ST: Ryan unhappy with third group, but happy first unit didn't give up TD

[CCBoy]

Ryan unhappy with third group, but happy first unit didn't give up TD





The unveiling of Rob Ryan's defense opened to mixed reviews Thursday. The Cowboys new defensive coordinator said he liked the Cowboys' first-teamers holding the Broncos out of the end zone, but the third-team unit needs some work.

The Cowboys starters, minus nose tackle Jay Ratliff (hip), linebacker Keith Brooking (hamstring) and cornerbacks Mike Jenkins (stinger) and Terence Newman (groin), gave up a 13-play, 74-yard drive to the Broncos. They blitzed only once in the drive -- on third-and-six on the third play of the game. But Kyle Orton found Eric Decker for a 29-yard gain before Abe Elam could bring him down.

The Cowboys, though, did hold the Broncos to a field goal after Denver reached the Dallas 1-yard line.

"We had a little breakdown there on the first third down," Ryan told the Star-Telegram. "We didn’t blitz much tonight, obviously. But we did have the one dialed up, and it was ready to go. We just kind of missed the coverage behind it, ...and it ended up being a big play against us. Then, they had a run on a check that we missed. So it was a big [12-yard] run there and got it down to our goal line. I was happy the way they responded in the red zone. We’ve got to be great down there. We can’t give up touchdowns."



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