Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan isn’t lacking in confidence.
Ryan believes the Falcons, who went 9-7 last season, will have an even better record in 2010 than they did when he led them to a surprise 11-5 finish as a rookie in 2008. And he’s not shy about expressing that belief.
“We feel like we’re a lot closer to 12 or 13 wins than we are to eight,” Ryan said Saturday, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Last year was frustrating because we didn’t make the playoffs, but you always want to be in the mix. You always want to be playing for something, and really until the last three weeks we were.”
Ryan doesn’t want to sound like he’s making any guarantees, but he does believe the Falcons should be one of the league’s best teams.
“No predictions from me,” Ryan said. “But 12 or more wins sounds good.”
Considering that the Saints went 13-3 last year, if the Falcons want to win the NFC South, they may need to win more than 12 games.