Steven Joseph "Steve" Bartkowski (born November 12, 1952 in Des Moines, Iowa) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Atlanta Falcons (1975–1985) and the Los Angeles Rams (1986). Bartkowski was a consensus All-American his senior season in 1974 at the University of California, Berkeley.

Professional career[link]

Bartkowski was chosen with the first overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, ahead of Walter Payton, by the Atlanta Falcons and was the NFL Rookie of the Year as well as The Sporting News NFC Rookie of the Year in 1975. He was the first client of sports agent Leigh Steinberg.

Bartkowski is one of only nine quarterbacks in NFL history who have achieved consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons (1980 & 1981) at least one time in their career. The others are Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Brett Favre, Dan Fouts, Jeff Garcia, Peyton Manning, Dan Marino and Y.A. Tittle. Bartkowski was selected to the Pro Bowl after both the 1980 and 1981 seasons and was selected 2nd Team All-NFC following the 1980 campaign. Bartkowski led the NFL in passing in 1983 with a passer rating of 97.6.

Post NFL career[link]

Bartkowski is currently on the Falcons Board of Directors. He has a wife, Sandee, and two sons, Philip and Peter, and resides outside Atlanta. Steve's first son Philip is married to Robin Fortin, the sister of former Falcon's lineman Roman Fortin. He is the Falcons all time leader in passing yards and touchdowns

External links[link]

• Best quarterback in Falcons History

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Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is a retired Hall of Fame American football quarterback in the National Football League. Fouts played his entire professional career with the San Diego Chargers from 1973 through 1987. He was one of the most prolific passing quarterbacks during the 1970s and 1980s, but the Chargers were unable to make it to the Super Bowl during his fifteen-year career. He is currently a color commentator for NFL games on CBS. Dan is the son of Bay Area Radio Hall of Famer Bob Fouts.^[1]

High school and college career[link]

Fouts went to Marin Catholic High School, which is located just north of San Francisco in Kentfield, California for his two first years of High School, and was starting for the varsity team by his sophomore year. He decided to transfer to St. Ignatius College Preparatory (San Francisco, CA) for his final two years of high school.

Fouts was somewhat of an unknown when he accepted the scholarship offer from the University of Oregon. Things were quite different after the All-Pac 8 quarterback's career where he set 19 school records, including those for career passing yardage (5,995) and total offense (5,871).^[2][3] He was inducted into the University of Oregon Hall of Fame in 1992.^[4]

Pro football career[link]

Drafted in the third round out of the University of Oregon in 1973, Fouts helped lead the Chargers to the playoffs from 1979 to 1982 and twice to the AFC title game (1980 and 1981). He led the league four times in passing yards; ending his career with over 40,000, the third player to surpass that landmark. Fouts was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Fouts was a 6-time Pro Bowl selection (1979-1983 & 1985) and compiled passer ratings over 90.0 for a 3-year stretch (1981–83). Fouts threw for over 4,000 yards for three consecutive seasons (1979–81), led the NFL in passing yards in four consecutive seasons(1979–1982) and six times eclipsed the 20-touchdown mark with a career high 33 in 1981. His career high of 4,802 passing yards during the 1981 season was an NFL record at the time.

Fouts set NFL season passing yardage records in three consecutive seasons from 1979 to 1981 with totals of 4,082, 4.715, and 4,802 yards. He broke Joe Namath's record of 4,007 set in 1967, and Dan Marino broke Fouts' record in 1984 with 5,084 yards.^[5][6] In 1982, a season shortened to 9 games because of a strike, Fouts averaged 320 yards passing per game, an NFL record that stood until Drew Brees averaged 342.3 in 2011.^[7][8] Highlights that season included back-to-back victories against the 1981 Super Bowl teams San Francisco (41-37) and Cincinnati (50-34) in which Fouts threw for over 400 yards in each game to lead the Chargers to shootout victories.^[9]

Fouts garnered All-Pro selections in both 1979 and 1982, while also being named 2nd Team All-Pro in 1980 and 1985. In addition Fouts was also named 2nd Team All-AFC in 1981 and 1983. However, Fouts and the Chargers lost both AFC Championship Games in which they played.

Fouts's first few years in the league were inauspicious, but with the arrival of head coach Don Coryell in 1978 the Chargers' fortunes turned. Yet it was actually two years earlier, with the arrival of Joe Gibbs as the Charger's offensive coordinator, that the seeds of success were planted. Under Coryell, the Chargers were known as Air Coryell for the deep passing game and the involvement of the tight end as a key receiver. This required a tough, intelligent quarterback with a strong arm. Fouts fit the bill.

Fouts was not a mobile quarterback and the deep passing game led to many hits. Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh, a Chargers assistant coach in 1976, said "Dan Fouts had a cool, steel-like nerve and courage ... He took a lot of beatings, a lot of pounding, but continued to play, hurt or otherwise. He played more physical football than anybody on his team, including the linebackers".^[10] Rarely using the shotgun, Fouts would drop back from center and look for one of a bevy of great receivers. Wide receiver Charlie Joiner and tight end Kellen Winslow were the most famous, both now in the Hall of Fame, but John Jefferson and Wes Chandler, among others, were also key. Fouts's passing enabled Winslow to lead the NFL in receptions twice (1980,1981), while Winslow (1982) and Lionel James (1985) led the AFC in receptions on another 2 combined occasions.^[11] James, in fact, set the NFL record (since broken) in 1985 for receiving yards by a running back at 1,027.^[12] Jefferson became the first receiver to have 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first three seasons in the NFL. Both Jefferson (1980) and Chandler (1982) led the NFL in receiving yards.^[13] Chandler's 129 yards receiving per game average in 1982 is still a league record.^[14] Both Jefferson (1978, 1980) and Chandler (1982) led the NFL in receiving TDs. In 1980, Winslow, Jefferson and Joiner became the first trio on the same team to have 1,000 yards receiving in a season. When he retired after 1986, Joiner was the NFL's all-time leader in receptions with 750.^[15]

Pass protection was also critical for such an offense. The Chargers had an excellent offensive line which protected Fouts well, and included 4 time Pro Bowler Ed White, 5 time Pro Bowler Russ Washington, 3 time Pro Bowler Doug Wilkerson, Billy Shields and Don Macek. The Chargers led the league in passing yards an NFL record 6 consecutive years from 1978–1983 and again in 1985 under Fouts.^[16] They also led the league in total yards in offense 1980-1983 and 1985.

Despite going to the playoffs from 1979 through 1982 and playing in 2 AFC Championship Games, the Chargers never went to the Super Bowl under Fouts (although they went 7 years after his retirement). Usually this is attributed to poor defense and their unwillingness to run the ball. In Fouts's prime the defense was not as stellar, but the running game became far better with the addition of Chuck Muncie, traded from New Orleans in 1980, and the drafting of James Brooks from Auburn in 1981. It is believed the defense had little opportunity to improve as the offense often scored quickly, leaving the defense to spend far too much time on the field. It also hurt that Fred Dean, an All-Pro sack specialist, was traded away to the San Francisco 49ers in 1981 in a contract dispute,^[17] and Dean would win UPI NFC Defensive Player of the Year (while playing in only 11 games) that year en route to a Super Bowl victory and help the 49ers to another Super Bowl title three years later. Dean would later be inducted into the Hall of Fame.^[18]

"I can't say how much it affected us, because we did make it to the AFC championship game," said Chargers' All-Pro defensive lineman Gary "Big Hands" Johnson of the loss of Dean. "But I could say if we had more pass rush from the corner, it might've been different."^[19]

Overall, the Chargers achieved three wins against four losses in the playoffs under Fouts, who threw for over 300 yards in all but two of those games. One of their more notable wins was the 1982 playoff game known in NFL Lore as The Epic in Miami, where Fouts led his team to a 41-38 victory by completing 33 of 53 passes for a franchise record 433 yards and 3 touchdowns on the hot and humid day. His completions, attempts, and yards in the game were all NFL postseason records at the time. The following week in the AFC championship game in Cincinnati, there was a 92 °F drop in temperature compared to the previous week in Miami,^[20] and the Chargers lost 27-7 in what is known as the Freezer Bowl.

The following season, he threw for 333 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 31-28 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC divisional playoff round.

Honors[link]

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (February 2011)

Fouts finished his 15 NFL seasons with 3,297 of 5,604 completions for 43,040 yards and 254 touchdowns, with 242 interceptions. He also rushed for 476 yards and 13 touchdowns

Dan Fouts is one of only eight quarterbacks in NFL history who have achieved two consecutive 30-touchdown passing seasons. The others are Steve Bartkowski, Brett Favre, Dan Marino, Jeff Garcia, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Y.A. Tittle. He was also the third quarterback in NFL history to pass for 40,000 yards, after fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton, and the first quarterback ever to throw for over 4,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.

Fouts' jersey number, 14, is one of only three numbers retired by the San Diego Chargers (the others being Lance Alworth's 19 and Junior Seau's 55).

In 1989, Fouts was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.^[21]

In 1999, he was ranked number 92 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

In 1992, he was inducted into the University of Oregon and State of Oregon Sports Halls of Fame.

Fouts was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993, his first year of eligibility.

In 2009, he was picked by the fans as the "Greatest Charger Of All Time" for the Chargers 50th anniversary year.

In 2010, he received the Davey O'Brien Legends Award during Colt McCoy's award ceremony.

After pro football[link]

In 1988 through 1993, Fouts started his career as an analyst on NFL on CBS. He worked with variety of play-by-play announcers including Dick Stockton, James Brown, Verne Lundquist, Brad Nessler, Jim Nantz, Jack Buck, and Tim Ryan.

Fouts's post-NFL career included a well-received commentator role on ABC's Monday Night Football, alongside famed MNF anchor Al Michaels and comedian Dennis Miller. He also served as a college football analyst alongside Brent Musburger and Keith Jackson (after Fouts's MNF departure). He was also a sports anchor for KPIX-TV in his hometown of San Francisco from 1994-1997.

In 1998 Fouts made his big-screen debut, portraying himself in the football comedy "The Waterboy," starring Adam Sandler. Fouts and Musberger appeared late in the film as ESPN's broadcast team for the fictitious New Year's Day "Bourbon Bowl" game.

After Jackson's retirement from ABC in 2006, Fouts became a play-by-play announcer, adding his own commentary on the game at times since he was a former player and analyst. His broadcast partner for 2006 and 2007 was Tim Brant^[22] now that Jackson has opted to permanently retire. (Jackson previously said he was going to retire after the 1998 college football season, but elected to stay on to call Pac-10 games for ABC, including the annual Rose Bowl.

On February 11, 2008, ESPN announced they weren't re-signing Fouts or his partner Tim Brant^{[citation needed]}.

It was reported in USA Today on August 20, 2008 that Fouts was returned to CBS for NFL games^[23][24] with a variety of play-by-play announcers including Don Criqui, Bill Macatee, and Dick Enberg.

In 2009, he was moved to partner with Dick Enberg as the #3 broadcasting team for the NFL on CBS.^[25] Following Enberg's retirement after the 2009 season, Fouts presently teams with Ian Eagle. He also calls the occasional game for Westwood One radio.

Fouts also did color commentary for the football video game NFL GameDay 2004. He partnered with long-time announcer Dick Enberg.

See also[link]

• Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
• List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dan Fouts' Official Website
• Pro Football Hall of Fame: Member profile
• pro-football-reference.com:" Career stats and more

Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan in November 2008
No. 2     Atlanta Falcons
Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1985-05-17) May 17, 1985 (age 27)
Place of birth: Exton, Pennsylvania
Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Weight: 224 lb (102 kg)
Career information
High school: William Penn Charter School
College: Boston College
NFL Draft: 2008 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Debuted in 2008 for the Atlanta Falcons
Career history
Atlanta Falcons (2008–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
MPC Computers Bowl MVP (2005) First-team All-America (2007) Scanlan Award (2007) ACC Player of the Year (2007) Manning Award (2007) Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2007) AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2008) PFWA Offensive Rookie of the Year (2008) Pro Bowl selection (2010) NFC Offensive Player of the Month (November 2010) Holds Falcons Single Season Team Records in Pass Yards (4,177 in 2011), Attempts (571 in 2010) and Completions (357 in 2010)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Pass attempts 2,022 Pass completions 1,232 Percentage 60.9 TD–INT 95-46 Passing yards 14,238 Passer rating 88.4 Stats at NFL.com

Matthew Thomas "Matt" Ryan (born May 17, 1985), nicknamed "Matty Ice," is the starting American football quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League. He was drafted in the first round as the third overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft after playing college football at Boston College.

He was Boston College's starter from 2005 to 2007, leading them to three bowl victories and a 25-7 record in 32 starts. He threw for 200 or more yards 15 times and is fifth all-time in school history in passing yards and in pass completions. He earned MVP honors at the 2005 MPC Computers Bowl.^[1]

In 2007, Ryan led his team to an ACC Atlantic Division championship and was named ACC Player of the Year.^[2] During his rookie year, Ryan started all 16 games for the Falcons and led them to the playoffs with an 11-5 season record. He has also earned honors as the 2008 NFL AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Personal life[link]

Ryan comes from an Irish Catholic family on both sides, and is the third of Bernice and Michael Ryan's four children.^[3] Ryan's uncle, John Loughery, played quarterback at Boston College from 1979-82.^[4] Ryan launched a website during his senior year at BC called Mattyice.com (a nickname derived from the beer Natty Ice), where fans and media have 24-hour access to video highlights, updated biographical information, statistics and other information about Ryan.^[5] He also created an activity named "Folleyball" for NFL Play 60 at NFL Rush.com.^[6] Ryan is also an avid golfer and has participated in such tournaments as the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship,^[7] including Augusta National Golf Club.^[8] Ryan also is part of the Falcons online reading program “Read with a Falcon”.^[9]

High school career[link]

Ryan attended the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was a three-year starter, earned All-East honors from Larunt Lemming Prep Football Report. He captured All-Southeastern Pennsylvania accolades as a senior quarterback in addition to receiving All-City first-team honors in 2002 and second-team recognition in 2001. A three-time All-League selection, he threw for more than 1,300 yards with 9 touchdowns as a senior, finishing his career by completing more than 52 percent of his pass attempts during all three seasons at the helm. Ryan played football, basketball and baseball while in high school and was named captain of all three teams his senior year. He was quarterback of the football team in 2002, played small forward on the basketball team, and was a pitcher and a shortstop on the baseball team.^[10]

College career[link]

Before the 2004 season, he was named the backup quarterback for Boston College due to an injury to Quinton Porter. He saw his first action on October 2, 2004 against the UMass Minutemen. He completed two of three passes for 16 yards. He completed his first touchdown on November 20, 2004 against Temple on a 32-yard completion to Larry Lester. Replacing the injured Paul Peterson, he completed eight of 15 passes for 121 yards. He made his first collegiate start on November 27, 2004 in the final game of that season, completing 24 of 51 passes for 200 yards against Syracuse. He also played against North Carolina in the Continental Tire Bowl. He completed one of his two passes for 13 yards. Matt was also quite proficient in the classroom, and was awarded the 2004 Freshman Male Scholar-Athlete award that same year.^[10]

2005 season[link]

At the beginning of the 2005 season, Ryan was named the second string quarterback behind Quinton Porter. Porter had some success at the beginning of the year, including winning Atlantic Coast Conference player of the week for his performance in Boston College's 28–17 win over Virginia. After a 30–10 loss to third-ranked Virginia Tech, coach Tom O'Brien finally went to Ryan for good in the 4th Quarter of the next game against North Carolina. In ten games (five starts), he completed 121 of 195 passes for 1,514 yards. He had eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He also had five rushing touchdowns and 94 yards. He started his first bowl game in the MPC Computers Bowl versus Boise State. He completed 19 of 36 passes for 256 yards and a career-best three touchdowns.^[10]

2006 season[link]

Ryan started 11 of 12 games. He completed 243 of 398 passes for 2,700 yards, 14 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. He also ran for three touchdowns. He was All-ACC first-team and led the ACC in total offense (242.2 yards per game) and in passing yards (245.5 yards per game). He was named ACC Offensive Back of the week 3 times. He set career highs in completions (32 vs. Central Michigan) and passing yards (356 vs. Brigham Young). He led the team to a 9-3 record including double overtime wins versus Clemson and Brigham Young. He led the Eagles to a close 25-24 victory on December 26, 2006 in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against Navy in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the season opener against Central Michigan, Ryan sprained his ankle. Against Virginia Tech, Ryan broke his foot on the same leg. Despite these injuries, Ryan only missed one game (against Buffalo).^[11] His 57 pass attempts in the 2006 Wake Forest game tied Shawn Halloran vs. Syracuse Orange in 1985 and Frank Harris vs. Army in 1968 for the BC record his 40 pass completions in the 2006 Wake Forest game broke the old school record of 37 by Frank Harris in the 1968 Army clash.

2007 season[link]

Ryan and the Boston College Eagles line up on offense in the 2007 ACC Championship game

External images
	Ryan on the Cover of NCAA Football 09

Before the season started Ryan was named to the preseason All-ACC team. Against Wake Forest, he completed 32 of 52 passes for 408 yards and 5 touchdowns. Boston College also hired a new coach: Jeff Jagodzinski, a longtime NFL assistant.^[12] He continued his hot streak versus Georgia Tech, going 30-44 with 1 TD and passing for a career-high 435 yards against the staunch Tech defense en route to a convincing 24-10 road victory. After this game, Ryan was suggested as a potential Heisman Trophy contender. Battling Virginia Tech through bad weather in Blacksburg, Virginia, Ryan led an amazing comeback for the Boston College Eagles, passing for two touchdowns with less than 3 minutes to play on October 25, 2007, including the game-winner with 11 seconds left to Andre Callender.^[13][14] However, Matt Ryan's chances to win the Heisman fell sharply after he threw three interceptions in a 27-17 loss to Florida State, an unranked team that had six wins and three losses. However with a strong performance against Clemson^[15] his chances were raised substantially. Despite 2 consecutive ACC losses, Ryan and the Eagles found themselves with a trip to the conference championship on the line. Down 10-3 in the third quarter, he led the offense on a game-tying drive, hitting on key passes to Rich Gunnell,Andre Callender and Ryan Purvis, landing the Eagles at the Clemson 2 early in the fourth.James McCluskey finished the job from there, running it in to even the score at 10-apiece. Shortly thereafter, a Clemson turnover resulted in a BC field goal and a 13-10 lead for the maroon and gold . On November 24, against ACC rival Miami,^[16] Ryan surpassed Doug Flutie for the most passing touchdowns in a single season by an Eagle QB with 28 TD's, ultimately ending the season with 31. Despite these records, he struggled with throwing interceptions throughout the year, and finished with 19 (2nd most among college quarterbacks).His five touchdown passes in the 2007 Wake Forest game are one shy of the school record of six, held by Doug Flutie in 1984 vs North Carolina. For the maroon and gold, it was their first 10-win regular season since 1940 and the first time they had achieved back-to-back 10-overall-win seasons in program history. He led the Eagles to extend the nation's longest bowl winning streak to eight with a 24-21 victory over Michigan State Spartans in the Champs Sports Bowl on December 28, Ryan threw three touchdown passes, two to Rich Gunnell and one to Jon Loyte .^[17] Matt Ryan was awarded the 2007 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, given annually in the United States to the Nation's most outstanding college football senior quarterback, the other finalists for the 2007 award were Hawaii's Colt Brennan, Louisville's Brian Brohm, Oregon's Dennis Dixon and Kentucky's Andre Woodson ( all of whom were drafted at the 2008 NFL Draft ) He was selected to play in the 2008 Senior Bowl. He also won the 2007 Manning Award awarded to the nation's top quarterback, beating out eventual Heisman winner Tim Tebow and eight other finalists for this year's award: Erik Ainge (Tennessee), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), Colt Brennan (Hawaii), Chase Daniel (Missouri), Dennis Dixon (Oregon), Graham Harrell (Texas Tech), Pat White (West Virginia) and Andre' Woodson (Kentucky). He also he was named "Eagle of the Year" alongside BC's first ever individual champion Kasey Hill, in November, he was asked to talk at the Boston College Multi-Cultural Thanksgiving celebration where he spoke of family, integrity and devotion. He is featured as the cover athlete for the PS3 version of NCAA Football 09^[18]

2008 NFL Draft[link]

External images
	Matt Ryan at the 2008 Boston College Pro Day
	Ryan introduced as the 3rd Overall pick of the 2008 NFL Draft

Ryan^[20] scored a 32 on the Wonderlic exam, tying Louisville's Brian Brohm for the highest score by a quarterback in 2008.^[21][22] He was drafted third overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2008 NFL Draft^[23][24][25] He was the second first-round pick of the draft to sign when he agreed to a six-year contract on May 20. The contract had an overall value of $72 million and contained $34.75 million in guaranteed money.^[26] The contract made Ryan the 4th highest paid quarterback in the NFL behind Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Carson Palmer, despite never having played a professional game.^[27] This helped fuel the discussion regarding whether rookies in the NFL were overpaid and if there is a need for a rookie salary cap.^[28] In addition, Ryan has signed endorsement deals with Nike^[29] and AirTran.^[30] He entered the 2008 season competing against former starter Chris Redman for the Falcons' starting quarterback position.

Professional career[link]

Atlanta Falcons[link]

2008 season[link]

On August 24, Ryan was named the starting quarterback for the September 7 regular season opener against the Detroit Lions^[31][32][33] becoming the first rookie quarterback to start a season for the Falcons since Steve Bartkowski in 1975. In the game, Ryan completed his first NFL pass for a 62-yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins,^[34] becoming the first quarterback to throw a touchdown on his first career NFL pass since Michael Bishop of the New England Patriots in 2000. Ryan was sacked for the first time by Lions defensive player Dewayne White in his first win. The second game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers marked Ryan's first interception by rookie cornerback Aqib Talib and also by Sabby Piscitelli. In week 3 against the Kansas City Chiefs, he completed the then-longest TD pass in his career for 70 yards to Roddy White. The 70-yard touchdown pass to White was the longest pass completion for the Falcons since December 23, 2007, when Chris Redman threw a 74-yard touchdown pass. In the same game Ryan completed passes to 6 different players. The following week, he threw for 194 yds and two TDs against the Green Bay Packers. His touchdown passes went to Roddy White and tight end Justin Peelle. The following week against the Chicago Bears Ryan led the Falcons to a comeback win. With 6 seconds left he completed a 26-yard strike to Michael Jenkins that set Jason Elam up for the game-winning field goal as time expired. Ryan finished the game 22-of-30 for a then career-high 301 passing yards. He also had a key fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Roddy White. On Atlanta's first offensive drive, Ryan completed all five of his pass attempts for 57 yards en route to a Falcons field goal and a 3–0 lead. Ryan was named Diet Pepsi Rookie of the week for his performance.^[35]