Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan welcomes DeSean Jackson's attempts to tackle him. (US PRESSWIRE)

Posted by Ryan Wilson

Sunday night can't get here fast enough for the Eagles and Cowboys. The NFC East rivals have, to varying degrees, had disappointing starts to the season, but a win this week could go a long way toward a wild-card spot.

Helping to drum up interest in the matchup: the trash-talking back and forth between Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and anybody remotely associated with the Eagles. It all started in August, when Ryan called Philadelphia the "all-hype team" before promising to "beat their ass."

Eagles quarterback Michael Vick said Wednesday in a radio interview that "Maybe we'll make him eat his words. I hope he backs it up. … Players, we're on the field, we're on the gridiron. Coach, you on the sideline coaching. I mean, you don't know what it's like to be in this battle."

Vick's teammate, DeSean Jackson, has some thoughts on the matter, too.

“For a coach to say that, it’s hard for me to. . . . I wouldn’t expect that from a coach because he’s not out there playing,” he said, via CSNPhilly.com. “He’s calling plays and putting his defense in the right position to stop the offense. But as far as a defensive coordinator, that’s kind of unheard of, uncalled for. “It [would] be good if his players said that," Jackson continued. "Then I could understand that, because we’re all out on the field with them so I’d be able to get a shot at that player who said something crazy. But for a coach, it ain’t like I can go run on the sideline and cut up the coach, run past them and score a touchdown.”

Normally, that would be the end of it. A coach, presumably with better things to do than rile up the opposition, would take the high road and move on. But this is Rob Ryan who always gets the last word.

This Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys will take on the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Which team has the advantage? NFL.com's Pat Kirwan joins Jason Horowitz to break down this upcoming game.

“I know that Jackson said it’s not right for me to comment, and he’s right about that, that I don’t play on Sunday,” Ryan said, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Charean Williams. “I know he wishes I did. I mean, hell, he doesn’t have to worry about tackling me. If he does, he can tackle me. That’d be great, because I’m going to land on his shoulder and put him out. So that’ll be awesome. Hell, he can tackle me two or three times.”

We love the visual of Ryan chasing Jackson around the field like a grizzly bear in hot pursuit of a rabbit. We also find it hysterical that Ryan uses the word "awesome" to describe belly-flopping on Jackson's shoulder.

Ryan did admit that his initial comments about the Eagles being "all hype" were "unfortunate."

"I thought that it was provoked by the media," he said Friday. "I’m an emotional guy. Who are we kidding? I’m not some guy [who] just can handle coach speak and be boring. I’m going to be emotional at times, and unfortunately that was one of my times, and I found out everybody listens in this town, which is good, unlike Cleveland. So I got in a little trouble there."

The takeaway: the Browns can't escape criticism even when the story has nothing to do with them.

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