I asked Matt Ryan aka Matty Ice what it feels like to get chased around by a beast like Julius Peppers, his defining NFL moment, and if doing press at the Super Bowl without playing in the game (like he did last year) felt like going to prom without a date.
Who’s the best defender you’ve ever faced?
You have to go by positions – defensive line, linebackers, secondary and defensive backs. There’s so many good ones. I think of a guy early in my career that we went against a couple times every year in Carolina, Julius Peppers, around 2008. He was about as good as there is. Basically unblockable. In the secondary, early on in my career, seeing Ed Reed and the way he could go sideline to sideline, or Troy Polamalu. I remember I threw an interception against the Steelers my second or third year, and he just made an unbelievable play. Those three guys are three of the guys who jump in my head right off the bat.