End Around: Ryan Bros. galore, J.J. Watt goes country

End Around: Ryan Bros. galore, J.J. Watt goes country.

As I sat at my desk watching a Rex Ryan press conference earlier this week, I remarked to the rest of the Around The NFL team how it appeared that the Bills coach had put on a few pounds since we last saw him.

Turned out I was right. Ryan told MMQB's Jenny Vrentas in a tremendous Q&A published Friday that he'd gained 30 pounds since he hired twin brother Rob to join his defense in Buffalo.

"I was going to get (Rob's) weight down to mine," Rex lamented. "No, no, my weight started going up to his."

As a Jets fan, I'd long ago become something of an expert in matters concerning Ryan's figure. People tend to forget how big Rex got by the end of his first season with the Jets way back in 2009. The man was, well, large and in charge. It was an unhealthy place that led to his decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery, a procedure that helped the coach shed well over 100 pounds from his frame. By the time he got to Buffalo last year, Ryan barely passed a resemblance to the guy who became a star in Gotham.

Who knows, maybe the extra pounds will allow Rex to recapture the old spark. Nobody knows if this Rex-Rob pairing will work. There's a chance it could be a disaster -- remember they still have Dennis Thurman employed as the defensive coordinator (I'm sure he loves this arrangement). You can argue there are plenty of warning signs that the Bills are headed toward the abyss, but you have to give Rex credit for having enough self-awareness to understand this could be his last shot. And if you're in the fight of your life, why wouldn't you want your brother and best friend by your side?

Rob, by the way, is a corker of a human. He has a bushel of outright gems in the Vrentas piece. He passes blame all over the place about the end of his tenure of New Orleans, backs the bus over Jairus Byrd, insinuates Sean Payton should have been fired, and basically presents himself as a cross between Belichick, Lombardi and his dad, Buddy. He's bawdy and ridiculous and delusional, and I love him forever.

"Seattle has been great, but all the other teams doing (that scheme) are finishing sh--ty like I did," Rob said, explaining his disdain with the Saints' defensive game plan the past two seasons. "Right there next to New Orleans is Atlanta, Jacksonville. That's not sour grapes. That's me getting pissed off. Because I am great."

Because. I. Am. Great.

I understand that the bravado of the Ryan Bros. can be tiresome -- especially when unaccompanied by any tangible level of lasting success -- but I'll savor their presence as long as they stick around in the league. A couple years from now, when Rex is working for ESPN and Rob owns a barbecue truck in NOLA, we'll look back with fondness how the pair joyfully deviated from the dull script of NFL coaching culture.

source: www.nfl.com