Rick Gosselin: Falcons have their own version of Romo, complete with playoff failures

The Atlanta Falcons have their own Tony Romo.

The Falcons used the third overall selection of the 2008 NFL draft on Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan and he became a walk-in starter. He was voted the NFL offensive rookie of the year that season and has since gone to three Pro Bowls. He’s passed for 4,000 yards in each of his last four seasons.

His talent is evident.

But, like Romo, it’s been regular-season talent. He hasn’t been the same quarterback in January that he has been from September through December.

Ryan has won 61 percent of his career starts and taken the Falcons to the playoffs four times in his seven seasons. He has a cool nickname Matty Ice and twice has delivered the Falcons the top seed in the NFC with 13-3 records in both 2010 and 2012. But Ryan failed to win a playoff game in his first three postseasons.

Ryan finally won in 2012, passing for 250 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-28 victory over Seattle in the NFC semifinals. That moved the Falcons within one game of the Super Bowl with the NFC title game in Atlanta. But the San Francisco 49ers pulled off a 28-24 upset despite 396 yards passing and three touchdowns by Ryan. He’s now 1-4 in his playoff career.

Romo has quarterbacked the Cowboys to the playoffs four times in his nine seasons. He also delivered a top seed in the NFC bracket in 2007 with a 13-3 record. But the Cowboys lost in the NFC semifinals that postseason. Romo didn’t win a playoff game until his third postseason and has never taken the Cowboys to an NFC title game. He’s 2-4 in his playoff career.

Quarterbacks are measured by championships. Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman you carve your historical niche and claim your bust in Canton with Lombardi Trophies. You need a ring to give your career legitimacy.

Ask Steve Young. He lost a pair of NFC title games to the Cowboys in the 1990s before finally escaping the Cowboys in 1994 and going on to win his first Super Bowl. He now has a bust in Canton.

“Understand that the Super Bowl is a team thing,” Young said. “But without it, you don’t have that exclamation point for whatever kind of career you’ve had. Super Bowls define it. You can say, ‘Aw, that’s not right. That’s not the way you should look at it.’ You can say whatever you want but those are the facts. The perception is that Super Bowls are what define players.”

When the Falcons drafted Ryan, they envisioned championships. That’s also the reason the Falcons gave him a new $103 million contract in 2013. Ryan hasn’t been able to deliver a playoff berth since signing that contract.

But the Falcons are looking for their first 3-0 start since 2012 when they roll into AT&T Stadium Sunday. Ryan has been a big part of that success with his 661 passing yards this season. Only Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have thrown for more. Ryan is 30 now. He knows what needs to be done.

“Super Bowls define us,” Young said. “You can spend the rest of your career playing terrific football, even MVP football. But it won’t do what a Super Bowl does.”

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