Tag: Dallas Cowboys (Page 16 of 62)

      Jerry Jones wants Dez Bryant to play covered in bubble wrap apparently

      July 31, 2010 /
      Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stands on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of the NFC Divisional Playoff against the Minnesota Vikings at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis on January 17, 2010. The Vikings won 34-3. UPI/Brian Kersey

      After wide receiver Dez Bryant suffered a high ankle sprain during practice on Friday, Jerry Jones questioned the way the Cowboys’ coaching staff handled the workload of the rookie.

      Apparently the Dallas owner wanted answers as to why his first round pick was injured on a football field while performing football-related activities during a football practice.

      “It was really disappointing and it really causes you to … ask what can you do, what can you do in practices that can mitigate some of the exposure to some of these injuries,” Jones told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen after watching footage of the injury. Jones did not attend Friday’s practice.

      “The key thing is you ask yourself, ‘Are we pushing him too hard; does it happen at the end of practice when the players are tired?’ ” said Jones, who added, “We all know now when you get a little tired you can get injured.”

      Jones has every right to question the way his coaching staff is handling his players, but he’s going a tad overboard here. He’s been around football long enough to know that injuries are part of the game. They’re unavoidable.

      If undrafted rookie guard Phil Costa suffered a high ankle sprain, would Jones have said the same thing? Would he have wondered if the Dallas coaching staff pushed Costa too hard? Doubtful.

      Granted, Jones has more invested in Bryant than he does Costa, but the point is no matter how you slice it, football is a physical game. Whether guys or tired or not, focused or unfocused, injuries happen to everyone. No one is immune.

      External Sports, NFL

      Dez Bryant says he was unaware of shoulder pads tradition

      July 27, 2010 /
      ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 9: Roy E. Williams #11 of the Dallas Cowboys is tackled by Sheldon Brown #24 of the Philadelphia Eagles after gaining 17-yards on a second quarter catch during the 2010 NFC wild-card playoff game at Cowboys Stadium on January 9, 2010 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

      After being scrutinized for refusing to carry teammate Roy Williams’ shoulder pads following a recent training camp practice, Cowboys’ rookie Dez Bryant says he didn’t know that the gesture was a tradition in the NFL.

      “I didn’t know nothing about no tradition,” Bryant said. “The only thing about me … when I try to do something right, ya’ll try and turn it negative and I don’t feel like that’s right. I’m trying my best to do the right thing but it seems like I can’t do the right thing because every little thing that I do ya’ll watching it and try to make a big deal out of it.”

      Some are trying to make a bigger deal out of this situation than it really is, but Bryant says that everything between him and Williams is fine now, so the issue should be dead. Bryant wasn’t aware of the tradition and now he is. Griping.

      Like I wrote yesterday, I think Williams should carry his own pads seeing as how he’s stealing from the Cowboys with that ridiculous salary of his. In fact, I think both Williams should have to carry Drew Pearson’s shoulder pads.

      External Sports, NFL

      So much for Dez Bryant’s attitude being a concern

      July 26, 2010 /
      December 30, 2008 San Diego, CA..wide receiver Dez Bryant #1 of Oklahoma State catches a pass and runs in for a touchdown in the first quarter in action during the Holiday Bowl College football game against Oregon at Qualcomm Stadium on December 30, 2008 in San Diego, California..Louis Lopez/CSM Photo via Newscom

      Heading into April’s NFL draft, the scouting report on Dez Bryant read something like this: Great talent, but has immaturity issues that could lead to problems at the next level.

      But thus far, the reports out of Dallas on Bryant have been outstanding – so much so that one would think the Cowboys just drafted the second coming of Michael Irvin.

      Late last week, Bryant signed a five-year, $11.8 million contract, which included $8.3 million guaranteed. He was the first player selected in the first round to agree to a deal with his team, which is ironic considering some in the media thought he might wind up being the next Michael Crabtree in terms of rookie wide receiver that held out.

      To his credit, Bryant hasn’t been a distraction, a diva or anything outside of impressive so far in Dallas. Granted, he only has a couple of OTA sessions and one training camp weekend under his belt, but it’s hard not to fall in love with his potential. In fact, his practice performances over the weekend were reportedly “electrifying” according to the Dallas Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The paper says he was making one-handed catches along the sidelines and was praised by his coaching staff and teammates.

      Of course, Bryant still has a long ways to go in order to prove himself both on and off the field. The concerns about him coming out of Oklahoma State didn’t emerge out of thin air and he could still wind up being a headache for the Cowboys over the long-term. But considering the biggest complaint about him so far has been over his refusal to carry Roy Williams shoulder pads after practice, his NFL career is off to a great start. (Besides, Williams is stealing money from the Cowboys anyway so he should have to carry his own damn pads.)

      External Sports, NFL

      Bears nab Unga, Cowboys select Price-Brent in the NFL supplemental draft

      July 15, 2010 /
      SEATTLE - SEPTEMBER 6: Harvey Unga #45 of the BYU Cougars runs with the ball during their game against the Washington Huskies on September 6, 2008 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The Cougars defeated the Huskies 28-27. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

      It took seven rounds before the two most popular players in this year’s NFL supplemental draft were selected, but BYU running back Harvey Unga and Illinois defensive end Josh Price-Brent eventually found homes.

      The Bears selected Unga in the seventh round of today’s draft and the Cowboys took Price-Brent in the same round. The Bears and Cowboys will each have to forfeit their seventh round picks in the 2011 NFL Draft.

      Unga rushed for 1,087 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2009 while becoming BYU’s all-time leading rusher with 3,455 yards. He earned first-team All-MWC honors following the season, although on April 16, 2010, he voluntarily withdrew from the school after violating its honor code.

      The Rams were rumored to have been interested in him as a potential complement to running back Steven Jackson before the draft. But Unga wasn’t able to contribute in any offseason practices due to an ankle injury and St. Louis’ interest cooled off. He’ll now join Matt Forte and Chester Taylor in a crowded backfield in Chicago.

      Price-Brent totaled 71 tackles, five sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in his two years as a starter with the Illini. But he was declared academically ineligible this past spring and also spent 30 days in jail for a DUI last year. Scouts like his size, but his strength has been a question mark after he only had 31 reps on the bench during his private workout. That was the lowest amount of reps by a defensive tackle over 295 pounds that was invited to this year’s scouting combine.

      That said, he’s a good fit in Dallas (who runs a 3-4) because he’s projected as a nose tackle at the next level.

      External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

      Roy Williams ready to fight to retain his job

      May 13, 2010 /

      Cowboys’ receiver Roy Williams is well aware that rookie Dez Bryant wants to get on the field this year. And in order to do so, he’ll have to unseat Williams, who is the incumbent starter at the position opposite Miles Austin in the offense.

      “This ain’t my first rodeo,” Williams said. “I got recruited [to Texas] with B.J. [Johnson] and Sloan Thomas, so those are two top-notch guys. I came in and did my thing. I was the third one on the totem pole in that deal, and I came out No. 1. I don’t really see it as a competition thing. I see it as us getting better.

      “But I know in the back of my mind and the back of his mind, he wants to play, the only way he’s going to play is to get No. 11 off the field, and that’s going to be tough to do. But it’s going to make us better as a football team.”

      In preparation, Williams has been catching 200 balls a week off the JUGS machine according to the Dallas Star-Telegram. He’s also catching 40 or 50 balls from Tony Romo during the week while trying to ensure that he won’t drop as many passes as he did last season.

      “It won’t even be half,” said Williams, who had the 12th-most drops in the league last year, according to STATS Inc. “Do you want to take that bet? I won’t even come close. Promise you.”

      Williams has the right attitude, but he’ll have his work cut out for him competing against Bryant. While it’s always best to keep expectations somewhat tempered when it comes to rookies, Bryant is just flat out better than Williams. He’s faster, has softer hands and projects to be more of a playmaker. There’s a reason why the Cowboys drafted him and it wasn’t so he could watch Williams (whose contract may have saved him from being released by now) play.

      That said, Williams is right in that Bryant makes the Cowboys a better football team. Competition breads success and the addition of Bryant should make Williams more focused and determined to produce.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      External Sports, NFL

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