The Ryan brothers' mouths won't be all that's running and running and running at the stadium, Bud Shaw writes in his Sunday Spin.
View full sizeRex Ryan, left, and Rob Ryan had an infamous fight in the 1980s, but Rob Ryan is quiet on the details.Rob Ryan and Rex Ryan famously duked it out once in 1985.
"The big detail that's being left out is I had him down early," the Browns defensive coordinator said Friday. "The biggest thing there for you kids at home, once you get a guy down early don't feel sorry for him and let him up. Apparently they will come back swinging."
Please, coach, by popular demand of the Parents Council, do go on.
"It was just one of those deals, a typical Ryan day," he said. "I can't go into too many details, maybe over a couple of beers one night. It's just something that happens once in awhile. Usually there's alcohol involved."
Rob Ryan spoke for 15 minutes Friday, repeatedly referring to a Browns' win today as a foregone conclusion.
When Ryan talks, it comes across more as genuine optimism than it does empty carnival barking.
He won't try to tell you, for instance, that the Browns shut down the running games of the Saints and Patriots quite the way the statistics suggest.
"I never thought either of those teams were committed to running the football," Ryan said. "New Orleans, they had had a lot of runs against Tampa the week before but I never thought there was a lot of commitment there.
"New England, they are so well coached and they've got a great team but by the end there in the second half we would rather disguise than play the run. That was what our whole mind-set at halftime (was) we were going to make them run the football but we weren't going to leave our disguise. We thought disguise was more important than stopping a run."
And so you once again saw that Browns' defensive scheme with one or two defensive linemen and a bunch of other guys milling around like they were waiting for a bus.
Sunday figures to bring a more conventional approach. The Jets were No. 1 in rushing in 2009 with 37.9 attempts and 172 yards per game. They're No. 4 this season with 31.5 attempts and 148 yards.
While the Jets may not quite boast the power running game of a year ago, the guess is the shared focus of this matchup will be that of supersized twin brothers trying to trade black eyes.
Rob Ryan, motivational speaker
Rob Ryan has the Browns circling like Sharks...
Friday morning, I delivered my Browns' pick to PD editors:
Jets 23, Browns 20.
Friday afternoon, after listening to Rob Ryan, I considered a slight change.
Browns 79, Jets -3.
But it was too late.
"We have a great attack," Ryan said. "We have a great plan for these guys. Our players are motivated, and they're excited. If they don't kill each other first, we're going to lay it on these Jets."
And this:
"We are really coming as a team and I think everybody can see it now...we have got a team here and we are going to play like that on Sunday...we are going to win this game."
Why do I get the impression Rob Ryan found "Braveheart" uninspiring and called William Wallace's Freedom speech "wishy washy?"
Spinoffs
Tony Dungy has already taken his name out of the conversation about the Dallas Cowboys' head coaching job next season, but he threw some others into the mix. "[Jerry Jones] needs a Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden or Mike Holmgren," he said on "The Dan Patrick Show."
View full sizeBrowns President Mike Holmgren's name has been mentioned as a possibility to coach the Dallas Cowboys, but could he ... or any big-name coach ... work for Jerry Jones?Look, after listening to Holmgren talk about the future a couple weeks ago, I can't see how much clearer he can make it on the will-he-or-won't-he-coach-again topic that he feels strongly both ways.
Boston's Glen "Big Baby" Davis said after the Celtics beat the Heat in Miami, "No one can spoil this night. Good for us to come and spank that (butt)." He did not specify which (butt).
Grady Sizemore and Carlos Santana were taken off the disabled list and returned to the 40-man roster. And that may pass as the most recognizable player transaction of the winter for the Tribe.
In an interview that will air on NFL Network today, Brett Favre reiterates that he won't return for the 2011 season. That should settle it.
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor's well-considered solution to a complicated issue is that everybody should just leave Auburn quarterback Cam Newton alone and let him play. ... Why didn't the NCAA think of that?
He said it
"I remember the comments. I remember the writers. I remember the fans. I remember the coaches. I remember the people in the organization. I remember everybody there that had something to say when No. 17 exited the door." -- Whatshisname, the guy who kept forgetting to catch the ball here.
He Tweeted it
"It's been a pleasure to bring my talents to south beach." -- Boston's Paul Pierce after the Celtics beat the Miami Heat.
With that comment, Pierce might win a mayor's race in Cleveland if it were held today -- and if Charles Barkley's LeBron bashing hadn't already earned him the Republican and Democratic nomination.
He said what?
"At times it will be bumpy and this is a bumpy stretch. Nobody said this was going to be easy." -- Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the Heat starting the season 5-4.
Except three guys preening on stage in Miami and predicting they'd win five, six, seven titles, yep, absolutely no one.
You said it
(The Expanded Sunday Edition)
"Hey, Bud: If Mr. and Mrs. McCoy had instead named their son Horse, do you think the Browns would let him start the rest of the season?" -- Ed DiFiore, Valley View
Eric Mangini wouldn't announce Secretariat until post time even if the only other horse in his stable was Mr. Ed.
"Bud: Is Travis Hafner showing Jake Delhomme around town?" -- Joe S.
No. Just foreclosed property in Pronkville.
"Hey, Bud: I heard 17 is coming back to town. ... Does that mean Braylon Edwards will be chauffering Brian Sipe to the stadium? It would be nice to see Brian again." -- JRM
There is a .016 chance (allegedly) Sipe would get in a car driven by Edwards.
"Bud: Were Fox 8 weatherman Andre Bernier and Howard Sprague (Andy Griffth Show) separated at birth? -- Jeff Heldt, Westlake
We've been hoping to upgrade the separated-at-birth entries. So thanks for not saying Rex and Rob Ryan.
"Bud: Familiar sight: LeBron gets a foul called on him and cries; LeBron gets fouled hard and winces in pain; LeBron scores a ton of points and the team loses. Same story only farther south." -- Bob
Actually, there's one new twist. LeBron plays 44 minutes against Boston and stops just short of making it sound like 69 days underground in Chile.
"Bud: Do you think 17 will give me some butter from his fingers for my popcorn?" -- Rich
If you're a first-time "You said it" winner, you receive a T-shirt from the mental_floss collection.
"Bud: Will Randy Lerner be so pleased with the current work of Coach Mangini and President Holmgren that he'll transfer them to his soccer club?" -- Chas K, Cleveland Heights
If you're a repeat winner, you get want to find a pursuit with more redeeming social value.
"Bud: Will Brett Favre be doing commercials for overnight package deliveries? -- Joe
If you're a repeat winner with a Brett Favre entry, be thankful for the low standards here at "You said it."