A lot of people are not giving the Dallas Cowboys much of a chance over the New England Patriots in Week 6 of the NFL season. However, there is one not-so secret weapon in the Cowboys arsenal and that is defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Look back to 2010 when Ryan was coordinator of the woeful Cleveland Browns. All he did then was lead the Browns defense out onto the field to shut down Tom Brady and Cleveland beat the Patriots, 33-14.
Rob Ryan has come to Dallas and it is an exciting time. While he is still implementing his schemes, and the players he is using are not really his own, the Cowboys are making positive changes. It also excites me because, if Rob Ryan and the Cleveland Browns could beat up the Patriots, there is no reason he can't do it with Dallas.
Rob Ryan led a scheme of exotic blitz packages against Brady and shook him up. The secondary also beat up on the Patriots defenders the entire game, shutting down the tight end package of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. It was simply a dominating performance by the Cleveland Browns defense and shocked the NFL world.
One thing Dallas has that Cleveland didn't is DeMarcus Ware. Ware already has five sacks in four games this season and much of that is because Ryan has Ware moving all over the field. Ware has already led the league twice in sacks before this season but this is a more dangerous and aggressive player thanks to Ryan's schemes. With him moving so much, offensive linemen are losing track of him and he is not getting double teamed as much. He will be in Brady's face a lot this weekend.
Of course, it is clear to anyone who knows anything about Bill Belichick that he has studied last season's Browns game and will be ready for Ryan this time around. This is a game of chess and the gamble is that Ryan will find another set of schemes to throw off Brady once again. Odds go to New England in this scenario but, after seeing Cleveland do it in 2010, it makes a Cowboys fan slightly optimistic.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has followed the Dallas Cowboys since he was a child, his favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s. Through the great years of the '90s and the hard times of the '80s, Shawn never turned his back on America's Team.
Source: Cleveland.com
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