try and pick a couple of things that I’d like to do better,” Ryan told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “One of the things this year is getting in a little-bit better shape and better condition going into the season.”
Ryan hopes that, by being in better shape when the season starts, he’ll have more in the tank when the season ends.
“[I’m] ready to be strong in December and January,” Ryan said. “I want to be able to play my best football at that time. That’s one of the things I’ve tried to figure out and analyze myself; how do I get myself to be playing my very best, when your very best is needed. I’m still working on getting there.”
Ryan has led the Falcons to four straight winning seasons. But the Falcons under Ryan are 0-3 in the playoffs.
As he prepares for his fifth NFL season, Ryan’s regimen includes hitting the weights.
“I think we’re off to a good start,” Ryan said. “It’s weight training, getting in there and training with weights. It’s learning to condition myself in the way that we play football and in a way that is productive to how we are playing football.”
And so, come Week One, there’s a chance that folks who show up for the game will wonder why Ed Hochuli is wearing a Falcons uniform.