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Matt Ryan: Falcons absolutely can average 30 points per game

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan firmly believes his offense can score 30 points per game in 2016.

"Absolutely," Ryan said Friday. "There's no question. I feel like we have a really good receiving corps. We've got great running backs. We've got a really good offensive line; tight ends across the board. Of course we can.

"If you have the mindset that you can't, you have no chance. And I believe we've got the guys to do it. We've got the system to do it. Absolutely I think we can do it."

But it will be a tall task. The Falcons face four of the top 10 scoring defenses from last season: Seattle (17.3 ppg), Denver (18.5), Carolina (19.1) and Arizona (19.6).

Last season, the Falcons averaged 21.2 points per game, which tied for 21st in the league. The three teams that averaged 30 points or close to it -- Carolina (31.3), Arizona (30.6) and New England (29.1) -- all made the playoffs, with the Panthers reaching the Super Bowl.

The Falcons averaged 32.4 points per game during a 5-0 start in 2015, then averaged just 14.3 points during a six-game losing streak. They finished 8-8 and failed to make the postseason for the third consecutive year.

Maybe the results would have been different had the Falcons taken better advantage of their red zone opportunities, particularly with a player as dynamic as Julio Jones. The Falcons ranked 17th in the league in red zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on 54.7 percent of those opportunities. Ryan threw four interceptions in the red zone.

"I think quarterback play comes down to third-down conversion, and you've got to score points," Ryan said. "You don't want to turn the football over, but you want to play aggressive. You have to play aggressive. And we have to do a little bit better in that department and be a little more secure with the football.

"We did a great job on third down. I think the area we have to improve the most is red zone. We've got to score more touchdowns when we're down there than we did last year."

Although Ryan expressed confidence in his weapons, Friday's second day of training camp wasn't a good indication of his high-scoring outlook. His receivers dropped close to 10 passes, including at least four by Mohamed Sanu.

"Everybody has ups and downs," Ryan said of the drops. "It's me. It's everybody. There are things that you're working on that you're trying to get better at. You're pushing yourself at certain things. Yeah, that's part of the deal. That's why we get out there and we practice every day -- to try and continue to improve. And the good thing about training camp is we get right back on the field tomorrow and get after it."