Cowboys dealing with Dez drama
When it comes to Dez Bryant, from the way he plays, to how he deals with life, nothing is ever routine.
Not even showing up for an exam on a sore knee is simple.
Drama sticks to him like flies to a pest-strip.
A scheduled MRI on Bryant’s injured right knee was delayed Monday because he didn’t show up for the usual treatment sesssion for injured players. Nobody said why.
The MRI didn’t happen again Tuesday when he missed team meetings. Nobody said how come? Coach Jason Garrett hedged on whether he’d been diagnosed, when asked by the media.
When the MRI finally was done Wednesday it revealed a hairline fracture of the tibial plateau — wasting three days of time that could’ve been spent dealing with the injury.
Garrett said Thursday while he didn’t excuse Bryant’s behaviour, he did understand it because Bryant was afraid the results would reveal a serious injury.
“I’m not excusing his behaviour. There are repercussions for your actions,” Garrett said. “He’s a very, very passionate person. He’s an emotional person. He didn’t handle it the right way.”
Garrett has gone to extremes to deflect criticism from Bryant, saying his actions were “well intended”, but players are subject to fines for missing meetings and treatment.
Garrett is a stickler for accountability. In this case, there doesn’t appear to have been a lot from either Bryant, or Garrett.
“I don’t want to get into the whole medical procedure,” Garrett said, noting he’s hopeful Bryant could play Sunday, although ESPN reports he could be out for three weeks. If Bryant can’t play, Brice Butler, with one catch in three games, moves into the starting lineup. “I don’t really pay attention to who I’m throwing” said quarterback Dak Prescott. “I just go through my reads. Whoever’s open gets the ball. So I mean hope [he] gets well really soon, but it doesn’t really affect this offence.” Brave words. But the Cowboys without Bryant, aren’t the same as the Cowboys with him.
Offences in retreat?
The Texans and Buccaneers have a common dilemma: Offences under siege.
Quarterback Brock Osweiler’s offence will have to put up some crooked numbers if Houston wants to make up for the loss of J.J. Watt and a weakened defence.
Tampa, meantime, has to find a running game to take the onus off Jameis Winston.
Winston leads the NFL with 142 passes. This is not by design. The Bucs have fallen behind too often, too soon, resulting in just 71 rushing plays.
It has left Winston with five sacks, numerous scrambles, and coach Dirk Koetter saying that has to change.
“In the last two games, we’ve thrown too much,” Koetter said. “We’ve got to quit getting behind by two scores, and we need to run the ball better.”
The Texans are coming off a shutout loss to New England, putting Osweiller under scrutiny, as he attempts to solidify his status as a No. 1 quarterback.
“I don’t think anything changes offensively now that the news of J.J. going on IR has come out,” Osweiler argued. “Bottom line, we need to score points. We need to score a lot of them. We knew that whether he was put on IR or not. It’s time for the offence to step up ... and do our part of the deal.”
And the winners are...
Carson Wentz was supposed to be holding a clipboard on the sideline, making penmanship about the only award for which he’d be eligible. Instead, after leading the Eagles to a 3-0 start he was Thursday named NFL rookie of the month.
Wentz has thrown 102 passes without an interception. At this rate he could, for Philly fans, finally put to rest the ghost of Donovan McNabb.
Other winners included Atlanta linebacker Deion Jones, selected top defensive rookie.
Eagles defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was named NFC defensive player of the month. Von Miller justified his huge contract, winning defensive honours in the AFC with a league-high five sacks.
Matt Ryan is NFC offensive player of the month. His 119.0 rating is highest among all NFC quarterbacks. LeGarrette Blount won AFC honours.