Some guys just can't wait to start (or re-ignite) a rivalry.
New Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan appeared to take a shot at the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday when he referred to the Cowboys' NFC East rivals, who signed more big-name free agents than any other team this offseason, as the "all-hype team." Not content with that dig, Ryan promised that Cowboys would beat the Eagles' posteriors when the teams play this season.
Speaking to reporters Monday at Cowboys camp, the *Fort Worth Star-Telegram* reported that Ryan said 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 joined the Cowboys in January after stints as the defensive coordinator in Oakland and Cleveland.
The Eagles signed free-agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, defensive linemen Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin, quarterback Vince Young, and traded for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie -- all in just a few days.
One of those acquisitions, Jenkins, took to Twitter Monday shortly after Ryan's quotes began showing up on blogs.
"Talk is cheap," Jenkins' tweet read. "Let them talk. We are focused here and I could [sic] care less. We are worried about ourselves n getting better. He must be nervous."
Trash talk runs in the Ryan family, of course. Rob's twin brother Rex Ryan, coach of the New York Jets, has engaged in a few word wars with his team's chief rivals, including the New England Patriots. And let's not forget that the Eagles were once coached by the Ryan boys' father, Buddy, who had a memorable run-in with then-Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson in 1989. So the tradition lives on.
