Matt Ryan explains his approach to critiquing players: ‘Maybe I’m a bigger jerk than people think’

Matt Ryan has never been confused for the mean guy.

The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback spent 15 NFL seasons building a reputation as one of the genuinely nice guys in the league. Teammates loved him. Coaches respected him. Even rival fans had trouble finding reasons to dislike the guy, beyond maybe that one time his team blew a 28-3 lead in the Super Bowl.

But Ryan’s approach to broadcasting might surprise people who think “nice guy” means he’ll go easy on players when they mess up.

“So, the way I view it is really the same way I would think about watching film on my own after a game on a Monday,” Ryan told Puck’s John Ourand during a recent appearance on The Varsity. “You’d go in and say, ‘You know what? I got to make that play, plain and simple. That wasn’t good enough on my end.’ I think that’s fair from an analyst role is to take a look, be objective, and say, ‘You know, given their skillset, given what the situation was, they’ve got to make that play. You’ve got to go out there and do that.'”

Ryan’s philosophy stands in contrast to some former players who’ve entered broadcasting with kid gloves on. Tom Brady, for instance, has been upfront about not wanting to critique players, especially elite ones. But Ryan sees honest analysis as part of the job description.

“It’s not easy, because you have friends all over the league,” Ryan admitted. “It becomes difficult when it is a friend that has made a mistake, but if they’re really a friend, they’d know you’d say it to their face, anyhow.”

The NFL on CBS studio analyst knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end. He spent 15 years having analysts dissect his every throw, question his leadership, and debate his clutch factor. He lived through the aftermath of 28-3. If anyone earned the right to go easy on current players, it would be him.

“I dealt with it as a player,” he continued. “I’ve always felt like if you’re watching — which is one of the things I take pride in — before we hopped on together, I’m watching film. I’m trying to watch and take in as much information as I can, and it’s researched, and you’ve done the work, I think it’s fair to have an opinion. I really do. I always felt that way as a player. If somebody was critical of me, but it was valid, or they had reasons why, OK, that’s fine.”

Ryan’s not worried about hurting feelings or breaking some unwritten code among former players. He approaches broadcasting the same way he approached watching his own game film, if something went wrong, you acknowledge it and move on.

“Oddly enough, I don’t struggle with it,” he said of critiquing players. “Maybe I’m not as nice as the reputation led up to it, maybe I’m a bigger a-hole… maybe I’m a bigger jerk than people think.”

The irony isn’t lost here. Ryan, who made a career out of being everyone’s favorite quarterback, might end up being more honest in the booth than guys who built reputations on being tough. His approach to calling out mistakes — even from friends — shows he actually gets what the job requires.

Even if those friends might not want to hear it.