Watkins: The education of Dez Bryant continues

[Cotton]

The education of Dez Bryant continues
December, 16, 2013

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant walked off the field with about 1:21 to play against the Green Bay Packers. Bryant said he was upset with how the game unfolded on Sunday afternoon.

Tony Romo had just thrown his second interception of the afternoon, in the fourth quarter mind you, and Bryant had seen enough.

I understand the frustration that Bryant is going through. He's passionate and wants to win. People from the outside will tell you he's exactly what the Cowboys need: A ballplayer with passion who wants to win and has that dawg in him.

But Bryant was wrong for leaving the field. Keep your butt on the field. The game wasn't over yet, and say the Packers fumbled the kneel-down and the Cowboys recover the ball. Then, somebody has to rush inside the locker room to get Bryant.

That would have been embarrassing.

"I was wrong," Bryant told reporters Monday morning. "It didn't have anything to do with my teammates. I just ... I couldn't watch Green Bay kneel the ball down on the field after a tough loss like that.

"I was very emotional. I cried when I got into the locker room. I didn't want to show that stuff on the sideline."

The loss to the Packers was bad enough, considering the Cowboys blew a 26-3 halftime lead and a chance to move into a tie for first place in the NFC East. Now coach Jason Garrett has to not only build the team's mental health back up, but he has to deal with Bryant's antics.

Again.

It's all about education for Bryant, however, at some point, when does the student make note of the lessons and apply them to what's happening on the field?

Last season, Garrett got on Bryant for arguing with officials and not moving on to the next play.

Guess what?

Bryant was called for holding during a run call in Sunday's game. It was a bad call, and to be honest, Bryant is a good blocker, especially on run plays. But the referee called it, negating a long run by DeMarco Murray.

So what does Bryant do? He goes off waving his arms and while the rest of the team is in the huddle, there's veteran/big brother/team leader Jason Witten waving Bryant back to the huddle.

So much for applying what's being taught.

"He loves his teammates, he loves this team, has a great passion for winning. You have to understand how to handle yourself in those situations. He'll learn from this situation," Garrett said on 105.3 The Fan on Monday morning.

Bryant is the best player on this Cowboys team, but it's actions like this that make you wonder if anyone can reach him. His bad background is not the reason for his struggles from time to time, as there are plenty of people with poor upbringings who are stable, successful members of society. At some point, the Cowboys need Bryant to be more mature on a consistent basis.

It's great for Bryant to apologize for what he did because he wasn't being disrespectful. Bryant is a good guy, who made a mistake. We've all made them.

Yet this mistake is a distraction at the wrong time of year.

Witten has a great passion for winning. So does DeMarcus Ware. Murray, too.

You don't think they were upset at the ending?

Guess what Witten did at the end of the game? When the clock read zero, he walked to the locker room.

Just like Bryant was supposed to do.

 

[jsmith6919]

Uhoh we have a player who is actually passionate about winning and upset at stupid losses, better coach that out of him post-haste.

 

[boozeman]

I don't give a shit that Bryant ran off the field....and he is hardly my favorite player.

 

[BipolarFuk]

Murray should have been right behind him leaving the field early.

Hell, I bet even a dumbfuck, prima Donna WR like Dez even knew to run the ball more than they did.

 

[Simpleton]

I like Bryant showing up Garrett for being the invalid that he is.

 

[dallen]

This is not a big deal

 

[Cotton]

This is not a big deal

According to some it is, but no surprise there...

 

[ravidubey]

Bryant needs his team to change. They too readily accept defeat.

 

[Rev]

Good luck with an extension

 

[dallen]

According to some it is, but no surprise there...

Dez is one of the only winners on this team

 

[superpunk]

It is a big deal, and it's not any less of a big deal because we hate the administration or were so frustrated at the loss that we can empathize.

You stand on the field and take the loss like a man. Maybe you don't feel like shaking hands but you stay til the clock is finished. Let's say shithole Flynn fumbles a snap and we've got one shot at a hail mary? And Dez is in the locker room with his pads off. Fuck that shit. It was a bitch move and has nothing to do with his fire or intensity or hatred of losing. Since pee-wee you stand on the field til it's over. Dez has decided he's more important than that or his teammates, and walked off like a baby.

I 100% believe his explanation. And I get that any reaction he would have had on the sideline would have been blown up, so maybe he just wanted to hide. But put a towel over your head. Rage and then walk into the locker room when the game's over.

Walking off the field like that is a selfish, bitch move. It has nothing to do with his fire or competitiveness. I think Billick's a moron but he's right - it's because Dez is a child.

 

[Cotton]

It is a big deal, and it's not any less of a big deal because we hate the administration or were so frustrated at the loss that we can empathize.

You stand on the field and take the loss like a man. Maybe you don't feel like shaking hands but you stay til the clock is finished. Let's say shithole Flynn fumbles a snap and we've got one shot at a hail mary? And Dez is in the locker room with his pads off. Fuck that shit. It was a bitch move and has nothing to do with his fire or intensity or hatred of losing. Since pee-wee you stand on the field til it's over. Dez has decided he's more important than that or his teammates, and walked off like a baby.

I 100% believe his explanation. And I get that any reaction he would have had on the sideline would have been blown up, so maybe he just wanted to hide. But put a towel over your head. Rage and then walk into the locker room when the game's over.

Walking off the field like that is a selfish, bitch move. It has nothing to do with his fire or competitiveness. I think Billick's a moron but he's right - it's because Dez is a child.

And, by all reports has admitted fault and said he shouldn't have done it.

 

[Cotton]

 

[superpunk]

And, by all reports has admitted fault and said he shouldn't have done it.

Eventually I'd just rather see him not do these things than the system we have now - where he acts like an asshat, gives an apology and explanation, and everyone brushes it off as "Dez being Dez, he's a really great teammate guyz."

Who needs to be told/explained that you don't do this in the NFL?

 

[Texas Ace]

Dez is one of the only winners on this team

Yup.

 

[BipolarFuk]

Dez is dumb.

Dez is immature.

Dez is overrated by some on this board.

But if everyone on this team had even half his passion to win, we'd be infinitely better.

 

[superpunk]

He's the fucking Manny Ramirez of football.

 

[asklesko]

the ironic thing is it's not his fault. he shouldn't be crying. romo and garrett should be crying.

 

[Hoffa]

It is a big deal, and it's not any less of a big deal because we hate the administration or were so frustrated at the loss that we can empathize.

You stand on the field and take the loss like a man. Maybe you don't feel like shaking hands but you stay til the clock is finished. Let's say shithole Flynn fumbles a snap and we've got one shot at a hail mary? And Dez is in the locker room with his pads off. Fuck that shit. It was a bitch move and has nothing to do with his fire or intensity or hatred of losing. Since pee-wee you stand on the field til it's over. Dez has decided he's more important than that or his teammates, and walked off like a baby.

I 100% believe his explanation. And I get that any reaction he would have had on the sideline would have been blown up, so maybe he just wanted to hide. But put a towel over your head. Rage and then walk into the locker room when the game's over.

Walking off the field like that is a selfish, bitch move. It has nothing to do with his fire or competitiveness. I think Billick's a moron but he's right - it's because Dez is a child.

Oh God, you're just as bad as that moron Billick. By the way, he was the same one who immediately railed on Bryant for the Lions thing before the actual audio came out. He's a dipshit who is lucky Ray Lewis carried him to a Superbowl.

This whole "you stand on the sideline and take your loss like a man" thing is so ridiculous. Where is it written that you have to do that? What difference does it make if he pouts there on the sideline, or goes into the lockerroom to do it? If he screams and throws stuff on the sideline, he's a baby. If he walks away to do it in private, he's a baby. He's really one of the only guys on the team who seems to give any kind of shit about whether we win or lose and of all the problems on this team, people really have the audacity to nitpick the fact that he walked off the field 40 seconds early.

 

[chevycowboys]

Oh God, you're just as bad as that moron Billick. By the way, he was the same one who immediately railed on Bryant for the Lions thing before the actual audio came out. He's a dipshit who is lucky Ray Lewis carried him to a Superbowl.

This whole "you stand on the sideline and take your loss like a man" thing is so ridiculous. Where is it written that you have to do that? What difference does it make if he pouts there on the sideline, or goes into the lockerroom to do it? If he screams and throws stuff on the sideline, he's a baby. If he walks away to do it in private, he's a baby. He's really one of the only guys on the team who seems to give any kind of shit about whether we win or lose and of all the problems on this team, people really have the audacity to nitpick the fact that he walked off the field 40 seconds early.

What he said..