SAN ANTONIO -- More than once during training camp Cowboys coach Jason Garrett has referenced how Rob Ryan’s defenses performed against some of the best quarterbacks in the NFL last year as a reason why he was excited to add Ryan as the coordinator.

“To me it’s a very difficult scheme to play against,” Garrett said. “The reason I say that is I believe the defenses he coordinates are very fundamentally sound. There’s a base defense that they play and they teach the defensive linemen, the linebackers and the secondary how to play some real sound, basic day one football. And then as you go, different situations that occur, it becomes more difficult. It becomes more scheme-oriented. So they’ve laid the foundation, but then there’s some scheme things that can be real challenging for an offense. I think if you saw some of the games they played last year in Cleveland against some of the better offenses in the league and some of the better quarterbacks in the league I think you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

Last year Cleveland played Atlanta (Matt Ryan), New Orleans (Drew Brees) and New England (Tom Brady), so I’ll assume those are the games Garrett is talking about.

Here are the numbers for those three vs. the Browns:

Ryan – 16 of 28, 187 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 2 sacks, 89.4 rating.

Brees – 37 of 56, 356 yards, 2 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, 3 sacks, 65.8 rating

Brady – 19 of 36, 224 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, 1 sack, 90.5 rating

The Browns beat the Saints (30-17) and the Patriots (34-14) and lost to Atlanta, 20-10.

Ryan’s 187 yards passing was the third-lowest output of his season. Brees’ 65.8 passer rating was his lowest of the year and he had two picks return for touchdowns. Brady’s 52.8 completion percentage was his lowest of the season. The Browns also kept Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman and Kansas City’s Matt Cassel to 182 and 176 yards passing respectively.