Wade Phillips- "Dez Bryant is the most impressive rookie ive seen in 33 years of.."

[OzDawg]

in a haden interview he went over what it was like to go from,,,running a team (QB) to being on an island where it's him and another.

I can see where that would translate to WR . BOTH are out there.

[Inspecta]

Yeah OZ, however at least on the defensive side the corner has to coordinate with his safeties to see if he's gonna have help, or if they're gonna double team a guy. There's at least some connection on every play.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Alo

To be fair, all the reports from Cowboys camp indicate that Dez is looking like a beast. Despite the questions about his character, pretty much everyone here agreed that Bryant's a tremendous talent.

And it'd be pretty silly for us to get into a debate about who was "right" about whether the guy has character issues or not. You watch TV tape and - for the most part - can assess a player's strengths and weaknesses. But we don't have all the info on players that NFL personnel people delve into, so it's very difficult to assess whether those character concerns are legit.

He's another rookie that wasn't drafted by us so I don't understand why there's avid Browns' fans rooting for rookies on other teams and rooting against our rookies. Seems like a new millenium trend I can't understand.

A career isn't made BEFORE training camp #1 - it's made after players show up with a hungry attitude for anywhere from 3-10 seasons in a row. Reality says Dez Bryant showed up to Oklahoma State eager and hungry to showcase his talents. Unfortunately, once that was accomplished - Oklahoma State didn't get 4 years of exchange value on his free ride. And WHY? The rules for college athletes didn't apply to this superstar and getting to games and meetings on time were for the lesser guys. Red flags don't disappear because some guy is auditioning for a dream salary. We'll see if he stays focused and motivated. Remember William Green closing out his rookie year with averaging 100 yards an outing our final 6 games in 02 and running us into the playoff? He had 2 more 100 yard games early the next season before he was caught from behind by his genetic predisposition to chem dependency and BAD parental role models.

Sad but true from Pro Football Weekly Draft Guide page 15: "Angela Bryant, was just 15 when she delivered Dez. The father McArthur Hatton, was in his 40s." When Angela was 18 she was dealing drugs, PCP and cocaine to support her 3 children. She got caught and went to prison. How much different are these parental role models than the ones William Green had living in the streets with IV drug addictions and dying of HIV/AIDS? It's VERY VERY VERY sad - and there was ZERO question about Green's talent folks. We saw the talent part but we also saw how temp it was. I don't know if Dez has ever been taught how to make good decisions on a consistent basis and I'm not sure the dream salary teaches him either.

As others have said, he wouldn't have been a smart risk for us to take at #7 overall (See Edwards Scissorhands & Donte Stallworth). We have more needs than Dallas offensively and more important - character does matter.
- Tom F.

[golfer704u]

Originally Posted by PlaygroundLegend

sorry guys, I get riled up sometimes...

Ill tell you of a situation I had in a sport...

lets just say I had to do one of those "rituals" in a sport I played which shows "respect" for vets in the sport.

(in my opinion its more demoralizing to the player performing said actions than it is respecting the veteran player)

I chose not to do it, the consequence... the team captain and I scuffled for about an hour, (it was wrestling btw) the object was to basically beat me down until I gave up and had enough.... instead I took it and never stopped fighting back, no matter how much it hurt, or how lifeless my body was, I got up and stared him down.. and went at him again, and again and again... until they said it wasnt worth it


Thats just what I believe in guys, sorry, but people have to earn MY respect just as much as I have to earn theirs

As some one else said, for me it would dpend on the details of your story.

Would I be correct in guessing this was highschool wrestling and the "ritual" was more juvenile and degrading than just carrying someones pads off the field?

[hammertime]

Originally Posted by PlaygroundLegend

sorry guys, I get riled up sometimes...

Ill tell you of a situation I had in a sport...

lets just say I had to do one of those "rituals" in a sport I played which shows "respect" for vets in the sport.

(in my opinion its more demoralizing to the player performing said actions than it is respecting the veteran player)

I chose not to do it, the consequence... the team captain and I scuffled for about an hour, (it was wrestling btw) the object was to basically beat me down until I gave up and had enough.... instead I took it and never stopped fighting back, no matter how much it hurt, or how lifeless my body was, I got up and stared him down.. and went at him again, and again and again... until they said it wasnt worth it


Thats just what I believe in guys, sorry, but people have to earn MY respect just as much as I have to earn theirs

Oh man!! Did they try and give you the SHOCKER???

I would of fought that off also. lol.

[Vegasdogg]

Originally Posted by Flugel

Sad but true from Pro Football Weekly Draft Guide page 15: "Angela Bryant, was just 15 when she delivered Dez. The father McArthur Hatton, was in his 40s." When Angela was 18 she was dealing drugs, PCP and cocaine to support her 3 children. She got caught and went to prison. How much different are these parental role models than the ones William Green had living in the streets with IV drug addictions and dying of HIV/AIDS? It's VERY VERY VERY sad - and there was ZERO question about Green's talent folks. We saw the talent part but we also saw how temp it was. I don't know if Dez has ever been taught how to make good decisions on a consistent basis and I'm not sure the dream salary teaches him either.

To be fair there is the story of Dwayne Wade's mother who had to serve time for Heroin addiction, and I am pretty sure she sold crack. People can change, and Wade's mother did. Kids mature, and Dez can do the same. I didn't think our team would have the environment where it could work for both sides, but I am not writing the kid off or allowing his mother to determine who he can become. William Green and Dez Bryant are completely different situations.

[Flugel]

Originally Posted by Vegasdogg

To be fair there is the story of Dwayne Wade's mother who had to serve time for Heroin addiction, and I am pretty sure she sold crack. People can change, and Wade's mother did. Kids mature, and Dez can do the same. I didn't think our team would have the environment where it could work for both sides, but I am not writing the kid off or allowing his mother to determine who he can become. William Green and Dez Bryant are completely different situations.

Thanks for bringing that up Vegas. That's an example of 1 bad parental role model; but I think when you add a 2nd bad parent incapable of showing their kids right and wrong - the chances of the offspring knowing right from wrong decreases considerably.

I'm talking about BOTH of Dez's parents, which makes him a much closer parallel to William Green. You can't choose your parents in this world Vegas; and they're usually the first line of instilling right and wrong in the kids.

Here's 2 scary things I read about prior to the draft (less than 365 days after he was suspended for not choosing right over wrong):
"Angela Bryant, was just 15 when she delivered Dez. The father McArthur Hatton, was in his 40s." When Angela was 18 she was dealing drugs, PCP and cocaine to support her 3 children.

There's a reason that specific act of conception above is a crime in most states in this country. Second, the mother's decision making to add 2 more children before she was 18 was just as troublesome. And then the planning to take care of them seemed to be centered selling and doing drugs. Alot of drug addicts in the streets resort to prostitution and theft. It ain't pretty. For all we know, she was selling sex to get a fix when she had Dez. If you grow up with a value system of seeing mom doing drugs all the way until you're 10 or 20 - you don't KNOW they're even wrong.

I'm not BLAMING Dez for that; but I'm reminding everyone we drafted a similar talent level in William Green that was never taught right from wrong by his parents. It's exactly like William Green's parental role models. William, just like Dez, got suspended in college for an inability to conform to rules. Green only had to miss a game (and was suspended by his coach); but nevertheless the conformance red flag was there. Bryant missed most of the 2009 season. TALENT wasn't the issue for either player IMO. When I read I read about William Green - I was hoping that winning the lottery with a round 1 contract would make a nice happily ever after for him and us. His learned behaviors and genetic predisposition to drug caught him from behind after a noce close to a rookie season and early 100 yard outings vrs Oakland & Pitt in 2003.

We couldn't afford that kind of risk in round 1 this year while Dallas' offense COULD afford that risk at pick #24.

You don't have to agree. I just look at other examples of 2 crappy parents and I can find a pretty easy trend of character impeding success. Vince Young's mom is an alcoholic and he's made 2 Pro Bowls, AFC Rookie of the Year, and he's 26-13 as a starter so at times his talent shines through. However, there's been 2 seasons where his character flaws made alot of fans forget his talent especially when he had a pulled hammy/groin handcuffing his game outside of the pocket. His dad was in prison and missing alot of his life. The media talks more about VY's character flaws than his talent. So when BOTH parents are bad role models - I've seen it catch up with even the best of talents in this league. You want another example of 2 horrible parents? Michael Vick's parents. Pac Man Jones' dad was shot to death before he was a teen hanging with bad people; and his mom was so bad his grandmother tried to raise him. Talent or character the issue there?
- Tom F.

[mz.]

Was Gandhi available where we picked?

[Inspecta]

Originally Posted by mz.

Was Gandhi available where we picked?

God I wish......that fucker has the sweetest crack block technique.....

[golfer704u]

Imagine the hold out though. I mean the man didn't eat for how long?

[Shep]

Prediction: Dez has a terrific rookie year, but it won't matter because he's just setting the Cowboys up for disappointment when he shows up late to a position meeting in a couple years.

[Alo]

I think this ghastly thread has run its course.