Matt Ryan found a quick way to make Falcons fans forget Michael Vick, Bobby Petrino and all the ugliness of Atlanta football.

The quarterback led a sensational turnaround from laughingstock franchise to Super Bowl contender, for which Ryan earned The Associated Press 2008 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award Tuesday.

And he did it in a year loaded with outstanding offensive rookie performances.

‘‘I’m certainly flattered,’’ Ryan said. ‘‘There’s a number of guys who had great rookie seasons this year, so to even be mentioned in that light is nice. It’s certainly a great honor, and I think it speaks to what we did as a team this year.’’

What the Falcons did was go 11-5 and make the playoffs after a dismal 2007 that saw Vick incarcerated for dogfighting and Petrino leave after 13 games to go coach Arkansas.