now he may offend some by dropping the "F" Bombs, the total opposite of Coach Jason Garret, laid back and button downed, but if he gets that D running and moving, and I'm sure he will, its all good. Hes gonna bring some looks to the defense that the NFC East ain't ready for.
If the Cowboys are to bounce back from a sub-par 2010 season that included Wade Phillips getting fired after eight games and Garrett moving from offensive coordinator to head coach, they will have to show marked improvement on defense.
That's why Ryan is such an important hire. He is Rex Ryan's twin brother. He's also Buddy Ryan's son. Like those two, Rob has that aggressive approach and doesn't care at all what people think about him.
Like those two, Rob is also considered a defensive wizard. This could be the spot that vaults him to his head-coaching job. Rex Ryan has become a media darling in leading the Jets to two AFC Championship Games in his first two seasons. He is fast with a quip and brings a refreshing change to a profession that can be staler than two-week-old bread.
Amazingly, Rob might be even edgier than Rex. When Rex was trying to get a top job, he lost weight and cut his hair. Rob isn't doing that.
"-------" he said. "If a haircut keeps me from becoming a head coach, I don't want to coach for that ------- team anyway."
No imagination needed to fill in the words. But you get the point. He doesn't care. All he wants to do is coach football. How he looks doesn't matter.
Yesterday he called out the Eagles and their new pretend Dream Team, we'll see soon, but I like our chances better than theirs.
"He's a big guy I need to listen to and see what he's talking about," Ware said. "I tell him, he has all that wisdom with that hair. He's the big Silverback."
Ryan will change the way the Cowboys play defense. They will be much more exotic with their fronts. You could see it in the work I watched over two days.
They will sometimes have one lineman down and six or seven other guys in the box. They will come from all angles, making it tough for a quarterback to call out protections, making it tough for the line to pick rushers up. Others will show rush but drop out.
I liken it to a stepped-on ant pile. They scatter quickly in all directions at the snap.
The player who should benefit most from this change is Ware. Under Phillips, he lined up on the right side all the time. It was easy to find him, which meant it was easy to double him, easy to slide protection his way.
Now he will line up on the right, the left, down, as a nose, as a linebacker standing up -- anyway you can imagine.
"He gets 20 sacks a year, but he gets doubled every play," Ryan said "If we can set some one-on-ones for him, it would be nice. We don't think he'll ever come complete free, but if he gets a one-on-one it's like coming free for him."
Ware has had 20 sacks just once in his career, that coming in 2008. But he has had at least 11 in each of the past five seasons, including 15½ last season to lead the NFL. I consider him the best pass rusher in the league.
Now that he is being moved around, he should be even better.
"It's a totally different philosophy," Ware said. "We have a coach who comes with tenacity and also has a system that utilizes the players and has multiplicity to it. You have guys dropping, rushing. You might have three responsibilities on one play. Sometimes I will be acting line I am rushing, but I won't. But I will still be coming a lot. You have to account for me. Only you won't know where I am coming from or what I am doing. It used to be I'd be on the right side, and you knew where I was."
Ware sniffed the single-season sack record with his 20. But this could be the year he takes it down. Michael Strahan had 22½ in 2001.
"I need it," Ware said.
Will you get it? "I hope so," he said. "I have a chance."
The Cowboys will need better play in the back end if they are to truly turn things around on defense. That means corners Mike Jenkins and Terrence Newman have to play better. There is still a lot of uncertainty at safety, but they could add a player there in the next few days.
With Ryan, the rush might be able to cover up some of those problems.
"I used to say I was the most famous Ryan after my dad, but Rex has passed me," Rob said. "Ideally, I'd love to have my chance to do that. Right now, I want to be the best defensive coordinator in football. I want to prove it this year. That's why I am here."
If he can turn things around in Dallas, that time should come. Ryan, like his brother, is a good football coach -- even if he looks like he just walked in from a ride with a bunch of bikers.
now Yesterday....August First, 2011, Vince Young, came out and called the Eagles the "Dream Team"...Rob (and myself included) didn't appreciate that remark.
Speaking to reporters at Cowboys camp, Ryan said that he was happy with the Cowboys’ relative lack of big-name free-agent signings because he thinks the players the Cowboys already have are good enough. And then he said he’s looking forward to playing a certain other team that has received more attention in free agency.
“These are proven players, and that’s what we need,” Ryan said. “I don’t know if we win the all-hype team, I think that might have gone to somebody else, but we’re going to beat their ass when we play them.”
Ryan didn’t mention the Eagles by name, but I think it’s safe to say that’s who he was referencing. And with that, Rob Ryan has given us a brash statement that even his brother Rex will find it tough to top.
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