Thanksgiving Day NFL: Rob Ryan gives an insight into coaching over the holidays

Former defensive coach Rob Ryan provides a unique insight into Thanksgiving Day in the NFL, and looks ahead to our triple-header of games - live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm - on Turkey Day...

It's the greatest eating day there is. And, as a man that appreciates a good meal, Thanksgiving is the ultimate!

No, but seriously, it's a great occasion. Everyone comes together and spends time with their family. That's what's so special about it.

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You've got everybody pitching in with the cooking, people fighting over who gets to carve the turkey - Jeff Reinebold has been given the honour in our studio - and everyone has their favourite thing. You're maybe a stuffing fan, or you like the white meat of the turkey, or the dark. I actually like the cranberry sauce. I love that stuff!

And, how much desert can a guy eat? There's always pumpkin pie, apple pie. And with ice cream too, of course.

Obviously being a coach in the NFL can sometimes get in the way of how much you can enjoy the holiday though. I've twice been involved on Thanksgiving Day games.

It's such an honour to coach in that game; you look forward to it. It also adds a little extra spice, because you know the whole world is watching.

I won while I was with the New England Patriots, beating the Lions in Detroit back in 2002. We had the throwback jerseys on and it was such a sweet feeling.

But, I've also lost on Thanksgiving, with the Dallas Cowboys in 2012. We got punked by the Washington Redskins - it was a disaster. Robert Griffin III - remember him? - caught fire against us.

That wasn't fun. In fact, it was terrible. You get back home and you're miserable and, what made it worse was I stuck the next game on, only to see my brother Rex - in charge of the New York Jets at the time - get blown out too. The Ryans were embarrassed on Thanksgiving.

Once you lose, you've ruined the whole holiday.

Having said that; I've won two Super Bowls, and they were the best feeling in the world but, when you win on Thanksgiving, it's right up there. Man, you feel good.

Now you're coming home feeling like a king. You have a few days off because you're not playing till the following Sunday - and, late in the season like this, you're begging for some time off as for the six months prior you're just grinding.

Most of the time I haven't been coaching in the game though. If that's the case, the players and staff usually get the day off.

You work hard on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - get everything planned and ready - and then get out the building.

We actually did a unique thing one year I was with the New Orleans Saints. We had a rule that everything had to be done by noon, everyone out of the office. But, before we left, at the end of practice, we had a coaches game - offense versus defense.

I fared surprisingly well. But, the offense outnumbered us. You see, Sean Payton, the Saints head coach, ever the offensive guy, had two extra guys on his team.

It was a lot of fun. Everyone was just laughing, and just the one coach broke their ankle, literally, so it went well! That was one of our special teams coaches, poor guy.

I know there's all the eating, but football is just part of the tradition too.

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You have three games on the TV, and you just sit there with your family, eating all day long. Take a nap, wake up, eat again, watch another game, take another nap. And, at half-time, you go out and play a family football game. That's as American as it gets and that's just what every family does.

The three Thanksgiving games this year are real big ones! The Lions kick things off in Detroit, hosting the Chicago Bears.

These two only played each other only 10 days ago, and the Bears had their way, sacking Matthew Stafford six times, so what's going to change?

I know Detroit got the win over the Carolina Panthers at the weekend, but I don't like what the Lions have done over the last few weeks. They don't look like they can protect the passer, and the Bears are really ascending.

They are one of the only teams in the league in and around the top five on both offense (sixth) and defense (fourth). I really like where this team are heading, especially after their huge win over the Vikings on Sunday night.

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Next up it's the Redskins at the Cowboys. That's going to be huge! The Cowboys will have on the white helmets, these special uniforms and it will be packed in that stadium - it's tradition that you always play in Detroit and Dallas on Thanksgiving.

I think the Cowboys win that one, because they have to in order to reel Washington in at the top of the division.

Then rounding things off, it's the Atlanta Falcons at the New Orleans Saints, and there's no question these two teams don't like each other. Throw out the records, because it's on come Thursday night.

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There's a great rivalry between these two and a great history there. Also, there are a lot of really good players in this game; Drew Brees versus Matt Ryan, two future Hall of Fame calibre quarterbacks going at it.

When I was at the Saints, even the times when we won that game, you'd walk off the field exhausted because you knew you'd been up against a great offense.

It's going to make for a great, entertaining evening. Happy Thanksgiving!

Watch the live triple-header of Thanksgiving Day NFL action, starting with Chaicgo Bears @ Detroit Lions, live on Sky Sports Action from 5pm.

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