By Albert Breer

updated 12:42 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2009

The similarities were striking.

The way the quarterback stood tall in the pocket. The footwork of a boxer to maneuver through it. The command of the huddle. Even the No. 12 on his back.

At the time, last December inside Boston College's practice bubble, Thomas Dimitroff remained on the Patriots' payroll, as college scouting director.

That meant two things. First, if you work for the Patriots and find a guy to compare to Tom Brady, your pulse quickens. Dimitroff's did. But it also meant, with the presence of Brady, drafting Matt Ryan was out of the question.

"I'd just come from the office, and just on stature and presence, he was eerily similar," says Dimitroff, who emphasizes that the comparison still is about three rings off. "I thought it was too bad I'd never have the opportunity to get him with the team I'm with. A month later, I'm staring down the reality that we could work together."

By then, Dimitroff was the Falcons general manager and, after a fortuitous coin flip, inherited the draft slot needed to nab Ryan. Which is - after an extensive process he and coach Mike Smith took Ryan through -what he did.

So here his Falcons are, a year after a 4-12 season started with the jailing of Michael Vick and ended in the messy departure of coach Bobby Petrino, at 11-5 with a playoff game in the offing. The Falcons are 11-5, hours away from kicking off a playoff game today at Arizona.

Since arriving in Atlanta, Ryan has reinforced Dimitroff's early visions of Ryan as a Brady clone. There's Ryan's uncanny sense to elude a pass rush and the intangibles to succeed in the tenuous role of Vick's heir.

"When he stepped on the field, the microscope was on him," Dimitroff says. "And he started as a third-teamer and handled that as a third-teamer. He worked through the ranks, and handled each step the right way. He didn't beat his chest; he knew had to earn his stripes."

Ryan has, posting perhaps the greatest season ever by a rookie quarterback. And just like Brady once inspired confidence in teammates when succeeding Drew Bledsoe, Ryan has done the same in replacing Vick.

"We have a chance to accomplish something that's special to this team," says safety Lawyer Milloy, a former Patriot who added Ryan's one-of-the-guys demeanor is just like Brady's.

"That's to win a championship. And it's because No. 2 under center. It's the same way I felt when I had Tom on my side."

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