ESPN commentator Bomani Jones has become one of the top voices in sports, and he has a complicated history with the Atlanta Falcons, a team he never ever trusts.
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Jones, who was born in Atlanta and graduated from Clark Atlanta University, recently engaged in a discussion about the 2017 NFL Draft, specifically the quarterbacks involved in the first round of that draft: Mitch Trubisky, Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. When responding to one tweet comparing Watson and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, Jones incited a discussion that created an intense fervor among Falcons Twitter.
Jones's claim that Ryan eventually making the Hall of Fame is "ridiculous" received a lot of pushback from Falcons fans.
Frankly, there's too many tweets to include them all in this article but they're not too hard to find on Twitter if you'd like to see more. More importantly, Ryan's Hall of Fame case is not yet complete and he's putting a pretty good one together.
The 35-year-old quarterback became just the 10th player in NFL history to throw for 50,000 yards in his career, and he is currently 10th on the NFL's all-time passing list. Ryan needs fewer than 300 yards to surpass John Elway on that list, and it should be noted that Elway is a Hall of Fame quarterback.
Ryan is the only league MVP in Falcons history, and his 100.8 career passer rating in the postseason is higher than that of Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Tom Brady. CBS Sports also had a timely tweet in the midst of the debate, further illustrating how good Ryan has been throughout his 12 years in the league.
Ryan's meaning to the Falcons organization is even more meaningful. The team has had a winning record in seven of his 12 years in Atlanta after recording just 10 winning seasons in its entire 42-year existence prior to Ryan's arrival.
Jones did not back down from the argument on Twitter, sticking to his original opinion and firing back at those coming to Ryan's defense.
Ryan is preparing for his 13th NFL season and was the league leader in completions in 2019 despite missing one start due to injury. He has passed for at least 4,000 yards in nine consecutive seasons, the longest active streak in the league and three shy of matching Drew Brees's record.
So, is Matt Ryan a Hall of Fame quarterback? Only time will tell.
