Dallas Cowboys: Why Do You Hate Dez Bryant?

When you have a once-in-a-lifetime player on your roster, why on Earth would you let him go? This is like catching lightning in a bottle, and then accidentally lift the lid five minutes later.

The idea to discard wide receiver Dez Bryant in favor of two first-round draft picks is taking off. Shipping away arguably the most talented player on the Dallas Cowboys roster, who is in his prime, is apparently easy for some. Some believe Bryant’s salary cap hit and guaranteed dollars will be put to better use if he lives in another city.

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In my humble opinion, these thoughts are garbage.

You don’t let a millennium player walk out. Never. Not now. Not tomorrow.

Not ever.

As my fingers thump my keyboard to bring you this write-up, the horrible, no good video on double eight is yet to spit out.

There are football fans waiting for that “accident” so they can run over to the web to claim themselves victorious for their prediction.

To those fans, I implore you to open a window and let some fresh air in. It could be a long wait.

To those that view Bryant’s presence as a detriment to the team, I offer you a different lens. In what world is mediocrity okay? Before the wide receiver arrived, Dallas was in slug fest with mediocrity. Average in Dallas was the norm; it was the accepted currency among fans.

Tex Schramm, the original president and general of the Cowboys, prophesied that former 88 wide receiver Michael Irvin would be the birth of a new Dallas era, and return the Cowboys back to a living state.

Like Bryant, Irvin was a first-round pick. He proved to be the vigor the team needed. 12 seasons, 750 receptions, 11,904 yards, 65 touchdowns, and three rings later, Irvin proved Schramm right.

Irvin, like Bryant, was mouthy on the field, had law troubles, and was considered by some a distraction. After collecting three Super Bowl trophies, the double eight of the 1990’s was arrested in March of 1996 for possession of cocaine. He was suspended the first five games the following season, but by then, Irvin solidified his status.

The difference between the old and new 88 isn’t the level of passion embedded in their DNA, it’s the level of success. Irvin, one-third of the triplets, was a talented player who banked on early success. Irvin was the surge, the soul of the Cowboys in the 90’s. But he never did it alone.

He was among football teammates who would later land on all-time best lists for decades to come. Bryant, going into his sixth season in the NFL, is just now surrounded by people just as talented as he is, and their 12-4 finish in 2014 proves that.

Irvin yelled, had outbursts, and screamed at players who performed poorly, but because he had rings, the wideout was painted as a savior, a teacher, a beacon of light that bleeds through the darkness.

When Bryant does the same, on the other hand, it’s unacceptable. It’s a distraction. Bryant is a villain. A thug. A monster that needs to be handcuffed.

While I don’t think that walking out on your teammates just before a crushing loss with some clock left is right, or that running on the field without a helmet is ever a good thing, I do believe that in order to rid the waste basket of mediocrity you need a player like Bryant to scrub away a losing culture, and to speed the team back to vitality.

Irvin did it then, and Bryant is doing it now.

I can’t tell you how many times I looked around after a loss and wondered, is that it? Is this normal now? Why isn’t any one in Cowboy country raising hell? Are people in Dallas actually okay with this? This is America’s Team, have some pride!

Bryant is that gold token from the 1990’s who like Irvin, doesn’t accept anything but victory or excellence from his teammates and coaches. I think his echoes are spreading through the arteries in a way that some might view as controversial, but nonetheless, it’s a necessary task that must be done.

After getting pounced by the Philadelphia Eagles last Thanksgiving, nobody blamed Bryant for offering some lip service to Philly’s safety two weeks later. This is what I wanted to see.

Passion. Anger. Bravado. You name it.

Bryant didn’t drown himself in alcohol or drugs prior to the game. He did not throw punches, nor was ejected from the revenge game. Instead, the lightning in a bottle lived up to his lip service, lifting the Cowboys with 6 grabs, 114 yards, and three touchdowns.

I have not heard of anyone complaining about Bryant’s unscheduled outburst after the victory to sound of Dallas 38, Philly 27.

Dallas would go on to secure the NFC East Division a week later, while the Eagles began preliminary meetings about their spring plans.

I am still trying to figure out how Bryant equals two first-round draft picks. How do you measure a freakish player? Someone who is deeply passionate about winning? Someone who I think, loves the Cowboys and his teammates more than he lets on?

With the 26-year-old, you know who and what you got. Who knows what Dallas will get with those two picks? Maybe another Felix Jones (RB) or Mike Jenkins (CB) from 2008? Are you willing to roll the dice on two unknowns against a proven commodity? Are two first-round picks even fair compensation to begin with?

No thanks.

We know the type of caliber we have in Bryant.

His 16 touchdowns in 2014 was a record setter for Dallas. I’d like to think that those 16 grabs was Bryant giving his teammates 16 more “opportunities” to win. Keep in mind, his 88 catches and 1,320 yards came after he was double and triple teamed.

These aren’t out of the world numbers, and I’ve read that Bryant’s production was matched or better from other wideouts. But what I think stat books fail to recall is Bryant’s role as the team’s full-time decoy — a benefit 10 others receive by lining up with him.

Someone of Bryant’s skill set cannot be replaced. You don’t get rid of someone who was a catch away from carrying his team into a NFC Championship game. You can’t put a price on someone who is returning the team back to a state of winning.

A decade from now, the Cowboys will be thanking Bryant for his contributions. You don’t let someone like that go. You start him.

And you mostly certainly pay him, too.

Next: 16 Different Dallas Cowboys Mock Drafts

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