Gut punch for the A-T-L: Freeman, Ryan both depart

ATLANTA (AP) — It was a 1-2 punch to the gut for Atlanta's sports fans.

In the space of an extraordinary week, two of the city's most beloved sports figures — Freddie Freeman and Matt Ryan — were gone.

Freeman departed first, his hopes of playing an entire career with the World Series champion Braves dashed by contract negotiations that went awry.

Then came Ryan, traded by the Falcons on Monday for a piddling third-round draft pick after the NFL team's clumsy attempt to line up his successor at quarterback blew up in its face.

A pair of MVPs with a combined 26 seasons between them will now take the field against the A-T-L.

It will be strange, indeed.

“The first day, obviously, was kind of a shock,” Braves reliever Will Smith said after reporting for spring training with No. 5 no longer around.

“You’re never going to replace a guy like Freddie. He was a stud. I mean, he was a professional’s professional and he got it done every day. But it is a business. We’re going to have to move on.”

Ryan spent 14 seasons as the Falcons' QB, a model of consistency who can make a pretty strong case as the team's greatest player ever.

He certainly came along at just the right time, the skinny kid out of Boston College who steadied a franchise that had been rocked by Michael Vick's dogfighting conviction and Bobby Petrino's abandonment of the head coaching position after just 13 games.

The very first pass of Ryan's professional career was a 62-yard touchdown to Michael Jenkins. When he led an improbable comeback victory over the Chicago Bears, it was clear this rookie was something special.

“Matt's got ‘it,’” then-coach Mike Smith said. “We don't know what ‘it’ is, but he's got ‘it.’”

Freeman also had “it," stepping up to become the...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Gut-punch-for-the-A-T-L-Freeman-Ryan-both-depart-17020781.php