The has announced that quarterback Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons has won the AP 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

That comes as no surprise to many people, as Ryan has keyed the huge turnaround in Atlanta — taking the 4-12 squad from a year ago and leading them to an 11-5 record and playoff berth in 2008. And Ryan certainly deserves congratulations after his great year.

But more importantly for Broncos Country, Ryan Clady finished third in voting.

50 total votes were cast, with Ryan receiving 44 of them. In distant second place was Tennessee running back Chris Johnson, earning three votes. Then came Clady with two while Bears running back Matt Forte got one.

Many Broncos believe Clady deserves Pro Bowl honors, considering he did not give up a full sack while starting all 16 games, but though he didn’t earn a trip to Hawaii, getting votes for Rookie of the Year shows that his excellent play did not go unnoticed. Clady also won Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week Honors in Week 14.

Congrats to Ryan!

– Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com