Did Ryan crash into the 'rookie wall'?

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There has been a lot of talking about Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan hitting the "rookie wall'' late in the season. He repeatedly said that was the case, but we might not ever know for sure.

Daniel Cox takes a detailed look at Ryan and the rookie wall and points out some numbers that make it appear as if the quarterback sure hit something in December. In his first 12 games, Ryan threw just six interceptions. He threw five in the final four regular-season games and added two in the playoff loss at Arizona. His passer rating also hit a downward trend late in the season.

There may well have been something to the rookie wall with Ryan. He had a fantastic season overall, but his play clearly wasn't the same late in the year. But that shouldn't be a big cause for concern going forward.

Ryan knows what to expect now and you can bet he'll be a big participant in the offseason conditioning program. Just a personal observation here: The Falcons list Ryan at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, but he looked lighter than that at the end of the season. Might not be a bad idea to have him working on bulking up just a little bit.