He resembles Jolly Old St. Nick a little more than David Copperfield or Chriss Angel, but make absolutely no mistake. There is more than a little magician in this crafty, wily-codger of a Defensive Coordinator.
He's no nonsense, in-your-face, strategic. As he probably hears more often than he cares to, but the general public perception is more-than-likely good ol' boy, beer buddy. As they say, looks are deceiving. Just like his defensive style and multi-variation schemes.
Slight of hand and/or twist of fate? It really doesn't matter how the job gets done, the fact that it gets done, and it gets done right, is all Jason Garrett and the front office care about. When Rob Ryan was brought to Dallas, he had a monumental task on and at hand. He didn't necessarily inherit a group of vagabonds, bouncers and UPS dock workers, but based on 2010 performance, they weren't quite the '85 Bears either. A Ryan at both helms...how novel. As the old saying goes, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. It's safe to say Dad, the vaunted Buddy Ryan, present for the affair after delaying cancer surgery, was extremely proud of Son, Rob, even though the exterior would show no favoritism in the Battle of the Ryan Boys. Defense is at the "heart" of The Ryan Express.
Making Sunday night's defensive performance even more impressive was the fact Ryan and his defense went in extremely-shorthanded, and shortly after the opening kick, became even more shorthanded with the injury and loss of starting CB Orlando Scandrick. Rob Ryan didn't flinch. He relied on the guys he had, and he continued to dial up exotic package after exotic package. The stats will show Jets QB Mark Sanchez riddled the Cowboys for 300+ yards in the air, but ask the signal-caller how beat up his mind and body were after the showdown in the Meadowlands. His body may heal quicker than his scrambled cranium. Rob Ryan will have QB's second-guessing in their sleep, and that ladies and gentlemen, is something that hasn't been seen in Dallas in quite some time. The portly one cometh, and not a moment too soon.
So, with both arms and a leg tied behind his back, Rob Ryan, along with an ultra-sharp (for 55 solid minutes) Tony Romo, put the Cowboys Nation at ease while adding an element of extreme excitement coming out of the "What If" NFL Lockout and Preseason. In over 3 quarters of on-the-road, extreme conditions, football, both Ryan and Romo threw out blankets of HOPE for the 2011 season. Put the 5 minute meltdown aside and look forward to the adventures ahead. It's going to be a most-interesting year.
The scoreboard and record books will show that Rex, not Rob, won Sunday evening's Ryan Bowl, but if you could ever get Rex to tell the right hand on The Bible truth, he knows he not only got lucky, but he dodged a major bullet. Brother Rob had his number in this one, but like a lot of fishermen out there, it's not a keeper until the lunker actually hits the hull of the boat. This against-all-odds showing opened many eyes and provided a tremendous fight even though the Defensive Maestro could not fill the landing net. However, like all veteran sea captains and salty dogs, they know they'll live to fight another day. Who knows what the NFL Gods have in store this year, but it wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility to see Ryan Bowl II in the Lucas Oil Hanger. Yes, stranger things have happened, but who would have thought a one-legged Rob Ryan even stood a chance on a night when all the odds were against him. Don't blink or you're going to miss a hell of an entertaining show.....
