Falcons' Ryan: 'We're way ahead of where we were last year'

Sometimes, all it takes is a little time.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan feels his team is better prepared heading into its second season with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian.

"Continuity in this league is sometimes hard to come by," Ryan told Alex Marvez and Gil Brandt in an appearance on the SiriusXM NFL Radio camp tour. "There's lots of change, but going into Year Two with Sark, his comfort level with our personnel, how to utilize guys and from a players standpoint, our comfort level with him, what he's going to call in certain situations, I think we're way ahead of where we were last year."

The Falcons finished third in the NFC South last season with a record of 10-6, one year after winning the division title and making an appearance in Super Bowl LI.

The team ranked 15th in points per game and eighth in yards per game in its first season under Sarkisian's direction. They ranked first and second, respectively, in those categories in 2016 with current San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan at the helm of the offense.

But Shanahan also had his initial struggles figuring out the best way to use the Falcons' offensive pieces. They finished tied for 21st in the league with just 21.2 points per game in 2015, Shanahan's first year with the team.

Ryan expects a similar leap now that players and coach are more familiar with each other.

"I think that's going to benefit us when we get into those in-game situations, of having a comfort level of what to expect ... So it's going to be huge for us this year," said Ryan.

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