Finally, a supporter of Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Dez Bryant has stepped up and made his voice known. Many people have publicly disparaged the young wide receiver, including Warren Moon who said that Justin Blackmon was like Bryant but smart.
This new voice is someone that Dallas Cowboys' fans take a lot more interest in than someone like Moon. Former Dallas Cowboys' receiver, NFL legend and Hall of Fame member Michael Irvin spoke out about the troubled receiver recently.
"I thought Dez made great strides this year on the football field,'' Irvin said. "When Dez really locks it all in, understands it, Dez will be the best receiver in the NFL.''
Wow.
Now, Michael Irvin knows a lot about the problems that Bryant has been going through. Irvin came from a gung ho college program that saw people do much worse things then what got Bryant suspended at Oklahoma State University. Irvin was not always one to keep his nose clean either. There was 1996, when Irvin was arrested for cocaine possession and suspended for the first five games of the season.
Nothing Bryant has done has come close to the sins committed by Michael Irvin.
Now, Bryant has shown talent and bursts of brilliance but he has also disappeared from the game on many occasions. What Irvin said was that when Bryant locks in, he will be great. That is true but he really has to mature and get his life together before his game can reach that next level, I believe.
Of course, there is one important question I want to pose. As fans of the Dallas Cowboys, would you want a player that ended up being the best wide receiver in the NFL but was a disaster off the field or a solid producing above average receiver that was someone you could be proud of cheering for?
I have seen players like Michael Irvin, Nate Newton and the late Mark Tuinei make it hard to proudly proclaim myself a Dallas' fan at times. But I have weathered the storms. As a fan, I hope Bryant matures and becomes what Irvin believes he can. I'm tired of so many players letting me down.
Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys' fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys' related news, good or bad
