Dez Bryant Arrested: Is bringing T.O. back to the Cowboys such a bad idea?

Ok, I know what some of you may be thinking. But, hey, I have to say this much. So much for all of the B.S coming out of Valley Ranch about how much Dez Bryant has matured. It amazes me how this organization continues to try and patronize us as fans. I guess at this point, I should be saying so much for Jason Garrett’s “The Right Kind Of Guys” theory.

Terrell Owens was one of the most controversial players to ever wear the star. Was he really as poisonous in the locker room as so many members of the media led us to believe? A lot of people have their opinions about him, but lets do a little comparison to Jerry Jones’ latest poster boy. Before I do that, let me start by saying I find it amusing that an organization the size of the Dallas Cowboys has actually proven that they feel threatened by a ‘lil peon like me.

You are probably wondering what I mean by that right? Ok let me explain. The main reason I started writing about the Cowboys was because I got tired of all the hype and propaganda coming out of Valley Ranch year after year that did nothing at all but fill us ‘lil people, the fans, with false hope, only to set us up for one disappointing season after another. Did you ever hear the expression “To Live In Hope Is To Die In Despair”?

Yup, I had to become a realist. Don’t get me wrong, I will always love my Cowboys, but that doesn’t mean I have to love the current management structure. My whole objective was to report the truth to the fans. Yes, an honest assessment of whats going on in Dallas, in regards to needs on the roster, as well as evaluations of both free agent signings and draft picks.

Now that my audience of readers has grown to a certain point, every time I post a comment or a link to one of my articles on dallascowboys.com it gets deleted. Hmmm , I guess they don’t want the fans seeing the truth (but they can’t control what I say here). Lets face it, hating on Romo, posting spam, bashing coaches, and in some cases even bashing the staff writers is fine. I have even seen direct attacks on fans by other fans. That’s allowed, but let someone post a fact-based comment on how bad off the offensive line is, or any other fact-based comment and it gets deleted. Grins, Smiles, Giggles and Laughs. I am flattered.

As everyone knows, Dez Bryant (yes the overgrown teenager) has been arrested . So much for all the hype this year about how much he has matured…it was just more B.S. Lets do a little recap of history here, shall we? Almost immediately after coming in to the NFL, it comes out that he is being sued for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bling he charged and obviously had no intention of paying for. Then it was the run in with the mall cops. At that point, I said trade him while he still has some value because this pattern of behavior is telling me it will only get worse. Then, it was the run in with the police in Miami. Now, (and this one is a sore spot with me as a woman) domestic violence. Trust me, they dont actually arrest you unless you put your hands on the girl.

Is this the kind of guy you want in the locker room? Is this the kind of guy you want the young receivers around? Was T.O. really that bad in retrospect? I think not. I had the opportunity to speak with a reliable source inside Valley Ranch who was actually there and close to the situation with T.O. As usual, the media twisted everything around. I have to admit, I was not among the majority, but I was not a happy camper when they cut him. However, that’s because I have learned not to believe half of what gets reported from Valley Ranch. Kind of like JJ’s statement that this would be a Romo-friendly draft. Chuckles again. How many offensive linemen did he draft.

After speaking to my source at Valley Ranch, I actually had to eat a little crow myself. I have had some pretty harsh things to say about Jerry Jones over the years and I have learned that it isn’t all him. I have come to learn that JJ makes most of his decisions based on input from his coaches. Namely Jason Garrett, who seems to have some magical power of persuasion over him. The biggest problem was that T.O. called him out on not only his play calling, but the way he coordinated the passing game. The fact is, Coach Sherman didn’t like it either. According to a source close to the situation, the T.O. cutting and the way the passing game was managed was why Sherman left the Cowboys coaching staff. We know 1st hand this isn’t the 1st good coach that didn’t want to stay in Dallas. Rumor has it that JG was constantly undermining Wade Phillips, but that’s another story.

It was JG’s decison to draft Felix Jones over Rashard Mendenhall,  just like it was his decision to cut T.O. In fact, Jerry really liked him. Believe it or not, so did most of his teammates. The fact is, Coach Sherman raved about how much time he spent helping to coach the young receivers. T.O was that leader and mentor that was needed in the locker room. He set the tone for how elite NFL players train and condition to be the best they can be. After all, he learned from Jerry Rice. Who is that leader among the WR’s now? Dez Bryant?  The guy Stephen Jones said is ready to be the #1? Chuckles again. The fact is, in any place of employment there will be some personality clashes.

Yes, T.O. had an ego problem. But, how many times did you see his name in the paper for off field issues? How many times did you see him disappear in the second half because he was out of shape? How much time did you see him spend getting paid to watch because he wasn’t conditioned properly and had the type of injuries that result from that? My point exactly. Love the man or hate him, he earned his pay every Sunday and left all he had on the field.

Don’t forget the media circus Michael Irvin created. Don’t forget the cap hit and draft picks scarificed by cutting T.O. to get Roy Williams at Garrett’s request. How did that work out? How did Garrett’s decision to put Amendola on the practice squad work out? If you saw Hard Knocks, you heard T.O. say he should be one they keep. You also heard the praise T.O. got from Romo and his other team mates as well as the coaches.

The fact remains that the NFL is a business. The fact also remains that no receiver in the history of the Dallas Cowboys ever put up the kind of numbers T.O. did over a three year period of time. 235 receptions for 3,587 yards and 38 touchdowns. Prior to his injury in Cincinatti in 2010, he had already amassed 72 receptions for 983 yards and 9 touchdowns while sharing touches with Ochocinco.

Over the last 2 seasons, Dez Bryant has amassed 108 receptions for 1,489 yards and 15 touchdowns. After 2 years he still didn’t know the play book, nor how to run all the routes properly. As you can see, even at his age, in an injury shortened season, T.O. put up better numbers than Bryant. You can love or hate the man, but the fact remains that the Cowboys need a complete WR who is capable of stepping up to the #1 spot. Especially in light of the fact that this last incident could very well result in Dez getting suspended from the NFL. Hitting women isn’t taken lightly among the moral majority of this great nation. Especially not by me.

One thing I can say, at least we were winning with T.O and he is still capable of spreading the field. As you can see in the pictures, the guy is in great shape. A little food for thought? Randy Moss, as old as he is, won the #1 WR spot this year. Don’t think for 1 second that T.O couldn’t push for that job in Dallas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbbaDcyR0-4

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