Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan lent some interesting perspective to the idea of playing without fans during the 2020 NFL season during an appearance on Chris Long's “Green Light” podcast.
The former league MVP said the lack of crowd noise–which can sometimes impact snap counts and adjustments–could actually force teams to audible even more.
Ryan also said it is easy for defensive linemen to pick up on each individual quarterbacks' tendencies and cadences, thus allowing them to get off the ball and get to the quarterback quicker.
Matt Ryan on some possible unique variables this fall on #GreenLightPod. Link in pinned tweet. pic.twitter.com/NssYO9tbPu
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) June 24, 2020
Ryan also said the team will have to do a better job of disguising code words and cadences so as to confuse opposing defenses.
The 35-year-old has asked about playing without fans on multiple occasions, including one instance where he made a humorous allusion to the Falcons getting busted for pumping in fake crowd noise in 2014.
It remains to be seen whether fans will be allowed to attend games at the start of the year, as well as how many spectators can attend. But Ryan and the Falcons already seem to be embracing some of the potential challenges of playing behind closed doors.
Ryan had a solid individual season in 2019, throwing for 4,466 yards and leading the NFL in completions. But he was also sacked 48 times and saw a fairly sharp decrease in yards gained per pass attempt.
The Falcons are looking to get back to the playoffs after consecutive 7-9 seasons. They will need Ryan to be at the top of his game in order to do so, regardless of how many new code names he might need to incorporate in camp.
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