AFC Notes: Matt Ryan, Colts, Jaguars, Titans

Colts

New Colts QB Matt Ryan has been drawing rave reviews from his new teammates and coaches so far, especially for his command of some of the “soft” skills of playing quarterback like leadership. Indianapolis’ dissatisfaction with previous starting QB Carson Wentz in that area led to them trading Wentz after just one season. 

“Matt was unbelievable, did a great job, great command – really, A-to-Z,” Colts HC Frank Reich said via 1075TheFan.com’s Kevin Bowen. “He did everything right, just great leadership, great play. The whole way he took command, great collaborating as an offensive staff with him to kind of work in and nuance some of the things we do to kind of suit him and his style. Kind of get to learn a few things about him, pick his brain about some of the things he did and what are the favorite things he did in Atlanta. Let’s see if we can incorporate a few of those things and kind of fit with us. So we got a lot of that done over the last number of weeks.”

Ryan spoke a little bit more about his approach to leadership at the quarterback position. 

“To me, leadership is about serving your teammates,” he said. “The one thing I’ve learned in 14 years is what certain guys need from you is different. What each team that you’re on needs from you as a player and a leader is different. You have to get to know your guys, you have to get to know your teammates really well and how they tick and how they need to be motivated and what are the things that you can help them with to bring out the best in themselves.

“That’s going to be a really exciting challenge for me, is to try and get to know this group of guys in this locker room, this coaching staff as best I can and figure out how I work in that and figure out the things I can bring into it. I’ve always believed you need to be flexible in your leadership. You need to kind of read the room for lack of a better term, but you better be principled. There have to be things that are non-negotiable that you believe in, how you do things, how you work that come through and show through to other people. I’ve definitely been flexible throughout my career and I’m certainly at a different point now than I was at 23, 24 with the experience that I have.”

Jaguars

Jaguars RT Jawaan Taylor said that it’s been a great experience working with new HC Doug Pederson this offseason.

“He’s a great guy overall,” Taylor said, via Yahoo Sports. “We’re very excited to have him. We love him to death already. He’s a great guy and is a players coach and he’s always preaching to get 1% better every day, and we’ve been doing that starting with the OTAs in Phase 2 and Phase 3. It’s been great. We’ve been gelling to him and believing in him and he’s a great leader so far. We can’t wait to see where he takes us and we’re very excited to have him.”

Taylor feels confident in their offensive line and has been building chemistry with third-round OL Luke Fortner and veteran G Brandon Scherff.

“We’ve all been embracing the [offensive line] competition. I’m very confident in the offensive line and what I’ve been seeing,” Taylor said. “We added a couple of new pieces to the offensive line and everybody has been gelling man and getting that chemistry down. We’re looking really good man, I got a lot of confidence in them.”

Titans

• Jim Wyatt of TenneseeTitans.com isn’t worried about the asthma problems of rookie WR Treylon Burks, adding that he can be plenty physical as seen during his time at Arkansas.
• As for the classic Houston Oilers uniforms, Wyatt says that they won’t be available for use until at least the 2023 season.
• ESPN’s Turron Davenport writes the only way third-round QB Malik Willis should start this season is if veteran QB Ryan Tannehill is injured or the Titans are eliminated from postseason contention. He estimates there’s a 75 percent chance Willis sits the entire season. 
• Doug Kyed of ProFootballFocus thinks an ideal move for the Titans would be to sign free-agent WR Odell Beckham Jr.