Atlanta Falcons tight end Jacob Tamme knows the benefits of putting in extra offseason time with his quarterback. He's gone through the routine before during previous stops in Indianapolis and Denver with a certain guy named Peyton Manning.
"I've done some throwing in Chattanooga (Tennessee) with Peyton, and obviously Peyton's sessions at Duke are well-documented," Tamme noted.
When Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan was asked last week during a radio interview about the possibility of having such workouts with his receivers this offseason, Ryan sounded on board with the idea. Tamme certainly endorses it.
"I think to get together at some point during the break is a great opportunity, not only from a passing-game chemistry aspect, but even more so from a camaraderie aspect," Tamme said.
We'll see if it all materializes. But again, Ryan sounded prepared to organize such workouts. Former Falcons wide receiver Brian Finneran was the one who originally posed the question to Ryan on 680 the Fan.
"I think that's something that we do need to do," Ryan said. "For a long time, we had been a veteran team at those positions, whether it be at the tight end spot with Tony Gonzalez or wide receivers where we had veteran guys for a long time. I think we're young. We're young across the board.
"I think extra time put in together, whether it be here in Atlanta -- so many guys are here in the offseason, which is huge for us -- or whether it's getting together somewhere else and spending some time together and working together and trying to iron out some of the details and be a little bit more refined than we were this past season, I think that's a really good idea."
One of those younger receivers is Justin Hardy, who just completed his rookie season. Hardy showed flashes but still hasn't gotten a ton of work with Ryan after being inactive the first seven games of his first NFL season.
"Definitely I would," Hardy said of working out with Ryan. "Anytime you get a chance to work with your quarterback and get on the same page, then it becomes like second nature. Of course, I would be willing to go anywhere with him."