Posted on Sun, Apr. 27, 2008

He has been the Atlanta Falcons' newest quarterback for just one day, but already, the comparisons are running rampant.

Matt Ryan, the so-called cool, clean-cut - and apparently intelligent - former Boston College quarterback was selected by Atlanta during the first round of Saturday's NFL draft, sending his future professional career along a similar path as a few other big-name players who have come before him.

Some have called him a hard-working, cerebral reincarnation of the two-headed brotherly beast known as Peyton and Eli Manning. Others have referenced him in the same breath as once-famed Falcons superstar Michael Vick, dubbing Ryan the "anti-Vick;" a man Atlanta's front office hopes will resurrect the beleaguered franchise that some credit Vick with destroying.

But one name that has been left out of the compare/contrast discussion is a name with which Ryan is most in line. It's also a name he'll become very familiar with in the coming months, because, in many ways, their football lives have blazed similar trails.

Joey Harrington, now likely the Falcons' third-string quarterback, entered training camp last year as the apparent heir-to-the-throne starter after Vick's dogfighting debacle left the team in shambles. But after throwing more interceptions than touchdowns, Harrington's romp ended very quickly.

Now, this year, in an effort to completely turn a new leaf, the Falcons turn their draft attention to a man who - surprise, surprise - is a lot like their third-stringer.

Like Ryan, Harrington was selected No. 3 overall five years ago when the Detroit Lions thought they needed a new college arm to replace injury-plagued starter Charlie Batch. Like 2007 ACC player of the year Ryan, Harrington drew conference acclaim in 2001 when he was named a first-team All-Pac-10 selection following an impressive

career at Oregon. Like Ryan, Harrington's schoolboy smile was splashed on billboards across the country, hyped as a potential Heisman finalist and the top-QB in a quarterback-heavy draft chock full of mediocre signal-callers.

See the similarities?

So why, with players like run-stopping defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey still available, did the Falcons select a player who could be called the next coming of Harrington?

Apparently, it's because he has something none of the other quarterbacks on the draft board had: leadership.

"We had options for sure, and obviously, as has been written, Glenn Dorsey was a legitimate consideration," Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff said Saturday. "We respect the ability of both players, obviously; but as far as the tipping point, it came down to the value of that position, the need that we had, but most importantly, we decided the skill-set that Matt Ryan possessed, along with his intelligence and his leadership ability (made us) excited about going in that direction."

New Falcons head coach Mike Smith backed up Dimitroff's assessment, saying Ryan's "football intelligence" impressed him, quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave and offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey.

What's unimpressive? Ryan's 19 interceptions in 14 games and his 47 percent completion rating in the Champ's Sports Bowl last December. Compare that the five interceptions thrown by Delaware's Joe Flacco all last season or Andre Woodson's 11 interceptions and 64 percent completion rating for Kentucky in the Music City Bowl.

If the Falcons were just looking for a quarterback to do the one thing Ryan contends they need to do - win - then they would've waited for another quarterback to fall in their laps. Example: Tom Brady, the Patriots' sixth-round selection in 1999. All Brady has done is lead New England to four Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl victories.

But, after all, Ryan is an "intelligent leader." The Falcons must think none of those exist past the first round.