During his first season with the Dallas Cowboys, fans were quickly introduced to the loud, brash comments of their new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.
And on Sunday, Ryan's mouth again started running for the first time during training camp, but this time it's put extra pressure on new Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr.
"He was the best player in free agency, by far," Ryan told The Dallas Morning News about Carr. "Not even close."
That's saying something, considering Carr was in a class that also included Peyton Manning, Mario Williams, Cortland Finnegan, Carl Nicks and Vincent Jackson, to name a few.
The Cowboys signed Carr to a five-year, $50.1 million deal at the start of free agency. Carr was expected to be a cornerstone piece to a revamped secondary. The Cowboys then went out and made a bigger splash by moving up in the first round of the NFL Draft and selecting LSU star cornerback Morris Cliaborne to play opposite Carr.
The money invested in the two cornerbacks should have been enough for Ryan to feel the pressure to improve a defense that had trouble adapting to his schemes last season, but Ryan was quick to push some of that pressure right onto Carr.
"This guy's not nervous about playing under the big lights," Ryan said. "He's here in Dallas. It is a different world here. Everything you do is scrutinized, but this guy won't flinch. I can promise you that."
Considering that Ryan spoke about the need for the team to "shut up" and perform on the field, this sure seems like an odd way to come out of the gates this early in the season.
