Falcons Wednesday Wing Span: Ryan and Samuel Establishing Foundations

Welcome to our newest weekly feature, "Falcons' Wednesday Wing Span" which will cover a wide range of important Falcons' topics and information by offering a synopsis on the most recent Atlanta Falcons storylines.

#22 is making an early impact in OTAs

There has been a good bit of information from OTAs about Matt Ryan's noticeable upswing in leadership. This is a good thing. While Ryan's leadership has never been questioned within or outside the organization there is nonetheless always room for improvement it is great to know Ryan continues to do so. The quarterback is the face of the franchise and should always be at the top of the core of leadership. Moreover, with the Falcons' transition to new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter and changes to specific aspects of the overall offensive philosophy and scheme there is no more important time for Matt Ryan to establish himself more and more.

Asante Samuel has already established a positive presence as a Falcon. The best part is that his actions have matched his words. Samuel has come to the team's first OTA session talking about working hard and earning his place as well as working hard to do just that. As we all here at Grits Blitz have discussed, Asante is as big a part of the Falcons' draft class as any actual 2012 draftee and therefore carries the weight of big expectations. He was brought to Atlanta to not simply improve the secondary, but to also improve Dunta Robinson by allowing Robinson to move inside to cover the slot and play more man style coverage. Samuel wasn't brought in to provide depth. Don't expect a lot of rotating between Samuel, Robinson, and Brent Grimes, expect all three three to be on the field together a lot.

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