Quarterbacks to draw plenty of attention in camp

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Like most NFL teams that draft a quarterback high in the first round, the Falcons have had trouble answering any question this off-season that didn't have something to do with Matt Ryan.

There's a certain excitement in the building with Ryan but there's no guarantee he will earn the starting job early in his career.

Ryan admits he has plenty to learn and the Falcons have veteran signal callers in Chris Redman and Joey Harrington on the roster. D.J. Shockley, who injured his knee last preseason, is also recovered and ready to compete for a roster spot.

"There's not only going to be open competition at the quarterback position but at all of our positions," Head Coach Mike Smith said in a Thursday afternoon interview. "This team probably has more competition than any team I've been on. We're going to give those quarterbacks the opportunity to work with the first team at different points during the preseason and the best man is going to win."

Harrington started 10 games last season and completed 215 passes for 2,215 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. Redman started the final four games of the season -- three under interim head coach Emmitt Thomas. Redman finished the years with 10 scoring tosses and just more than 1,000 passing yards. The highlight of the season was a four-touchdown game in a season-ending win over the Seahawks.

Redman was re-signed in the off-season and will enter Russell Falcons Training Camp on the top of the depth chart.

It's a far cry from Redman's previous career as an insurance salesman.

"I think Chris has done a nice job," Smith said during one of the team's mini camps. "He and Joey are out there competing every snap and he's done a nice job coming back from being out of the league for three years. I think it's a great story (and) he played efficiently there at the end of the season. It's a new system for him; it's a new system for all of us. We made a lot of progress but we also have a lot of things we need to clean up."

Redman's unique brand of leadership is an immediate asset for a team in transition.

"I try to be a leader by example," the quarterback said. "I'm just going to go out there and do my job and make sure everyone is in the right place at the right time and deliver. That's part of being a quarterback; I don't want to be too flashy, I just want to go out there and take care of business."

Shockley knows 2007 could have been an interesting year had he not found himself on injured reserve before opening day. Now he knows he must work hard to rebound and get a spot.

But he's not paying too much attention to the depth chart.

"The depth chart will take care of itself. I'm not really concerned if I'm one, two, three or four," said Shockley, who threw for 3,278 yards and 31 touchdowns in his career at Georgia. "I'm just going to go out and compete each day and hopefully my play will put me where I need to be."

Learning a new system from offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey and quarterbacks coach Bill Musgrave is a challenge facing all the quarterbacks this season, especially Ryan.

But he has votes of confidence.

Smith removed some of the scouting vernacular when it came to the award-winning quarterback that totaled more than 4,500 yards of total offense and threw for 31 touchdowns last season.

"We all know Matt and what he’s been able to do," he said. "I said in the beginning that we wanted to have passionate guys. Matt is a very passionate football player. In the NFL, the last two to three minutes is crunch time and that’s when games are won or lost. You can see Matt’s passion throughout his career at Boston College and how he brought his team back to victory. That’s the kind of player we want on our football team."

"Matt is a franchise quarterback for us," added General Manager Thomas Dimitroff. "We are really excited about having him onboard. He brings leadership, intelligence (and) major skills on the field. He brings the ability to have accuracy short, long (and) intermediate. He moves very well in the pocket; he is very savvy and his presence on this team will be felt immediately."

The team has fielded dozens of media requests to speak with Ryan over the first weekend of training camp. He'll meet with as many members of the press as possible, but concentrating on the game will be his first priority.

Especially in the heat of a position battle.

He may only have five practices under his belt, but Ryan says he's growing more comfortable with his new football team.

"I think decision making (is something I need to work out)," he said. "These guys are fast. You just get used to the speed and I'll continue to work with Coach Mularkey and Coach Musgrave, get in the film room and watch tape and hopefully that translates out here on the field."

"We're going to let them go out and compete," added Smith. "I will say this; the quarterback position is probably one of the more difficult positions to make the transition. But if anybody can do it I think Matt is the type of guy that can."

MORE ON FALCONS QUARTERBACKS:

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• VIDEO: Shockley LIVE Q&A
• VIDEO: Falcons sign Matt Ryan
• NOTEBOOK: Ryan glad to have first practice in the books
• VIDEO: Matt Ryan
• VIDEO: Matt Ryan
• VIDEO: Ryan at the Combine Interview | Highlights
• FEATURE: AF.com preview on Ryan, quarterbacks
• WIKIPEDIA: Matthew Thomas "Matt" Ryan
• NFL.com: Matt Ryan Profile
• YOUTUBE: Matt Ryan leads BC on their final drive to beat the Hokies
• YOUTUBE: Meet Matt Ryan (We are BC)
• YOUTUBE: Matt Ryan Highlights
• YOUTUBE: Matt Ryan for Heisman: Boston College vs. Miami
• YOUTUBE: Matt Ryan for Heisman: Boston College vs. Bowling Green
• YOUTUBE: Matt Ryan for Heisman: Boston College vs. Notre Dame
• NEWS: Ryan to be on cover of EA Sports game
• NEWS: First-round picks embrace the A-T-L
• VIDEO: First-round player introductions
• VIDEO: Falcons introduce free agent additions
• RELEASE: Quarterback Redman resigns with Falcons

Atlanta Falcons 2008 Quarterbacks