Tony Gonzalez: Matt Ryan Is Not An Elite QB

[jonathanlambert33]

Injuries decimated his receiving corps. The Atlanta Falcons' offensive line ranked in the NFL's bottom third, according to both Football Outsiders and Pro Football Focus.

Excuses aside, Ryan couldn't pull his team out of a season-long tailspin as other members of the NFL's quarterback royalty have done. Recently retired tight end Tony Gonzalez acknowledged as much in an interview with ESPN The Magazine.

"Matt's an excellent quarterback," Gonzalez said, via ESPN.com, "But he's not elite. He's this close. He'll get there, but he has some learning to do."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000324233/article/tony-gonzalez-falcons-matt-ryan-is-not-an-elite-qb

 

[Pugz]

not cool, not cool. hes right tho :kobe:

 

[playmaker7]

He has a point, the dude is good but he could be A LOT better, and it's too early to throw his name into the "elite" discussion.

 

[Fuhgeddaboudit]

elite gets tossed around so badly lol

 

[BwareDWare94]

The elite QBs? Us real fans know that there's 4. Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Peyton. Guys like Rivers and Roethlisberger are knocking on the door. Guys like Romo, Matt Ryan, etc, are more solid rosters throughout the other 52 from being in the discussion. Guys like Russell Wilson could be throwing 30-35 TDs with better receivers.

In some cases, it comes down to the other 52/44 active on a Gameday. The four I mentioned are established and have been for several years. Ben was there until the Steelers had a pair of bad years. Rivers would probably be there had the Chargers and him not gone through such a rough period at the end of the joke that was Norv Turner as a HC. Romo has great stats every year but never has a defense by the end of the season, so we may never know with him. 
 
There are potential elite QBs in the NFL who could use better situations, but there are only 4 legitimate elite QBs. Had the Steelers qualified for playoff births the last two years, I'd have to give Ben the nod too.
 
Anyway, Tony's just being honest. Matt Ryan isn't excellent either, though.