The outcome of Sunday's scrimmage wasn't exactly what defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had in mind. But don't think for a second he's too discouraged.
He's not for excuses so he didn't mention starters like Keith Brooking, Jay Ratliff, Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins all being out. Or the fact that Marcus Spears, Abram Elam, Jason Hatcher, Kenyon Coleman and Gerald Sensabaugh haven't been here a full week yet. And he didn't say anything about the disadvantage for a defense when there's no tackling involved.
No, Ryan just said put the problems on himself but vowed to fix them.
And then Monday after watching the film, it seems like his overall view from his defense has changed a bit with a few more positives that surfaced.
"There were a couple of scheme things that obviously weren't great," Ryan said. "It didn't look so pretty, but I was excited about it. We had a lot of guys doing some good things. And those young guys really impressed me."
Some of the young players that are standing out are rookie free agent linebackers in Alex Albright and Orie Lemon. Also, fifth-round cornerback Josh Thomas made a few plays with the second-team defense and safety Barry Church had some nice plays as well.
Overall, Ryan said his impressions of the defense are certainly positive, considering the lack of offseason.
"It's still a work in progress," Ryan said. "You saw (Sunday) we had a couple of problems. Some of those are me, calling some things that everyone had forgotten except me and (Matt) Eberflus. Other than that, it's going well. I've been real impressed with this group of guys. We've got a great room. They're very serious. They want to be great and they will be."
